OCEAN SLEEPER METALCORE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: CONCERT REVIEW
- Kirsty Shepherd
- Dec 30, 2025
- 17 min read
No matter what you believe in, whatever or how you practice, no one can
turn away from a celebration like Ocean Sleeper's Metalcore Christmas
Special. Coming off the successful EU/UK and North American tour, Ocean Sleeper rounded out their year with the Sold Out Christmas bash on Saturday the 20th of December at The Brightside in Brisbane, Queensland. With seven incredible Australian bands over two stages (including the newly constructed outdoor entertainment area) and no clashes you now attendees were in for a once in a lifetime experience. This is going to be a long one so let's jump into the band performances, the crowd atmosphere and the coordinated Christmas outfits.
Kicking off the festivities took form in the high energy Melbourne Alt-Pop three-piece Nightlight. Taking to the stage in red and white Christmas outfits, high impact drums, an impressive display of clean and dirty vocals, mixed in with choreographed dance moves and the coolest
keyboard guitar I have ever seen. Nightlight used the perfect blend of stage presence and crowd interaction, "We are Nightlight and we can't wait to bring our pop-metal party to you. This one is NEZUMI", "Brisbane we want to hear you scream... fuck yeah. Hands up", "Brisbane I know it's hot but I'd love to see you move", "Hey Brisbane, I hope you are staying hydrated today. It's hot as fuck. Look after yourselves", "We just released a new song called DRAMA//DRAMA, and this is what happens when K-POP meets Metal", "If your knees aren't
completely fucked, I'd love to see a couple of slut drops in the crowd today, I'll be watching out for the best one, so do us a favourite and get down low", "We have two songs left. Who wants to hear an unreleased song? That's right" before playing TAKE//OVER and finishing on HEAVEN//BELOW. So a fun fact about me is I have been a Bring Me The Horizon fan since 2006 so when "Kingslayer" started I was completely giddy, the crowd jumping in clapping at all the correct places and singing along as directed to the cover. I personally would have been
shitting myself covering such a heavy hitter of the alternative scene, but no nerves appeared as Nightlight absolutely crushed their rendition. Nightlight were a perfect opener, riling up the crowd and giving a good energy to the space. I left the outside stage to head towards Revoid, chatting excitedly amongst my group, some with pleasant surprise from some of the heavier music fans about how good the performance was.
Brisbane metalcore locals Revoid took to the inside stage with the dominating force of a band with a point to prove. Making use of the small stage with each member giving their all in their quadrant, hair flipping light monsters, bouncing and dancing in place and stepping into the faces
of the moshpit. I do have a general dislike of the heavy red light use of the inside stage, making it more difficult to see the performers, but that is a personal taste. Seeing vocalist Dale transform from the guttural, pig squealing behemoth into the quietly spoken man at the merch stand was enough to cause whiplash, in the best possible way. "Brisbane, how are we doin? Sing this shit", "I see you. We're Revoid, let's keep this shit moving", "Hey everyone. Would you all like to bounce up and down for me? Let's do it", "Do you all love sad shit?", "We're going to pick this up again with a dancey song called Never Mind, if you know how to boogie show me. You've got this okay!" "Who's got energy for me? Who's got fucking energy for me? We've got three tracks for you. Heavy as shit. Spin this shit. Keep it up! Move.", "I see you've stopped. Let's go!", "Split this room
for. Side to side. You know what time it is. It's time to choose violence", "Christmas has come early, as we all do sometimes. It's okay. This is called Euphoria", "Hands up who's been good for me this year? You'll get a shirt and you'll get a shirt. Those shirts only come in a small, so find your small
friend or put it on your dog", "We are Revoid and you have all been amazing", "Look after each other, have a great night and Merry Christmas". The set came to a close with the high energy and ruckus performance of "Burn With Me". Revoid took the crowd through a journey, like a roller coaster having the lows and peaks of energy, giving the moshers a chance to rest before dragging the pit into a frenzy once more. Watching from the platform it was an interesting experience as the crowd performed almost like an ocean with the rising and lowering of the
tides. This was my first time seeing Revoid and they were one of the bands I was most excited to see, and I was not disappointed.
