Live Review: Sleep, Hydromedusa

Hydromedusa proved yet again why they’re one of Adelaide’s most exciting rock and roll bands as the support act for Sleep.

Looking as if each of the members had just exited a volatile time rift from God knows where, before exploding onto the stage, the band is a powerful mechanised explosion of chaotic riffs and fervent jams that melt down and implode upon themselves like a supernova, yet they come across as composed as ever.

Hydromedusa expertly blend influences from The Ramones and The Doors without ever coming across as worshipping either band. There’s as much unique creativity as there are nods to classic rock and punk music. With expert transitions between heavy screams and sung vocals their frontman is a powerhouse of versatility, leading the charge over the competing dual guitar interplay, their set course rife with flamboyant solos. With an unrelenting bass and energetic drums Hydromedusa are an instant classic.

Having broken up 16 years ago, in 1998, Sleep have only been back in action since 2009, for what was supposed to be a one-off reunion tour.

They’ve now released their first new work since 1998, The Clarity. It’s the lyrical follow-up to a lifetime of marijuana enjoyment! Rightly enough there were a huge number of people at Fowlers for a Tuesday night and Sleep opened their set with a long tripped-out intro of static waveform sounds and space Martials communicating to each other. It seemed to last forever and the anticipation was immense, especially as the majority of the audience was stoned out of their mind.

Sleep proved why they’re the be all and end all of stoner metal. Some have miff with the genre, stating that every song is comprised of the same three doom chords. Well motherfucker, Matt Pike was the pioneer of those three Doom chords! The vibratory wall of low octave sound was not all on hand to be experienced though, with myriad guitar solos flitting through the set and some super admirable bass work from Al Cisneros ensuring that all involved had their heads figuratively pounded into the ground. The performance was unrelenting and even seemed as if it was never going to end. All hail the riff and all hail Sleep!