A two-piece heavy thrash & groove machine aptly named Beast Machine take stage to the early Triffid crowd. By the heaviness of the sound, you would have been mistaken that there was a full band onstage, but it was in fact just a drummer and guitarist making all the right noise. The drums were furious, and the riffs were absolute carnage.
Initially, the crowd were a little stunned and stood back with a look of confusion on their faces. They very quickly figured out what was going on and shuffled down front to check the full-frontal assault. This is the sound you get when you cross a security guard with a schoolteacher, and I am not sure about the relevance of the above statement, but it works!
The side on view of the drum kit shows off Josh Paish‘s drum skills in full effect and the power in which he thumps the kit with. It is a wonder the kit does not collapse under the weight of his bulky arms. The band were joined by Jan Nicholas Blom from In-Cyde and The Silencio for a cover of Strength Beyond Strength by the legendary Pantera. It was a banging cover, and the crowd absolutely loved it.
These Four Walls hit the stage next with their brand of heavy melodic rock, which is a bit off-brand from the heavy feels of Beast Machine and the upcoming headliners, Ill Nino. The crowd was accepting though, and the tunes were just heavy enough to get them all interested. And to eventually get them to bang their heads. Vocal harmonies rang out through every chorus, which seems to be this band’s signature sound. Their guitar tones were amazing and would make most “metal” guitarists envious due to their crunch and clarity.
The band took a moment to let the crowd know that they were a late addition to the lineup after the original co-headliners, Adema, dropped out due to an illness in the band. Frontman Steve also took the time to tell everyone that back in his day, back home in New Zealand, they only had 4 TV channels that all shut off at midnight and then just played music. He then used to wait up until 2am just to hear the band that he was now supporting, the mighty Ill Nino.
A very solid crowd awaited at the front of the stage when a voice came over the PA to tell the crowd they needed to make some noise before Ill Nino took the stage. Shortly after those infamous three flashes of the torch shot from the side of the stage, the room blacked out. What happened next was an interesting turn of events as some kind of Latin pop music played which was maybe Shakira or J-Lo?
Once that silly nonsense was turned down, an intro track featuring thumping tribal drums took over, and the band’s shadows entered the stage. Frontman Tommy Roulette asked the crowd to make some noise and then asked them again to make some FUCKING noise. They obliged with a massive scream three times the volume of their initial attempt, and the band launched into Still Hate Me.
They then very quickly smashed out This is War with only another “make some fucking noise” in between the short song break. This Times Real, I Am Loco and Te Amo I Hate followed before the band launched into crowd favourite What Comes Around.
Tommy took a moment to let the crowd know that the tribal percussionist onstage was joining them on this tour for the first time in 22 years. A tribal drum jam with Dave Chavarri followed with Tommy on additional drums. Cleansing and God Save Us followed the epic drum jam, and the band delivered a Nu Metal mashup, which also included some Twisted Sister and Slayer.
The whole band were then introduced one by one, including Tommy, who we were told came from a band called Jynx. Drummer Dave Chavarri then took the mic to thank his Australian Newman family-in-law, who were all in attendance.
They smashed out What You Deserve and How You Can Live, and the night ended with a photo of the crowd and some more Latino music playing to settle the rowdy crowd back down. If not just for the nostalgia, this was a killer night of heavy tunes!