I was running outside once more to see the only other Queensland based band Stepson take to the stage. Starting the set with the television displaying Stepson's name and a crying smiley face before announcing "Bring it in guys", the band jumped whole heartedly into the performance, the pit immediately matching the high level energy. "Come with Me. Split it, on the left and on the right. When this kicks in you know what to do"As a short person, I must admit that having the high set stage was extremely useful, in actually being able to see what was happening. Having a wall of death in the opening song was a level of chaos that I wasn't expecting, but was not unwelcome by
any means. The level of energy and engagement between the band and crowd from the beginning was honestly heart-warming. After a maintenance break we were thrown into a furious cover of Faint by Linkin Park which brought way too much joy to my nostalgic preteen heart. "Thanks guys. We learnt that last night" Brock announced before they continued with the set. The level of commentary from the band was elite, with one giant section (written below) taking place over an ethereal circle pit, which started slow to the orchestral
music before turning immediately feral as the song beraged the crowd below. Seeing Brock kneeling on the stage as he watched the pit with a proud smile on his face made me appreciate the level of energy that a Queensland crowd brings to the table. I am extremely outspoken about how impressive I think the Queensland alternative scene is, but seeing it translated into such a pure form hit extremely hard. The set was brought to its end with a combination of two-step, fight pit and hand swaying as Stepson played
"Let's get fucking heavy and bring the boot", "Show me how you fucking two-step", "How are we Brisbane? That was fucking shithouse. How are we? What a fucking honour it is to play this little Chrissy present for you all. This is our home town. I know a lot of people haven't seen us before. We have the Ocean Sleeper crowd and the RedHook crowd, and we welcome you with open arms. So thank you for coming along and early. We are Stepson and currently stalling because we broke a fucking bass strap... This is really awkward... This never
happens I promise (That's what they all say, shouted a member of the crowd)", "We do have two new songs, this is discover lonely, we hope you enjoy guys", "Let's move it guys. This is the time!", "Hell yeah, I just want to say that I am loving this energy in this fucking heat. We are fucking boiling up here so I can only imagine what you cunts rubbing shoulders are feeling. So I appreciate you for braving that. This is
Brisbane baby, we go fucking hard. This next song is off our albums 'Help me help you' so if you in the middle know what a circle pit is, when this
kicks in, spin the fuck out of this place. Let's pick this shit up and go crazy. Move of you mother fuckers in there. Spin this shit. Spin this shit. Spin this shit mother fuckers. This a mother fucker bayblade, Rip that shit. Let's turn it turbo. Keep it going. Pick up the pace. We're getting your steps in. The cardio's going crazy. Alright let's go.", "This is a song called Deeper Sleep, and if you guys have seen us before, it
requires some participation from you, front to back, so when this mother starts clapping so do. So lets have a good time and boogie", "We are Stepson. Get home safe. We love you all. Let's go baby." Stepson definitely represented Brisbane in the best light possible and I cannot wait to add them to my "have seen them at multiple shows" list.
