The Ghost Inside, Bleed From Within, Day Of Contempt @ The Gov, Adelaide 21/10/2025

As the crowd roar ‘all my life I’ve been waiting for something’ during the final song of a raucous evening of metal, The Ghost Inside’s front man Johnathan Vigil stands on top the stage, microphone out, like a preacher at a sermon. All as one, one as all.

It’s been an evening of hardcore, British metal and metalcore played the way it should be. Loud, propane fuelled, explosive metal.

Opening the evening is local heroes Day Of Contempt. After reviving themselves last year, the Adelaide band slam down with old school hardcore that has the old school fans form a pit early. Loaded with grooves and breakdowns, and a new guitarist and drummer, when they switch from that two-step beat to the Sabbath-esque chugs, they sound devilishly brutal. Solid start to a solid crowd.

For Scots Bleed From Within, the review must take a turn. The notes were put away halfway through opening song Violent Nature, the beer downed and a beeline made to the front. On a typically dreich day more aligned with theirs and my own hometown, Scott Kennedy and the lads turn up the heat. This is more my experience than theirs.

The pit behind me is rambunctious, the band in front, electric. Kennedy connects with everyone while the band drop songs like Zenith and Levitate with the force of crashing buildings. When Kennedy mentions he’ll talk ‘shite’ while holding a can of Irn Bru, this writer starts to get a wee homesick. What better then than In Place Of Your Halo which sounds pure dead brilliant, to unleash those emotions? As I prepare to start defending my country during the bagpipes, I get relegated to support cast as Kennedy leaps into the crowd, and I have to hold him up, crotch and all in my face, while he decimates the crowd. Braw works lads.

Having lost sixteen kilos in sweat, I switch to the back for the The Ghost Inside, which observing how they worked their crowd into pulp during their seventy five minute set was a good idea for my tired body. The Americans don’t let up like an alligator doesn’t with its prey.

Going Under opens with Vigil getting the crowd clapping, then releasing them like an elastic band as the floors bounces. It’s that mental that during The Outcast, Vigil stops the band mid song to make sure the punters are ok.

There’s not much room up there however the band make the most of it. Andrew Tkaczyk drums reverberate, the guitars shudder and Vigil, the centre of the sonic whirlwind, directs that energy into a furious performance.

Nineteen tracks in seventy five minutes is great value for money anywhere in the world, newbies like Earn It, an angry offensive beast, has the crowd chanting like oldies such as Aftermath do.

There’s hardcore vibe of Pressure Point complements the metalcore of Secret. There are consistent surfers in Faith Or Forgiveness matched by the vocalists in the crowds passion in Avalanche, in what becomes a greatest hits of metal genres wrapped into one prime time band.

Final track Engine 45 finishes with that line ‘All my life I’ve been waiting for something’ being sung solely by the crowd. Vigil, microphone held out, thanks the crowd for what was an truly special evening. Maybe that something, was this show.

Live Review By Iain McCallum