PHOTOS BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH

REVIEW BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH

For the first time in a while, I am finding it somewhat difficult to put together words (yeah I know right, me, having difficulty when I generally never shut up) to describe a live music event I have attended, despite the many years of reviews under my belt Blacken Open Air is almost indescribable. This review is more of a blog like perspective as I wanted to convey just how phenomenal this festival is.

I feel like gathering the right words is near impossible to accurately convey to you dear reader the magnificence of the Blacken Open Air Live In The Dead Centre Of Australia at Ross River Resort on Arrernte Country event that myself and many others attended. All the complimentary words on the planet cannot tell you and will never live up to the brilliance of this music festival in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rolling staggered hills that were pushed up from the earth so long ago showing you the layers that once sat below the surface, the red earth, the cooling protective gums, the warming sun, the subzero temperatures at night, the brilliant bands, and what made the festival beyond description were the likeminded people who came from all over Australia to mosh, party and hang.

I am going to attempt to take you on my journey and try to give you an overall insight to this epic festival and full transparency, I did not take notes the entire time which is my usual schtick, so my focus is more based on my experience rather than individual band performances. Be it the lack of signal (no Telstra, and sporadic Optus signal), my phone mostly stayed tucked away in my sexy bum bag and casting my eyes over the crowds of people; it was refreshing to see everyone living in the moment, meeting new people, being present and not looking down at the phone in their hands but just looking outwards soaking up the atmosphere around them.

I like others was ready to jump into 2021 Blacken Open Air, but as we all know due to Covid for safety reasons it had to be postponed. Looking at the 2022 bill I noticed a lot of my friends' bands were on the bill, and I kept silent about my attendance to Blacken to surprise my friends upon arrival to the dead center.
Arriving at Sydney airport I spotted a few battle vests, some black outfits and metal shirts dotted around. Sitting at the gate, taking off my headphones to say hey to a couple of metalheads sitting across from me asking them the obvious question “Hey you’re going to Blacken aren’t you?” to which Leah and Dom replied “Yeah we are!” with massive smiles on their face. Scanning around the room and spotting my Black Rheno buds Nano and Milla, saying hey to them and then shortly after boarding the plane.

Probably one of the most interesting flights I have been on as it was packed with bands such as Lo!, Mountain Wizard Death Cult, punters headed to the festival and a whole bunch of confused grey nomads. The beautiful part of it all was hearing and seeing the grey nomads chatting with band members and punters trying to figure out where the sea of black clothed people were going, and showing an actual interest in the journey we were all on. As I waited for the loo the stewardess leant in and whispered in my ear “What is going on... where are all these people... going?”, I explained to her about Blacken Open Air and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief followed by “Oh my gosh, that explains so much!”.

Upon arrival to Alice Springs airport, I took on the temporary role of Tour Manager for my buds Black Rheno (self-appointed or appointed by the band is debatable), making friends with Brett from Revocation by taking on an overprotective Mum role as I overheard them chatting about festival stuff and stepping in to ensure of their safety getting to/from the festival. Helping others that were confused on where to go next and how to get into town to The Black Wreath. Luckily for me as the newly appointed Tour Manager for Black Rheno I managed to jump on the bands shuttle into town which was manned by the unique and highly entertaining and informative Wildman aka Damian Duffy; if you ever want to head to that part of the world, he does do tours, I would recommend you hitting him up and if he is free to be your tour guide, please please please hire him. His 13-year-old daughter Harley was in tow, it was her first ever festival (what a good place to start!), and she ended up doing a stage dive during the festivities; which was wonderful to witness as a whole bunch of metal heads ran forward and packed at the front of the stage to ensure she landed safely.

It was my first visit to this part of the world and despite only being a few hours from Sydney, the Arrernte Country is something else. For those who are in the cabins it these are located at the start of the Ross River Resort, and it is a small 5–10-minute walk (depending how fast you are, and how many times you stop to soak in the scenery). As you roll into the event site the area is dotted with campervans, cars, tents and a bunch of black clothed legends. The camping area + festival site is scattered with towering gum trees, and towering hills again exposing the layers of the earth from millions of years ago. I knew a few bands on the bill but had arrived solo and as I walked to my cabin I was greeted by two girls, Jen and Kris, who after a few moments of vulgar jokes and conversations adopted me as a friend, and this experience would be a continued trend throughout the festival.