Sydney Hardcore band Deficit had me hustling back inside to watch the most dominating and oppressive set of the night; the boys creating an atmosphere that hung thick in the air like smog, perpetuated by the thick red light. The pit understanding the assignment from the off, created a
push pit, making me very happy I was observing from the top section. Watching the band filled the room with their intoxicating energy from the stage was
honestly impressive, captivating me from beginning to end with head banging, windmilling hair while playing, prowling and dancing across the stage, synchronised movements, aggressive hyping motions and directing the crowd like a Sergeant into walls of death and circle pits. Anyone watching this set would tell you about the clear passion that Deficit has for their music, their message and the enjoyment for performance as a whole. While they gave off the most "dude energy" for want of a better word of the night, the care factor for their fans was still
on display. The frenzy that Deficit held this room in was impressive, the crowd screaming the words back to the stage and pulling every once of energy they could from the
pit, even including several backflips. "What the fuck is up Brisbane? Bring it in. Bring it in", "Let's keep this energy going. Let's fucking do this shit. This next song is called Trigger. If you know the words, sing it with me", "Clear this fucking room, side to fucking side, come on, let's go", "We released a new EP recently and we are going to play a few songs off of it if that is okay with you! I want to see a fucking circle pit. Start that fucking circle pit. Start that fucking circle pit right now. Spin that shit. Every mother fucker. Don't be a fucking coward. No questions asked", "Everyone take a
few steps forward. Everyone at the back, take a few steps forward. This next song is called DEATHSTYLE. If you know the words, sing it with me", "This next
song has helped me through so much these last twelve months. It's given me the strength to carry on. And I hope it does you too. This is
FINAL BOSS", "I just want to speak from the heart for a second. I just want to say a massive thank all of the venue staff, the music and lighting, all the bands, ocean sleeper for having us here, our friends and family for coming and all of you for being here, give yourself a round of applause", "I need everyone in this room to bring it in and party with me", "Hands up, hands up, hands up. Do you feel it?", "We're not leaving this room until everyone inside this
fucking room has let out the hate and aggression inside of them. I want to turn this place into a fucking war zone. I want to see some people on the balconies.
I want to see some people off the balconies. You, on the balcony. I want to see some fucking tyrants. I want to see some fucking movement. I want to see violence." At this point the pit became absolute chaos, with people punching each other in the face, only to moments later be hugging and patting on another on the back as "Merry Christmas" bought the set to a close.
Is it truly a Christmas bash if Mariah Carey's version of All I Want For Christmas Is You doesn't play? I guess we will never know because that is exactly how RedHook took to the stage, Christmas jumpsuit and Santa hat in-toe. "Yo, yo Brisbane what the fuck is up? Merry fucking Christmas" RedHook definitely know how to work a crowd, pushing the
energy from the stage to every corner of the outside area. Throughout their set we experienced four costume changes, theatrical drops to the stage, jumping up into the barricade and singing with the fans face to face, drum solos and guitarist head banging in unison and spinning so fast while playing it was enough to make you dizzy. "Brisbane. It's late. Are you with us? I want to see you get low on the ground and lose your fucking heads with us." During Hot Tub the area was filled with bubbles from a machine on the stage and it gave an interesting visual, the red and blue light
refracting as they floated over the crowd. I will admit that I did find my attention being drawn to Ned a good portion of the set, his high energy and passionate performance pulling focus for me. "Are you having fun tonight? If any of you like shaking arse, this is the song to do it in." It was at this point that Laura of Nightlight came onto the stage to guest spot on HEXXX, her voice working perfectly alongside Emmy's cleans and Craig's heavies. With a hug Laura left the stage and the show moved to something heavier and more feral, the pit area switching from bouncy to push pit. "Has anyone seen us before? That
makes sense, the people at the front. Well hello everyone else. It's bloody nice to meet ya. Hello back there. Hello up there. I probably shouldn't have done it now because I was just like we play heavy music, and sometimes we play music with a saxaphone." Craig putting down his guitar and pulling out a saxaphone was a fun twist (me not having a huge amount of experience with RedHook coming into this) as the band jumped in Soju, to ruckus applause, fingers extended high to the sky and a sing-a-long towards the end. "This next song, if you don't know what it is about, if you ever experienced sexual
assault, this is for you." Jabberwacky had the energy switch to something heavily oppressive, the crowd mostly standing in place taking it in. "Alright, vibe check. Are you guys feeling lubed up? Are you in for another heavy one? Ned really likes it when we get a circle pit in this song." While I understand being on the high closed in stage made things more difficult for photographers / videographers to do their work, it was extremely distracting at times having so many people on the stage who were not the performers, especially while a drum solo was happening during a costume
change, there were four photographers surrounding the drum kit and honestly making it hard to even see Alex play and completely pulled me out of the performance."Can I please get a nice split down the middle. I want to see some fucking chaos in here". "Brissy, for this song, for the masochists we are, we would really like it if you flipped us off for this song". "We have been RedHook, thank you so fucking much for having us. And Security, if it's cool can we have a tiny wall of death? And by wall of death, I mean no death. Just a little one. All I want for Christmas is a wall of bad decisions." The environment
switched to a full blown party, with beach balls being unleashed into the crowd, bubbles, dancing and bouncing, with Laura and Hayley coming on to the stage to help celebrate.
