(HED) P.E., Nonpoint, Suffer The Evenue @ Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide 11/2/2026
The turn of the millennium was a vibrant time for metal music. Styles were blended, crossovers were plenty, and that backyard party vibe spread as collaborations became common place.
Within that time, like most musical movements, some became stadium huge, plenty were cheap knock offs and others criminally didn’t get the credit they deserved. That last category is where HED (PE) sit.
Tonight, playing their biggest album, 2000’s Broke, the Californian’s are in a relaxed and chilled mode, ready to have a good time and invite you all to join them.
Opening the party is Adelaide’s Suffer The Evenue, whose singer Nick Donelan, doesn’t stop for a breather, jumping on the barrier, coming out into the crowd and duelling on a version of Soulfly’s Pain in a manic start to the evening.
Then Nonpoint take to the stage. The bands laidback funk vibe may not on the surface match with metal yet tonight, it is at a welcome pace that satisfies in a similar way to picking the right meal off a menu.
Vocalist Elias Soriano has his hand on the audiences sound gauge as he brings bounce to Chaos And Earthquakes which grooves with a mixture of funk, rap and metal.
Dodge Your Destiny has fists in the air as the crowd start to work themselves up into a sweat inducing frenzy and then a unique version of Phil Collin’s In The Air Tonight which my mate Nathan says sounds like Tool covering it, punctuate the set.
Talking of my mate Nathan, he’s on the sound desk tonight, which is quite a big thing as last time HED (P.E.) were here, the sound was, well, murky at best. So much so that Jahred Gomes actually does a shout out to Nathan as the sound tonight is crisp and on point.
For their part, HED (P.E.) bring the sway, the flow and the big riffs throughout as they shake up the Broke playlist starting with Jesus (Of Nazarath), before blowing the place up with Killing Time and bunch of ‘fuck yeah!’ from the crowd.
The floor literally bounces during Waiting To Die before a soulful groove of Feel Good brings the pace back a little, Jahred choosing to chill during this period, casting an eye on his appreciative audience before it explodes once again.
HED (P.E.) didn’t really land in the metal category and it’s due to their flexibility and fluidity of styles, the reggae influenced Swan Dive a case in point before drummer Stephen Arango breaks that down with his rumbling cacophony of beats.
Jahred is like a trickster, one minute rage and power, the next vibing without a care, the crowd lapping it up. I say it every time however where else can you here a melodica solo?
Running home with the heavies is Boom, Bartender and Renegade, all tight, huge and energy driven from a crowd that doesn’t care about work tomorrow.
HED (P.E.) have a loyal following here and it’s easy to see why. Metal you can relax to. Funk you can headbang to. It’s just like a backyard party with your closest friends after all.
Live Review By Iain McCallum