So this has been a big night coming, Valhalore kicking off their ‘Beyond The Stars’ tour with their friends in Carmeria, Artifact & Evocatus. A stacked and diverse line-up, and the fans showed up in droves for them.
Hailing from Newcastle, Evocatus started the proceedings of the night with the drums beating heavily, clad in their Viking armour, emerging onto a stage bathed in a red glow. I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with these lads a few years ago with my own band Ethereal Real,m and they are very chill and easy to work with. Nich Shields fierce vocals pierce through the venue as he head bangs with his hair and beard defying gravity for every track. The axemen and drummer are also performing windmills as they play alongside him. Right from their attire to the windmills, this is a band with a lot of uniformity on display that works. The backing tracks for each song serve as a tasty build-up, especially on Centurion, where Nich gets his sword out and raises it high, with the crowd reciprocating by pumping their fists in the air. The band closes their set with some thunderous drums. A great start to the night.
Artifact was next on the line-up, and I was intrigued as it was the only band I hadn’t heard or seen before compared to the others of the night. The band took a staggering long time to set up, more than the usual, as the venue pumped out all the hits to Zeal & Ardor in between. I thought maybe there was a theme, but I was wrong. Finally, the band appeared on stage, and they did look fairly young. There were male and female vocals, so I was curious how they were going to sound. Vocalist Michael says they are from Wagga as he ruptures into Mass Psychosis. Right off the bat, his harsh vocals and raw energy take over and define what we were in for. Unfortunately, Rebecca wasn’t having the same luck as her vocals were drowned, and she even left the stage for Collapse coming down to the crowd as if to check for herself what went wrong. She did manage to redeem herself for the final track, which was only the fourth song, as the band were severely affected by technical difficulties and had to cut their set short. But they did manage to start the first mosh and circle pit on the night. So, kudos to them for that despite the odds.
After some Melodic Death and Metalcore, Carmeria steps onto the mantle to offer some symphonic metal and dark gothic rock for the fans. And seriously, this band has a devoted fan base with many showing up wearing their merch and filled with excitement. It truly is awesome when a local line-up has diverse styles of the metal subgenres, helps expose to the crowd and even gain some new fans while at it. By now the Crowbar is almost packed, and the lights go dark. Mishka emerges and gets the crowd going. Jez and his crew enter the stage. They seem to have a new young drummer since the last time I saw them, but he seemed confident and at ease. Jordan Von Grae is a true showman, and this is on full display as he seduces the crowd with A Thousand Winter Rains. I must say that the vox level was a bit too high and this drowned out the guitar throughout the set. The sound guy at the venue really needs to hone his craft a bit more to avoid these issues that could make or break a set. Carpe Noctem has a more sinister vibe with Mishka establishing himself as the comic relief of the band as Jordan steps down from the stage and disappears into the crowd, singing and being one with them. Immortal sees the band dedicating their love for their fans with Jordan’s bouquet and Jez taking us on a journey with some fantastic guitar work while the crowd claps along. The female audience really digging this track, jumping up and down in ecstasy. The band then play my favourite track Solaris, which had such an epic ending with the crowd singing and closing it out. Jordan and Jez have such chemistry on stage and it is a real treat to watch. Carmeria close out their set with Morningstar, with the keys and drum and bass being anchor points for this track on each side of the stage. Mishka brings the camera to the audience and carries Jez after the set. Carmeria once again deliver a fun and very professional set.
And finally, the moment we have been waiting for. I first witnessed Valhalore in 2017 for their Voyage Into Eternity tour, at the same venue, back when it was called The Bald Faced Stag and man, this band has come a long way. Since then, they have opened for multiple international acts, headlined Questfest in Canberra and even won the Wacken Metal Battle, which should have seen them make their first appearance in Europe, but alas, the pandemic was a major roadblock that deterred that. But with every obstacle, the band has only gone from strength to strength with no signs of slowing down. You could tell that this was their biggest show to date, as there were light installations on either side of the stage and behind the drum throne, and if put together, would very cleverly mimic the symbol they used for their first single, Horizon, from their new album. There was now a ‘Valhalore crew’ who were on stage, setting everything up, clearly indicating the band had levelled up since they signed up with their record label, Roar.
As the first notes of Life hit, we see each band member make their entrance and take their place on stage. This beautifully blends into Edge of Forever as vocalist Lachlan Neate bursts onto the stage screaming ‘Sydney, are you ready?’ and the smoke shoots up and the cannons blast confetti everywhere. The angular light displays on stage, flooding the venue with an array of colour as the crowd bounces with every beat. Second track Legacy sends the crowd onto a dance frenzy as the pit opens up. Sophie on the flute for each track is such an anchoring force for this band, delivering both soft and heavy ebbs and flows in her performance, and this is seen especially on The Storm. Wayfinder sees the band slowing things down, their love song to Sydney, the crowd with their phones and lighters in the air. Morgan Cox gets his moment to shine as the rest of the band leaves the stage for his drum solo. Lachlan then address the crowd that their crew is filming a music video for Within the Fire and that Sydney needs to bring it. This unleashes a wall of death, and the band lap up this energy and up the ante on stage. Valhalore then take us back Upon the Shores, as a continuous circle train emerges within the crowd, and I even manage to surf to the barrier. The crowd once again get their sing-a-long moment with Horizon, you could feel the love for the band resonating from the crowd for this one. Valhalore closed their set with A Walk Among the Stars, and seriously, this track has so much emotion live. The band covered most of their tracks from their new album, and it was very refreshing to see them start their encore, asking the crowd to sit down as Lachlan took his acoustic guitar and started playing Solace from their 2018 EP Solace & Solitude. A sea of phone lights swaying from the seated crowd was such a beautiful and wholesome sight. The band asks the crowd to then get up and go hard one last time as they unleash the fan favourite Across the Frozen Ocean to a very thrilled crowd, ending the night on a high note, delivering their best performance to date.
Valhalore are one of the most high calibre bands Australia has to offer in this genre today, having proved this time and time again and will definitely go ‘Beyond the Stars’ and into the stratosphere.
written by TNT & Photos by Daniel Farr – Farski Photography
Valhalore
Carmeria
Artifact
Evocatus
