The New Dead Fest – Review 15th April @ Lion Arts Factory, Adel SA
The New Dead Fest
Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA
Saturday 15th April 2023
Support: Disentomb, Butcher ABC, Misery, Denouncement Pyre, Hexis, Altars, Alarum, Kilat, Flaming Wreckage, RUN, Black Lava, Battlegrave, Lumen AD Mortem, Vexation, Remission, Writhing, Ashen, Hell Machine, Bifurcation, Apocalyptic Annihilation and I Choose Violence
In 2006 Australia saw the end of both the magnificent Metal For The Brain Fest and the prized Prepare To Burn Fest. In 2014 we witnessed the demise of the brilliant Break The Ice Fest and on a grander scale the beloved Big Day Out; then arguably the most devastating departure of all came in 2015 with the conclusion of the sensational Soundwave Festival. It pains this writer to divulge this next detail, but compared to previous years, The New Dead Fest 2023 (number 12 for those head-banging away from home) faced difficulties that had the potential to cause The New Dead to follow the same execution of the aforementioned festivals, to simply become “dead”.
With a lineup that was assuredly astonishing featuring international outfits from Japan and Denmark as well as numerous brutish bands (some of momentous stature) from our own backyard - the possibility of the event perishing seemed impossible. However, as ancient Roman philosopher Seneca The Younger stated: “Time discovers truth” and as the bright autumn day quickly darkened upon entry into Lion Arts Factory for 12 hours of metallic mania, some would “find it so grim”, but for the heavy music fanatics this was "so true, so real”.
Local blackened death metalcore quintet I Choose Violence were presented with the honour to Blow Their Sirens as the opener and they weren’t wasting the opportunity at all. Featuring cuts from their Trial By Combat EP, ICV were "metalitant” in their delivery and vocalist Michael Boakes displayed a vocal disarray of war-cry nature. Keep your eyes and ears aware of these battlers.
Apocalyptic Annihilation followed with their blackened thrash formula praising the godfather of black metal Bathory with their fast-paced first-wave black metal sound. With influences of Hellhammer and earlier Darkthrone seeping through, the quartet (usually two-piece) blasted through tracks from their mini-album Necrothrash setting metaphorical fires to stage two. The question is: How long until this not-yet-pressed cassette becomes a sought out release on the Discogs website for obscene amounts of money?
Bifurcation brought their Job For A Cowboy adoration with Australian flavour back to the main stage and enforced the neck-dislocation antics from their onlookers. The five-piece’s brutal death metal elevated the darkened feistiness already present in the venue and ‘Easily Disposed’ was the cut to thank for that. The first interstate visitors in Hell Machine took the attention back to stage two to bolster the fires already set alight. Following the sound-scape delivered by the previous outfit to take to the smaller stage, the duo revamped the windmill effect from their observers featuring tracks: ‘Devil Spawn’ and the highlight ‘Hammer Of Hate’ which acknowledged the blasts of early Sodom but with a more extreme approach.
Perth’s Ashen brought the death metal element back to the festival and did so with a fantastically frightful flair. ‘Ritual’ hosted a marching stomp between whiplash frenzy, while ’Threshold’ called upon Malevolent Creation magnificently. Melbourne’s Writhing then altered this theme with some modern explorations that would have London’s Unfathomable Ruination conceivably spellbound - this is in fact what occurred in Lion Arts Factory, the audience was sensationally silenced in awe by the quartet. The four-piece’s Of Earth And Flesh is a very worthwhile addition to any enthusiast's collection.
Melodic death thrash outfit Remission brought a brighter energy with an almost surf vitality to the main stage. The gang vocals in ‘Hellfire’ and whirling solo incited the need to run and bounce, instead of being stationary pointing hand signal horns to the rooftop. A near-punk attitude is emitted by the four-piece, yet their aura is more akin to being the offspring of Revocation and Toxic Holocaust. Hopefully the four-year wait for LP number two is over soon.
Melbourne’s Vexation showcased an incredible amount of volume for a trio; the electricity of ‘Journey Beyond Mortality’ could have powered the entire venue itself. With a death thrash combination that Carnal Forge would not only appreciate, but may cause them to even ask the Victorians about the possibility of releasing a split EP together. The stormy spark these thunderous thrash bands brought to both stages was an inspiriting jolt and rigorously revered.
