[Gig Review]: DAYSEND + Supports, ‘Revisiting Severance’ @ Leadbeater Hotel, Melbourne (AU) 07.02.26.
[Gig Reviews] A monster gig deserves a monster review! See within for our coverage of Daysend’s ‘Revisiting Severance’ 2026 Australian tour on the Melbourne leg @ Leadbeater Hotel, Sat 7th Feb, with supports Emperor Moth, HOOF & Hybrid Nightmares. With thanks to Richie Black Photography and Your Mate Bookings!
[Gig Review]: ABBATH DOOM OCCULTA ‘Return to The Raven Realms’ Tour, 30.01.26 @ Croxton Bandroom, Melb (AU).
[Gig Review] Abbath Doom Occulta ‘Return To The Raven Realms’ Tour, with supports Werewolves (AU) and Bastardizer (AU). Fly high on Blashrykh’s blessed black wings and soar through this infernal review of Abbath’s headliner set @ Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne from the 30th Jan - brought to you by evocative writer Dean Underhill, fantastic lensman Richie Black Photography and metal-touring heroes SWD Presents!
[Gig Review]: SWALLOW THE SUN (FIN) & Supports, 25.01.26 @ Corner Hotel, Richmond (AU).
[Gig Reviews] Finland’s Swallow the Sun introduce their iconic and unique melodic death-doom brand to Australian shores for the first time. For full review of the Melbourne leg @ Corner Hotel, Richmond on 25th Jan, inc. supports Neomantra, The Eternal and Mammon’s Throne plus artist/media links, read on.
[Gig Review]: BATUSHKA (POL) Feat. GERM (AU) @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne (AU), 16.01.2026.
[Gig Reviews] - Batushka with Support Germ @ Corner Hotel, Richmond, Melbourne (AU), Fri 16th January 2026.
[Gig Review] ONSLAUGHT (UK) ‘Power From Hell: 40th Anniversary Tour’ @ The Corner, Melb (AU) 22.11.25.
[Gig Review] If Judas Priest are British steel, then Bristol’s Onslaught are goddamn British polonium. Check out our review of their absolute destruction of Corner Hotel in Melbourne on Sat 22nd Nov.
[Gig Review] POSSESSED ‘Seven Churches’ 40th Anniversary Tour, Melbourne (AU), 31.10.2025.
[Gig Reviews]: Who needs candy when your Halloween involves the first ever Australian tour from the death metal godfathers themselves in Possessed? Furthermore, who’s got food on the brain whilst copping the 40th anniversary of genre-progenitor album Seven Churches, backed by none other than locals In Malice’s Wake? Not us, and not the punters at Croxton Bandroom. Read on for the full gig review!
[GIG REVIEW] THE GHOST INSIDE, BLEED FROM WITHIN + DAY OF CONTEMPT@ THE FORUM MELBOURNE (AU), 23.10.25.
US metalcore titans The Ghost Inside appeared as a solid and welcome apparition to an elated Melbourne Audience, with solid supports from Bleed from Within and Day of Contempt.
[Gig Review] STONED JESUS ‘XV Anniversary & Australian Debut Tour’ Richmond (Melb, AU) 04.10.25.
[Gig Review] Ukrainian stoner/psych rock legends Stoned Jesus surpassed all expectations with a brilliant performance at The Leadbeater Hotel in Richmond, Melbourne (AUS) alongside equally competent supports Emergency Rule (SA, AU) & Oceanlord (VIC, AU)! Check the link for full review with images care of Richie Black Photography.
[Gig Review] EARTHLESS w/ STEPMOTHER & GRIM RHYTHM, Melbourne (AU) 13.09.25
Prepare for a psychedelic heavy journey into another realm, care of writer Hamza Siddiqi and Richie Black Photography and their coverage of Earthless’ headliner set last night with Stepmother and Grim Rhythm.
[Gallery] of Brewicide, VII: DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN/Ho99o9 @ Northcote Theatre, 13.08.25.
To commemorate a week (!!) since our coverage of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s firestorm set at Northcote Theatre, Melbourne last Wednesday, as well as that of fantastic industrial punk-hop act Ho99o9 - see within for our latest Gallery of Brewicide photo-gallery! Images courtesy of the talented Richie Black Photography.
[Gig Review] THE DILLINGER Escape Plan @ Northcote Theatre Melbourne (AU), 13.08.25.
