Review: Alison Gustavson
Photography: Luke Petty

After almost a year, While She Sleeps has returned to Australian soil to showcase their latest album ‘Self Hell’. Bringing Boundaries out for their debut Australian run, our very own Ocean Sleeper and US legends Stick To Your Guns, this is not a tour to sleep on.

Kicking off their first Australian performance in Brisbane with a bang, Boundaries was the first to take the stage. Opening with ‘A Pale Light Lingers’, it’s no surprise that there was a sea of headbanging, hardcore dancing, and general moshing.

Before long, a pit half the size of the room had opened up and judging by the number of people singing along to ‘Darkness Shared’, it became clear how many fans were excited to see the band at long last. Tracks like ‘Turning Hate Into Rage’ and ‘Easily Erased’ showcased their ability to sound record-perfect while once again reinforcing why this is a band to continue to keep an eye on and support.

With their new EP ‘Maybe Death Is All I Need’ coming out on October 18th, Ocean Sleeper was up next. This is a band that never fails to disappoint and only seems to get better each time I see them. While fan-favourites like ‘Forever Sinking’, ‘King Of Nothing’, and ‘Heaven’ were played, we were also treated to the live debut for the unreleased title track of the EP, ‘Maybe Death Is All I Need’.

It’s safe to say the future of Ocean Sleeper looks promising, especially with clean vocalist Ionei Heckenberg’s fantastic low screams and unclean vocalist Karl Spiessl’s heavenly cleans.

For a band that typically only comes to Australia once every three years, we have been spoilt with Stick To Your Guns returning for a second time this year. Welcoming the crowd with ‘Tequila’ (cause who doesn’t love a little bit of karaoke?), the band went straight into ‘Nobody’ which saw the entire crowd push forward and the hardcore dancers return to the floor.

Surfers upon surfers went over the barrier to greet frontman Jesse Barnett and wish Josh James a happy birthday (who somehow ended up with a very colourful hat by the end of their set).

Given that the band just announced their brand new album, ‘KEEP PLANTING FLOWERS’, it was fitting that Brisbane heard the incredible live debut of ‘Severed Forever’ and judging from that song alone, this new album is gonna be something special.

Closing the set with ‘Amber’ and ‘We Still Believe’, the band seemed to feed off the electrifying crowd singing back every word to deliver one hell of an ending to their set. Be sure to check out their new album which drops on January 10th.

Just after 10pm it was time for While She Sleeps and despite the 50 hours of travel, they brought their A-game. Excitement was at an all-time high as the band walked onstage to ‘Rainbows’’s groovy intro, and before long everyone was off their feet to the iconic guitar riff. Playing the likes of ‘Sleeps Society’, ‘Silence Speaks’, and ‘You Are All You Need’, it’s no shock the crowd didn’t stop moving.

One thing that I’ve always loved about the band is how connected frontman Loz Taylor likes to be to the audience; during their headline show last year at the Brightside, the vocalist walked through the crowd and he did no different last night. Coming down to the barrier multiple times throughout the set before walking through the moshpit at the Tivoli, the crowd was buzzing.

At one point, Taylor managed to get up to the balcony and hang off the railing before jumping back down to the moshpit. Hats off to the two people in the crowd who managed to locate both of his in-ears that had gotten lost on his journey back to the stage!

‘Four Walls’ and ‘You Are We’ were nothing short of perfect live and gave the audience a chance to showcase their singing skills. Throughout both tracks, it became clear how much of a community While She Sleeps has created on the other side of the world and it is nothing short of inspiring. Their mixture of important messages and head-bang-worthy tracks has continued to set the band apart, especially with the unique and experimental elements of their songs.

The incredibly important message of “it’s ok to not be ok” rang true throughout ‘Enlightenment’ which was one of my personal favourites of the evening. The ability this band has to seamlessly integrate heavy topics with catchy riffs, huge choruses, moshpit-moments, and sad moments you want to cry your heart out to is something they have mastered, especially in this song.

There was a lot of anticipation for one of the band’s newest songs ‘To The Flowers’ and I can safely say that it far exceeded anything that videos of the live show could capture. Guitarist Sean Long’s masterful use of his various pedals made for a spectacular performance and left the audience in awe.

It was a fitting lead into the closing track, ‘Systematic’. Getting the crowd down on the ground, it was a cool moment to not only hear but see the community this band has built. The second the heavy riff kicked back in, everyone was jumping from the barrier to the back of the venue, and it was the perfect way to finish the first night of the tour.

While She Sleeps brings the tour to Newcastle tonight, and trust me, it’s not a tour you want to miss out on.

Saturday 28 September – King St Bandroom, Newcastle 18+
Sunday 29 September – Liberty Hall, Sydney Lic AA
Tuesday 1 October – Uni Bar, Wollongong 18+
Thursday 3 October – Magnet House, Perth 18+
Friday 4 October – The Gov, Adelaide Lic AA
Saturday 5 October – Forum Theatre, Melbourne 18+

Tickets via Destroy All Lines.