The atmosphere suddenly changed, a glorious gloom overtook the event as the frost-bitten evil black metal contingent Lumen Ad Mortem took to the main stage transforming the emanation to a primeval and animalistic eeriness. This was a ritual more than a performance; the sextet stamped their demeanour with theatrics of a grossly intimidating nature and it was mesmerising. Coated in ash coloured body paint, vocalist Gregor Pikl squawked and roared as if he had become a grotesque Griffin, threatening those witnessing this ceremony, who were consequently left subdued in awe. The group’s debut record Upon The Edge Of Darkness was understandably promoted in the setlist and realistically, in all likelihood it will not be long before Dark Mofo festival asks for the haunting presence of Lumen.
Melbourne’s Battlegrave welcomed “life” back into Lion Arts to a degree with their groove soaked thrash death concoction in the same methodology to how King Parrot liven up any metal party. ‘Pt II. The Flames That Lick Your Flesh’ set the smaller stage ablaze and the consistent circle pits provided the gasoline to keep the firestorm scorching. Havok may have ‘Covering Fire’, however, Battlegrave might require more than a covering to diminish their flame.
Remaining with the Victorian theme, Black Lava provided a more progressive offering to the blackened death genre along the lines of South Africa's Constellatia and Minnesota’s Amiensus. With thrasher parts included to keep the hair swingers circling, there was an undeniable prestige delivered in this entrancing production. The group’s LP Soul Furnace was celebrated throughout the half-an-hour showcasing, which was not quite enough time-wise; hopefully a return with a headline set can properly hypnotise and galvanise Adelaide preferably sooner than later.
The past few months Melbourne’s RUN have embraced their name and ignored what it is to be stationary. Touring and playing recently with the likes of Earth Caller, Darkest Hour, SUNDR as well as an appearance at Dark Mofo festival and releasing a double single; Lochlan Watt and his post-blackened metallic hardcore troupe are ascending to a must-see act. After his battle through cancer, Mr Watt has never been more excitedly enraged as a frontman. The smaller stage could not hold him as he leapt into the crowd to share his impassioned lyrics with the spectators who clutched onto his every word. ‘Everyone’s Cancelled, Everything’s Cancer’ was immense and the mostly inebriated crowd sing-along to the cover of Goo Goo Dolls ‘Iris’ was practically a necessity for the event. The quintet have just been announced as a tour support for Deafheaven, although this still feels like a step in the rise of RUN; watch this space.
Sydney’s Flaming Wrekage were next responsible for providing some “merrimetal" to the festival. It had assuredly been a heavy onslaught thus far, yet this quartet knew how to inject the “Fun” into this function. ‘Running Blind’ was an outright explosion and the four-piece were as athletic as they were aggressive. Furthermore, the title track to their 2021 album ‘Cathedral Of Bones’ when executed would have had Sweden’s Defleshed thrashed to their skeleton form, however they would still have danced along better than Jack Skellington. A re-ignition had undoubtedly taken place.
Karina Utomo needs no introduction - the former vocalist of indie punk outfit Young & Restless has cemented her spot as the shrieking wonder-woman of the metal world. High Tension, Rinuwat and Kilat are her projects and each of them are metallic monuments of the heavy music universe. Second wave encouraged black metal trio Kilat were the feature on this night and from the first slam of percussion, shred of guitar and screeched vocal exhibited - the full attention of Lion Arts was on stage two. Showcasing tracks from the three-piece’s debut full-length Rentai Penjinak, a majestic murkiness engulfed all nearby and the watchers were lost in outstanding obscurity. Ms Utomo stalked the stage like a panther pursuing her prey, while guitarist Benjamin Andrews and drummer Rama Parwata provided the intense storm to magnify the savage surroundings. For the 30 minutes, Kilat had, time did not have bearing and all were grateful for the transportation into a mystique of this nature.
To another dimension of the metal spectrum, Melbourne’s Alarum provided a soothing shelter in the design of progressive math-metal. The musicianship was enthralling and provided a glowing warmth from the storm that was just endured on the smaller stage and the literal rainfall outside. The production without doubt displayed a dynamism, after being a band for over 20 years, this is engrained in the three-piece beyond measure; gratefully that knowledge was accentuated masterfully on the main stage. This was a unique and rapturous alteration from what had been displayed and hopefully Alarum will carry on for years to come.