Next I was back inside for the final time to watch direct support for the night Mirrors, for my second time this year. I was coming into this set just waiting to see those dreds fly and I wasn't disappointed, the band taking to the stage not wasting any time to melt some faces. "Brisbane, how the fuck are we doing? Let's bring it up!" The pit turned feral immediately with arms swinging, people
pushing and the balcony crowd dancing and bobbing their heads in the pressed in area. "We are Mirrors from Victoria. How the fuck are we doing tonight?" I will admit that being a shortie does have it's downsides, especially in these environments, as a good portion of Mirrors set I was going by sound alone, or the little I could see through my phone, so I definitely missed some things of note, like how the band interacted with the crowd and each other and how the pit was moving. As the set went on, the crowd shifted enough for me to be able to see bits here and there, including an ethereal slow speed circle pit in an
intro that immediately turned ravenous as the track properly kicked in. "Bounce! Bounce! Bounce bounce bounce bounce!" Vocalist Patty truly showed what it is to be a front man, directing the crowd where and how he wanted them effortlessly, while his powerful voice hit you like a train. As the set went on the crowd slowly thinned as patrons made their way to the main stage and I was able to see more of what was happening. Mirrors are a dominating force of the stage, the energy sitting heavy over everyone like a blanket as they prowled, bounced, danced and stomped across the stage. While there
wasn't much chatter with the crowd, there honestly didn't need to be, your attention wasn't moving from that stage. "We're going to play a couple of new songs for you guys. Bounce bounce bounce bounce." "This next one is a heavy one. I want to split this room down the middle, all the way back to the steps." Patty stood at the edge of the stage watching out over the space he created as several patrons back flipped in the free space, before being smacked around as the wall hit. "This is going to be our last song. Thank you guys for sharing this with us. This one is another heavy one, it's called reborn, and to finish this off we are going to have one more circle pit going. Right now. Spin that shit!" "We have been Mirrors. Happy Christmas."
For the final time I was back out to the outdoor stage and it was time for the main event Ocean Sleeper, getting to the stairs I understood why people were leaving Mirrors early, as I saw the sea of people in front of me. Once again I hit the problem of 'oh to be short amongst tall metal
dudes' but we persevered, finding an area next to the stairs that I could watch partially through my phone and partially in person. 'Santa Claus is coming to town' set the tone for what we were in for, the lights on the stage going dark. Cheers erupted as scenes from classic Christmas movies such as Home Alone, The Grinch and Elf amongst others played on the screen and Ocean Sleep took to the stage in full Santa outfits, including photographer. "Hey yo Brisbane, show me that moshpit. Open that shit up." "For this next song I want to hear your
fucking voices, if you know this shit get it moving, when this shit kicks in we're jumping to the sky. This is called Heaven." The crowd erupted, jumping and throwing their arms in the air while screaming the lyrics back to the band. It was at this point that wrapped presents began to be thrown into the crowd which I thought was a beautiful little touch to the celebration. I was happy to be towards the back after finding out from a friend who had been barricade that some people were being pulled unwilling into the pit by their hair, which is honestly bad pit etiquette by those responsible. Ionei honestly blew me away with his vocals; the vocal runs, held notes and singing so clearly while jumping around was impressive. "Ay-yo. This year we've been playing all around the mother fucking world, and I've seen some wall of deaths, but this one right now, show me the biggest shit
Brisbane has ever fucking seen. Who's feeling jolly? Who wants some shit. Show me this shit." The crowd engagement in this set was honestly inspiring, it was like the entire crowd had a score to settle, and to prove that we were the crowd worthy of ending Ocean Sleeper's year on. "Dance around and have some fun, this song is called Light In My Dark." I never thought that I would see Santa Clause two-step, but here we are, and seeing how much fun the band members were having on stage, and interacting with the crowd, brought the show to a whole new level. "There's a lot of you mother fuckers in here, please look after each other alright? This one is called Hate Me Like You Mean It." I appreciated that Ocean Sleeper didn't just pick their top listened songs and called it a set list, and it seems the crowd agreed with the full crowd screaming "Hate me like you mean
