Pix by Sarah Gilpin
Words by Everyone
Have you ever had one of those weeks where your own mind seems to be Speaking in Tongues, and you just need to fuck off up to a cabin in the mountains and shut down from the entire world? No? Well, that’s how my week ended up, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I then got cut off from the real world (which I was meant to be escaping from) and was unable to get to this very gig that I had been so looking forward to. A night of sludge, doom and death, is what it was being sold as featuring Resin Tomb, The Black Swamp, Sohnelm, Flail and Cerberus – is what it was being sold as – but my night just ended up with a fuck tonne of rain, a flooded bridge and a sketchy as fuck drive up and down Springbrook mountain in the dark of night.
Luckily though, our very own Sarah Gilpin was there to take some snaps, and some other friends of mine, and fans of the local scene, and surprisingly even the bands themselves were there to check out the show and were able to give me some quick quotes about their night. So, here it all is …
CERBERUS
“The crowd looked a little thin on to start with, but by the time the first band was ready there was a fairly decent crowd. First up were Cerberus, a 3-piece band from Northern Rivers. These young guys have a bit of a Black Sabbath vibe which is really cool … the singer said they put pop into death, doom and sludge, which made everyone laugh. Just a really cool band.” – Desleigh Bycroft
“The rain didn’t hold the punters off from supporting the bands, but earlier on it was hard to pick who was a band member or a punter. So, the night started to roll on and there were more punters turning up to fill the space of the dance floor. Cerberus, a 3-piece band, sounded good and some of their tones & riffs sounded familiar to big artist songs but blended in well with their own sound.” – Sarah Gilpin
FLAIL
“A quick break and it was time for Flail, another 3-piece that hails from Brisbane. Great harsh vocal mixed in with their own brand of low, slow and dirty riffs.” – Desleigh Bycroft
“Flail were another 3-piece band with heavier music was mostly instruments playing with a few words mixed in between with much more roar in the vocals.” – Sarah Gilpin
SOHNELM
“Rad night. Sohnelm ruled” – Rick Trewavas
“Sohnelm had a mix of members from Gold Coast and Sydney. A hard name to read through the cool font but “wtf does it say” was the question we were asked, and I was fucked if I knew, “so I can’t read it either” was my answer. Anyway, this band was getting into the heavier side of what sounded like new wave of British Heavy Metal with a European flavour. The riffage was thick and heavy, and the great vocals mixed with a heavy, solid sound had the crowd loving every minute.” – Desleigh Bycroft
“I had no idea Chris Dennis (Azreal & Veal) was in Sohnelm, but they were fucking fantastic. They had the sludgy groove feels that just drag you in. It was so good that I grabbed a shirt and a 7-inch vinyl, as well as managing to grab the set list”. – Darren Somerville
“Sohnelm were a 4-piece band with good tunes. They were a bit easier to listen to and had some groove too, that I was up for.” – Sarah Gilpin
THE BLACK SWAMP
“We loved The Black Swamp. Funny, I recognised two of the members from Hammers and asked where is the rest of the band? The reply was Ricky (Trewavas) was about to hit the stage with The Black Swamp. They mentioned he was filling in on bass for the night.” – Sarah Gilpin
“The Black Swamp were the standouts for me, and this band was my favourite of the night! They had Rick Trewavas from Hammers filling in on bass for the night. Low and heavy 70’s tones with a modern vibe and chunky riffage. I loved everything about this band’s style and songs. Their use of Orange and Marshall amplification and the thick riffage summed up the name of the band … it was indeed a black swamp, and I loved it.” – Desleigh Bycroft
RESIN TOMB
“Finally, it was time for RESIN TOMB… death metal from Brisbane. I have seen this band a few times, and they have a good following. They have their own style of grimy, sludgy death and dissonant riffage, overplayed with harsh vocals, and the black clad metal crowd fucking loved it!” – Desleigh Bycroft
“You can’t miss the singer of Resin Tomb, he’s tall and his tattoos on his legs stand out. I remember taking his photos at Necrosonic Festival and can always remember a way a person stands while capturing them from a photo. You could see the energy and the long hair thrashing for this heavier type of band. They asked the punters to come and move in closer to the front as they graced the stage. I could pick when the singer was about to pounce into a jump, so I tried to capture one of the two he did in the first three songs. Then retreated to the back and just watched the punters, head banging along to the band.” – Sarah Gilpin
The Wrap-Up
“This was a great line up that didn’t disappoint, and I’d definitely see any of these bands again.” – Desleigh Bycroft
“We had a blast jamming with old friends and new. Thanks to all the bands, crew and everyone who came out. Let’s do it again soon.” – Sohnelm
“Who says that you actually need to go to a show to review it, just get the other punters to do it for you. It sounds like they all had a blast, and thanks to them, I didn’t even need to get off my lazy ass … although I really actually wanted to” – Jimmy Glinster
