DEATH VOMIT w/ Elysian and Daemon Foetal Harvest

Arriving at the venue an hour early I was able to catch up with a few old friends and see how things are going, as time passed the bands started to slowly progress through the sound checks that they required to get on with the night.

It was close to about 9PM from what I could remember and the first band ELYSIAN, a melodic metal act from Melbourne, was the opener for the night. Elysian managed to pull a fair few numbers through the door - some from Sydney and others who traveled up from Melbourne to watch the show, and as happens, the crowd was your average support numbers.

They opened up with "Climb From Fear" and "Sense Offender" which immediately got the crowd cheering for them. After the first few songs you noticed a certain aura the band was showcasing and the atmosphere it was building for everyone in the room. However there was no noticeable head bangers, but you could see how everyone amongst the crowd was captured by the music and performance.

Vocalist Benny G had no problems proving his strong screaming vocals and from time to time in each song he would drop the mic and jump on a 2 piece percussion set and play along. As for the guitar work, Elysian were able to produce their own unique sound with head banging grooves and heart quenching solos. A good example of this was their last song of the set "Conquest" that gave a very epic feeling.

For me the highlight of this band was "The Machine". The vocal work sounded very demonic compared to their other songs, with the mixture of screams and growls. Fast paced from the word go - shredding riffs, polished off with a mixture of blast beats, double kicks and technically speaking, crazy solo sections on the lead guitar.

Next up was DEATH VOMIT, and after seeing them live they can only be described as a three piece armageddon sent from Indonesia to reign hell over Australia - which they showcased without any problems in Sydney.

I was outside having a drink when I heard DEATH VOMIT's opener track "Summon", and from there all you could hear was the sounds reminiscent to that of a machine gun playing on the drums. Drummer Roy Agus was blasting that fast it caught everyone's attention and for those who heard, it was a sight of wondering who and what the hell was playing!

Upon entering the venue DEATH VOMIT's first song came to an end, and looking around at the crowd, it was clear to see the "wow" look plastered on people’s faces from absolute sense of not knowing how to react to what they just witnessed. It was only after a few seconds from the ending of the first track that punters began to applaud and give a deserved welcome for this machine to Australia.

They moved on to "Transgression", and without hesitation the room erupted like a volcano! The blast beats pumping through the speakers were felt like thundering quakes on your chest and their lightning fast riffs from hell were accompanied with each member on stage head banging furiously, giving a professional and solid stage presence.

After the first few songs, their drummer experienced some minor difficulties with his drum kit - which delayed their set by good a 5 to 10 minutes - the singer quickly apologized before both guitarists had their back to the crowd leaving us all waiting for what was going to happen next.
The room was filled with silence, waiting, and after the necessary drum adjustments were made the vocalist Sofyan Hadi announced the next song in the most demonic growl possible, yelling "REDEMPTION"! From here, one could clearly see that the crowd was now starting to really get into DEATH VOMIT's show, with many a punter head banging to the furious force of brutality unfolding before us.

They continued to deliver a strong and solid performance playing songs such as "Murder", "Evil Rise", "Anthem To Hate" and "Criminally". It was clear to everyone the amount of technical work they put into each song through the notable key changes and further highlighting that they could play at whatever speed suited them without hesitation. The only negative point was the lack of solo work from guitarist Sofyan, with a bit more work on this small factor they would have been able to deliver a set of ultimate destruction.

Overall, the sound quality and performance of the band was amazing! What they delivered most of us didn't expect, and for myself, closing your eyes felt like you where in the room with Cannibal Corpse while listening to them play. For those who didn't come to the show - you truly missed out on amazing band!

The final blow of the night came from Wollongong death metal outfit DAEMON FOETAL HARVEST. If you haven't seen them live before then they are another band that you should definitely check out. No matter the size of the crowd or the venue DFH plays, they are always able to deliver a solid, technical and musical performance.

Opening up with "I Butchered Them All" and "Dead Before I Started", DFH managed to pull a small crowd from what was left of the night and of course, their own supporters were amidst the punters. Playing a crowd favourite - "Dumped Beneath the Mangroves" the death mettalers followed through with other tracks like "Riddled with Parasites", "Dismembered Buried Forgotten", "Abducted & Compacted" before ending the set with "Where It Dwells".

Having seen DFH several times myself, they have no problems in delivering a tight, professional and well sounding set. With music that contains such technical and complex work it translated into watching the band perform with both the guitarists and bassist looking at their fret board giving a lack of an energetic stage presence.

Each pronounced word and note that came from front man Craig's mouth portrayed a thundering god demanding his minions to carry out his wrath. Drummer Paul had no fault and played to the exact precision that was required and expected; you could hear and see this through each strike he was delivering to a drum or cymbal while kicking on those pedals at extreme speeds.
On the whole, I feel that DFH is a great band, and with some space for improvement on their stage presence they would be able to deliver an energetic and explosive death metal set.