Live Review: Sick Of It All, Madball & Vision Of Disorder

“New York invades Sydney, Australia,” Vision Of Disorder frontman Tim Williams bellowed while stalking the stage. He was on the money, despite the crossover pioneers being afforded more a respectful response instead of a fanatical one. Set To Fail was heavier than a sack full of anvils, while Suffer and D.T.O from 1996's self-titled debut highlighted how far ahead of their time the recently reformed bruisers were, laying the foundation for legions of metalcore acts.

Adding further allure to this hardcore wet dream were veterans Madball. The crowd was noticeably larger and pit activity decidedly more frantic. Vocalist Freddy Cricien was an imposing but likeable figure, bouncing about like a basketball, with his sweat-covered shirt reflecting the energy exuded by the entire band. Aside from fisticuffs erupting, no-frills Infiltrate The System and For My Enemies were genuine party-starters. That said, they offered less dynamics than their predecessors and one felt the main event was still to arrive.

Although a few left early, Sick Of It All rapidly reinforced the sentiment that they're the best live band in hardcore in spite of a slightly less vociferous reception than in recent visits. Livewire Pete Koller whipped his body and guitar around with reckless abandon and ran like Usain Bolt after several Red Bulls; brother Lou's an amusing, down-to-earth mouthpiece, light-heartedly ribbing sluggish fans to lift their energy levels. If one wasn't aware of the band's 25-year-plus existence until reminded of it by the quartet, they likely wouldn't have believed they'd been in the game that long, so vibrant and potent was their attack. Singalong staple Step Down – its lyrics as relevant now as in 1994 – headed many fan favourites; Clobberin' Time, Scratch The Surface, Take The Night Off, Sanctuary, et al. Heavy music barriers be damned – the New Yorkers are truly an all-inclusive entity.