DENOUNCEMENT PYRE Alchemy Golgothen Remains, Somnium Nox & Sumeru

Mar 7

Sydney’s own Alchemy opened Saturdays show with some crushing blackened death metal from a bunch of young dudes who’s sound is already very mature. This, I’m sure, is also why they are in the finals for the Wacken Metal Battle coming up later this month at Maxx Watts in Melbourne. These guys would explode on stage in Europe with front man Nic Webb’s presence on stage pacing back and forth across the stage bludgeoning the front row with his guttural voice.

Crowd finally starting to pack in. If your neck wasn’t sore already, Golgotha Remains will get you on your way. Blast beats, buzz-saw riffs and the haunting howls of Matthieu Van Den Brande. The new addition of some low end has really added so much to their sound.

A dark figure stands centre stage, a slight change of pace with a dark clean intro, lights dim and strobes flash. Enter Sominum Nox - a pure force to witness. With songs no less than eight minutes long, each track perfectly flowed into the next. The music was dark and a truly incredible experience.

What more can I say about this band? I’ve now seen Sumeru every time they’ve played Sydney in the past twelve months and I will continue to be at every show going forward. They are utterly incredible. By adding a neck breaker of an unreleased song to the setlist – and by the crowd’s reaction – it proves that Sumeru are on their way to another successful album. Here’s to hoping its release date is not too far away.

Returning for the first time in three years, Denoucment Pyre have come back ready to make up for lost time by opening with Almighty. The band started hard and fast as the pit became a sea of flying bodies. Throughout the hour-long set, the rooms energy did not let up. Front man ‘Decaylust’ is an incredible presence to witness. From tracks ‘Wounds’ and ‘Black Sun’, everyone in the room was captivated, right until the final track ‘Redeemer’, when Denoucment Pyre crushed everyone for the last time. Here’s to hoping it’s not years before they are crushing venues in Sydney again.