If Alarum provided shelter, then Adelaide via Melbourne extreme metal outfit Altars rained hellfire to destroy it - essentially this was vicious, ferocious and spellbinding. Having released their new album Ascetic Reflection last year, their first in nearly 10 years, the tracks devastatingly dazzled and it was bewildering. If Canada’s Chthe’ilist return to Australia for a tour, Altars are THE death metal mates to do it alongside with.
Denmark’s Hexis are a quartet who live for their art. Absolutely nothing jeopardises what they will administer once they are on-stage; they don’t only perform, they soar every time. Although the “wolf” terminology is used excessively in the metal genre, Hexis are pack hunters like the grey wolf. As if their very survival depends on how they transmit their blackened metallic hardcore, it feeds them and it leaves those who gaze upon the onslaught aghast and even frantic. Not too dissimilar to being hunted, the exhilarating expression was more a blur of intensity that felt like being ravaged by snarling bloodthirsty animals. Yet, off-stage the four-piece are as kind-hearted as “man’s best friend” is. Nevertheless, this was going to be a hard one to follow.
Denouncement Pyre were not in Adelaide to follow though, these Victorians were here to fascinate and their brand of blackened death metal would cause Abbath to recall his highlight years with Immortal. The ‘Pyre’s new LP Forever Burning could not have a more suiting title as it flawlessly epitomises what occurred at The New Dead festival, their portrayal is "Forever Burning" in the crowd’s mind. Their monstrous single 'The Liberating Fires of Moloch’ was a behemoth with deafening resonance. As highlighted lyrics state in this track: “Shining Bright” - that is what had transpired with this performance, it is shining bright in our memories, never to be extinguished.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut full-length A Necessary Evil, Queensland’s metal royalty Misery were going to reclaim their place in the OSDM kingdom and as expected, it was unforgettable. ‘Inverted Prophet’ and ‘Morbid Dreams’ were ghastly, but with immeasurable grandeur. Vocalist/bassist Damon Robinson growled grotesquely while holding his instrument upright like an axe about to swing. The brutal bonus however was the character of the band themselves - there is no denying Misery’s impact on the death metal world, but the “larrikanism” of true Australian disposition was flaunted exquisitely. Where the metal world can be a bit too grim at times, it is refreshing to include a mischievous component. Hell, there is the statement: “Devil-may-care”.
Continuing on this jovial attitude, Japan’s gore-grinders Butcher ABC were ready to escalate the party theme. How? Their stage backdrop was a gruesome “Happy Birthday” banner, their outfits were that of a Halloween-themed party, such as: Stained butchers aprons and most outstandingly the frontman/bassist’s gas mask with microphone inserted. With some understandable technical difficulties, the delay for the grindcore rave felt like a New Year’s countdown; then came the fireworks. Whether it was sweat, spilled beer or saliva (probably all), it was a drench-fest of metal merrymaking and The New Dead festival was rowdy for it. Have you seen Mad Max: Fury Road? Where there are metal musicians in the dystopian world playing in the car chases? Butcher ABC is the real version of that, but better and they are throwing the end of the world party night after night.
This scribe was informed that headliners Disentomb were literally feeling like caged lions at this point, ready to pounce. The Queenslanders were finally given their opportunity and they did not just pounce, they feasted leaving no victim alive in their death metal assault. Front-man Jordan James Phillip was essentially not human, he was barbaric; screeching, growling, commanding circle pits and ensuring every part of the Lion Arts stage was owned by himself and his pack. The bombardment of pummelling breakdowns moved the Earth, forcing the audience to move not for their existence, but more-so their ecstasy. ‘Vulture’s Descend’ was magnificently mutant and although its title may suggest otherwise, this is called “The New Dead Fest” for a reason. Disentomb ultimately lived up to their track ‘Collapsing Skies’ as this is to a degree, what they accomplished to the venue's ceiling.
Founder Jason North has announced that The New Dead Festival will carry on to the delight of many heavy metal enthusiasts in our fine nation (and even worldwide). Although this version did skate on very thin ice - so to those who are mutineers of the metal genre, especially in Australia, support these events as best you can, because we do not want to add to the list mentioned in this article’s introduction.
Coverage by Will Oakeshott. Insta: @teenwolfwill
