Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Paledusk, Heavensgate @ The Gov, Adelaide 26/2/2026
Since last treading the boards in Adelaide, the world has fell in love with Thornhill so much, we may not get them back. Their achievements in the States and Europe have the band perfectly placed to launch into the stratosphere on their next release such has been the upsurge of support towards current album Bodies. So, for those of us in Adelaide lucky enough to be at the sold-out show at, what could now be considered intimate for the band, The Gov, it promises to be a special evening.
A special evening further supplemented by a lineup of smouldering bands in Ocean Grove, Paledusk and Heavensgate, and it’s the latter we start with.
Heavensgate really do start the mood. They rip holes in the venues speakers and burn the floor with breakdowns and pits to the delicate tunes such as Ratking and A Fawn Flayed. The already heaving venue leaves little room to move yet somehow, they extrapolate a circle pit of gargantuan size that cuts the room like a runaway buzzsaw.
Japan’s Paledusk waste no time in getting everyone fist pumping and limbs flying, and that just the guitarist who fly kicks, pirouettes and when needed, shreds their way through a set list that blends metal, electronic and was that a bit of reggae? The crowd lap it up like a parched dog as they even throw in a new song in Super Natural High and get the venue to do the old get down and get up routine which exposed me as doing neither.
Talking of getting down, Ocean Grove are arguably the countries premium hype band. You wanna feel you can take on the world? Pop on one of their tracks. You want to express your innermost colours; they are the soundtrack to meaningful freedom. They are a vibe.
Ask For The Anthem becomes the crowds song as singer Dale Tanner lets them have free reign, Stratosphere Love brilliant and finishing with Fly Away, they make this a night that could end right now and it would be astounding. Is it soon to ask for new music?
However, Thornhill is Australia’s jewel in the crown at present. A band on the precipice of truly challenging to be the top player in our wider heavy scene. They are hotter than an Australian summer, smoother than a cold stubby on a hot day and thankfully, they know it and perform accordingly.
Vocalist Jacob Charlton arrives on stage, pumped up and gets everyone clapping for Diesel. You can sense something magical is in the air.
Charlton, who sports shades like Bono, performs with the same arrogance but without the annoyance. He knows he and his band are molten lava right now. People are literally climbing poles to get a better look, hands in the air are interspersed with legs, and I’m pretty sure I saw a least three t-shirts get thrown across the room.
The dynamics in the band’s music has the floor bubbling like a volcano. Revolver and Nurture which eventually erupts during Lily & The Moon. Absolute scenes of disorder and chaos abound as the gig for a moment becomes a replica of scoring the winning goal in a football game.
The set list is stacked with quality that shows the bands versatility between the heavy and light, the ambient electronic influences and the guitar-based metal. Hollywood, Arkangel and Silver Swarm, holding the fort through the middle.
The final hurrah of songs, no encore for this band, is bedlam. A wall of death, bodies crashing, surfers dropping. All with the backdrop of Charlton and that band setting fire to Casonova, Obsession and Nerv and then it was done.
As the PA drops Spandau Ballet’s True on us, the line from the song ‘I bought a ticket to the world, but now I’ve come back again’ hits differently. They have come back, yet I will guarantee they will be off soon, and we will not be this close to them again, as they ascend to the stars. Now that’s true.
Live Review By Iain McCallum