DISKUST: BRISBANE CONCERT REVIEW
- May 5
- 15 min read
I made the joke when this line-up dropped that Tomcat was going to have to renovate all over again after this show because it was going to get destroyed by this ridiculous collection of bands, and I wasn't far off. Don't
worry, there was no property damage, but this show was one of the craziest I have been to to date. In my recent experience with the venue there seems to be a habit of a fluid crowd who moves in and out of the main room, coming to watch a few songs and then disappearing into a side room, however, this wasn't the case on the 1st of May, with the room being mostly full from the beginning and didn't let up throughout the night's events.
First up for the night was Brisbane Metalcore band Violent Conflict. "Come on in. It's Friday so the work week is done. Sorry if you have to work tomorrow. We're the first band of the night. Be nice. Be nice. We're Violent Conflict and this is our home town so thank you for being here
with us. This is our new song." As Silhoutte of a Saint began so did the two-step. It was clear the crowd had come to 'fuck shit up' and they were going to do so from the start to finish. "You know what the fuck is coming. Move this shit. Give me some energy. I see you in the pit. Homie is fucking bomb. Let's do this. It's coming. Don't lose that energy." Violent Conflict had this way of keeping my attention honed on the stage; normally you will find me swapping between watching the stage and the pit throughout a show to get a full feeling of the room, but in their case I had to remind myself to watch the crowd as well. Perhaps it was the pure joy that seemed to be omitting from Vocalist Josh, or the way the whole band seemed to be so connected to each other and the crowd simultaneously,
but it was genuinely hard to look away as they dominated the stage. Foot on an amp, leaning into the faces of the first row and making a split motion with his hand, "Move this shit. Wall to wall. Wall to wall baby." The room split down the middle for roughly half of the room, people stomping from one side to the other with hands flying. Because I have been going to so many shows lately in the smaller venues of the city, when I see certain people I know the pit is going to go wild, and they definitely proved me right with this show. While I may have funny little nicknames for them like 'Brown jacket guy', 'Bad Omens shirt boy' and 'Vegan boy', there is always a level of excitement that comes with seeing their faces because you know they are there to throw down and give the
bands the pit experience they are aiming for; then adding people like Skylar of Pyrokinesis and Liam from Insect into the mix, you know it is going to hit hard. "Fuck yeah. Let's slow it down for a little bit. This song is for the girls. Specifically my girlfriend," Josh said with a giant smile. "I always make up a funny story about what this song is actually about. It's about getting in a fight with my neighbour. That's the truth." Violent Conflict are one of those bands that you can tell they are in it for the love of the performance, as they jumped around the Tomcat stage, smiling as they got in each others and the crowds faces, jump kicking and power-stancing their way through the set. "What song's next?" As the pit escalated in energy so did the energy pushing from the
stage, locking in entirely, two-stepping along with the crowd. "Groove. Just a little break for now... I see all of you right there. Fuck yeah. Two-step." Violent Conflict didn't have a huge amount of crowd interaction in the way of speaking, mostly with drawing themselves up to the edge of the stage and jumping around, but I genuinely don't think they needed it; the crowd were so thoroughly engaged with the band that they didn't need direction or in general make pit calls. This was the perfect opening act for a show like this; high energy, interactive with a clean sound and top tier assist of backing vocals from guitarist Connor. "Tell me another band that can make one note sound so good? This is our last song Pidgeon Heart Brisbane. Thank you for being with us."
