Live Review: Karnivool, Fait

The chill air and threat of rain is not enough to keep fans away from tonight's sold out show at The Triffid. Streams of eager faces pour through the doors early and into the cylindrical building, taking up spots they're unlikely to give up easily.

First up is Perth's Fait, aka Elise Higgins. This little lady packs a punch with her twangy guitar and synth chops, with a band of players that admirably size up to her powerful presence. Since her release in 2014 of debut EP Atmosphere, talk surrounding the musical and performance prowess of this singer-songwriter has been rife and tonight is proof why. Halcyon's key line manages to be light but has a heavy groove that anchors the atmospherics, ethereal motifs dominate Koto, and the low thuds of Surrender To tie everything up for this young band on the rise.

When the lights dim and the stage is illuminated in a blue glow, there is no doubt Perth sons Karnivool have been sorely missed in between drinks; the time between today and last year's celebratory tour to mark ten years since the release of debut album Themata is clearly too long to keep a dedicated Vooligan waiting. Whenever the melodic, polyrhythmic metal veterans chuck some dates on the calendar, the preceding buzz from within this tight little community injects an unusual undercurrent into their shows; they're more like a gathering than a gig, a union of one big family that knows what to expect but is grateful should there be a few surprises thrown in. With the band's releases tracking at every four years, it seems certain 2017 will be the year for album number four. A new song made it into the setlist during last year's tour, so what will this Pre-animation tour hold?

Well, more of the classics from this well oiled machine and yep, a new track or three. After the five boys belt everyone around the ears with chug-heavy favourite Goliath, a fresh little ditty called All It Takes lulls the crowd for a few minutes as they try to absorb every nuance of this intense, arrhythmic slow-burner. While it's clearly going to take a few spins of the future album for it to develop into a favourite, it and Reanimation are well on their way to being so. A classic run of Simple Boy, Set Fire To The Hive, and We Are warms things up, along with leading man Ian Kenny's increasingly elastic moves. A slightly slower paced All I Know lacks its usual punchy energy but things ramp back up again with old favourites Roquefort and Themata.

After a brief departure the boys return with Aeons and traditional anthem closer New Day, and with a night in Brisbane still to go, they'll reenergise and do it all over again, no doubt with some of the same faces that shouted, sweated and swore here tonight.