The Acacia Strain, Dying Wish, Volatile Ways @ UniBar, Adelaide 19/1/2024
A beautiful balmy evening in the Adelaide University cloisters was met with an absolute riot as The Acacia Strain brought their sold-out Australian tour to a packed venue of Metalcore enthusiasts with incredible female lead national supports Dying Wish and Volatile Ways.
Local support Winnerz Circle were finishing their set and doing their best to open the pit for business on arrival, with a mate having already copped an egg-head from moshing, however my eagerness to finally see Volatile Ways was finally satisfied when they fired up to a full house and everyone ready to go their absolute hardest. Leading in with the Eldon Ring intro (according to the set list, it sounded dire nonetheless but I’m no gamer) for the doomy drama, Goddess Rot broke out with a heavy stomping beat and violent guitar licks. Pink clad energiser bunny vocalist Emily Beekman wiped the floor with her insanely brutal gutturals. Her energy is relentless as she prances around the stage amping up the audience and nailing hectic two-step moves and fly kicks without stopping for the entire set. The room got hot and muggy very quick, like a tropical hell of sweaty bodies moving to the short hard crushing tracks that blend Metalcore and slam seamlessly and a stage lit up hot pink.
Dying Wish from Portland Oregon managed to bring some chill to the chaos but only a touch, with their groove infused Metalcore and cheeky post-punk charm featuring cleanly sung ballad choruses. Frontwoman Emma Boster boasts an impressive vocal range with fry screams and clean singing while giving off serious Miley Cyrus vibes with her stage presence, proving once again that Metalcore is one hundred percent a girls’ sport. 2023 single Torn from your Silhouette evoked some gleeful Tsunami Bomb nostalgia for me accompanied by concrete heavy breakdowns. Guitarist Sam Reynolds commanded everyone to “close the pit” before final track Innate Thirst was blasted and a circle pit ensued.
The crowd was literally bursting out of the glass double doors to the Unibar when The Acacia Strain started their set, forcing me outside in the fresh air and thankfully with an excellent vantage point of the stage from the windows and protected from the clamorous crowd and specific designated circle of karate death (which is very much a part of these shows) A wide eyed security guard had already asked me “Is this normal?” referring to the slam dancing and pit of death going on, obviously resulting in a few injuries, to which I had stated that yes it is, and anyone setting foot in that specific circle knows exactly what they are in for. Unfortunately for him, that was before Acacia’s front man Vincent Bennett, known for his specific talent of revving up audiences, came onstage. This set was no exception, and between fifteen tracks of absolute brutality, the natural born entertainer interacted with his audience consistently delivering some evocative pep talks with positive messages about looking after your mates, followed by spraying a beer can and tossing it into the audience before screaming “MOVE!”
With a heavy hitting flow of consistent tempo changes and breakdowns stacking more drum fills than a Military Marching Band, the crowd was amped as Bennett continued his tirade chanting “Crowd surf! Circle pit!” inciting more chaos from the pit participants. Just before playing Untended Graves’ Bennett claims he would usually encourage crowd surfing for this track but “isn’t allowed to” and within thirty seconds a body goes flying over the audience sending Security into a panic. Crippling Poison got the entire venue screaming “I’m going through some shit!” before final track Carbomb slowed everyone’s breathing down significantly- essentially a minute long break down to finish everyone off.
It was the full ‘core package for The Acacia Strain’s show, complete with crushing sonic assaults, hefty brain stomping breakdowns, adorable brutal sounding front women, circle pits, head injuries and bewildered security. Everything you could expect from a band of Acacia’s calibre and more. With no one leaving in an ambulance, it was a highly successful and positive night.
Live Review By Bec Scheucher