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Cryptopsy, Whoretopsy, I Valiance and Wretch
Newtown Social Club
Friday, 2nd September 2016
Review by Greg Smith
Photos by Rod Hunt
Kicking off this evening’s cultural event, Canberra grindcore outfit Wretch. They treated the early arrivals with tracks from their EP’s “Tirades and Because You’re Worthless”, including Far Beyond Drivel, Iceman, and Touched By An Angle-Grinder. Frontman Benji delivered most of his vocals from the pit, and the relatively small crowd got into it. Set highlights were Kill Me Maybe and PRBD.
Next up, Melbourne five-piece I, Valiance. Unearthed by Triple J in 2015, these guys have managed to build quite a reputation in a short period of time. With influences from many different artists, it is difficult to classify them into one particular genre, but one thing is for certain….they are HEAVY! The band played with high intensity, and vocalist Daniel Konstantinou’s guttural growls are up there with the best of them. Highlights were The Loneliest Soul and set closer The Pillars Of Movement.
With the room starting to fill up, Melbourne lads Whoretopsy took to the stage and tore us a new one with their home-grown style of death metal. Opening with Never Tear Us Apart, and High School Sweetheart, the crowd, was slowly getting into it. But, when vocalist Storma introduced Thirty Shades Of White, audience participation snowballed from a few people headbanging to a full-blown circle pit. The mayhem continued for the rest of the set, which included The Terrible Thirty Two’s, and Nature’s Pocket. The punters sent them on their way with plenty of raised fists and devil horns.
With the room now packed, and the crowd pumped, Montreal’s masters of madness, Cryptopsy announced their arrival with blistering opener, Crown Of Horns, followed by Back To The Worms, and Mutant Christ. The band put on a masterful display of technical death metal, and vocalist Matt McGachy is an absolute colossus on stage. New track Halothane Glow was a big highlight, along with Cold Hate Warm Blood, Detritus (The One They Kept), and the mosh pit during Phobophile was absolutely crazy.
The guys gave in to the audience’s cries for “one more song”, and closed the show with Slit Your Guts.
I think the sample intro from Detritus sums it up perfectly….. “very disturbing indeed”.
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