Review and Photography : Dan Maynard

Tonight, in Brisbane at one of the most reputable venues in the city, Thy Art is Murder will begin their Decade of Hate tour, celebrating 10 years of their highly acclaimed album Hate. In 2012, Thy Art Is Murder were still rising in the ranks, young in the scene and itching to prove themselves. That year saw the Sydney five piece release the album that would begin their journey to becoming one of Australia’s biggest deathcore exports and the album that would go on to be an iconic piece in their history as a band, Hate. Tonight, is a celebration of that album.

Someone, possibly me, read online that the show began at 7pm tonight, so I arrived at 650pm with enough time to get in early and catch the first band. Nope, turns out the first band was at 630pm, so here I am, racing into the room to catch the last moments of Brisbane locals Apate finishing up their set. Though I caught just a glimpse, as unfortunate as it was to miss the whole set, I now have the band on my radar and am aware of just how massive these guys are gonna be. Mark my words, give it a few years and this band will be headlining their own shows on that same stage.

Brisbane based quartet; Deadlights are second to the stage tonight. These guys show how comfortable they are on stage the moment the first song kicks in. No hesitation, the entire band is tearing The Triffid a new one. The mix of melodic and brutal gives me some good solid old school Northlane and Underoath vibes. The cleans of guitarist Tynan, mixed with front man Dylans raw hardcore-esque screams blend perfectly across the room as the rest of the band keep the melodic brutality running behind them. Another band that’s new to my radar as of tonight, I’ll be following these guys from here on, no doubt.

Justice For the Damned, these guys are constantly proving why they’re a force not to be reckoned with. Absolute sheer brutality is the best way to describe this lot. And that’s just on their recordings, in a live setting it is a completely different level. Front man Bobak Raffie radiates total intimidation across the crowd, he’s a big dude with a voice that could bring down a high-rise. Backed by some of the best deathcore riffs in Australia and drums to compliment, Justice have warmed up that stage to maximum brutal.

Thy fucking Art is Murder ladies and gentlemen! They might be one of the most disgustingly brutal bands in Australia, but they sure know how to have fun, proving just that as the stage lights turn The Triffid into a 90s raving disco and blasting Vengaboys smash hit “Vengabus” over the PA. As mentioned at the beginning, tonight is the start of their Decade of Hate tour across Australia, then across the globe with an extensive American tour taking Justice For The Damned along for the run. Decade of Hate tour will see the band perform the previously mentioned 2012 iconic album Hate in its entirety.

The lights come to a dim after a fun-filled Venga-rave. Opening track Reign of Darkness intro plays across the PA, slowly rising with its demonic chords, the band slam into the ass melting start of the song. As front man and all-round beast CJ McMahon screams the words ”I AM HELL”, the pit breaks into a destructive mass of bodies, ready to spend the next hour and a half fucking shit up. The band proceed to play track after track from Hate, taking a couple of breaks between a few songs to converse with the crowd. Other than that, this was a relentless blast of pure metal that slayed the venue and its participants for the entire set.

We come to the end of the album as Thy Art play closing track Doomed from Birth, but they obviously couldn’t just leave us with that. No, A quick taste of three other albums as they treat the crowd to Death Squad Anthem, Holy War and Puppet Master as a perfect encore. The band show their gratitude to the crowd and the crowd reciprocate with equal praise and love. The lights are up and the energy is still running through everyone as they walk out into the humid summer heat. The verdict? Thy Art Is Murder only gets tighter and more brutal with each tour, they’re constantly evolving as artists and putting on better and better shows as they become veterans. Yet they continue to be the same down to earth, ass kicking band they have always been. Tonight, was proof of just this.