Gravemind – Gig Review 14th April @ Stay Gold, Melb VIC

Gravemind
Stay Gold, Melbourne, VIC
April 14th, 2023
Supports: Mélancolia, Vilify and Body Prison

What happens when you get a bunch of mates' bands together to play at an iconic Melbourne venue such as Stay Gold? What We Did On The Weekend ventured to discover the answer by curating a Gravemind headline show. It's been a while since we've heard any news from the Melbourne metallers, so I was keen to check out this show alongside some fantastic support acts. Blackened deathcore up-and-comers Mélancolia, Newcastle heavy act Vilify and for their debut live show, Body Prison.

You couldn't ask for a better debut from Body Prison. The vocalist was brutal, and the bassist called out for crowd engagement throughout. Overall they had a great stage presence as Body Prison played their currently released tracks alongside a brand-new song. There are no signs of this deathcore act slowing down, and I'm keen to see where future shows and releases take them.

Vilify blew me away, despite being a bit different from the deathcore bands on the lineup. Their style of metallic hardcore felt right at home though, as vocalist Amy McIntosh never stopped moving and pumping the crowd up. Her presence as a frontwoman is invigorating and the crowd kept up the surging pits throughout. Guitarist Deni Hourihan delivered some of my favourite guitar licks of the night, as Vilify played a setlist ranging from their first-ever release to their newest single 'Take The Pill'. Lizi Blanco and Kieran Jackson were masterful on bass and drums respectfully, making my highly anticipated first Vilify live experience memorable.

Mélancolia are masters of atmosphere, and their stage presence demonstrated this. Matching their haunting intro from 'Horror_Ethereal', the band's gothic get-up and dark instrumentals set the stage for their set. Joshua Taafe and Billy Morris masterfully killed it on guitars, and drummer Mason Page delivered blast beats from out of this world. He is by far one of the coolest live drummers in the scene. Vocalist Alex Hill was haunting and captivating on stage, acting like a man possessed as he made full use of his master-class and demonic vocal range. In addition to other single '[Inure]', the band also teased the crowd with some tracks from their debut album HissThroughRottenTeeth throughout their brutal set. It was an absolute treat seeing Mélancolia live and I cannot wait for the next show.

Gravemind were provided were tight and impressive on stage. They opened up with 'Deadspace' from their 2017 EP release The Deathgate, and new vocalist Bailey Schembri fit right in by delivering a fantastic rendition of such a classic track. His screams were consistently powerful throughout the night, as the Gravemind continued the deep cuts with 'Anaesthesia'. This was followed by a brand new track which further showcased this new era of Gravemind, and that we have a lot to look forward to. The set wouldn't be complete without latest released single 'Deathtouch', which is one of my personal favourites. I loved the stage presence of Gravemind, it felt very metal to have some synchronised long hair windmills on stage! They closed out with the emotional 'Phantom Pain' taken from latest album Conduit, and with that, the fantastic performance was over.

Gravemind fans have a lot to look forward to, with the new album on the horizon hopefully that means more shows. If they can keep performing to this calibre, and hold talented supports up to this standard there will be plenty of live shows to keep any heavy music fan entertained.

Review by Tyler Lubke.