[Gig Reviews]: Truly a special blessing and an honour for Inner-Strength Check! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was joined on Wednesday, 13th August to witness The Dillinger Escape Plan’s final Australian procession in Melbourne, with a Calculating Infinity-centric set helmed by original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis! TDEP were joined by fantastic hip-hop punk/electro-heads Ho99o9 to make up one amazing evening!
[Gallery] of Brewicide VI: THE HIVES @ The Forum, Melb (AU), 20.07.25.
Now that’s a spicy Svenska meatball! Peep the link for our 6th iteration of the Gallery of Brewicide photography series. Massive thanks to photographer Kaza Black (IG: @kaza.black_photography), staff at Forum Melbourne & Frontier Touring and today’s stars The Hives! Links included for further visual and auditory enjoyment, too.
[GIG REVIEW] ATREYU + MEMPHIS MAY FIRE w/ FUTURE STATIC @ Northcote Theatre 12.07.25.
Atreyu, Memphis May Fire and Future Static played a sold out show to a satiated Melbourne crowd at Northcote Theatre.
[Gig Review] TESTAMENT w/ HIDDEN INTENT @ Northcote Theatre, Melb (AU), 21.06.25.
Eleven long, thrash-gig-filled years of our lives. And yet, Testament nonchalantly pop in from across the pond and, alongside local thrash-units Hidden Intent, completely lay waste to everyone since @ Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (AU) on Saturday, 21st June. Care of The Phoenix.au, Metropolis Touring NT staff, touring crew, and Richie Black Photography. Cheers.
[Gig Review] CHURCH OF CROW - DOOM FESTIVAL III @ Chiesa Di San Giuseppe (IT), 02.05.25 (Part II).
Featured Image: Dean. Well, we’re back on the second day of posting our doom-aficionado’s apex Italia journey into metal’s logical conclusion - a two-day festival in a regional Italian church! Featuring: Gli Alberi, Nero Kane, Dead Chasm, In Autumn, The Rite, Hands of Orlac, Epitaph & Abysmal Dawn. To quote the guy hung upside down for a long time in Life of Brian: “You lucky, lucky bastard!”.
[GIG REVIEW] CHURCH OF CROW - DOOM FESTIVAL III @ Chiesa Di San Giuseppe (IT), 02.05.25 (Part I).
(Featured Image credit: Ombeline Cannele). Man’s gone and done it again, tut-tut! ‘Least esteemed dooms-man Dean left it ‘til after his holiday to get this onto the desk. But, speaking of holidays, our bearded adventurer has wandered into a small church in Italy on his travels, where he experienced multiple days of doom-metal glory in an iconic, intimate setting. Yep, here’s Part 1 of his Church of the Crow Doom Metal Festival III coverage - we’ll have Part II out tomorrow!
[Gallery] of Brewicide V: ATHEIST + Supports @ Leadbeater Hotel, Melb (AU) 08.06.2025.
As if one gig review stacked with enough quality snaps from Atheist’s performance on Sun 8th June was enough. Nor some great shots of supports Anoxia, Vexation and Alarum. Hell no, man. Not when we’ve got talented band/crowd-snapper Jason Vidic of Vidic Images on the case! See within for additional crisp snaps from a truly chaotic, mind-bending evening. Plus artist links and more!
[Gig Review] ATHEIST + Supports, Leadbeater Hotel (Melb, AU), 08.06.25.
How many words/which words can be used to describe a night of musical perfection? A night 35+ years in the making, featuring one of the most important and influential bands in extreme metal via Atheist? Supported by Australian death-metal legends Alarum, Vexation and Anoxia?! No idea, but for the best-guess attempt & some stellar images by Jason Vidic (of Vidic Images), check out our gig review.
[Gig Review] ALPHA WOLF (AUS) /MALEVOLENCE (UK), The Wool Exchange (Geelong, AU) 29.05.2025.
I was NOT expecting many, many things when I took on a regional show from destroyalllines to write up Alpha Wolf’s blitzkrieg-tour of Australia alongside beloved UK ‘core-titans Malevolence. Supported by no less than two knockouts in Zuko and Melting. A gig so fun, frenetic, manic, loveable and earnest that I went pretty damn hard in that direction, too.
[Podcast] [Interview] with CHRIS & DAIF of STALKER (NZ) + Brutefest 2025 Photo Gallery!
DUDE. This post right here is absolutely STACKED! I was fortunate enough to finally wrangle an interview with legends Daif and Chris from New Zealand legendary speed-metal maniacs, Stalker! Check the link not only for the full video/audio-only interview (a very, very fun and heartfelt chat from these Kiwi legends) but also a whole bunch of additional Brutefest 2025 photo/footage alongside those posted for our recent review of said gig.