There is something kind of wonderfully different about metal, thrash, punk etc crowds that I have noticed attending as a punter and photographing/reviewing at shows. There is this welcoming, caring and loving nature to these people that I do not always see at other shows/festivals. Whilst the Blacken Open Air Festival is an indescribable experience in itself what made this whole thing as good as it was were the human beings who had travelled all over the country, and outside of the country to be here.

`PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

The festival kicked off with the Welcome To Country followed by the Smoking Ceremony, which I stood back and watched in awe capturing the moment. As each and every person attending the festival walked through the smoke; as we were in the middle of nowhere the silence of the land wafted over the festival site, but to see the level of respect as people quietly followed each other in the most moving moment and all you could hear was the shuffling of feet as they kicked up the red dust. It was a moment that will stay with me.

The band merch stand was well attended by punters grabbing gear, for drinks you needed to go grab some drink tokens from a different stand before you could go grab a delicious beverage from the Pirate Bar. The toilets were clean, stocked and comfortable to go to with barely any lines to contend with. There were enough selections for food to cover most dietary requirements and desires. The only thing I would want more of is coffee; although the Ethiopian $2 shot of coffee was a hit with a lot of people!

One of the first bands to kick off the festival was Xanadoom, and I just cannot even convey to you the confusion, fascination and the draw they had on the crowd. There were people dressed up in Handmaids Tale outfits, bondage suits, bread being thrown around (and used phallically), guts being ripped out as the entire band just made it impossible for you to look away or even move away from the stage. So bizarre and such a unique experience.

`XANADOOM PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

I have seen Black Rheno so many times now, and I just never get bored of their energy. I always wait for that moment when crazy as heck front man Ryan Miller jumps into the crowd and goes just as nuts as they are. Again, what is even more amazing about this festival is that it was basically like a glorified house party where you are surrounded by your mates, just having a brilliant time. The day just kept improving with legends that are COFFIN bringing the high energy which got eaten up by the punters as the sun had already dipped which meant the temperature started to also drop but everyone was keeping warm with a few cheeky beverages, and thrashing about in the mosh.

It was really brilliant to see Southeast Desert Metal who drew a massive supportive crowd as they went over some stellar tracks and also a really moving raw track called ‘Suicide’; with a brilliant cover of Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds Are Burning’. One of Australia’s biggest bands Amyl And The Sniffers who have been going from strength to strength fronted by the lovely and powerful Amy Taylor (who again I embarrassingly fangirled at; again, Amy sorry about that but you’re a fucking legend). It is so good to see in a heavily dominated male industry the success of any band that has any female identifying person getting the recognition they deserve. As Amy warmed up taking off layers to keep up with the pint-sized Punk goddess from her energetic rampaging all over the stage, the band amped up the crowd to 100% as the dust flew up all over the area matching the bands crazy whirlwind stage performance.

With day two I had a little bit of a sleep in and as I meandered down the road from the cabin towards the ground a lovely Ross River employee was driving past and gave me a lift the rest of the way to the festival grounds which was great especially dragging my 13kg around. I managed to catch a little bit of Rex’s Reptile show, but as a former Reptile Keeper myself, I stepped back and let everyone else enjoy the beautiful reptiles. Mulga Bore were the first band to kick off the day on the Main Stage, and as they came out with their Kiss face paint, I knew we were in for a good time. The set was flawless with everyone in the front headbanging, moshing and getting into the whole show. Even the people hanging in the bar at the back were talking positively about the band and throwing up horns. A change in the lineup saw the band DisKust swapping with Astro Death for the day; to be transparent I have never really listened much to Slipknot but even as a non-Slipknot listener I could see and hear the influence from the band, but also DisKust taking on their own thing. After this set I did a brief on stage interview with my buddy Ryan Miller from Black Rheno to my fans in the crowd (note: a handful of my mates) which was far more comfortable and easier than I thought it would be. Something new, throwing myself in the deep end; helped me realise that I could probably do more of these in the future. Hammers performed a flawless set and after shooting for a while I got to kick back with all my new mates, under the welcomed shade of the Pirate Bar getting to soak up the set.

