Gig

Harroway – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 20th May @ The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melb VIC

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

May 22, 2023

7 min read

Harroway
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melbourne VIC
May 20, 2023
Support: Alera, Deadskin and Dweller

The Last Chance Rock n Roll Bar is a little place I have been meaning to check out for a long time. I have heard good things about their food, atmosphere, and they have been all over the place with their Pozible campaign to save The Tote from property developers. So, we figured checking out up-and-coming metalcore hitters Harroway was a good enough excuse.

The start time was pushed back by about an hour, so we had plenty of time to soak in the dive bar aesthetics and grab a drink. It’s got that carpet that will remove your shoes if they are not secured properly, you know the stuff. By the time the band room was opened, the front bar was full of eager punters and opening act Dweller kicked off the night to a full room. Massive energy from their first song and on-stage spin kicks fuel a mosh that would prove to last the rest of the night.

Next up were local lads Deadskin. I saw them only a month ago when they supported Aviana and Earth Caller at The Corner Hotel. I’m seriously impressed with openers bringing so much energy to such a tiny stage, illuminated by what appear to be RGB party lights. People fucking lost their shit to a song called 'What do you count to fall asleep?' and gives me some major old-school Alpha Wolf vibes.

Alera is another local band I’ve not seen in almost 2 years - the last was at their first live show following the release of their EP Beware The Snake. (Review here) The tight 5 piece are still smashing their signature metalcore, and I noticed much of the crowd knew the words, even if they were hitting the very sticky floor. With the amount of energy the boys were bringing to this tiny stage, it was evident the 5 piece looked a little cramped up there.

After a short break, an ominous single guitar line is heard, accompanied by a string section in the backing tracks. Harroway open their set with 'Once More', off their new EP I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore. It’s a slow, grinding 5-minute song, and by far the heaviest shit we have been treated to tonight. The driving force behind this monstrous sound is Anthony Carnell’s Ibanez M8M, which he was kind enough to let me play with after the show. This guitar is the signature sound behind Marten Hagstrom and Fredrik Thordendal from Meshuggah.

The pace picks up as the guys launch into 'Impuse' and shirtless men with no regard for their surroundings proceeded to smash into each other like bags of meat in a wind tunnel as frontman Matthew Banks screams with precision. Harroway are relentless and the subtle backing tracks make this 4 piece sound much larger than they are. As they launch into 'Parasite' I can feel the carpet doing it’s best to hold everyone’s shoes to the ground to no avail.

Finishing off tonight's 7-track setlist with 'Burn It All', I walk away from this show a new fan of yet another amazing Aussie metalcore band.

Setlist

Once More
Impulse
Sleep
Final Letter
Origin
Parasite
Burn It All

Revisit our interview chatting Harroway with the mighty Matthew Banks right here.

Review & Photo Gallery by Clinton Hatfield. Insta: @ampd.agency.
Please credit Wall of Sound and Clinton Hatfield if you repost photos.

Alera

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Deadskin

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Dweller

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Harroway

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