Next up, Albury Metalcore band Arkángel; who arrived thirty-five minutes before their set due to being involved in a traffic accident in Sydney that added three hours to their trip. The band is safe and in good health. I have only had the pleasure of seeing Arkángel once before this and I suggest you see them if you have the chance. Once this band steps on stage you will be hard pressed to take your eyes off of them as their dominating energy fills the room. Starting the set with an intense scream with no notice before saying "Get the fuck up here. Everyone at the back, push it
up. Push it the fuck up. Let's go." Vocalist Jake radiates his power from the stage like Suicide Silence's Mitch Lucker making you shut up and listen as he sings. One thing that I also feel like I have to mention is how much guitarist Harrison has improved vocally from October last year. As soon as he started performing backing vocals I was blown away at his consistency of tonne and breath control. If there was a most improved award for the night it would go to Harrison. "Come on. Let's see what you've got Brisbane. Get in the fucking mosh pit. Push it up. Push it up. That's what I like to see." Front rowers leaned forward to fill the void between the barricade and the stage. "Give it up for Harry on lead guitar. Give it up for my man Jayden on the drums. And my mate Jessie who's been filling in for us all this fuck tour. So please give it up for Jessie. Okay let's keep it moving. I want to see more energy. More energy." Jumping into Decimate the energy kicked back in again, hands flying in the pit as a push-pit took over. "Fuck yeah Brissy, keep it up." The flashing
blue lights kicking in at the point of the breakdown and Jake entering the pit brought the atmosphere to the next level, the guitarist flinging their guitars around. "Fuck yeah Brisbane. We have travelled since 7AM to be here today and we came here about half an hour ago. But your energy is everything. So let's see more of that. Spin this shit for me Brisbane." The atmosphere in the pit hit chaotic, matching that of the stage as the crowd spun. "Fuck yeah Brisbane keep that shit up. It's coming." As the breakdown of Suffocate hit and the push-pit formed I watched from the side as Jake watched on smiling. "First of all I want to say a big thank you for seeing all of your beautiful faces out there. I think this is the biggest show we have ever played in Queensland so please give it up for yourselves... Alright, this is a newer one, it's called Haunting My Dreams. If you know the words I want to hear it." The crowd at this moment took a dancier vibe as Jake entered the pit for a second time. Getting into the faces of crowd members. "Alright. When this shit kicks in I want to see every mother fucker moving. Moshing. Doing something. Can you do that for me?"
"Alright. You guys are fucking incredible. Thank you for waking us up. This next song is called Defy Me. Dance for me. Let's see those moves." It is honestly nearly impossible to describe how 'thick', for want of a better word, Arkángel's energy truly is; like the roof is pushing down on you, making the air itself harder to breathe. They will hold you in stasis while you watch, the pit only adding fuel to the fire as they push each other in the flashing light. "Alright this side. I want you to fucking scream it with me. Do you know the words? I want to hear it. Ready." Jake stepped down the stairs and into the face of a patron before they screamed into the microphone together, eliciting cheers from onlookers. "Give it up for my man at the front here. We're nearly finished. We've got two songs left. But this our most fun and newest song. It's Tongue of Lies. If any of you know how to mosh, keep it up. And I want a few newbies from the back right up in the front. Let's see some fucking movement. Bring it on baby... Yeah baby, keep fucking dancing. I didn't say
stop." Just when I thought the energy aqcouldn't step up higher, I was proved wrong as absolute chaos and mayhem opened in the pit. "This is our last fucking song and a lot of you have been moving and I fucking love it. I'm going to get in with you to start this one. This one's called WARPATH" Jake said walking down the stairs and into the pit. As a push-pit formed around Jake he made his way back to the stage. "Lose your fucking shit in there people. Don't go to sleep on me... Alright." For the final time Jake entered the pit, "Spin around me. Spin around me." The pit spun rapidly around him as he finished the set from the floor. "Fuck yeah Brissy. This has been one of our favourite shows... Come chat to us. We are friendly guys. We don't have any merch, unfortunately we sold out, but we will be back here again soon. Love you guys."
If you have met me even once I have probably been annoying to you about Roronoah; honestly not helped by vocalist Kalani and his habit of giving me Roronoah stickers which now plasters all of my work equipment. Starting the set from the archway in the wall with You Love It, the crowd locked in immediately, covering the floor in front of Kalani. "This is Roronoah Bitch. Let's get this fucking pit open. Let me see what you've got." In the ten months that I have been attending as many Roronoah shows as possible, I have witnessed their fan base grow rapidly, from a
four person wall of death, their first row pit and now to three-quarters of the room becoming the pit as the crowd threw hands, pushed anyone they could touch and in general just cause a ruckus as the guitarist's fingers slide along the necks like lightning, Ryan and Josh joined forces in a tandem breakdown, drummer Jude smacked the drum kit to within an inch of it's life and Kalani dominating the front of the stage. As A Vice Like No Other came to an end and we got the pit call "Fuck yeah. Open" from Kalani as he waggled his fingers to the crowd, "Let's see a circle bitch. Circle pit. You should all know your shapes by now." Running the circle pit straight into Primeval, it turned into a push-pit at the tempo shift. "Give it up for yourselves." "Bodies. Bodies. Bodies. Split this fucking pit" Kalani said as they moved straight into the mayhem that is Hush. "Get low. Get low. Get low. To the
