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LIVE REVIEW: Chaos Divine, Perth – 10 July, 2015

| 13 August 2015 | Reply

LIVE REVIEW: Chaos Divine, Perth – 10 July, 2015
Chaos Divine with Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Tempest Rising & Nevsky Prospekt
Amplifier Bar, Friday 10th July 2015
Review by Jarrod Henry

Chaos Divine Perth July 10, 2015 poster

Local progressive quintet Chaos Divine have certainly come a long way since releasing their debut EP Ratio in 2006. Indeed, the band have forged ahead with a sound that is at once brutally dense and dark yet still retains a quality that is melodically strong and very complex. Over the course of three albums, the aforementioned EP a cache of truly well-constructed singles and a live show that has to be seen to be believed, Chaos have firmly planted themselves at the helm of the prog-metal genre in Australia.

Friday night, 10th July, saw them join forces with some of the most talented outfits in Perth to put on a show that distilled everything these four bands have to offer and honed it into a mesmerizingly brilliant display spanning four very different styles of music.

Openers Nevsky Prospekt saw the night kick off in style. For a trio, their sound is dense and jam packed with ice-pick sharp alt rock riffs and a catchy post-punk vibe that is immediate and memorable. With guitarist/vocalist Stuart McKay’s imaginative songs like Manuscripts Don’t Burn, The Idiot, Tramadol Nightmares and new song Solitary, Nevsky deliver a solid set laced with cheeky humour and a swag of tunes that will haunt you like a deranged ex.

One of Perth’s premier metal acts Tempest Rising took to the stage next and proceeded to pummel the now swelling Amplifier crowd into submission. To say that these guys are a seriously tight unit with songs that scream in at top gear is a gross understatement, and in Vin Trikeriotis they have one of the finest voices around. His vocal range is just astonishing, capable of a strong melodic cadence before morphing into an incredible larynx-shredding scream worthy of some of the best. Showcasing songs from their album Transmutation and premiering another new single called Know My Name – due for release soon – these guys deliver in spades.

Instrumental post-rock journeymen Tangled Thoughts of Leaving do just that; they take you on a mind-bending journey through the twists and turns of their post-rock landscape. A tight, precise and incredibly complex unit, TTOL are driven by Ron Pollards keys and Andrew Macdonald’s guitars but ALL elements of their compositions are equally represented, each compliments the other and are in perfect balance. With a three song set list featuring Quakes from their Failed by Man and Machine EP, the epic nature of their work lends itself to an almost noise-like meditation. One can close his/her eyes and drift away, yet still remain conscious of the intricacies these five musicians weave onstage. Definitely one of Perth’s most stunning and thought provoking live acts.

The anticipation amongst the crowd before a Chaos Divine performance is almost a tangible, palpable entity. The prog-metal five piece led by David Anderton have been doing this a while now, and three albums in they represent the cream of the live musicians around. Opening with One Door from their Human Connection album, this was as solid and professional a performance as this reviewer has ever seen from these guys. The two-pronged guitar assault of Ryan Felton and Simon Mitchell is the lynchpin upon which Anderton weaves his magic; a consummate frontman with a vocal range to match, he really connects with the crowd, making each participant feel like they’re at an incredibly intimate show. Moving through Tides and Badge Of Honour from their latest album Colliding Skies, it’s clear that whilst their latest efforts retain the heavy nature the band are known for, their sense of melody and the arrangements have matured out of sight. Throwing in an imaginative yet faithful arrangement of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game, the dark and brooding nature of the original lends itself perfectly to their style and went over well with the crowd. There were still some cries out for the now infamous cover of Toto’s Africa, but rounding out the night with their latest single Soldiers, Chaos Divine once again proved that they are without a doubt one of the most talented bands our little town has yet produced.

Category: Live Reviews

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