HARD NOISE: APATE // Spitting Contest

APATE with The Gloom In The Corner, Scourge & Vaela
Wrangler Studios, Melbourne
26/8/2017

With a slew of releases from each of the new bloods on this tour dropping recently, it’s time to show just what the live setting can do for them. Apate alone have travelled all the way from Brisbane for this to give you an indication of just how keen they are to bare their teeth.

Vaela are the first of the tour’s main billed groups, and they haven’t put on anything too special today. Their singer Sam Smith pulls a ‘out into the crowd with no microphone’ move that he’ll need to kick his vocals up to make a real impact. The crowd are into it though with people spin kicking around the tight enclosure.

Vaela // By Bree Wallace

The Gloom In The Corner are one of Melbourne’s standout up and coming bands, and their latest EP drop Homecoming has a huge showing here at Wrangler. Opening with Rodent, their show is sample heavy but they’re slowly getting towards getting the timing perfect. Vocalist Mikey Duffield is the brains behind the group’s narrative, and his vocals are surprisingly strong when swapping from gutturals to singing at a moment’s notice (see the menacing Brother). Oxymoron is still their strongest breakdown and there aren’t too many willing to grab the mic. A shy group perhaps? Witch Hunt sees Scourge’s vocalist grab the mike for a lengthy pig scream, robbing the pit call of any real impact. Guesties have a somewhat 50/50 chance of being great, but at least make it fit the song. With a few more shows under their belt (which they have in store), Gloom are set to be Australia’s next oddball favourites.

The Gloom In The Corner // By Bree Wallace

The Gloom In The Corner // By Bree Wallace

Apate’s EP Spit You Out dropped a week ago, and it’s not terribly different to anything we’ve heard before. However, their live show give the tracks a breath of life compared to the record that stifles the energy they have on stage. Vocalist Zakk Ludwig steps out into the crowd to make direct eye contact with people standing around. It’s kind of cool but incredibly awkward to be a part of. Guitarist Caleb Patch needs to calm down a little bit with the lack of samples hitting his ears. Yes it’s frustrating but after the fourth time of saying it, maybe it’s time to just get the show back on the road rather than keeping it at a standstill. Ludwig says as much, all but telling him to shut the fuck up. Admittedly they do well without a perfect setup behind them, and the breakdown of Bitter Pill is absolutely monstrous. It is on the record too, but live with bass drops is a beauty to behold. Plus the title track Spit You Out’s clean vocals are pulled off extremely well. If they haven’t wowed you through headphones, it’s high time to check them out in a live setting instead.

APATE // By Bree Wallace

APATE // By Bree Wallace

With an absolute wall of sound hitting us, Scourge are heavy enough to cause a headache. In this case, it’s a welcome migraine that’s creeping on up. Blasting through their entire EP God Is Dead, each song bleeds into the other. At one point they recruit Mikey and someone from the crowd to throw guest vocals on top of their own vocals. Three at once is blistering and the rest of the band aren’t letting up even with that kind of onslaught. They’re not taking themselves too seriously which is a mark of a good deathcore band: screaming about the death of god loses all the fun when it’s fully self-righteous. One guy’s open mouthed shock at almost every breakdown is how we’re all feeling. By the time we’ve recovered, there’s another drop tune to rattle the bones. As soon it begins though, it feels like we’re at the end. Bring protection because Scourge aren’t afraid of violating eardrums.

Scourge // By Bree Wallace