LARGERFEST REVIEW
For the first time in years, Lagerfest finally made its way back down to Sydney and to say the night was amazing would be an understatement!
Upon arriving at the venue, we were greeted with the sound of the fire alarm and the venue being evacuated, clearly the alarm was just as excited as the rest of the fans for the show, but this did cause some issues that everyone was able to rise above and put on the best show that they could.
First up to take the stage was Sydney band Temtris and they exploded the night with their heavy thrash sound. Given the unfortunate time constraints created by the fire alarm they were only able to play three songs, but they didn’t let that stop them from playing their hearts out and ripping through their hits: Kaos Divine, Forever, and One for All. The audience loved it and cheered loudly for the powerful voice of Genevieve, the twin attack guitars of Nadi and Anthony, the driving bass of Vane, and the heavy drums of Nicholas! Temtris are a must-see band and the perfect choice for opening this festival.
Next up were Kiwi legends Devilskin, the four-piece alt metal band from Hamilton New Zealand walked on stage to an eager crowd and launched immediately into House 13, Start A Revolution, and Corrode. Their heavy thrashy sound echoed through the venue and the fans were beyond ecstatic. With the amazing voice of Jennie Skullander entrancing everyone as they played Let Me Breathe, the heavy bass from Paul Martin driving Do You See the Birds, the incredible sounding guitar from Tony ‘Nail’ Vincent shredding through Voices, and of course the Powerful drums of Nic Martin driving it home in Little Pills. The band pulled out an amazing set and when they closed with Violation, the crowd wanted more.
Obviously, a tough act to follow, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to rise to the challenge than symphonic metal legends from Mannheim Germany Beyond the Black, and fucking hell rise they did!
The band walked on stage to the screams of the crowd and started playing Is There Anybody Out There, and when Jennifer walked on stage and started singing, you almost couldn’t hear her over the audience. It was the perfect blend of heavy distorted guitars from both Chris Hermsdörfer and Tobias Lodes shredding out the melodies with Linus Klausenitzer holding the low end of the sound on bass, not to mention the driving force of Kai Tschierschky on the drums belting out perfectly timed patterns that left the audience moving with the beat, and not forgetting the powerful driving force of the vocals from Jennifer Haben as they continued on with the songs: Lost in Forever, Songs of Love and Death, and Heart of the Hurricane.
The audience never once stopped jumping and singing with the band as they belted out their incredible songs: Reincarnation, Shine and Shade, and in the Shadows. Much to the dismay of the audience they closed their set with Hallelujah but said they would be back one day, so fingers crossed it’s soon.
The next band to take the stage, sailed down from Brisbane on the S.S. Plunderburg, the legends themselves, Lagerstein! They all walked on stage and immediately launched into the classic opener: Raise Your Steins. After greeting the crowd, the first thing Captain Gregar did (in true lagerstein fashion) was to down a beer bong and launch right into singing. The band played and danced, and the audience followed suit by jumping around and jigging in the crowd. They wasted no time launching into the next song (a personal favourite) Drink the Rum, a tale of how the crew has too much booze on the ship that it can’t move so they must drink as much as they can to lighten the load and help the ship sail. The incredible guitar melodies provided by The Majestic Beast and Neil ‘Rummy’ Rackers wailed through the venue accompanied by the incredible leads of Mother Junkst on the Violin. Of course, the sound wouldn’t be complete without the incredible fingerings of Jacob The Most Fearsome Pirate in all the Caribbean on the keyboard, and Maxxx Parté on the bass, and of course the fearless leader Captain Gregar on the vocals that rang out over the audience.
Unfortunately, due to the earlier issue of the building being evacuated, lagerstein were unable to perform their full set, which is a site to behold, but they did not leave the audience with nothing. They played loud and hard through their remaining songs: Dig, Bury, Drink, The Shooey Song, and they closed their set with a cover of an Australian classic Land Down Under. We were sad to see them leave but we know they will be back to entertain us with their full show, which is a must see!
The last band to take the stage this evening were the legends themselves, all the way from Gothenburg Sweden, The Halo Effect! The lights dimmed, the band walked on stage, the crowd screamed, and they dived headfirst into the first song: Days of the Lost, followed by The Needless End, and Feel What I Believe. Their sound was beyond heavy, and their performance was perfect.
The heavy chugging guitars of Niclas Engelin and Jesper Strömblad had the crowd in the palms of their hands, the deep and heavy bass of Peter Iwers and the power force of drumming played by Daniel Svensson shook the venue, and lastly but certainly not least, the deep growling vocals of Mikael Stanne drove the sound home as the band continued with: In Broken Trust, Become Surrender, Conditional, and A Truth Worth Lying For. An amusing moment came when Mikael addressed the audience “We are The Halo Effect from Gothenburg Sweden, we have a great show for you tonight and since we only have 1 album out so far, you’re going to get to hear everything off that album” to which the audience responded with a mixture of amusement and pure excitement.
The band continued to play such hits as Last of Our Kind, The Defiant One, and Gateways. Both the crowd and the band didn’t want the show to end, but sadly The Halo Effect closed their set with Shadowminds. It was truly a sight to behold.
Despite all the mishaps and setbacks, the festival was an amazing night filled with amazing music, great friends, a river of booze, 2 fire trucks and left everyone with great memories.
If you ever have the chance to see any of these bands either in a solo show or at a festival, it is highly recommended that you get your tickets as fast as you can!
