Silverstein, Comeback Kid, Belle Haven, Reactions @ Fowlers Live, Adelaide 15/5/2018
As the nights get longer and colder, a warm blast of metal air arrives from Canada in the shape of Silverstein and Comeback Kid. Also bringing warmth on the hardcore slipstream is Belle Haven and our very own Reactions.
Fresh from their support set at the sold-out Polaris show, Reactions take to the stage early and set about like they mean business. Gritty vocals, bass heavy crunchy riffs, the floor vibrates as the band power through their set. The song Addicted To Discipline in particular, getting a suitable hardcore response from the crowd.
Melbourne boys Belle Haven are back and keep getting better. Since the record You Me And Everything was released, their list of achievements has been impressive and this national tour support slot continues their upward trajectory. This is a band not resting on its laurels but pushing through their own ceiling. It shows too with an excellent set spanning their career thus far. David De La Hoz’s vocals a perfect accompaniment for the hectic yet refined performance that is becoming more dynamic with each tour. Next up is their own headline shows across the country in July which you’d be best advised checking out.
Canadians Comeback Kid are touring a quality new album called Outsider and are primed to get the blood pressure raised and the circle pits twirling. With tracks like Surrender Control and Wasted Arrows bursting through the speakers, the now packed audience watch a band working their magic.
One element that always seems to get unnoticed in hardcore is the actual riffs. These boys, while being fast and energetic, can slow it down and bring the Sabbath styled doom as well. All of it is greeted enthusiastically with shirts being thrown in the air, heads banging and voice’s chanting the words back. Finishing with the brutal Wake The Dead, anyone who wasn’t awake at that point probably was in actual fact, dead.
Headliners Silverstein arrive on stage to the brilliant Ghost and up the ante. The crushing breakdown in Massachusetts smashes the senses in the hot room. The temperature rises even more with Sacrifice as vocalist Shane Told gets the loud crowd to sing back word for word.
Recent album Retrograde is possibly their heaviest album yet however this is a band of great subtly. The acoustic My Heroine being the ‘get your lighter’ out moment of the set. This though before the aforementioned title track Retrograde swings to the heavier end of the spectrum.
Finishing with Discovering The Waterfront and The Afterglow, the band leaves knowing they’ve delivered what the crowd wanted. A blistering performance of music that has warmed the cockles on this bitter and cold night. The tour now moves onto an even colder Melbourne, where they’ve been advised a warm front of hardcore metal is coming. They’ve been advised that this is the Sound Of The Sun.
Live Review By Iain McCallum