The Lansdowne is packed to the brim, the air thick with anticipation as Hate Complex thrashes into their set. It’s a pulverizing start to the night—raw, relentless riffs lashing out at the crowd as if daring them to keep up. Bodies are already colliding in the pit, a swirling storm of elbows and kicks. There’s no warm-up, just pure, immediate chaos.
Next, Pincer+ take the stage. Perth’s metalcore scene isn’t messing around, and these boys prove it with every note. They ride the momentum of their Hunting God Tapes, like they’ve got something to prove, and the crowd responds in kind—people cannonballing into one another, all limbs and frenzy. A guy next to me is doing roundhouse kicks like he’s training for a fight, while I’m bracing myself against the wall, trying not to get wiped out.
Then Mélancolia emerges, draped in goth deathcore gloom, the room shifting into a darker vibe. The debut record Hiss Through Rotten Teeth has already become a local legend, and the crowd is in it—every guttural growl and haunting note feels like an exorcism, something to be survived. But I’m not thinking about that, because all focus is on the pit now—things are getting crazy.
And finally, Vulvodynia. The crowd surges like a wave as they hit the stage, somewhat incongruously to the strains of the main theme from the Lion King. South Africa’s brutal death metal powerhouse rising through a sea of sweat and blood. They’re survivors of their own internal collapse, but tonight, there’s no fragility—only pure brutality. Lwandile Prusent is on vocals, owning every second of their set. Entabeni, their latest offering, is a visceral assault on the senses, and the crowd—now a whirlpool of bodies—responds in kind. It’s chaos.As Vulvodynia rips through their final chords, the Lansdowne feels like it’s caught fire, and somehow, I’m still standing.
