The Amity Affliction – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 14th November @ John Cain Arena, Melb VIC

The Amity Affliction
John Cain Arena, Melbourne VIC
November 14, 2024
Supports: Ice Nine Kills, We Came As Romans and Heavensgate

Closing off the title with Melbourne, Victoria was an incredibly strange case for me, and was for sure a first location update in my Wall Of Sound records! Over the last week and a half, I found myself following The Amity Affliction’s tour through both Melbourne and Sydney, following a certain band on the lineup, in which my bias will only be supported and reflected through details of their incredible performance.

My travels ended in the much larger than expected John Cain Arena, surrounding a precinct of energetic fans and tents anticipating lines for following shows to come within the week- there is a culture of music that runs through this tennis adjacent area’s veins. For the first time, also being surrounded by the rest of the Wall Of Sound Team littered through seats in the arena, there was a personal sense of grandiosity and community for the event to come.

Opening the stacked four-band lineup was the ever-ethereal Heavensgate. Filled with a solace conjured by their own musical entity, and a divine confidence that radiates from their deep drums and penetrating screams, they were nothing short of a stellar addition to this lineup. More so, as the only homegrown addition, the band had much to prove, maintaining our reputation as one of the best creators and exports of heavy music. Heavensgate were certainly not fed to the sharks, but joined as a fearsome circling predator instead- they belonged on this lineup. While stages and production so large may find themselves slightly foreign to them, there was something so holy about seeing the band dominate the stage and theatrics of somewhere like John Cain Arena. As lead singer Nazareth Tharratt’s body became enveloped in crisp white lighting, his silhouette became one of a Goliath, overpowering the stage through his stature and equally as ferocious, roaring screams (even with a gnarly throat infection). The group also found their footing in hometown Melbourne, possessing the crowd with brutality for the most active pits I had seen for their sets within the three shows. Despite some shaky beginnings, Heavensgate were awe-inspiring by their final song with a palpable sense of emotion, profoundness, and self-backed confidence that left no questions unanswered. As we likely travel back to the small rooms with these guys, no one there will forget the impact they had on these stages- and their growth will not be stunted anytime soon.

Descending upon the already sweaty stage was the first of the international acts, We Came As Romans! Without a note being played, the legacy of the Michigan outfit was traced through every corner of the room, with a call to arms landing right in the centre. As the opening riff to ‘Darkbloom’ was released into the atmosphere, the venue was already spinning, including an appearance from some bananas and gladiators. Fans young and old gathered in this celebration of sound, creating a soothing wind that juxtaposed the heavy, thick, human-scented fog in the air. If there is one thing to note about a WCAR show, it is that it fosters friendliness, safety, and unity among those in the room. This feeling is intricate and finds itself flowing throughout their actual sound. The backbone of a WCAR song seems to be their use of call and response, meaning this night was an orchestra between David Stephens, and fans from the front to the back. It is not just the band’s performance, but a captivating expression by the whole room. We Came As Romans used every inch of that stage, with bassist Andy Glass covering the most ground with his tornado-like spinning… I was dizzy just looking at him. With some fun banter in between songs, it is also a staple for the band to pay homage to their late singer, Kyle Pavone. It is a warm feeling that despite their growth or new endeavours, the notion of legacy also rings throughout their own framework. Following a speech highlighting the importance of safe spaces within the scene, Stephens mentioned how metalcore is truly “alive and well in Australia” – a sentiment that was not merely solidified just a set before, but keeps me hopeful for the multitude of acts that continue to spill out of our shores. It is a notion that is internationally recognized! Although the crowd was already bustling, it seemed that ‘Lost In The Moment’ somehow rejuvenated an extra thousand fans, and saw the pit enlarge into one of wild savagery, yet with pure intentions oozing out! While I have never been one to claim myself as a WCAR fan, seeing them over three nights opened my eyes to their positive impact on the scene, and the connection their music so effortlessly garners in both an online and in-person community. There was a purity to their heaviness and a lightness that exuded from happy, sweaty faces after the conclusion of their set.

Now… here is where I need a shock collar on in case I yap too much!

Without my own bias even beginning to penetrate this piece, from an outsider’s perspective, most unaware would gather that this tour was an Ice Nine Kills headliner. Ninety percent of the merch worn by attendees was doused in blood, or donned the imagery of fictional serial killers that slashed through silver screens within the 70s-90s. Those lining up since 6am did so with RIP VIP upgrades in hand, and littered the barricade with their passion throughout the night. Perhaps this is the spectacle that is created when a band makes their first return since 2019 with two impeccable albums and a Billboard charting single under their belt!

