Last time they were an amazing support act for Bury Tomorrow. So no surprise they came back to Belgium for their own headline tour to present their newest album BODIES to their lovely fans at Kavka Zappa in Antwerp.
Young Australian band blossoming into perfection
After their fist run through Europe earlier this year as support for Silverstein, the young Australian quintet in Bloom was all set to return and show off their newest album The Light We Chase which got released only last week, just in time for the European tour.
They kicked off with the song ‘Out of Reach‘ which had a fan immediately jumped up and crowdsurfed his way onto the stage.
For the second song called ‘Bound To Your Whispers‘ , guitarist Jarod Mclaren really showed off his amazing singing voice. When the heavy part of the song hit, the mosh pit got way bigger.
Then the time had come for a brand new song ‘Keep You‘ which started instrumentally before the lead vocalist Jono Hawkey joined with some really nice, clean vocals.
The next song ‘Cold‘ really cranked up the energy inside Kavka Zappa. It seemed to be a big hit with the long-time fans, who were really getting into it with some energetic two-stepping.
This energy was perfectly countered with the next song called ‘You & I‘. This song took everyone on a bit of an emotional ride, mixing together metalcore and pop punk vibes. The chorus of this song got pretty much everyone in the crowd clapping along.
Another new song ‘Life Moves On Without Us‘ got the mosh pit stirring again which got even bigger on the song ‘Withered‘ which is the very first song from the new album The Light We Chase.
Sadly enough it was time already for their last song but they didn’t leave the stage before giving the fans in the middle what they wanted. ‘Siren Song‘ started with a huge circle pit and ended with a really powerful pig squeal.
Setlist: Out Of Reach – Bound To Your Whispers – Keep You – Cold – You & I – Life Moves On Without Us – Withered – Siren Song
The Australian OGs back on stage in Antwerp.
The Australian band Ocean Grove is not a new name in the Belgian scene; earlier this year they showed to be a worthy support act for The Devil Wears Prada on their European tour.
They really know how to get a crowd going, right off the bat, they jumped into ‘CELL DIVISION‘, which showed a perfect example of their signature nu-metal groove. The song got everyone bouncing along.
The next song had everyone feeling like a ‘SUPERSTAR‘ and practically leaping off the ground. It got adrenaline pumping through the veins. Then, with the vocalist hyping up the fans with the lyrics “A piece of me is slowly dying to make it through. Secretly, I pray so hard now, I bet you did too. What? What? What? What?” another super groovy track called ‘Stratosphere Love‘ kicked off. The energy was just infectious and that’s when the first mosh pit of their set erupted.
Time for something fresh from the latest album ODDWORLD. ‘MY DISASTER‘ started with that familiar groovy vibe, having everyone banging their head along to the beat.
They took a moment to slow things down with ‘LAST DANCE‘. As vocalist Dale Tanner explained in his own words: This song really hits home, reminding us to tell the people we care about that we love them more often, before it’s too late.
It was a pretty emotional moment for everyone, only made better with the dozens of cell phones lighting up the room.
Time to get the groove back on. ‘GUYS FROM THE GORD‘ featured some of the most epic rapping of the entire set, and to top it all off, there was an awesome drum solo by the hands of Jack Lawless.
By the way, the same man that drums for The Jonas Brothers.
They switched things up for ‘RAINDROP‘ where vocalist Dale Tanner and bass player Brent “Twiggy” Hunter swapped places. This song got the circle pit spinning for another round of wild fun.
Then ‘SUNNY‘ and ‘FLY AWAY‘ came on, and the party really got going again. Everyone was just bouncing up and down, having the night of their life.
Before they wrapped things up and left the stage, they threw out one last song for the ‘JUNKIE$‘. Dale even hopped off stage to claim his space in the middle of the room, waiting for the wall of death to hit. It was a wild finish to an amazing set.
Setlist: OG FOREVER – CELL DIVISION – Superstar – Stratosphere Love – MY DISASTER – LAST DANCE – GUYS FROM THE GORD – RAINDROP – SUNNY – FLY AWAY – JUNKIE$
Thornhill, the love baby of Arctic Monkeys and metalcore
No need to introduce the Australians in Thornhill who were an amazing support act for Bury Tomorrow end of last year. From the first notes in ‘DIESEL‘ the band set the stage on fire, figuratively speaking. Next they pulled out ‘Revolver‘ featuring a killer scream instigating a circle pit.
‘Mercia‘ started off more emotionally, showcasing the exquisite clean vocals which are signature to Jacob Charlton. The song got a fan crowd-surfing, being pulled on stage by the hands of Jacob himself.
Time to continue the good vibes with ‘Lily & the Moon‘, a song many have clearly been waiting for as they all sung along on the chorus “Take me to the moon, so I can get away. There must be more than what they say.”
Once the first notes hit for another old classic residing on the same album called The Dark Pool , everyone got off their feet singing along to ‘Where We Go When We Die’ .
After a little more intimate intermezzo for which Jacob strapped his guitar the band decided to kick in higher gears with the songs ‘under the knife‘ and ‘Arkangel‘.
Fans got really exciting when the next groovy song ‘Silver Swarm‘ started which got more crowdsurfers on stage.
Cell phone lights got turned on once again for the next emotional and sad song called ‘For Now‘ in which the lyrics spoke for spoke for themselves: “In my dreams, it was you that I want. An overture of a nihilist love. The show must go on, and I’ve been holdin’ out”.
For the final song of tonight Jacob asked everyone to get low. This last groovy song surely hit the right ‘nerv‘ and got everyone singing along and jumping around for one last time: “I know if I go, your fervor could cut me down. But I could see your light flicker. Two shots in the dark true sinner”.
Setlist: DIESEL – Revolver – Mercia – Lily & the Moon – Where We Go When We Die – Only Ever You – under the knife – Arkangel – Blue Velvet – Silver Swarm – fall into the wind – TONGUES – For Now – Obsession – nerv
Tonight made clear once again how many talent Australia has to offer when it comes to heavy music. This was another night for the books. I am sure this night will linger on in many thoughts.