Last night the up and coming promotion team ‘Realm of Thorns’ put on their first instalment of the Blood Sacrifice festival at the Lion Arts Factory in Adelaide. Featuring fifteen local and interstate bands coming together for twelve hours of death and thrash metal on a blistering hot summer day. It was yet another strong turnout for the RoT crew and the vibe was reminiscent of the early New Dead Metalfest shows which took place at the same venue, suggesting that it has the potential to grow into another staple for the Adelaide metal scene.
Throughout the day a stack of local legends such as Stoved, Those Left Behind, Wings of Thanatos and Sons of Erebus strongly represented ADL by putting on killer sets as per usual. However, it was Geelong/Ballarat lads Fall and Resist that really stood out. Their riffs legit gave me goosebumps. They mix melody with technical death metal in a way that sounds like a more modern, heavier Children of Bodom.
Things started to get going when Writhing stepped onto the stage. This Melbourne based juggernaut came out swinging with some of the most brutal vocals of the night. The contrast between the deep gutterals of the lead vocalist and the ear-piercing backup screams from the bass player was the most interesting aspect of their music. It just made all the technical craziness hit harder. Both are very high-level vocalists and the simultaneous layering of these opposite sounds felt like my ears were getting double penetrated in the best possible way.
The award for performance of the night has to go to A Murder of Crows. Their frontman, who also fronts Sons of Erebus, was really in his element and worked the crowd well. They had the best energy of the night and got the crowd going more than any other band. Their music sounds like they took all the best parts of 80’s metal, breathed life back into it, and made it heavier. It’s also the most universally appealing original music performed on the night. It seems that they have the potential to be one of Adelaide’s next major metal exports, up there with the likes of Hidden Intent and Freedom of Fear.
Soon after we were greeted by two dudes double cheeked up in man-kinis with a third guy dressed as a giant penis in tow. It was the two piece Brisbane based environmental Nu Trash band F.U.C. These guys were interesting to say the least. All theatrics aside, they were exceptionally talented musicians. Particularly the drummer, who was also on lead vocals while absolutely shredding. It was amazing how he is able to play such technical pieces at such a high level while also fronting the band. Most two-piece bands sound like they are missing something when they perform. It’s usually noticeable that a bass player isn’t present. However, these guys did not have that problem as they were loud AF and sounded fantastic. The giant penis ran around the stage launching inflatable penises at the crowd like beach balls before disappearing because his suit became deflated. Don’t worry buddy, we’ve all been there.
Finally, Christ Dismembered capped of the evening with a cinematic performance. The room was dimly lit with red light and it felt like a satanic ritual scored by blast beats. The band stayed in character the whole time even screaming when talking to the crowd between songs, which made the whole thing feel very evil. A very fitting headliner for a festival called Blood Sacrifice as that’s what it felt like we were watching.
Review by Brad Hapke