Within my travels, I saw this band from the barricade, from the most brutal depths of the pit, and even from the sky traveling over people’s heads, and I can safely say that there was not a bad position to watch their performance from. What Ice Nine Kills has a solid grasp on is the creation of the vibe of the evening. Before their Sydney appearance, the lights dimmed, and a run of scores ranging from Friday the 13th to A Nightmare on Elm Street began to ring throughout the venue. In Melbourne, this was shortened but still reciprocated as Nick Cave‘s gnarly ‘Red Right Hand’ snuck up on patrons and Scream fans alike. As body bags were wheeled onto the stage, it became recognizable that to come was not merely a set, but a full-scale production of horror, gore, and guts. As fog machines engulfed those in the front row, and crimson red lighting introduced us to Raccoon City, zombies threatened the safety of the patrons in the venue. It was now Ice Nine Kills’ turn to tell the story about the world they had so graciously built. Ranging from little camper shorts in Sydney, to suits in Melbourne, the outfit comes out uniform and sharp, with each rip and blood splatter meticulously placed.

Ice Nines Kills are one of those bands that cops a lot of flack online. Whether it be for their overt theatrics, or just being at the wrath of Twitter’s most famous metalcore boys- it really skews your perception of how the crowd will respond. Yet, on both Sydney Night One and Melbourne, I found them to have some of the largest and most brutal pits of the night, and getting a warm introduction from the sweatiest, most muscly men who had somehow already lost their shirts in the warm-up! I guess you really shouldn’t believe what you read!

Vocally and instrumentally, the band were nothing short of extravagant and true to recording, but in Melbourne, I found frontman Spencer Charnas was really pulling out all the stops in terms of vocal runs and flair. Despite throwing axes, lugging chainsaws, and creating a story through movement, the band never appears inhibited through their dual duties, but presents them as having a dichotomous and symbiotic relationship. There was a gruesome aura that leaked from videos between sets that saw familiar fans picking up on small puns and moments of the band’s history, and there was also enough blood and guts to keep the average Joe locked in. But it wasn’t all scary. There were goofy moments like the ‘Walking On Sunshine’ cover that saw everyone’s aggressive faces turn into a smile, and then a laugh when a giant weapon-wielding sun came out. Perhaps the pinnacle moment of the night was within the performance of ‘Hip To Be Scared’ a track that incorporates both American Psycho and the musical brains of Huey Lewis and the News. Letting the crowd ask the time old question of “Do you like Ice Nine Kills?”, not a soul was seen silent for the dismissive “Not Really”! Just moments before delving into more carnage and axe splatters, it was hilarious to watch the crowd rip the pit open whilst perfectly reciting quite a humorous dialogue.

Most recent to the band’s success is the single ‘A Work Of Art’, a track incorporated heavily into the Terrifier franchise (and did you know we hosted a screening with the band earlier in the week?). During this song, Ice Nine Kills plays the music video section where Art The Clown extracts the child from the bearing woman, with screams and squelches bringing some to gags. At the Sydney show, it was enough to make the four security guards in front of me take a seat with jaws on the floor, then turn and question “what the FUCK is going on”. But alas, it only gets worse as Art gets on stage and swings a baby like a lasso with its umbilical cord. It was truly a sight to behold. Through a mix of theatrics, stage actors, and props, Ice Nine Kills pose themselves as a hypnotizing entity, with even those on shift becoming spellbound by their ethos and story. But despite these things, I hold a strong belief that the band’s passion for entertaining is enough to see them occupy the same space in patrons’ minds. There is an energy that permeates throughout every member, and it’s a convincing one too. They are not merely there to play, but to pay homage to classics, articulate timeless stories, and show off a passion that has become (most of the member’s) bread and butter. Australia is in need of an Ice Nine Kills headliner soon, and the demand is certainly there!

As many bodies left the barricade, and traded places with those older in the scene, the shift swaps began for Amity. The stage setup for Amity’s headline was truly quite beautiful; two-tiered, the decoration swapped between visuals that paid homage to their redux album, and real-time footage of the fans. Accompanied by high-quality screens on each side of the stage focused on showing off the band, it was clear they longed to be seen by ALL in the venue. To a roaring crowd, the Queensland locals assumed their positions to celebrate Let The Ocean Take Me. The structure of the tour and the playing of this album in full saw no time for the crowd to warm up, with one of the band’s most popular songs, ‘Pittsburgh’, initiating the chaos for the night. Without a second to spare, bodies flung into the air and crawled their way over a sea of heads, inching as close as they could to frontman Joel Birch as he strutted to the left and the right of the stage.

