Hollow World kicked off their ‘Beneath The Frozen Sky’ Five Year Anniversary Tour on Friday night at Mo’s Desert Clubhouse on the Gold Coast and I was over the moon to be there and catch five awesome bands play at such an awesome live music venue.
After a mega busy and long week I was hanging for my Friday night of live music and some beers with good mates. My amazing photographer and friend Liz and I eagerly headed down to the Gold Coast to Mo’s Desert Clubhouse to catch Hollow World kick off their ‘Beneath The Frozen Sky’ Five Year Anniversary Tour’ with supports from Âme Noire, Red Bee, From Crisis To Collapse and Level H.
Mo’s Desert Clubhouse is an amazing venue. I hadn’t been there before but had heard many good things about it. It certainly lived up to the hype. It is run by the nicest people and the vibe there is just awesome. They are passionate about supporting local music and they know how to host a good night for both the bands and the punters. Gold Coast needs more venues like Mo’s.
Level H hit the stage first and these guys never fail to impress me with their live performances. It was so great to watch them on their home turf. They totally killed it as always with frontman Jack Duncanson’s clean and dirty vocals both on point. It was also one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from drummer Chris Goodman. They opened their set with their well known and well loved song and title track from their last EP Blackhearts and finished the set with two new songs Freebeard and Vigorous. With Jack proudly announcing that Freebeard is inspired by Lord Of The Rings. Anyone who knows him would know he is a little on the obsessed side with LOTR so I thought that was very cool. Hearing the guys play a couple of new tracks has got me really excited to hear more new stuff from them. Level H are always amazing and even though I have seen them many times I can’t get enough of their live performances so there will be many more to come for me.
Next up From Crisis To Collapse delivered yet another amazing set. From Crisis To Collapse play with so much energy and passion with every live performance. I have been spoilt with seeing them twice in the last couple of weeks, catching their set at Halloween Hysteria last weekend as well. Angus Carter is one of my favourite vocalists around right now; His way of dancing and moving around the stage while pelting out on point vocals is seriously impressive. The guys opened with their big hit Crisis which always sets the mood so well. Chatting with Hollow World vocalist Ben Roberts about From Crisis To Collapse and how much we both enjoyed the set, he mentioned they have an old school metal core sound and I totally agree. Huge love for these guys.
Next up a band I have been waiting to see live for so long totally tore up the stage. Âme Noire cast a spell on me from the first time I listened to them. They are hands down one of my most favourite Melbourne bands right now. That is a big call because Melbourne is absolutely chock full of talent when it comes to music and especially metal. The guys from Âme Noire create a kind of alchemy when they perform and watching them play live had me in awe of their talent as both musicians and performers. Frontman Alex Hill was born to front a band like this. His vocals combined with the unique and sexy way he contorts his face and body when performing is mesmerizing to watch. They played their recently released 5 track EP ‘The Tree That Bears Rotten Fruit’ in its entirety. Track one, What Lurks Below is a perfect opener for both the EP and for a live set. With its eerie, haunting whispers at the beginning that slowly roll into brutal vocals and the aggressive and brutally beautiful sound that the guys create in all their songs. Track three Immurement is by far my favourite song off the EP and seeing them play it live was such a treat.
Red Bee are a band I have heard rave reviews about but had never seen live until now. These guys are Alternative Hard Rock at its best and they certainly lived up to the hype. They remind me of early Shihad and I absolutely adore Shihad. I am definitely a fan of Red Bee’s work and they delivered a killer set even though vocalist and guitarist Daniel Silk was unwell. To me that is always the sign of a dedicated and talented performer when they can fight through feeling like shit and still deliver the goods. They were definitely the least brutal/metal band of the night and I had a moment of wondering if they really fit the line up but they certainly played with just as much energy and passion as the other bands so even though they are not as heavy they did well amongst the heavier bands. Bass player Jim Silk really caught my attention with his talent and energetic movement around the stage as he played.
Finally Hollow World unleashed their hard hitting magical ear bashing on the crowd and they blew my head clean off. These guys are super tight and I was really excited to be there to see them kick off their tour at Mo’s. They gave us a hard and heavy well delivered set which included ten songs; they played all of the tracks from ‘Beneath The Frozen Sky’ including of course their killer single The Rose Of Rancid Petals which was definitely the stand out for me. Hollow World are also on my list of favourite Melbourne bands and after seeing them play this weekend I have fallen a little more in love with them. All of the guys are ridiculously talented musicians and also really down to earth nice guys too. Whilst they are all truly amazing, guitarist Theo Goslett had my full attention for a lot of the set because he plays his guitar like it was the only thing he was born to do. I love watching musicians who are so good at their chosen instrument that it is as though it is an extension of themselves.
I was really lucky to also catch their Saturday night gig at Brisbane’s ‘home of the heavy’ Crowbar. Whilst I was not officially reviewing that gig I can’t help but make mention of it. Hollow World and Âme Noire were joined by the always amazing Amicable Treason and Bound For Ruin. All four bands were on fire with both Hollow World and Âme Noire nice and warmed up after the first gig of the tour, they both played so well and treated Crowbar punters to an awesome night of metal.
Hollow World continue their tour along with Âme Noire and other supports on November 10th at The Illawarra Music Foundry in Wollongong, then to Frankie’s Pizza in Sydney on November 11th, Cherry Bar in Melbourne November 16th and finishing up at Elliot’s Bar in Ringwood on December 7th. I highly recommend you get to one or more of these shows if you can because they will not disappoint!
Get your tickets via Wild Thing Presents HERE.
Ummagummamumma – Live Music Photography will have her full gallery from the gig to view on her Facebook page. Click HERE.
