Gig

Full Of Hell & Thou – Gig Review 17th August @ Stay Gold, Melb VIC

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Aug 18, 2024

7 min read

Full Of Hell & ThouStay Gold, Naarm/Melbourne VICAugust 17th, 2024Support: Isua & KilatIs there any better place to catch a hardcore show in Melbourne than Brunswick? Not likely. This inner-city hub has long been a bastion for alternative culture, so it's only fitting that on 17th August 2024, the suburb’s heavy music haven - Stay Gold - became the epicentre for two of today’s most uncompromising forces in underground music.There's Thou - seasoned DIY savants who've spent nearly two decades redefining punk into something altogether darker, heavier, and more immersive. They are a goliath of viscous riffs, coarse instrumentals, with an immutable drive to extend themselves artistically. Atmosphere is their weapon of choice, dragging audiences through the most harrowing emotional experiences with a near-ritualistic intensity (to read our recent interview with vocalist BryanFunck, click here).And Full Of Hell, grindcore’s harbingers of chaos. Their music is a relentless barrage of sonic dissonance, yet somehow manages to be remarkably intelligible. One moment, you're wading through a pit of distorted sludge, and the next, you're being obliterated by a maelstrom of blast beats and ear-splitting shrieks.The fact that both bands had recently dropped new records only added to the occasion’s gravitas - Thou’s suffocating Umbilical, and Full Of Hell’s sonic vortex, Coagulated Bliss. To witness them live off the back of these releases - in the same room, no less - proved nothing short of auditory bliss.Isua had the first run at the amped-up crowd, and gave the venue's speakers a prodigious flogging. Their set was a lumbering beast of sludge, each groove hitting like a sledgehammer that rattled the foundations of the building. It felt like the band was ushering in some kind of funeral march, with guitars tuned so low they threatened to drag the whole place through the floor. Kilat were up next and wasted no time in laying claim to the stage, hitting us with an onslaught of icy riffs and venomous shrieks. Vocalist Karina Utomo stalked across the floor like a spectral demon, conjuring evil and casting her enchantments. The band performed the accompanying ceremonial hymns, enveloping the audience in an ominous haze of occult drama and powerful, galloping rhythms.The night’s first co-headliner finally took the stage with a deliberate nonchalance. Thou's entrance was as understated as their setup; while the band members fussed with gear, vocalist Bryan Funck indulged in an impromptu lip-sync of Alice In Chains'‘Nutshell’, even striking poses for eager onlookers to take photos. But as the final adjustments were made, Funck’s demeanour underwent a jarring transformation. The playful veneer gave way to a chilling, blank stare - one that seemed to peer through the very fabric of the room, as if there was something behind us only he could see.With a grim intensity, Thou kicked off their set with the unyielding ‘Siege Perilous’, subjecting us to a punishing slog of harsh screams and abrasive instrumentals. The oppressive soundscape continued with ‘House of Ideas’, where waves of discordant feedback eventually gave way to the song’s closing riff, lifting the audience to a moment of rapture. Thou’s mastery of tension was evident in their use of suspense, from the repetitive single note chugs of ‘House of Ideas’ to the intentional, almost cruel silences between songs. At times, the band turned their backs to the crowd, letting the frenzy crescendo, while meeting the mosh pit’s pleas for engagement with silence.Thou delved into the archives for 2007’s ‘Fucking Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean’, a grunge-laden throwback that unraveled into the chasmic noise of ‘Lonely Vigil’. ‘The Promise’, perhaps the most accessible track from Umbilical, came with a shift in dynamic. One moment, the band were perched atop amps, delivering the electrifying performance straight to our faces. Just as abruptly, they retreated into a more introspective space, their focus turning inward as they played more for one another than the audience. Bodies thrashed in time to the song’s pulsating grooves, as Funck toyed with us, hinting at a Nirvana cover before deriding those unfamiliar with the obscure choice. Instead, the band delivered a blistering rendition of ‘Narcissist's Prayer’, culminating in a visceral climax when Funck roared, "It's time to die - so die!"The set closed with the same understated grace with which it began. Following a casual “Thank you, we are Thou,” the band exited as coolly as they had arrived, leaving us both battered and exhilarated.Now, for our final co-headliner. It had been nine years since Full Of Hell last pummelled Aussie audiences to the ground, but the band’s unmatched live energy persists as dogged as ever. Despite Dylan Walker’s self-deprecating quip about his advancing age and a belly full of vegan mozzarella, any notion of a slowdown was quickly dispelled. From the moment Full Of Hell stormed the stage with ‘Halogen Bulb’, they tore the faces off everyone in the front row with a fury that belied their mellow banter between songs.‘Pile of Dead Horses’ hit like a violent seizure, beginning with eerie digital effects - courtesy of Walker’s soundboard - before plunging into bedlam. When the savage anthem ‘Crawling Back to God’ ensued, the mosh was thrust into fever pitch, only heightened by guest vocals contributed by a punter who had launched himself at the mic; Walker sounded properly possessed on the track’s final line: “On bent knees, crawling back to God.”Following an announcement that the next song was about “shooting dope in Newcastle”, the lads delivered a one-two punch from their new album, ‘Doors to Mental Agony’ and ‘Transmuting Chemical Burns’. Never has Full Of Hell sounded this penetrable whilst still maintaining their caustic edge, and the audience responded enthusiastically by chanting every word.‘Vessel Deserted’ showcased the band’s eclectic brilliance, charging forward at breakneck speed, before divulging into a slow, lethargic trudge, where Walker belched out his vocals in sickening display. Drummer David Bland was a spectacle unto himself - the whirlish dervish proceeded to throttle us with a solo that almost broke through the sound barrier. As the night concluded, the rest of the band returned to administer a thumping beat-down with the caveman stomp of ‘Silmaril’.In a city that thrives on its live music scene, nights like these stand as a testament to the enduring power of the underground - a raw, indomitable force that refuses to be diluted. If there’s any question about the state of Melbourne's appetite for heavy music, Stay Gold (and Thou / Full of Hell) just made it abundantly clear.Gig Review by AlexBurgess@alexburgessmusic