By Olivia Burns
It was a packed lineup of heavy hardcore/metalcore bands for the night ahead at the Curtin in Melbourne, who were hosting the ‘Fever Dream’ album release show for New Castle’s Vilify. Opening the night was St. Sinner, Bench Cup and Misery Guts.
The atmosphere was relaxed as people slowly wandered into the band room at the back of the pub. Mostly dressed in black and drinks in hand, concertgoers chatted casually and checked out the merch table, where band members were mingling with the crowd. The start time rolled around and Bench Cup got up on the stage. There seemed to be a few people in the crowd that were quite familiar with their music, those people were right up front singing along to the words with them.
Next up was Misery Guts, who commanded the stage from the moment they stepped up. Despite being relatively unknown to the audience, their presence was hard to ignore. Lead singer Mayjene, addressed the crowd passionately, calling out racists and other bigots, stating firmly that such people were not welcome. He balanced his intense messages with humour, keeping the crowd engaged throughout their set.
Having followed St.Sinner for a little while, I was eager to see how they performed live. Hailing from Canberra, their intriguing look, with frontman Rory donning a ski mask, demanded everyone’s attention to see what they were about to bring to the stage. They played through their setlist, with ‘Dysphoria’ being a standout. . Despite the crowd’s lacklustre response to a great performance and encouragement from the band for some crowd movement, the band didn’t let it affect their energy. Ending on their single ‘Head Case’ they put their all into it. Poor crowd effort aside, these guys have all the makings to do so well within the music scene and with them picking up opening spots continuously now, they will gather those fans with each show and I can’t wait for more people to get on board.
Finally, it was time for Vilify. The crowd became more lively, filling the gaps at the front after lead singer Amy encouraged them to come closer, explaining she was exhausted from previous shows and didn’t want to strain her voice. The band kicked off the night with ‘Rot By Design’. As they played through their new album with ease, sparking a circle pit where enthusiastic fans two-stepped and head-banged, giving the band the response they deserved. With no signs of the early warnings of vocal strain to be heard, Amy showcased her vocal range with guttural screams, not missing a beat while jumping and headbanging all over the stage. In between tracks off of their new album, they slotted in old songs for those dedicated fans who have been following them for a while. You can definitely feel the emotion and power behind the band as they perform and they all worked so well cohesively on stage.
After announcing that this is the last song, they ended the night with ‘Dread Addicts’, the crowd made sure to give them a great send off by getting right into it, singing (or screaming I should say) along with them.
Even though the venue wasn’t as packed as it could have been, it only highlights that Vilify are criminally underrated and deserve more recognition in the metalcore scene. With their killer new album, I’m confident they’ll attract new fans and continue to grow. I look forward to seeing this band on a bigger stage.
