HANZEL UND GRETYL w/ Our Last Enemy and Mz Ann Thropik

The 14th of November was a night when an aesthetic of the debauched, the bleeding, the pale, and the ominous – indeed the night children - crawled out of Sydney’s woodwork. And where does this night breed go? Why, to see Hanzel Und Gretyl of course!

After countless releases and shows, Hanzel Und Gretyl finally embarked on a World Fukken Tour! Bringing their industrial death party to fans from London to Russia to Germany and for the first time, tearing up our distant shores! Having formed over fifteen-years ago, it was indeed about time that Australian industrial heads got to see and experience fukken boot stomping from the wild threesome. Playing their first Australian date, Hanzel Und Gretyl tore up The Bald Faced Stag with support from Sydney’s Mz Ann Thropik and Our Last Enemy.

Unfortunately missing most of the set for Mz Ann Thropik, for reasons this writer will not delve into, what I did see was good. Playing alt. punk, Mz Ann Thropik was an energetic set, with catchy songs that truly captivated the fans standing at the front of the stage, thrashing their heads, and clearly having a blast. The quartet is rounded off by a dominant and vigorous front woman MZZY, who not only looks good on stage, but truly underlines the music with her vocals and stage presence.

Observing still a relatively small crowd, notwithstanding it is too often the fact that support bands receive a small attendance in comparison to the headliners; I was quite surprised that more of a mass didn’t turn up during the change over. Another sound check finished, and Our Last Enemy were ready for the stage.

Having recently supported The Amenta, and only a few nights before destroying the Metro Theatre with Static – X, Our Last Enemy are definitely on a rise, and rightly so; their music and stage antics are categorically worth a listen and view! Playing industrial metal, the quintet received an awesome reaction from a crowd that undoubtedly contained their fans. Thrashing locks, tight, pounding rhythms and riffs came along with Jake’s broken guitar. Grabbing a substitute with thanks to another band I imagine, Our Last Enemy continued their metal assault, only to be interrupted minutes later with Jeff’s announcement that he needed another snare. Whilst waiting for the instrument difficulties to ease, this void was filled with ambience on behalf of keyboardist John.

Every time I have seen the quintet I observe the immense energy they possess, and a consistently good sound. Their changing patterns are always executed with great skill, along with tight vocals, blasts and melodic lines. Their stage presence was indeed powerful, with each member undeniably engaged within their music and performance. Finishing their set, Our Last Enemy received a fantastic reaction from the crowd, who were now ready to see Hanzel Und Gretyl!

After years of waiting, the time had indeed come for Australian fans to peel their eyes and lend their ears to America’s industrial metal outfit Hanzel Und Gretyl. Coming from the Big Apple, the three-piece spent their first day down under in Sydney, playing to a crowd hungry for the live experience of a Fukken Uber Death Party!

From the moment Hanzel Und Gretyl stomped the stage, the audience knew that they were witnessing something special. With lead fukkter KAIZER VON LOOPY possessing German insignia, this third of the band looked like an awkward German school boy, however his stage presence was anything but discomfited! Sharing vocals with the beautiful, pink haired VAS KALLAS, who is also on bass duties, the outfit was rounded off by drummer JORDAN MARCHINI.

From their opening notes the crowd began to dance to their spin on industrial metal, and not surprisingly the heaviness of their music translates live. With huge dominance from both Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas, who possesses an overwhelmingly strong pair of lungs, they constantly engaged the crowd, and proceeded to ask for uber fukken boots to be thrown up from the audience which were then used as drinking items on behalf of the Kaizer.

Hanzel Und Gretyl’s German influences are hard to miss; the language, the insignia, and imagery even the script side of their music is all undeniably infused with German culture. It is interesting to point out that both Kaizer and Vas are natives of New York. In continuation of the German theme, old national hymns were let loose to fill void between some of the hardest-hitting and indeed catchiest anthems heard in their genre.

Hanzel Und Gretyl were spawned by Vas Kallas and Loopy out of New York’s industrial crawl space in 1993 and from then on their thunderous attack, punctuated by synthetic blasts and psychotic striking has stomped the world over, hand-in-hand with tongue-in-cheek content that is difficult to ignore. Their humorous, yet dominant stage presence also shows their humility and awe, as Vas drank her beer in cheers to their audience, with comments of disbelief that they were finally in Australia.

By the time their last song came around, the crowd was still very much into the metal attack before them. Thrashing locks, dancing, jumping and arms flaying could be seen from the back of the venue. Their huge energy was definitely mirrored by an audience who waited far too long to finally witness Hanzel Und Gretyl in all of their herrlichkeit. Pulling up a myriad of punters upon the stage for their final blasts, Hanzel Und Gretyl definitely delivered a thunderous, synthetic machine that roared without interruption from beginning to end, and received an awesome reception from maniacal fans leading them onto the rest of Australia!