The performance of Let The Ocean Take Me was largely uninterrupted, running through songs with little to no dialogue, I suppose allowing for the weight of some of the lesser performed songs to really hit with old and new fans alike. And that was something endearing to see. As I made my way around the floor, it was within the back sections, with people sporadically placed either in their little groups, or by themselves, that I saw the most joy. People who looked like the album was released in their most pivotal years, and now seeing it in a refreshed and revitalized time of their life. There was an emotion in their face that was heartwarming to look at as not just a fan of The Amity Affliction, but as a fan of the power of music.

However, this craving for the beauty of the past and the power of nostalgia was left unattainable in some areas- mostly that of the ethics of the performance. The band themselves lacked any interaction with each other, and there seemed to be a visible tension between the left and the right side of the stage that is just so untrue to any other Amity show I’ve attended. With some new additions on this tour, like Ocean Grove’s Sam Bassal on drums, I think there was some hope that together, there would be some attempt at unification on stage. Both Joel and Ahren Stringer, to me, vocally put their best feet forward and I suppose focused on the job at hand that needed to be done without need for regulation.

The most emotional part of the night made itself known during ‘Give It All’. It is truly a beautiful song, and its large intertwinement of anthemic, chorus-like chants gave the crowd ample time to repeat and resonate. As an album closer, it has always been one of my favorites, and this is no different live. As the final note rang out, TAA played a montage of the past 10 years of the band, displaying the friendship and memories that have been cultivated through the strenuous journey. It was a bittersweet watch.

With a small thanks to the album we were here to celebrate, the band moved on to a second set and encore made up of some of their biggest hits. ‘I See Dead People’ was a massive standout, with Ahren’s grimy and grotesque vocals making your body squirm- it was a gross (but in a good way) display of his unique vocal talents. Melbourne too got a treat with INK’s Spencer Charnas joining for ‘Drag The Lake’, ending with a beautiful display of comradery between the frontmen. The night then came to its culmination with a powerful performance of ‘Soak Me In Bleach’. Testing some of the older patrons’ knees, the band instructed everyone to get down before the last chorus, and to spring up after a countdown. As bodies bounced, confetti flew through the air, coloured in a pale blue that reflected the oceans and waters that are so prevalently referenced in Let The Ocean Take Me. It was a sweet moment of shared energy as even those in the seated areas moved around.

Whether a new chapter begins for the band, or if the end soon approaches, this set was a celebration of the music that has soundtracked so many people’s lives. But that also leans into a counterpoint- it remains a celebration of the music, not the band. There are many that can attest that this was a different Amity Affliction, including our bossman Browny; who shared his own personal thoughts below.

I’ve been an avid fan of The Amity Affliction since the Severed Ties era (‘Jesse Intense‘ FTFW), which was one of my gateway albums into the metalcore scene back in the day. I’ve personally witnessed an uncountable number of Amity shows over the years, including small gigs at Gold Coast Football clubhouses, Brisbane’s Rosie’s/Thriller (playing to 20-50 people), through to Aussie festivals slots and a headline show in New York, plus last year at Download Festival UK. I’ve seen this band through good times and bad (and the countless lineup changes that came with the progress) and was especially excited to catch them at their biggest show on Australian soil at John Cain. The sound was intense and the crowd was in the palm of their hands, but something felt off. The lack of crowd interactions was the first indication. Despite being a headliner, the only words really muttered were to entice the crowd for cheers, or to signal ‘We don’t have much time together’. It felt like they couldn’t wait to get off the stage and away from each other. We know there’s internal issues going on with the band, which isn’t uncommon for a group that’s been touring as extensively as TAA have over the past 20 years, but that lack of interaction made it feel less personal. The LTOTM (Redux) setlist from start to finish was a nice touch, but less backing tracks could have made the experience a bit more wholesome.

With Ahren Stringer taking a breather from The Amity Affliction‘s international touring schedule next year, I wouldn’t be surprised of the band took a hiatus to regroup, and reconfigure their future – and would encourage everyone to be understanding and supportive if that happens.

It’s not easy being a musician, especially when you’re taken advantage of during your early years as TAA explained upon the release of their new redux record (revisit our feature editorial here), but I’ve first-hand witnessed bands bounce back from hardship and continue to dominate on a bigger and better path than their previous outings. I’ll always love Amity, but I hope they can sort their indifferences out and return with an enraging fire in their bellies.

Review by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002 and Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul

Setlist

Let The Ocean Take Me (Redux)

Pittsburgh
Lost & Fading
Don’t Lean on Me
The Weigh Down
Never Alone
Death’s Hand
F.M.L.
My Father’s Son
Forest Fire
Give It All

Set 2:

I See Dead People
Drag the Lake (with Spencer Charnas)
All My Friends Are Dead
Like Love
Open Letter

Encore:

It’s Hell Down Here
Soak Me in Bleach

Photo Gallery by Adam Portelli. Insta: @adam.ellia
Please credit Wall of Sound and Adam Portelli if you repost.