Ocean Grove’s Saturday night at Manning Bar was a collision of intensity, hitting early and not letting up. With a lineup of local and international acts primed to rattle the building’s foundations, the crowd knew exactly what was coming—and they were ready. The word “Oddworld” (a nod to Ocean Grove’s signature universe of weirdness and rebellion) dotted the audience, as fans fully embraced the band’s offbeat ethos before the first note even hit.
Eora/Sydney’s own Inertia wasted no time igniting the room, unleashing a whirlwind of chaos that had the crowd roaring from the start. Their electrifying blend of post-hardcore, soaring melodies, and bone-crushing breakdowns created an unbreakable bond with the audience. Fans raised their fists during anthemic choruses, losing themselves in the heavy riffs that crashed like waves. Inertia masterfully balanced raw intensity with emotional depth, and the crowd mirrored their energy without missing a beat.
Paledusk hit the stage to the opening chords of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself,’ and the room detonated. The Japanese metalcore band unleashed a set that was pure, controlled chaos—relentless and unpredictable, leaving no room for anything but full attention. Their track ‘I’m Ready to Die for My Friends’ had the crowd shouting every word back, a shared moment of powerful emotion. But it was ‘Slay’ that stole the show. The track seamlessly fused metal, pop-punk, jazz, and rap, leaving the crowd moshing wildly one second and swaying the next. It was a performance full of twists, keeping the room on edge and hungry for more.
From the opening notes of ‘Flyaway,’ it was clear Ocean Grove had something unforgettable in store for us. Their signature blend of nu-metal, punk, Brit-pop, and grunge is a beloved spectacle, and it didn’t disappoint. Dale Tanner’s vocals cut through the madness, anchoring the set, while Twiggy Hunter’s basslines gave the swirling mass of bodies something solid to latch onto. Sam Bassal’s drumming hit like a thunderclap, while Matthew Kopp’s (Running Touch) keys and samples layered in expertly, and touring guitarist Jamie Marinos kept the momentum roaring with precision and power.
They tore through tracks like ‘Raindrop’ and ‘My Disaster,’ with the pit in a frenzy and even the edges of the room caught up in the wave of energy—there was no standing still. Crowd-surfers were carried toward the barrier, and in a moment straight out of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’ Dale reached out to a fan, hands grasping. Kaito from Paledusk joined them onstage for ‘Stratosphere Love,’ standing among the fans and screaming into the mic.
In a high-energy pause, Dale Tanner reminded fans of their upcoming album ‘ODDWORLD’, set to release on November 22. The crowd roared, knowing they were getting a first taste of the next chapter in Ocean Grove’s universe.
Ocean Grove’s set wasn’t just pure chaos, though. They interspersed the heavier moments with melodic breaks, showcasing the full depth of their sound without ever losing the crowd’s focus. By the time they closed with an encore of ‘Sunny’ and ‘Junkie$,’ the room was drenched in sweat and adrenaline, still buzzing, already counting down the days until the next dose of Oddworld.
