The Gloom In The Corner - Gig Review 21st November @ 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC

The Gloom In The Corner
170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
November 21st, 2021
Supports: Starve and Observist

After suffering multiple blows with the usual postponing due to COVID, The Gloom In The Corner finally caught a break and managed to find themselves hosting one of the first shows back post-lockdown and as much as I dislike the saying, the vibes were on point. I entered a half-full venue to find Observist dominating the stage. The thing that struck me initially was that the sound quality at this venue is superb and really makes that extra difference when watching a performance, which is something that I had forgotten through the midsts of lockdowns.

Soon it was time for local up and comers Starve to take to the stage and they did so in impressive fashion. The production quality of this set was outstanding as it included a massive screen background which was an incredible visualiser. It was hard to tell that this was the biggest stage that this band has played on, they seemingly occupied every square inch of it in their dynamic performance. Nathaniel Smith from LUNE joined the boys on stage as a guest vocalist during the song 'Shiver', which seemed to be a crowd favourite, despite it being one of the band's older songs. The excitement of vocalist Jordan Dunbar yelling "We're back!" over and over again sent waves of excitement over the crowd as it confirms our hopes that we are here to stay. Starve are such a mesmerising act to watch and I am super excited to watch them perform at UNIFY Gathering 2022, they deserve every second they get on the big Tarwin Lower stage, especially following the release of their Nausea EP earlier this year (our review here).

Finally, it was time for local heroes The Gloom In The Corner to bless us with their presence. Their production quality was well out of their own league, they completely outdid themselves. Short, few minute long videos has the crowd clinging on to the band's every movement. Jordan Dunbar from Starve graced the stage yet again as a guest vocalist during the song 'Survivors Guilt'. Vocalist Mikey Arthur teased the crowd asking whether the band should play fan favourite 'Witch Hunt' before explaining that just like his parents, the crowd would be left disappointed. Instead, Gloom played two brand new songs, one of which included a guest appearance from Dregg vocalist Chris Mackertich. It was nothing short of spectacular to witness. Before the show's end, the band came back out to perform 'Bleed You Out' as an encore and everything felt right in the world again.

The Gloom In The Corner are a powerful band within Melbourne's local heavy music scene right now, with new music on the horizon, I'm excited to see how far this group can take it.

Gig Review by Adam Rice