One of my favourite Sydney bands to shoot and see live is Potion. The delicious doomy gloomy doom during the day was kinda exciting as I am used to shooting them with little to no lighting. So a photographers dream to have them under some daylight. I feel like this band is highly rated in the metal community but I also think at the same time they are the most underrated doom band in Australia. To repeat myself as I might do a few times as there are not a lot of words to describe festivals, but FLAWLESS. We were treated to an Arrernte Ceremony headed by Chris Wallace between bands. Suldusk hit the stage as the sun was slowly setting as Emily Highfield's voice danced over the slowly crisping dusk skies. People had been waiting for Snakes, to quote them “SNAKES are from the Dead Centre of Australia. Outrageous and outspoken. Their isolation has spawned a venomous concoction of metal that defies comparison.” it was brilliant to see The Black Wreath creators of this festival take to the stage and captivate/draw in everyone who was dotted around the festival to the front of the stage. There was a point during the set where a couch was carried to the front and Pirate climbed upon the couch surfing around in the pit. Shortly after Sydney based band Lo! took to the stage (minus Sam). What made this performance even more incredible was that their drummer Adrian had a really scary, and crazy accident at about 2am that morning. While navigating through the dark, he tripped, fell over and saw there was a rip in his jeans. Thinking it was fine, until they pulled up his pant leg to reveal a really deep, gnarly and pretty large open wound. The ambulance had already left, so a Blacken Open Air staff member had to rush him to hospital as this was something that needed to be treated immediately. He went to hospital but there was no medical professional available until a few hours later, so he hung at the hospital, eventually got stitched up, and headed back to Blacken. Despite the restricted leg movement due to his gnarled wound he pushed through and absolutely killed it, when Sam told the crowd about the injury they roared and threw up horns acknowledging Adrian as the metal god he is. Award for the biggest badass at the festival goes to him. As always Lo! destroyed their set much to the delight of the punters.

`FREEDOM OF FEAR PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

Freedom Of Fear was where it was at for me. I had seen this band years ago when they supported Fleshgod Apocalypse at Crowbar in Sydney. My mind was blown as to how this band got even better than they already were. The whole band individually are absolutely mind-blowing but Jade Monserrat is on an entirely different level. The vocals are insane, and the way she creeps around on the stage like a fictional creature had the crowd gasping that they were viewing a live version of The Ring. As I walked away from the stage, I heard multiple people talking about how Freedom Of Fear was their favourite set from the festival thus far. A close runner up for my favourite band of the set no matter what happens would always go the long reigning champions that are Psycroptic. If you are a metalhead, and if you have not heard of or have not seen Psycroptic live I absolutely recommend heading to a show. The veterans have been doing this for a long time and you can tell that from the tight sets that they always produce. As they have been doing it for a while, you would think to this point that they could possibly be a little bored, but no, each time I see them the passion, drive and energy they throw into their sets is always top notch. I stuck around for a few The Furor songs but as the day was so long, and the fact that I am working makes it a little harder for me to have big days at festivals such as these but as me and the girls walked back to our rooms; because of the openness of the land, we were able to listen to most of the set on the walk as it is so incredibly quiet out there; you could be just about anywhere in the vicinity and easily listen to the sets being played.

The last day of the festival saw me taking bit of a more casual role in the morning as I wanted to take a moment to soak in the atmosphere, hang out with my new friends and enjoy the festival without being switched on. Again, it is so difficult to convey how amazing this entire festival is. From the land we were privilege enough to stand on, to the set-up of the festival, the drinks available, the food on offer and the company of deadset legends. To reiterate the splendour (don’t get me started on that festival experience... haha) of Blacken Open Air and how GOOD the people are there; I had a friend's friend lose their wallet. It was returned with every single cent, every card and nothing missing. That is what it was like there. I could leave my photography gear down, and know it would be there when I got back. Just a whole bunch of absolute legends all in one spot, looking out for one another and open to meeting new people rather than just sitting in groups.

`MOUNTAIN WIZARD DEATH CULT PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

The first band to properly kick off my working day was Mountain Wizard Death Cult (aka Mountain Wizard Death Cuties as I have dubbed them). Again, a band I have shot many moons ago, also in the deep darkness of Crowbar, it was a nice change of events to shoot them in some sunshine. Capturing some of the best stank faces to have been put on display during the whole Blacken Open Air festival with their drummer Lachlan receiving the unofficial award of Stankface Open Air Festival winner. I had heard a lot about Neptune Power Federation but as someone who’s inbox is filled with a minimum of 100 new release and new band emails daily, it takes up a lot of my time to get through, let alone experience bands I have been introduced to. In a somewhat cinematic almost theatrical like show of events Neptune Power Federation were yet another band to blow my ear holes (in the nice way) and wiggle their way into my heart due to the stellar hypnotic performance which seemed more surreal with the backdrop of Arrernte casting warming shadows and glow over the band on stage. By this time everyone seemed to have cottoned on to the fact that once the sun disappeared beyond the trees and hills that the temperature would drop just as quickly; everyone rugged up in brand new band hoodies, beanies and chunky warm jackets as the night air kissed our faces with its icy cold appeal. I again took the opportunity to kick back absorbing everything that was going on around me, catching up with mates and soaking in the sets being played on the Main Stage.

