Live Review: Troldhaugen, Comedier, HARBOUR, The Limit

There was plenty of reasons to celebrate for Wollongong's Troldhaugen at Valve Bar. As well as marking the release of their latest album from a successful crowd-funding campaign, IDIO+SYNCRASIES, the off-beat metal band also treated fans at the first night of their tour to a brand-new mixtape to open the night.

Troldhaugen's singer Jariss Shead, dressed in a red velour hooded body suit complete with a top hat, appeared as musical alter-ego, The Limit and sang along to their latest off-beat mixtape, Crumbs. Confusing half of the metal crowd while the rest laughed at the absurdity, the fifteen minute set was a taster of what was to come from the headliners.

Fellow Wollongong band Harbour made the trek up the highway to bring their prog-metal songs to the Sydney crowd. With a new drummer joining the band for the show, the three-piece lacked an overall tightness that can be forgiven for unfamiliarity. After some minor technical problems, the post-rock closer of their set was proof there's some potential to be found.

Producer Comedier may have seemed initially out of place on the bill, but the metal influence became clear through his set that seemed to waver between industrial sounds and samples from Batman films.

Playing their new album, Troldhaugen's unique brand of metal had them enter the stage in tracksuits and sunglasses before getting straight into some heavy riffs courtesy of a seven-string guitar. Accompanied by a backing track of all the weird and densely layered sounds that compliment their metal roots, the four-piece didn't miss a beat in their live show. While the use of the technology can stifle and restrict some bands and their live show, singer Shead still provides spontaneity through his Devin Townsend-like vocals and on-stage antics.

The band's latest single BMX Terminator drew one of the biggest responses of the set while Viva Loa Vegas proved a popular way to end the night. While it was their first show of the tour before heading to Europe for a series of dates, the set was a solid hit out for one of Australia's unique metal bands. It was weird, whacky, heavy, and exactly what you expect from one the nation's emerging cult acts.