75% Pirate metal is the weird and weirdly popular off-shoot of folk metal, which is often just as strange. Lagerstein are by far Australia’s sharpest and wildest exponents at this caper and…
Winter Magic Revival Festival, Katoomba
Katoomba High School & Baroque Room, Katoomba. 26 – 27 August, 2022 Katoomba’s Winter Magic Festival was once one of the biggest regional festivals in New South Wales. As recently as 2018…
TEMTRIS – Ritual Warfare
85% While their line-up has been far from stable, Temtris have slowly come into their own as one of Australia’s shining lights of pure heavy metal. The band’s last two albums exhibited…
LORD – Undercovers Vol. 1
80% From the days in the distant past when they were still called Dungeon, LORD could always be relied upon to pull together a pretty decent cover tune. Undercovers Vol. 1 (!) is…
INTRØSPECT: Midnight Sun
90% Sydney’s Intrøspect is another in a strong clutch of newer modern prog bands raising their hands on this country’s increasing vibrant scene. With influences as far afield as Northlane, Evanescence and…
Monolith Festival, Sydney
Monolith Festival, Bella Vista Farm, Sydney. 20 August 2022 It has been a long time since I’ve been to a music festival. The last one was well before the virus, the (unbeknownst…
Blacken Open Air 2022
Blacken Open Air Festival, Ross River Resort 29 July – 1 August 2022 Three years on from when it could last be held, Blacken Open Air returned in 2022 at a sacred…
Dr Colossus at the Duke
Dr Colossus, Tantichrist at the Duke of Enmore, Sydney. 4 June 2022 What better way to warm up on a cold Saturday evening in Sydney than to cram into the front bar…
Polaris at Penrith Panthers
Polaris, Alpha Wolf, Deadlights, Above Below at Penrith Panters, Penrith. 24 May 2022 After two aborted attempts to get this tour off the ground, rising talents Polaris finally got out to Sydney’s…
Caligula’s Horse at the Metro Social
Caligula’s Horse, Reliqa, Acolyte at the Metro Social, Sydney. 30 April 2022 After two years of enforced idleness, Caligula’s Horse were finally able to blow off steam at a string of shows…