fucking floor. To the fucking floor." I watched as nearly the whole crowd dropped to the floor, waiting for their time to jump. As the end of Hush came into sight the flickering blue light amplified the band's silhouette and Kalani's new face paint style, giving a horror movie vibe in all the right ways. "We two-step to this bitch. Open that pit one more time." Barking at the crowd the band moved into Let The Cleaver Swing, bassist Corie jumping up to the microphone for the assist on vocals. "Give it up for Ryan over here. Give it up for Josh" Kalani said as the pair solo'd. "Let's get on the fucking floor one more time. On the floor. On the floor. On the floor. On the floor" Kalani sitting on the stage to join the crowd in the energy. "This is my favourite breakdown, so don't fuck ruin it for me, I want to see some real fucking energy." As I looked around there were only a handful of people remaining on their
feet, some of them Tomcat staff. "For this next thirty fucking seconds you are mine and you are me, so when I get up, you will get up, do we have a fucking understanding?" Watching the crowd jump up in a wave and turning back to the stage where the band had doubled themselves over in the breakdown, gigantic smiles on their faces, outshone only by those of drummer Jude's parents who happened to be standing next to me, was probably the highlight for me, as it was such a unifying experience felt by all. "Let's keep this shit going. The energy is still up so I want to see you still moving. This is Judgement bitch." "Break your fucking neck." The crowd understood the assignment and head banging vigorously as Ryan performed the guitar solo. "Down the middle. Side-to-side." Every time throughout the night I didn't think the energy could go higher I was proved wrong as the pit
stepped it up again. As the stage went quiet the crowd began to cheer, Kalani standing in the middle of the stage, his arms crossed like a disappointed Dad he put the microphone back to his mouth and said "It's not over. It's not over. Get on the fucking floor." He laughed like the menace he is and the crowd laughed along with him. "Just get on the floor. We're rowing. Get on the floor. Move bitch!" As half the pit area rowed Kalani used this movement to record the crowd. "We've got two left bitch. Alright baby. Let's keep this shit going...You might be seeing a feature on this next song and I might point to him when it is time. But for this time he is going to stay on the side, he is going to like this shit. And when he comes on the stage, I expect it to be to a big round of applause." Crimson Smile had the crowd feral once more as the pit hit a high, bodies and hands flying everywhere as Kalani screamed "Lose your
fucking mind" while pointing at the crowd. "Give it up for fucking Harrison baby" Kalani said to a ruckus applause "Get it my boys" shouted from a pitter. "Split this fucking pit. Side to side. Side to side." Kalani counting Harrison in for the gutteral combination of the night. "Yeah bitch! That was Arkángel and Roronoah. Give it up for Harrison. My fucking boy. Last song. This is a doozy. Let's keep it groovin'." Roronoah banged their heads collectively through the red and blue flashing light while performing their closing track Mind//Body as the crowd moved as one with them, Jude catching his drumstick as a final flourish and an end to the Shores of Desolation Tour. "Thank you Tomcat. You've been amazing. DisKust is up next. Keep that pit moving."
In the spirit of honest documentation I am going to admit that for most of the DisKust set I could only see half of the band, because I genuinely feared injury post hand surgery if I stood anywhere else, and the pit had been wild up until this point of the night and it was only going to get more intense with the headliner taking to the stage. With that out of the way, let's get into the celebration of Skin Cage. From the moment DisKust started performing they had the crowd moving, to the point that I was watching the barricade sway to an alarming degree as the band played METEORITE through flickering lights, doubling themselves in half for the breakdown, matching the crowds energy. "How are we feeling Tomcat? Are you ready to have some fucking fun with us? Let's see it." "Spin this fucking room." "Spin this fucking room. Spin. Spin. Spin. Spin this fucking
room right now." Immediately the crowd obliged spinning into one of the most intense circle pits of the night. As SCAPEGOAT began I was honestly happy with my choice to step back into a safe position as the whole pit section turned to a feral mess of flailing hands and feet, an aggressive push-pit and frantic headbanging; the band stepping up to the edge of the stage to push their energy on the crowd further. "Holy fucking shit" was an apt reaction from vocalist Bo as he looked over the crowd. "This is fucking awesome. Thank you so much for coming out tonight man. We know there is so much other stuff going on tonight. The Dolphins are playing. You could be catching up on Married At First Sight. But you're here. You're fucking here. We're sorry about the Warriors jersey obviously." Do You Love Me Yet turned the environment bouncy, with patrons jumping around, smiling as they crashed into one another. "Still got some energy Brissy or what?" "That XXXX energy." "God Damn! Who's heard our new EP, Skin Cage? (Crowd cheers) This is Necrosis." It was about here that the energy in the room was so frantic that I actually needed to step further behind the bench as the pit expanded outwards, the front rowers head banging so furiously that I
almost copped an elbow to the face, but watching the smiles on the band's faces as Necrosis came to its conclusion, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. While I have only seen DisKust live once
before this, it is definitely a testament to them that on both occasions the crowd were locked in so thoroughly to the music, and outwardly expressing it as well, that this group of men truly hold space for their fans to be engaged with the show. "Damn. This one's called NETHER." We were right back into the relentless mayhem, the energy not dropping at all from song to song. "Are we having a good night Tomcat? Make some noise for Violent Conflict. Make some noise for Arkángel. RORONOAH! (Crowd erupts in cheers) I hope I said that right. This one is called Never Have I Ever." A circle pit half of the size of the floor opened at this point as the band stepped to the edge of the stage, screaming lyrics into the fans faces. "God damn. Alright Tomcat. This is it right here. Show me what you've got." As I watched the band double over in the breakdown, pushing their limits in return for the crowd, I locked into guitarist Jayce's floppy hair, bringing a momentary calmness to the situation as it was highlighted by the stage lights. "Think you're pretty hot huh. Skin Cage."