`NEPTUNE POWER FEDERATION PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

Of course, I had to snap back into action for Hadal Maw, a bunch of legends I have known for many years and always thoroughly enjoy the twisted body shapes that front man Sam Dillion takes on. Noticeably missing was Ben Boyle main man of the Hadal Maw members due to a work commitment being replaced by a different Sam (Wright) to flawlessly fill the insane technical frenzied fingers of Boyle. A feat that would be unheard of usually as Boyle is known for his insane runs on the guitar but I have to applaud Wright’s insane talents to pull this one off. Whilst Boyle was missed from the line up the band did a rather spectacular job of drawing the bystanders from the Pirate Bar to come forth and witness the face melty warmth of the Hadal Maw legends once again turning a nice little mosh into a whirlwind of dust and flailing bodies. I had a lovely interaction with the Shepherds Reign boys in relation to some missing batteries from checked in luggage (I have told them to carry them on board with them from now on!) for a very crucial keytar for their set and somehow, I “Battery Girl” tried to salvage the missing battery issue by providing some of my own (Note: only 4 out of the 8 I provided work) but a Blacken Open Air legend (sorry not sure who you were!) dashed the 1hr+ trip into town and then dashed back to provide the goods (batteries). The NZ metal band stormed on the stage with such fury and near knocked the crowd over with the force that they unleashed without a breath the whole set. It was an absolutely killer set that brought a heat to the crowd that was much needed. The night was coming to a close with the black metal Tasmania legends of Ruins, as the crowd was mixed between chilling back watching from afar with the same intensity as those crammed up the front.

`REVOCATION PHOTO BY: MONIKA ANNA OBERSCHEVEN-SMITH`

The final band to take the stage was the band that travelled the longest and furthest for their ONLY Australian show for their entire trip the American technical death metal band Revocation all the way from Boston, Massachusetts, consisting of guitarist and vocalist David Davidson, bassist Brett Bamberger (Who is NOT from Boston, and who still owes me a beer + an interview, dude....) and drummer Ash Pearson with the added coverage of Noah Young filling in on guitar. Despite the early morning slot time, this accomplished and insanely talented band completely heated up the below 0 freezing grounds of Blacken Open Air. People thrashing around in the mosh, having everyone headbanging and I stood back watching the red earth’s dust spinning up in the air as it tangled within the lights up into the blanket of stars stretched out in the sky. Flawless. Delicious. Oozing with perfection and an awesome way for this headliner to close out the “official” Blacken Open Air Festival. The night continued on as I snuck out of the grounds with my friend Kita, who I offered the spare bed in my cabin to get her away from sleeping in her ice-cold tent. As we walked back in the dark listening to the festival sounds washing over the darkness before us, and taking time to look up into the sky; ensuring we really appreciated the moment we were in and the location we were standing in.

After chatting to Brett (Revocation) yesterday morning he let me know of a little incident of his own where his buddy Todd Stern (unintentionally....?) knocked him flying into the fire that was intended to warm everyone on a freezing cold night, so Brett was temporarily sacrificed and branded by a nice brandishing brutal burn to take home with him. A nice memento of his time down under. For those concerned old Bretty is doing fine and I took the opportunity to lay blame on him whilst taking the piss out of him. It was the least I could do.

I feel like no matter how I worded this that I could never do this festival justice. If you are a metalhead, punk, thrash enthusiast or otherwise, you HAVE to go to this festival. It is not only about the music, it is about the people you will meet, the entire experience of standing on the sacred grounds of the first nations people, it is entirely a brand-new experience and it is hands down the best festival I have been to. For so many reasons that cannot be properly explained and I feel like I am insulting it by the review I have written because it is just beyond incredible and beyond my capabilities of gushing positively about. I urge you to go to Blacken Open Air. It is happening next year around Easter. Buy a ticket, fly there, get in your campers, cars, take the journey, and live in the magical experience that is Blacken Open Air Festival on Arrernte Country.

All photos by Monika Oberscheven-Smith - In alphabetical order not order of appearance