Live Review: Statues, Pridelands, Heiress, Imagery

The competition was certainly tough on this eventful Saturday night in the lovely Adelaide, with shows booked at the majority of established venues in this underrated capital city, not to mention a cricket match that managed to house a decent percentage of the local population.

At least the excitement levels are already building for the upcoming festival season. But those who missed out on this did more than miss an astounding night in Adelaide, they also failed to support some astonishing local music. Always a lesson to be learned it would seem.

Locals Imagery had the tough role of opening this evening, but even with a hesitant and small audience, their passionate, emotional hardcore spoke in waves of energy. With what would seem many of their friends helping these five young gentlemen and their portrayal of music similar to California’s Being As An Ocean, it became a similar to a house party show in an extremely positive and intimate way. The Cavern Club suddenly felt a lot more like home and full credit to the quintet for creating an atmosphere of that magnitude.

A last minute change in the line-up saw NSW Central Coast’s progressive hardcore quartet Heiress up next. This was an unfortunate change as this four-piece made it painfully obvious quickly that they’re a superior outfit. Landing somewhere between Botch, Drowningman, Converge and The Chariot’s earlier material, the band had a severely positive impact very quickly. Frontman Julian Frank had a variable presence that was sometimes similar to a hip hop MC but then changed into a powerful, intense giant with a colossal voice in his arsenal. Aspire was easily the highlight, which was accentuated further by the guitarist’s excellent effort of disappearing into the backstage curtain, wrapping himself up better than a late-night yeros. This writer certainly hopes this four-piece starts receiving the respect they truly deserve.

Mount Gambier’s Pridelands placed some additional pressure on themselves by advancing to the main support slot, which to their credit, they had the capacity and ability to fill. In constant bursts of energy and ferocity, the early Architects-inspired quartet showcased their talent. What they were sadly met with was a very disappointing audio mix; literally all that was perceivable from an audience standpoint was the (superb) drumming and vocals. Single, Gaia, was a great feature, but couldn’t quite compensate for the poor live sound.

The main event, Perth’s Statues, were up to maintaining their status as Australia’s premiere noisecore act. This scribe can assure you once again, they succeeded, even when the quintet were having their own circle pit off-stage while the drummer remained alone to impossibly maintain rhythm amongst the chaos. Whether using crowd members as mic stands, a cappella chants to drive the band forward, climbing atop the bar, using bar stools and tables as props for the performance or rolling on the ground, limbs were flailing and Statues simply sailed in full flight as arguably the most intense hardcore band in Australia. Oh Precious Commodity instigated a near riot whilst Affliction Prescription was a perfect platform to show how talented these five Western Australians are musically.

If it had to be summarised, Statues are strangely seductive in their chaotic bliss. There’s a lot to worry about but more to be impressed by. Assuredly they’re more than thankful for the attention, but then again, it’s impossible to look away. They might still be an underdog, but they’re the best kind and their debut album should see growth that perhaps they’re not even ready for. I will definitely be checking into their next Adelaide appearance and I know I won’t be alone, because the execution of The Wanderer was on the same level as The Dillinger Escape Plan are capable of.