Live Review: Psycroptic, Goatwhore, Earth Rot, The Furor

The newly-curtained Amplifier Bar played host to a putrid corruption (newly-minted collective noun) of class acts on Thursday night as it succumbed to a deathmet infestation featuring some of the finest strains known to man. 

Local stalwarts The Furor kicked off proceedings, powered once again by the terrifying combination of Disaster and Warlock, and hot on the trail of possibly their best release to date in Impending Revelation, the demons thundered the poor PA into shape. World-class drumming AND simultaneous vocals is truly a sight to behold.

Relative newcomers Earth Rot have shown a great deal of promise. Debuting an EP and a full-length last year, they’ve backed up the recordings with a string of excellent gigs and even an international tour, mastering How to Kick Off A Band With a Bang 101. The boys hit their straps with Hunger and Stares Of Sempiternity, the latter featuring excellent winding riffs around the chug. 

Goatwhore made the trek from Cheeseburgerania to our pure shores for the first time since 2010 when they supported the mighty Behemoth to give an international flavour to the night. Self-described as straight-heavy metal it’s easy to see how the band felt this way with tight, consistent grooves forming the basis for something that is essentially a lot darker and heavier. It’s the blend of form that makes Goatwhore such a goddamn good band to mosh and drink to. Nocturnal Conjuration Of The Accursed is a solid example of the groove/solo formula but by far and away the track of the night was the relentless Fucked By Satan, developing further than its counterparts, executed to perfection. The crowd went bananas for Baring Teeth For Revolt, the front end of the Amps floor was chaos, covered in blood, teeth and beer.

Tasmanian superstars Psycroptic stole the show a few years ago when they rocked up and introduced the town to an overwhelming combination of rage and technical death metal that has since permeated heavily through our own scene. On the eve of their new, self-titled album dropping, the gig dropped a few gems to celebrate the occasion. The writhing masses drew silent as the intro to Echoes To Come built into a verse, laden with the signature epic riffs from Ormsby multi-scalist machine Joe Haley. The World Discarded was a phenomenal display of technical drumming, furious, creative skinwork at its finest, from one of the best tech death bands in existence.