Live Review: Thrash Blast & Grind Festival

The Thrash Blast & Grind tour is an awesome initiative, providing some of metal's most abrasive sub-genres an audience-specific mini festival. Openers Hidden Intent set the ball rolling with their thrash-based heavy metal sound, pulling minor influence from the lead sections of bands such as Slayer and Children Of Bodom. The act is fast and entertaining with a classic heavy metal feel.

Sydney's Black Rheno cemented themselves as a band to watch. The band features just drums, guitar and a vocalist, but they pack a wallop; delivering undeniably heavy sludge grooves. It's fun and tongue-in-cheek, featuring songs such as No Time For Numb Nuts. Vocalist Ryan Miller provides great stage presence as he screams over hearty guitar chugs and Pantera-style drum beats.

Whoretopsy took to the stage to initiate the 'Blast' segment of the show and brought the fast-paced blast beats and riffs to match. The unadulterated deathcore experience was quite a spectacle as breakdown after breakdown ensued and a mosh pit began to form among the more eager fans.

Revocation played a wild set. The technical death metal stars from Boston largely performed tracks from their last two records Deathless and Great Is Our Sin. Drummer Ash Pearson has taken the throne full-time since their last Australian run, and the band are sounding tighter than ever. Performing tracks Communion, Only The Spineless Survive and Opus Madness, Revocation closed on the tumultuous Witch Trials as a great way to end the set.

Psycroptic then appeared. Hailing from Tasmania, they are one of Australia's greatest death metal exports, with the live guts to prove it. Drummer Dave Haley is one of the most consistent in the game, and vocalist Jason Peppiatt pummels you with his guttural screams. A band that never relents, Joe Haley's picking and fretting fingers never seemed to stop moving as they played songs from their recent self-titled album.

King Parrot had a great set, performing the special blend of chaotic and filthy grindcore that shot them onto the global map and delivering tongue-in-cheek stage banter. "Thanks for coming," joked singer Matt Young. "We know you're all unemployed and have no jobs to go to tomorrow, you can grab a food stamp at the merch desk on the way out!"