Malignant Monster/Collosvs/High Tension
Amplifier Bar
Saturday, June 6, 2015
A long line leading out of the darkened alleyway that hides the Amplifier Bar entrance is always a sign of a promising night. Excited fans ate sliced pizza and shot the shit whilst waiting for the doors to open on the much anticipated King Parrot show.
Before most of the punters could get in the door Malignant Monster took to the stage. Their music is a brutal assault to the senses, and certainly the heaviest of the night– a sort of twisted death metal blended with thrash and grind. Frontman Cain Cressall is a true performer, never once breaking character, screaming and growling through every pleasantry and song introduction. Collosvs, fronted by triple j’s very own Lochlan Watt, took the stage next. Their dark blend of hardcore and metal resonated well with the crowd – their approval represented as cheers and screams at the close of each song.
With a line-up featuring so many great bands it can be hard for an act to distinguish themselves, but High Tension managed to pull it off. The pure intensity of their performance was astounding, vocalist Karina Utomo leaping into the crowd, wrestling with the locals time and time again. The band has an amazing rhythm section, drummer Damian Coward manages to deviate from blast beats into syncopated rhythms that helped create an amazing dynamic in their music. By mid-set the crowd started to lose all inhibitions, with more than a few people hitting the floor during their escapades. With that in mind, Coward called out to the crowd asking them to take care of the ladies in the mosh, and while it was a nice sentiment I am quite certain that all the girls in the crowd, at least at the front, were giving it as hard as they got. Fans of King Parrot got an early surprise with vocalist Matt Young joining Utomo on stage for a song, which gave the fans a taste of things to come.
King Parrot wasted no time in setting the mood – “Oi dickhead I can see you’re not clapping” – bass player Slatts antagonising the crowd as Young walked on stage. The band launched into their opening number, Stench, and things went completely insane. Fans rushed the stage, diving off and taking other people to the floor with them. Others shouted along to Young’s screaming vocals as he showered the closest fans with what seemed like an endless supply of bottled water. After a couple of older staple songs, they played Anthem Of The Advance Sinner and Need No Saviour from their latest album, Dead Set. The crowd only got crazier over their hour-long show, one lucky fan managed to kick Slatts in the head on his way into the crowd, but if Slatts was fazed he didn’t show it.
King Parrot not only thrive on this sort of mayhem, they downright encourage it – Young pulling fans onto the stage and helping them dive into the crowd, but even without his help there was almost always someone from the crowd on stage. But it wasn’t just fans, Young himself spent some time crowd surfing, at one point even walking over the heads and backs of fans. As the night drew to a close, High Tension vocalist Katrina Utomo jumped on stage to help out with the fan favourite, Shit On The Liver before the band finished with Silly Ol’ Mate. King Parrot are a band with a lot of hype about them right now, and after seeing them perform live I can understand why. Get yourself to one of their shows if you get the chance.
DAVE MULLINS
