Live Review: Thy Art Is Murder, Alpha Wolf, Cursed Earth, Deadlights

Brisbane post-hardcore mob Deadlights acquitted themselves to the task well in front of an already rather full room. Their well-executed bipolar vocal attack and enthusiastic demeanour ensured punters nodded heads in the affirmative.

Perth's Cursed Earth's nasty, darker hardcore edge proved both confronting and difficult to look away from. Led by Nails shirt-sporting front-woman Jazmine Luders' ferocious vocals and commanding presence, and remaining members' considerable energy, they surely left having garnered fresh converts. The vocalist giving a heckler a mighty send-off also resonated with the gathering.

Alpha Wolf seemed representative of a generation of youths reared on 'core who were eventually introduced (this scribe is presuming by an older sibling) to nu-metal groove. The Melbourne heavy-hitters' leaning heavily towards the latter was to the delight of many present. In some respects they seemed a work in progress, and after a few songs you'd already encountered most tricks in their arsenal, but a rabid fan-base lapped it up.

Thy Art Is Murder also had a new release to spruik - the impending Dear Desolation. Although plugging the record, they kept airing material from it to a minimum. Bruising Slaves Beyond Death was a standout, though. This approach was understandable as they side-stepped shoddy quality YouTube clips being devotees' first encounter with new cuts.

Instead, the Aussie death metal heavy-hitters focused on a fan-sating set-list, from opener Holy War through to the mosh mayhem greeting closer Reign Of Darkness. Recently returned growler CJ McMahon was in positive spirits, jokingly taunting the crowd with "You're the world's smallest circle pit", but also relaying how the only occasion he'd witnessed the band live sans him was at the same venue (almost exactly a year prior). Meanwhile, drummer Lee Stanton, whose hard-hitting style belied his tiny frame, remained the band's secret weapon. An efficient, well-honed reintroduction of the new (old) line-up to the diehards, one could nonetheless rightfully expect an even more enthusiastic display when they're able to inject some heavyweight new tunes into the mix.