Live Review: Black Breath, I Exist, Dark Horse

Sydney locals Dark Horse started off the night in style with a ferocious barrage of sound. Their brand of no nonsense d-beat infused power violence left no room for boredom and they left the stage to well earned cheers from the growing crowd.

I Exist, otherwise known as Australia's most populous hardcore band (six members gracing the stage), has been going from strength to strength in recent times with their blend of caustic southern sludge and freewheeling hardcore gaining more and more converts at every show. Not surprisingly, the band sounded simply huge as they churned out industrial strength riff after riff. Live these guys boast an incredible swagger while retaining a precise tightness and this performance only served to confirm that they remain one of Australian hardcore's brightest prospects.

The crowd that was assembled to see 'Entombedcore' heroes Black Breath showed an outfit on their way up in the world. Grizzled doom veterans, death metal fanatics, hardcore kids and even the odd bespectacled hipster waited to soak up the Seattle natives distorted riff wizardry (who says extreme music doesn't bring people together?). And of course they didn't disappoint. From the creepy opening strains of Endless Corpse, Black Breath could do no wrong. As potent as their 'stolen from Stockholm' riffage and catchy hardcore choruses are on wax, that's nothing compared to the impact their gloriously OTT tunes have live. Fully fledged burners like Black Sin (Spit On The Cross), Feast Of The Damned and Virus caused major eruptions in the pit, while slower mid-tempo jams such as I Am Beyond and The Flame saw heads bang and fists pump throughout the crowd. Finishing off with the crowd pleasing Wewhocannotbenamed, Black Breath left the stage having cemented their reputation as a live act not to be missed.