Brewtality 2019
The Tote/Bendigo Hotels, Collingwood VIC
August 3rd, 2019
Brewtality was back this year, packing in a massive line up of heavy bands from throughout the country. Spread across three stages between The Tote and The Bendigo Hotel it was physically impossible to see every great band on the lineup, but we did our best and below is a list of the top 8 stand-outs in no particular order...
Blackhelm
This band took things to the extreme in the early evening it was like the coffee hit punters needed to make it through the next 6 hours at the event. High recommended.
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King
King came on early. The sun was still shining outside, but they brought the darkness to the Bendigo with their absolutely crushing brand melancholic black metal. As soon as you stepped in the band room you were smacked with a giant wall of sound. Every piece of their set was tight and heavy.
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Slugbucket
Slugbucket were far from the heaviest band on the line-up, but they definitely killed the band room upstairs at the tote. One could be forgiven for thinking they’d taken the stairs to the nineties with the grungy rock and roll being smashed out by the four-piece from Melbourne. Also, I think it should be mentioned that Slugbucket even bought their own half man-half slug mascot, at least I hope he came with them, otherwise there's a whole bunch of questions that need to be addressed if this dude is just rolling around to gigs dressed like some kind of slug-reverse-merman hybrid.
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Deadyet?
Hands down the most fun band I saw and the band that looked like they had the most fun of the day. Our legendary editor Browny gave me the heads up on these guys and I’m glad he did. The trip up from Brisbane did not drain these guys of any energy, if truck driver speed and 3 gallons of coffee was a band, it would be Deadyet? (not that we condone the use of illicit substances or drinking that much coffee).
Holy Serpent
Holy Serpent are a band that I’ve been trying to catch for a long time but something has always gotten in the way, so I was very excited about finally seeing them. They did not disappoint. Their mix of stoner/doom/psych rock/grunge was just huge. Exactly what you want from that genre. Heavy, Heavy riffs and soaring vocals.
Siberian Hell Sounds
Another QLD band that was on the need to see list was Siberian Hell Sounds. It’s hard to define these guys, kind of sludgy, black metal with a fist full of aggression. The northerners pretty well tore a new one in the Bendigo and I can not wait to see them the next time they are down.
Lo!
Lo! Are one of those bands that you know every time you see them it’s going to be amazing, their music is insane, their sets are incredibly tight and their stage presence is up there with the best in the country. Brewtality was no exception. Despite the Melbourne winter being in full swing Lo! Bought the heat to the Tote and played a faultless set.
High Tension
What can you say about HT that hasn’t been said before. Tight, in your face, aggressive, rage filled… all words that can describe their set. Vocalist, KarinaUtomo spent just as much time off the stage screaming with the crowd as on the stage. Coming into this gig I was torn between seeing HT or Psychroptic, both are incredible bands in the top tier of Australian metal but I definitely feel like I made the right choice.
Festival Review and Photo Gallery by Sean Fabre-Simmonds. Insta: @gravy_havock
Please credit Wall of Sound and Sean Fabre-Simmonds if you use published photos
