Words and photo gallery by: Joshua Stroud
Special thank you to The Phoenix AU
Tuesday nights in Perth are not supposed to feel like this.
Outside, the city was dragging itself through another work week. Inside Magnet House, it felt like pure chaos from the moment doors opened. By the end of the night the venue was covered in sweat, security were working overtime at the barricade, and the crowd still somehow wanted more.
Of Mice & Men’s long awaited return to Perth brought one of the strongest heavy lineups the city has seen this year, with local favourites Patient Sixty-Seven opening the night before Japan’s Crystal Lake took the energy inside Magnet House to another level ahead of the Californian metalcore giants closing things out in explosive fashion.
And from the moment the first band hit the stage, there was no easing into it.
Patient Sixty-Seven walked into a room that was already packed far earlier than most opening slots ever see. Instead of people slowly filtering in, the front half of Magnet House was already filled out.
Bathed in dark blue lighting and smoke, the Perth band brought huge energy to the stage. Harsh vocals ripped through the venue while the band moved around with confidence that immediately grabbed the room. You could see people near the front singing along while others who clearly hadn’t seen the band before quickly got pulled into the set. For a local opener, this was a massive moment, and they absolutely made the most of it.
The energy was already building inside Magnet House but the second Crystal Lake took over things went to a whole new level. The Japanese metalcore outfit hit the stage with ridiculous intensity. The second their opening track kicked in, the entire room erupted into movement. The pit opened instantly, bodies crashed into each other from side to side, and the floor noticeably shook with the crowd jumping through every breakdown.
Crystal Lake’s live presence was relentless. The band barely slowed down for a second, feeding off the crowd while delivering crushing riffs and massive breakdowns that kept the room moving from start to finish. The pit barely slowed between songs, and security stayed busy catching the couple of crowd surfers coming over the barricade.
What made the performance hit even harder was how connected the band felt with the Perth crowd despite being thousands of kilometres from home. By the end of the set the entire room felt completely invested, and when they walked off stage the crowd reaction felt closer to a headline act than a support band.
Then the lights dropped…
A low tension built across the venue as silhouettes moved across the darkened stage before Of Mice & Men finally emerged to a deafening roar from the Perth crowd. Phones lifted into the air, people climbed onto shoulders near the back, and the first riff hit like a punch to the chest.
From there, the band never let the momentum fall away.
Opening with Another Miracle, Of Mice & Men wasted no time reminding Perth exactly why they’ve remained one of metalcore’s biggest live bands for more than a decade. Aaron Pauley sounded incredible live, shifting seamlessly between brutal screams and huge melodic cleans while Phil Manansala, Alan Ashby and Valentino Arteaga drove the set forward with pure energy.
Visually, the set looked incredible inside Magnet House. Deep red lighting washed across the stage for most of the night, giving the entire performance a darker and heavier atmosphere, while smoke rolled through the venue and backlights cut silhouettes through the haze behind the band. It matched the weight of the music perfectly and made the room feel even more intense once the heavier moments kicked in.
Songs like Would You Still Be There, Obsolete, Another You, and Back To Me triggered some of the loudest singalongs of the night, with the Perth crowd screaming every word back toward the stage.
Then came Bones Exposed. The reaction inside Magnet House instantly changed. The pit opened wider, more bodies started flying over the barricade, and the entire venue erupted again as the band tore into one of the heaviest moments of the night.
By this point the whole room was with them. Older songs had people screaming every word back while the newer material hit just as hard live. Even by the final few songs, with sweat pouring through the crowd and voices starting to give out, Magnet House was still screaming every word back like the night had only just started.
By the time the final moments of Second & Sebring rang out across the venue, the crowd looked exhausted but completely unwilling to let the night end. Perth has always had a strong connection with heavy music, but nights like this are a reminder of just how alive the scene still is. Three bands from completely different parts of the world walked into Magnet House and turned an ordinary Tuesday night into something unforgettable.
Patient Sixty-Seven proved exactly why more people should be paying attention to them. Crystal Lake pushed the crowd to breaking point. And Of Mice & Men delivered the kind of headline performance that leaves people walking out drenched in sweat, ears ringing and already hoping the band won’t leave it so long before returning to Australia again.
And for the very first show of the Australian tour, Of Mice & Men set the bar ridiculously high. If this was only the beginning, the rest of the country is in for an absolutely brutal run of shows.
A packed room, floor shaking breakdowns, blown out voices and a crowd that gave every single band everything they had.
Exactly what a heavy show should feel like.
GALLERY
OF MICE & MEN
PATIENT SIXY-SEVEN
CRYSTAL LAKE
