“I’m here to hear good bands, drink beers and throw punches”.
Being a virgin to a night at the infamous Enigma Bar, overhearing that in a bathroom stall gave a good indication of what I could expect from the night: heavy music and heavier mosh pits. The heavy music being featured tonight was from Life Pilot, who have made a solid fan base over the course of their short career, and they were in full effect on Saturday night, ready to get down and throw down.
Starting of the night was local band All That I’m Asking, who brought bit of a hip-hop inspiration to their abrasive hardcore punk sound. This was only amplified when the band jumped into a cover Kanye Wests “Black Skinhead”, the band playing with a great sense of rhythm, only being bogged down by vocalist Liam Wytkins’ tendency to switch between clean and distorted vocals a bit too frequently. Never the less, All That I’m Asking ripped through their set with a great energy, particularly on the song 'Rosemary', a dedication to Wytkins’ deceased grandmother.
Following on from ATIM was At Fates Mercy, a band who quickly showed that they were much more experienced than the opening act. Despite the fact that vocalist Ben Cox couldn’t move around the stage too much due to a leg injury, the band played through their 80’s metal influenced set with a ferocity of a band who knew their sound. Their guitar melodies were strong and bright, seemingly inspired by emo bands of the 90s and contrasting well with their metal sound. Despite his injury, Cox’s powerful and versatile voice stood above the rest, announcing himself as one of the best vocalists in the room.
The first and only disappointment of the evening came from One In The Chamber, announcing that it was their final show. But they didn’t let that fact get them down because One In The Chamber brought the most high-energy set of the night, being the first band on the bill to truly send the crowd into frenzy. They blasted through their 80s hard-core punk inspired set with a juvenile energy, truly unhinged and ready to cause chaos. The band not only invited crazy crowd behaviour, they damn well created it, tossing around the microphone like a tennis ball and the lead singer diving into the crowd, being swung around like a hula-hoop by man who looked like he just walked out of a corporate staff meeting, who ended up playing bass. The band's thunderous energy only really faltered when they spontaneously jumped into a cover of Nirvana’s 'Breed', with their heavy sound not really meshing with the song, but they could easily be forgiven for playing it so sincerely.
Being a virgin to a night at the infamous Enigma Bar, overhearing that in a bathroom stall gave a good indication of what I could expect from the night: heavy music and heavier mosh pits. The heavy music being featured tonight was from Life Pilot, who have made a solid fan base over the course of their short career, and they were in full effect on Saturday night, ready to get down and throw down.
Starting of the night was local band All That I’m Asking, who brought bit of a hip-hop inspiration to their abrasive hardcore punk sound. This was only amplified when the band jumped into a cover Kanye Wests “Black Skinhead”, the band playing with a great sense of rhythm, only being bogged down by vocalist Liam Wytkins’ tendency to switch between clean and distorted vocals a bit too frequently. Never the less, All That I’m Asking ripped through their set with a great energy, particularly on the song 'Rosemary', a dedication to Wytkins’ deceased grandmother.
Following on from ATIM was At Fates Mercy, a band who quickly showed that they were much more experienced than the opening act. Despite the fact that vocalist Ben Cox couldn’t move around the stage too much due to a leg injury, the band played through their 80’s metal influenced set with a ferocity of a band who knew their sound. Their guitar melodies were strong and bright, seemingly inspired by emo bands of the 90s and contrasting well with their metal sound. Despite his injury, Cox’s powerful and versatile voice stood above the rest, announcing himself as one of the best vocalists in the room.
The first and only disappointment of the evening came from One In The Chamber, announcing that it was their final show. But they didn’t let that fact get them down because One In The Chamber brought the most high-energy set of the night, being the first band on the bill to truly send the crowd into frenzy. They blasted through their 80s hard-core punk inspired set with a juvenile energy, truly unhinged and ready to cause chaos. The band not only invited crazy crowd behaviour, they damn well created it, tossing around the microphone like a tennis ball and the lead singer diving into the crowd, being swung around like a hula-hoop by man who looked like he just walked out of a corporate staff meeting, who ended up playing bass. The band's thunderous energy only really faltered when they spontaneously jumped into a cover of Nirvana’s 'Breed', with their heavy sound not really meshing with the song, but they could easily be forgiven for playing it so sincerely.
Not to be outdone by One In The Chamber, Life Pilot took to the stage, trying live up to the last bands claims that they were “the best hardcore this side of your mum’s bed.” Sure enough, they proved that statement tenfold. Life Pilot played through their headlining set with the confidence of a band that had found their sound, bringing a unique sound to a genre that gets bogged down in clichés and a lack of creativity. Their big guitar riffs which were savage but no less memorable blended well with their thrashing rhythmic sound that didn’t lose any steam by the end of the set, even though band were visually exhausted (guitarist Tim Lawrence nearly passing out by the end). The band's track ‘Hightide’ was easily the standout of the set, Angus Long’s bloodcurdling vocals truly being the highlight.
If you stuck around long enough to catch Jack The Giant Killer's closing set, you would have been treated to a band who are still trying to refine their raw and aggressive sound, but by then the highlights of the night had already passed. All That I’m Asking and At Fates Mercy proved that the Adelaide hardcore scene has some good up and comers; Life Pilot presenting their case for being one of the best Australian hardcore bands on the circuit, and One In the Chamber standing by that LCD Soundsystem mantra: “If it’s gonna be a funeral, let’s have it be the best funeral ever”. All I can say about my first night at an Enigma show is that if every night is as energetic as that, I’ll be coming back.
Review by Noah Ward.
Photos by Yvonne Sears. You can view the full gallery here.
If you stuck around long enough to catch Jack The Giant Killer's closing set, you would have been treated to a band who are still trying to refine their raw and aggressive sound, but by then the highlights of the night had already passed. All That I’m Asking and At Fates Mercy proved that the Adelaide hardcore scene has some good up and comers; Life Pilot presenting their case for being one of the best Australian hardcore bands on the circuit, and One In the Chamber standing by that LCD Soundsystem mantra: “If it’s gonna be a funeral, let’s have it be the best funeral ever”. All I can say about my first night at an Enigma show is that if every night is as energetic as that, I’ll be coming back.
Review by Noah Ward.
Photos by Yvonne Sears. You can view the full gallery here.
RSS Feed