Bo had the crowd singing and wooing back to the stage as the song progressed. "That was pretty good. Fuck me" said guitarist Kiel. "Knew the words and everything. Everyone had a good night so far? We feel very lucky that we get to bring out best friends in Arkángel, Violent Conflict and Roronoah. All these tours combined. It's very special." "We have some seriously talented friends. And we love them very much. Thank you so much. This one is called God Amongst Men." "It's a slow one." "It's a slow one." The mayhem of the crowd was only amplified by the constantly flickering lights and ruckus of the band on the stage. "Here we go Tomcat." As the song slowed and Bo danced to the rhythm, the crowd cheered wildly. "We're running with our click. We're doing our best. This one is Off With Your Head." "For this one Brissy we are going to need some voices. Are you okay with that? It's very simple. Very simple. Are you ready?" I had an unexpected moment of laughter as I turned to watch the circle pit only to find a hug pit between Jake, Harrison and Skylar formed off to the side, smiles plastered on their faces as they turned in a slow circle before breaking apart and turning back to the stage. "Thanks for sticking around man. We really appreciate it.
Alright, we've got one more for you. If you know it sing it along with me." "Holy fucking shit Tomcat. Fuck, you guys showed up in fucking droves man. Make some fucking noise for yourselves. Thank you all so much for spending the night with us and all of our friends. You're all our friends. We've still got some more." As Bo knelt on the stage a clap-a-long started with the band shifted into Khronic. "Let's hear those beautiful voices I know you have." After the sing-a-long section of the track the crowd split for a wall of death that covered three-quarters the length of the room. "Split it in half. Split it in half. You know what the fuck to do Tomcat. Are you ready Tomcat? Let me hear you. Are you ready Tomcat? On the count of three. One. Two. Three. Go! That's what I call a sight." "Yeah sorry, usually we have a clip track for that but we don't have that, so sorry." "Did I hear you tell these beautiful people from Brisbane that that was our last song?" "Fuck off" shouted crowd members. "No, it's not" continued the crowd. "I don't think they are ready to fucking go home yet." "Fuck off." "Tomcat, are you ready to go home?" "No!" "Tomcat. Are you ready to go home or what?" "NO!" "We don't believe ya." "Three more songs." "Alright. Alright. We'll meet you in
the middle. Two more songs." (Crowd erupts.) "But you have to help me sing it. Do we have a deal Tomcat? Do we have a deal? Alright." "Then it's fucking bed time okay." "It's time for us to disappear. HA HA HA HA." Disappear had the crowd frantic in the pit, while the guitarist organised a pit moment, becoming a part of the push pit, as they continued to play, Kiel standing on the edge of the stage and leaning over the barricade. After a photo moment the band jumped right back into it for the final track of the evening. "If we play one more song, you have to run for the whole four minutes of it." "Woo. Get it" shouted a member of the pit. "I can't sing that song. I can't sing it. I can't." "Bo says he can't sing it." "Will you guys sing it for me? Tomcat!" "This one is called Somewhere (Somehow), DJ spin that shit." "No really, run!" With most of the pit disappearing into the pit the crowd took the order to heart and running for most of the length of the song. "Let's get some beers." "Thank you Tomcat. Let's fucking Party" said the band leaving the stage to a round of applause. While there were only two points throughout the show that I was actually able to see drummer Michael I just wanted to make a quick note specifically about him. I saw Michael perform twice in the span of two weeks with both of his bands (you can read about his performance with Awake In Time here) and he is a genuinely impressive drummer. He makes these songs look effortless to play and that is obviously not the case.
You can find more on Roronoah at 15 Qld Bands here, Judgement Single review here, Crimson Smile Single review here, Interview here and Shores of Desolation EP review here and Behind the Mic here.
You can find more on DisKust at 15 Qld Bands here.
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