Live Review: Northlane, Justice For The Damned, Resist The Thought, DVSR

The University of New South Wales was infiltrated by black T-shirt-clad metalcore fans, keen for a night of music delivered by some of the best local bands in the scene.

South West Sydney rap-metal four-piece DVSR were first to take to the stage of the very newly refurbished Roundhouse, with the show being one of the first gigs at the venue after nearly two years renovations. Frontman Matthew Youkhana delivered an energetic performance of tracks like Ready For War off their latest album Therapy to the forming crowd, who listened on to the different but natural blend of genres.

Western Sydney band Resist The Thought, making their long-awaited return to the scene, played their first set in six years. "It's good to be back," vocalist Rhys Giles declared, whose inhale screaming technique captures the crowd's attention. The level of nostalgia was high with the band playing some of their "older shit", like Reflections off their 2010 album Damnation and the driving, full throttle Resurrect The Reaper off 2012's Sovereignty. They finished with their new single Set Me Free, leaving fans eager for the release of their forthcoming EP that's dropping later this year.

"In case you don't know we're a band from right fucking here," announced the lead of metal/hardcore band Justice For The Damned. The show didn't sell out, which meant there was a lot of room for movement, and Justice For The Damned had the most intense mosh pit of the night. The crowd made room for a huge circle pit on the floor of the Roundhouse and punters on the upper level of the venue looked over the railing, all eyes on the crowd two-stepping to the band's tracks. The group hyped fans up for "the one and only Northlane" before closing their set with Please Don't Leave Me. 

Northlane returned to the Roundhouse stage, having played a sold-out show at the renowned metal venue back in 2016 on their Monster tour. This time '​round they had an album of new material under their belt, but they kicked off with classics Quantum Flux and Aspire. With more intense lighting and cool visuals projected on the screens, the metalcore heavyweights played Colourwave, showcasing both their new sound and the vocal range of Marcus Bridge, who joined the band in 2014. 

Bridge told the audience that they'd just released a new live album that day called Analog Future, and that they were there to celebrate. He fired everyone up, requesting that when Obelisk kicked in that everyone get off their ground, and that the crowd keep the energy up as it would be their last show for a while. Fans obliged, crowd surfing and starting a circle pit for closer Masquerade, a song they haven't played in a long time.

As soon as they finished, a chant broke out among the crowd for one more song, resulting in Citizen closing the night, which was a successful showcase of local talent.