it" when the microphone was pushed towards them. It was at this point that the coat and hat came off and an inflatable nutcracker was thrown into the crowd to act as a festive beach ball. "Ay-yo Brisbane. Everybody down there. Everybody up there, get the fuck down. Take a fucking break. Take a minute. You guys are killing it... You guys ready for some fun? Wait for our count. ... 2... 3. Let's go." "Holy Moly. Shout out to the security guards for catching you mother fuckers. They are working like dogs out here. We're going to keep this shit going. This song is called Forever Sinking. If you know the words, I want to hear you." "My friends. Holy fucking shit. I want you all to make some noise for all the bands that played tonight. They all fucking killed it and you guys all showed up... Thank you so much for making a night like tonight worth it, for every band. Buy some merch,
from anyone. Support live music. You guys are killing it. This one is off our debut album 'Don't Leave Me This Way' then you guys should know this one. We are going to slow it down for a minute. This song is called Running Through My Head." At this point the phone lights were out, lighting up the entire courtyard area, as a sea of hands swayed side to side. "We are going to step shit up again. Get shit pretty heavy. This song is called Maybe Your Love I'll Never Need." "Alright. I'm not fucking around. This is the heaviest song you are going to hear from
us tonight." Even from where I was standing in my hidey hole at the stairs I could see how crazy the pit was as Maybe Death Is All I Need began, the crowd screaming the lyrics back to the band so loud at points that I could only hear the crowd singing, several people also taking the opportunity to jump up on a friends shoulder. "Holy shit. I want to call out Brisbane again. This is the fourth time we have sold out this venue and it is all because of you... We knew that when we sold out our headliner that we were giving this Christmas Special to you. Keep selling this show out and we will keep bringing the Christmas shows to Brisbane." "Holy fucking shit. We have done a lot of shit since we play in Brisbane last. We toured in America. We toured in Europe and the UK. We've been doing so much shit and all by ourselves. Independent from the middle of fucking nowhere. We can't
believe this shit. Thank you so much for supporting us so hard in Australia and letting us do this shit... This is our last show of the year. It has been the best year ever. Let's celebrate. I fucking need this shit. This is everything to us. Our friends. Our man Peter on the front of house. Our man Jayden on the camera wherever he is, Thankyou for letting us do this shit. We've got one last song left and we need every little bit of energy left. This last song is called Never The One. Sing as loud as you can Brisbane. LOUDER." And louder they did. Drowning out the
band for whole periods of the song. With the song and night coming to a close and the compulsory crowd photo taken the group filed out of The Brightside, myself leaving with some desperately needed Christmas cheer in my heart and a night full of memories I won't forget.
My main take away from the night was definitely that I never knew how much I needed to see people in Santa hats/outfits and terrible Christmas shirts circle pit, wall of death and two-step. This is definitely an experience I will never forget. The bands definitely put their hearts on that stage and the crowd stepped up to meet the occasion. There was one genuinely lovely, if slightly intoxicated man that I quickly want to mention, who was wondering around all night wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and I am pretty sure he got me at least seven times. The Christmas cheer was in abundance throughout the group of concert go-ers and it was lovely to see from a group who is constantly referred to as "scary" and seldom seen as the kindhearted genuine people who will pick someone up when they fall down.
Unless otherwise specified, all photographs are by Sam Herbert Media
For Fans Of: The Amity Affliction, Bring Me The Horizon and Bad Omens
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