Story Of The Year are no strangers to Australia, having toured several times over their fifteen-year career. After a seven-year break in between albums, the St Louis rockers are back on our shores to blow us away with their ripping new album, 2017 release Wolves.
A small crowd of early arrivals gathered to check out local lads Inertia, who have been granted the opening support slot. An interesting blend of metal and post-hardcore, they delivered a tight set that gave the punters a taste of new EP Unlearn. The band has a strong rhythm section and a powerful vocalist, and tracks such as “All That I Know” and “Theist” sounded great. Set closer “The Design” was a real standout. A potent mix of fast and slow with aggressive vocals, it was the perfect selection to end on a high, and set the tone for what was to follow.
In between sets, the punters flowed in, and by the time Melbourne metalcore maniacs Void Of Vision hit the stage, the Metro was heaving. These guys have built a reputation for being an erratic, aggressive live band, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. Vocalist Jack Bergin did his best to get the crowd going, and even without a bass player, they managed to build a ferociously heavy sound. Guitarist James Mckendrick provided solid back up vocals, and the boys delivered a high-energy set laden with their trademark aggression. Standout tracks were “Grey Area”, “Ghost In The Machine”, and mosh-inducing closer “Fair Weather”.
I’m not sure if tonight’s show was officially sold out, but by the time Story Of The Year came on, you would have been hard-pressed to fit another person in the venue. Opening with the triple assault of “How Can We Go On”, “And The Hero Will Drown”, and “Bang Bang”, the whole place was rocking, the punters on the floor were moshing hard, and everyone in the joint was screaming the lyrics back at the band. The vibe of the whole show was amazing, with no let up from the band or the crowd for the entire duration.
Vocalist Dan Marsala was firing, with the clean vocals delivered impeccably, and the screams freaking awesome. He wasn’t alone though, with guitarist Ryan climbing on, and jumping off everything in sight….even throwing in the occasional backflip off one of the speakers….that’s right….fucking BACKFLIPS! Ryan even succumbed to the crowd calls for him to do a ‘shoey’ before the band launched into “Miracle”.
They didn’t just focus on the new material, with older tracks such as “Take Me Back” from 2005’s In The Wake Of Determination sending the crowd into a raucous rapture. Shit got a little crazy during “Our Time Is Now”, with Dan climbing onto the barrier, and then into the crowd, holding the mic out to punters in the pit, encouraging them to scream along with him. They also ripped out a little of Rage Against The Machine’s “Bullet In The Head”, which kept the mosh going.
“Praying For Rain” was delivered with a truckload of emotion, and after a short break, they closed the show with two blistering encores in “Is This My Fate? He Asked Them” and “Until The Day I Die”, which once again had the crowd singing their lungs out.
Tonight was the first time I’d seen Story Of The Year Live, and while I had an awareness of them, and have listened to some of their music, tonight they genuinely won me over. I knew that they had a reputation for being a great live band, and tonight they delivered in spades. Let’s hope there’s not another seven years in between albums…or tours!
Photos by Rob Ellis Photography
