Gig

Infested Entrails - Gig Review 17th Sept @ Farmers Arms, Bathurst NSW

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Sep 18, 2022

7 min read

Infested Entrails
The Farmers Arms, Bathurst NSW
September 17th, 2022
Supports: Deprivation, Complaxant and Factory Chaos

Bathurst is a cold mongrel of a town. While the rest of Australia boasts about having three months of summer, the home of the V8’s usually manages to get about two weeks of it. The fireplace is cranking inside the bike-friendly Farmers Arms tonight, but that doesn’t matter because tonight's festivities are in the cold tin shed out the back. Not that anyone is complaining. Far from it. A heavy metal lineup of this calibre is rarely seen in this town and the locals know well enough to rug up (sing it like Kylie Minogue)…on a night like this!!! The punters look amazing but I’m yet to see a wool-lined battle jacket.

Local 3-piece death/horror mob Factory Chaos kickstart proceedings for their first ever live show and the lads have crafted a killer debut outing. Drummer/vocalist Damien Turner puts on an impressive display, singing death metal vocals whilst blast beating his way into the crowd's hearts. With songs like ‘Caretakers Insanity’, all their music is Horror focused and each song is interspersed with iconic lines from horror movies. Guitarist Aaron Mason mimes every line and it is genuinely haunting. He didn’t make it any more pleasant when he used his guitar as a chainsaw to cut his arm off Texas Chainsaw Massacre style. The crowd absolutely digs it. They’re definitely a garage band having a red hot go at this point, but once they hone their live sound, with any luck, we’ll be bragging about being here at their first-ever show when they’re playing Wacken one day.

Between sets I run inside for a cold beer by the warm fire. Beside me is a young lady with pink hair decked out in a full pink tracksuit and she definitely stands out in the sea of black. I tell her about my mate that wore a pink shirt to a Slayer concert and she says “sounds like pink is our thing”. The walls of this old bushranger's haunt is adorned in heavy metal paraphernalia and I’m mad that I don’t come here more often. The kitchen is serving something called Chicken Flaps and while I’m assured that it’s delicious, I’m not curious enough to give it a crack.

Complexant have made the trek from Wollongong and have some serious gear in tow. This blackened deathcore band are tight as a fishes freckle and songs like 'I’ve Been Waiting' and 'No Forgiveness, No Redemption' have a few spectators whispering to each other how insanely good this band are. Sebastian Su is a blur on drums and Brendan Clark’s vocal range is next level. I turn to Infested Entrails vocalist James Hughes as he shakes his head in amazement and says “That is filth. So good”.

Deprivation are mad. This Orange (the town, not the colour) groove metal quintet are celebrating the 11th Anniversary of their debut album Amalgam and have re-enlisted original guitarist George Olsen and original drummer Albie Bevan to mark the occasion. Singer Benn Weber looks like he doesn’t need security. Barefoot, no jumper. He’s a shirt peel away from being a bald Henry Rollins. Bass player Jesse Whithear has got a huge case of ADHD and forgot all his meds. The bloke is high energy, high quality and highly entertaining. Before launching into 'Blood Money' he yells out “This next song is as piratey as fuck. So if you don’t Yo Ho Ho to this one then fuck you.” The between-song banter is hilarious and I don’t think I’ve heard the c-bomb dropped this much since my last family Christmas dinner.

Death metal juggernauts Infested Entrails are vile, abrasive and a shit ton of fun. With songs like ‘Drunk on Biddy’, ‘War Sausage’, ‘Coathanger Angels’ and ‘Swing Set Impalement’ you know this isn’t going to be a gentle stroll down Rainbow Unicorn lane. Drummer Matthew Budge gives his poor Pearl kit hell. Halfway through the first song he’s stripped down to a t-shirt and sweating his arse off and he reminds me of when Jimmy Bower manned the skins for Superjoint Ritual. The band are brutally inch perfect and vocalist James Hughes is an intimidating presence on stage. Menacing punters and he prowls through the throng of onlookers, it’s like he’s almost daring you to try and look away. He absolutely delivers, gives everything and I’m just waiting for his throat to explode.

The lads from Deprivation take to some heckling from the back, to which Infested Entrails reply with a few profanities and a full frontal sonic assault. It’s all friendly fire mind you, built on the mutual respect of developing NSW Central West's metal scene for over a decade. The lads finish up with ‘Sexual Predator’ and everyone retreats to somewhere warm for the night.

Another great night at one of the few venues that offers solitude to a hard rock/heavy metal aficionado. Reasonably priced beer, great food (even the chicken flaps) and the music was 10/10. Cannot wait til the next metal event here. Will put in a reminder to wear thermals next time though. Cheers.

Review & Photo Phone Pics by Duane James @duanejames666