Live Review: Wednesday 13, Darkc3ll, Witchgrinder

Melbourne's own industrial-metal band Witchgrinder open the night with a shaky start. The sound balance is off; vocals are drowned out by distorted guitar and thundering drums. Despite this, Witchgrinder pour themselves into the performance. The crowd is forgiving and happy to headbang along. Highlight tracks include The Butcher, Rammstein cover Feuer Frei! and single Our Nightmare. 

Darkc3ll's intro sounds like a gothic Western — a dark, spooky gunslinger's anthem. The four-piece command the stage, covered in black warpaint. Darkc3ll blend the theatrics of hair metal with industrial-gothic vocals and guitar with a sprinkling of '80s pop. Their manic energy is infectious and the crowd is in constant motion. The red velvet curtains are drawn shut at the end of Darkc3ll's set.

The crowd buzzes as the house lights fade. An extended Keep Watching The Skies intro plays. The red curtains and the spooky music make us feel as though we've been transported to a gothic sideshow. The curtain opens with the opening drum groove. Wednesday 13 is our ringmaster. He calls out, "Good evening boys and girls, are you ready for this? It's time to get your freak on!"

Their performance is polished and highly entertaining. Wednesday 13's stage presence is electric — a mix of Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. There are no awkward pauses. The tracks either bleed together or additional horror-themed audio plays to give the musicians a chance to retune or change guitars. Wednesday 13 doesn't address the crowd often. When he does, he provides setlist hints. He shouts, "Melbourne, I love watching you die," (I Love Watching You Die), "Melbourne, you're my home sweet homicide,"(My Home Sweet Homicide) and, "Don't take this personally, but I want bad things to happen to you" (Bad Things).

Wednesday 13 and his band are body-painted in black and white, much like skeletons; each band member has their own signature markings. Despite the horror-themed lyrics and chunky metal riffs, there is a lightness to the set. The rhythms have a disco flare, which makes us dance the night away.

Tonight is a loud, sweaty undead disco — complete with bright colourful lights — and we love every second. Halloween has come early this year.