DREADNAUGHT LIVE IN SYDNEY

Dreadnaught, Switchblade, Be'lakor, Darker Half, From Winter's Grace
August 8, 2009
Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt


When veteran campaigners Dreadnaught announced a Sydney date with a bunch of staunch up n' comers, it was time to once again come out of gig-going hibernation and try to find a parking space in Leichhardt on a Saturday evening to catch a show that held the promise of awesomeness. By the time I arrived, From Winter's Grace had already played and the room was full and vibing greatly to the melodic strains of Darker Half. Tonight was the first time I'd seen them since their early days when they really weren't very good so the change I noticed was stark, if not unexpected considering only one guy is left in the band from back then. While it was new guitarist Brad Dickson's first show with them tonight, the rest of Darker Half have spent much of the year touring and becoming a lean, mean metal machine in the process. Their slick trad/power sound struck the right chord with the crowd which was quite large and eager considering how early it still was.

Melbourne's Be'lakor have been getting all kinds of wraps for their dark noise and tonight was the proof as to why. These days the term "melodic death metal" conjures up images of Swedish metal-gone-lame acts like Soilwork and In Flames and their myriad of clones, but these guys who were scarcely out of nappies when The Red in the Sky is Ours came out go back to its roots and produce a dark, heavy and crushing style like early Dark Tranquillity crossed with the progressive meanderings of Opeth's Morningrise period. Be'lakor might not have moved around as much as the Darker Half lads, but they held the audience just the same with a tight set of great songs with real death metal vocals and not this raspy scream that masquerades as same so much lately. They really are something to check out.

Much like Darker Half, Switchblade has seen some line-ups come and go but it hasn't slowed them down. While Dreadnaught were the deserved headliners, it was no surprise this band drew the biggest crowd. These guys are arguably Sydney's most popular metal act at the moment, and I have never seen them play a bad show. This evening was no exception. On the back of several other high profile shows and a killer new album, Switchblade cut a swathe through the Bald Faced Stag crowd with a high-energy assault of aggressive groove and twin-guitar modern metal that highlighted the choicest cuts off both their albums. Andrew Najdek and Anthony Delvecchio make a formidable guitar partnering and Mat Picco nails everything behind the kit.

Dreadnaught has been under-appreciated in this city for too long, so the brilliant undercard meant they had a really decent crowd when they unleashed "Tattooed Tears". A few people may have left by then, but more fool them. With former bassist Squiz making a special appearance on behalf of an injured Ando tonight, the Naughties tore through their latest album in its entirety, omitting only the acoustic tracks and replacing them with a trilogy of earlier songs with the same level of venom as their newies. Just like the band to precede them, Dreadnaught are always awesome and explosive live, Greg Trull the angry, tortured front man, Richie and Damon trading melody lines and carving out catchy rock-inflected riffs while up the back drummer Racca rolls out the beats effortlessly. By the end of the set they had the crowd wanting more, and only finished up because Squiz "didn't know anymore songs" but they had rounded out the night with a devastating performance that may well have gotten though to the Sydney fans at last.

Dreadnaught set list:

• Tattooed Tears
• The Push
• Save Your Life
• Collapse
• More Than One Way
• Agony/Ecstasy
• Dead in the Dirt
• 10x the Pain
• Twist the Knife
• The Game
• The Gobbler
• Buried

SWITCHBLADE: Invictus Infinitum

Produced by Darren Jenkins
Released: April 25

Switchblade has followed up their superior 2005 debut in the best way possible: by surpassing it in every aspect. Invictus Infinitum is a triumph for this hard-working and determined band. With a mix by no less a name than Neil Kernon, who's worked with Nevermore and Nile, and a spectacular guest appearance by modern guitar god Jeff Loomis, this is a display of just how good an album from an underground, unsigned act can be. This was made by an independent Sydney band but looks and sounds like it came from the stables of Nuclear Blast or Century Media: cardboard slipcase, fancy stickering, brilliant artwork, deliriously good production and, most importantly of all, a killer bunch of songs.

They were a great band before, but Invictus Infinitum is a reflection of how Switchblade has matured since The End of All Once Known. Indeed, this is almost a completely different band from the one that recorded that album. Their sound is leaner and the musical direction more refined, the hooks and riffs more memorable. Losing nothing of their heaviness, the production also enhances the more melodic aspects. Two of these guys were in Infernal Method for a while, and one could be forgiven for thinking that they brought some elements from that band to this. Twin guitar harmonies abound among catchy death metal riffs that recall the likes of Arch Enemy or Dark Tranquillity.

From the opening notes of “Revelation”, Invictus Infinitum is nothing less than a celebration of visceral, modern metal: insidious melodies, thrash grooves and hook-ridden death metal riffing. Loomis rips the fretboard apart on his guest slot in "Reflective Curse", one of the stand-out tracks with an infectious, Gothenburg sound. “The Cancer Benign” and “Impure Design” are savage and the feverishly heavy closer "As the Sun Dies" is also one of the highlights, but there isn’t a single bad track to be found.

Switchblade has delivered again, bigger and better than before.

1. II
2. Revelation
3. Coil of the Serpent
4. The Cancer Benign
5. Solitary Existence
6. Reflective Curse
7. Impure Design
8. Lacerate
9. As the Sun Dies

Rating: 95%

SWITCHBLADE: The End of All Once Known

Released: 2005

Switchblade carves out an impressive modern death and thrash attack, one that is expertly encapsulated on this debut. The follow-up is due out anytime now, so before it surfaces, let's take a look at The End of All Once Known.

It never ceases to amaze me how heart-thumpingly good Australia's bands are and how well they compare with their better-known cousins offshore; this is yet another criminally-overlooked local band unleashing an album that would ritualistically slaughter some of the generic crap that the big European labels seem to sign up every couple of weeks. The End of All Once Known combines killer melodies with hook-ridden headbanging riffage, duck's-arse tight timekeeping and an enormous vocal onslaught. What Switchblade also displays here is an ability to blend an array of inspirations and styles rather than just sounding like one particularly influencing act. This gives them a somewhat original sound in a genre crowded with faceless clones.

On "Wings of Redemption" Switchblade takes on a melodic thash guise; elsewhere, such as with "Convulse" they show far more brutal tendencies but never does one aspect of the band's sound overshadow any of the others. This mix of ingredients made The End of All Once Known one of the better metal releases of 2005, so prepare for the new one because it should make this one look tame.

1. Declaration of Hatred
2. Wings of Redemption
3. Stabbing Machine
4. Convulse
5. Cataclysm
6. Dissect
7. Concrete
8. Tremors
9. Eradicate
10. Incineration

Rating: 90%