miss may i
Nov
26
10.04am

MISS MAY I // Firing On All Cylinders


Miss May I with Sylar, Justice For The Damned, Earth Caller & Arkive
Max Watts Melbourne — 25th November, 2017

It’s a small crowd milling about in Max Watts tonight: unfortunately the top level is closed and the venue looks like it won’t fill to capacity.

MORE: Check out this weeks Hysteria Radio Top 20.

Arkive are impressive though, even with the serious lack of atmosphere. The harmonies between both vocalists show they’re serious about making it: Luminous is almost Coheed and Cambria-esque in their delivery. They’re bubbling at the local level along with their peers but with more stage time, they’ll be huge.


Arkive // By Bree Wallace


Did you know that Earth Caller are from Melbourne? For those unaware, ‘613’ is the international area code for the city. Frontman Josh Collard wants you to know this as he throws it out almost every song as an intro, breakdown pitcall, or outro. Standouts from their first record Degenerate and Your Enemy see one or two people move forward but for the most part the crowd are unfazed. It’s a muddy mix tonight and Collard’s vocals are getting lost in the haze of blast beats. Their new single Fall is a break with female vocals playing overhead, but it’s still much of the same. Collard concludes the set by asking the crowd: “WHO ARE WE? EARTH CALLER. SIX. ONE. THREE.” More variation and less hometown grandstanding please.


Earth Caller // By Bree Wallace


There’s a marked difference when the first heavyweights of the evening come out to play. Justice for the Damned are (rightfully) able to pull a solid crowd no matter the gig. Throw on that HM02 pedal because we are getting dirty tonight. The audience have finally decided to get their arms swinging and the all out assault echoing from the stage is the perfect soundtrack. Please Don’t Leave Me is utterly monstrous with its final break of “your violence/is your sickness” grabbing crowd chants as vocalist Bobak Rafiee points with glee at fans. Ditto for Those Eyes and the hurtling No Flowers On Your Grave. How something this extreme became so popular is a miracle, but we’re not complaining.


Justice For The Damned // By Bree Wallace


Clearly a huge draw, Sylar come bounding out to remind us they’re from New York. Opening with Dark Daze, that would’ve been obvious from their bouncy hardcore riffs even without the introduction. A quick record scratch and Assume drops: the bass drops are thunderous and the crowd are loving an opportunity to bounce. Almost a mix between Linkin Park and Stray From The Path with a tad of Breaking Benjamin thrown in, they’re a hell of a good time. With a quick call out to equality at shows, Sylar endear themselves. Writing them off as a quick cash in on the nu-metal movement would be a mistake. Their crowd participation during Live/Breathe feels like a headline response, and closer Soul Addiction ends their set all too soon. Calls for an encore fall short but it hopefully leads to a swift return.


Sylar // By Bree Wallace


Miss May I have been slept on. Serving as a gateway for a number of heavy music fans, it feels like they were discarded when the metalcore glut finally became too much. What a fucking mistake though because the band arrive on stage with absolute fire behind them. Once slaves to cookie cutter breakdowns, Miss May I have turned into a genuine live powerhouse. Frontman Levi Benton is electric as he whips his hair and screams during Lost In The Grey.


Miss May I // By Bree Wallace


Although the stage is restricted, the singer utilises all the space provided to reach out to the dedicated few in front of him. There are a lot of those in the room tonight: the band haven’t returned to Australia since 2013, so this is an opportunity many have waited almost half a decade for. The obligatory Hey Mister that eventually morphs into Casualties shows a band a world apart. The former serving as breakdown guilty pleasure, with the latter more Trivium riff madness and Killswitch soaring vocals than pandering china crashes.


Miss May I // By Bree Wallace


A swift drum solo to allow the band to swap instruments is a smart choice, and drummer Jerod Boyd throws enough personality into his tom hits for the crowd to scream. Closing with Under Fire and Shadows Inside, the band shake the room’s foundations with bass drops: yes they’re plentiful but when they’re this good, who cares how often they’re pulled? Promising to return in a shorter time frame than their previous absence, Miss May I make the evening for those that waited all those years. Don’t disregard them based on a desire to remove all traces of your scene phase; this band have been through it all and come out the other side triumphant.

Miss May I play Amplifier Bar in Perth tonight with Sylar, Make Way For Man & Entropy.
Tickets available here.





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