Live Review: Ne Obliviscaris, Circles, The Omnific

Just a couple of days after it was announced that a brand new record label, Wild Thing Records, is being created to unite the Australia progressive music scene - in a similar vein to what UNFD has done for hardcore, punk and metalcore - Melbourne turns out en masse to celebrate the sheer diversity and quality of Aussie prog rock and metal.

Two bassists and a drummer forming the entirety of a band is something that has been done before, but not in this musical setting. The Omnific are a Melbourne-based three-piece with said configuration and the sound they create resides in the progressive, experimental and even fusion-esque realms. This is extremely difficult musical terrain to plough and this band is still very new, still finding their feet a little, and need a little more work to make it completely convincing. At times, both bass guitars seem to be fighting for the same sonic space; they need to develop more harmony and counterpoint, a few more intertwining lines. Aside from this, however, they still put on a very entertaining show and much kudos to them for taking on something so ambitious and left field.

Much change has been in the wind for Melbourne djenty-progressive act Circles in recent times, but, if this show is anything to go by, they have taken those changes in their stride and have only come out the other side stronger for it. Their live show is as explosive and soaring as ever, featuring all of the traits we've come to expect from this band: enormous choruses and spot-on vocal harmonies; twisted, gyrating but enormously fat and propulsive grooves; Dave Hunter's canon-blast snare hits; and that sense of fun they're noted for. It's a little more streamlined now, with just the four guys onstage instead of five, and their set this night contains no less than three brand new songs, all of which show immense promise and build feverish anticipation for their sophomore album that's apparently due later this year. Throw in a handful of Circles faves and you have yourself about as satisfying a 30-minute set as you could ever want.

Ne Obliviscaris provide a unique, intense and world-class extreme-metal live experience. They did not tour Australia at all last year, so anticipation is at fever-pitch for their return. When they finally take the stage after a lengthy build-up, the wall-to-wall Max Watt's crowd gives them a heroes' homecoming — and the band do not let them down.

Their career-spanning set is 90 minutes of virtuosic, mind-bending metal insanity; a volcanic display of complexity and extremity in equal measures. They are a band with many incredible working parts, but those parts add up to a whole that is even greater than their sum. Tim Charles' clean vocals and violin are clear as crystal and sweeter than honey, while offsetting that is the bloodcurdling, flesh-lacerating howl of dirty vocalist Xenoyr. The band behind their two frontmen is more than on-point: the guitarists shred like classically trained men possessed, the rhythm section locks in tighter than a clenched fist, and Dan Presland's drums are simultaneously dextrous and thunderous.

It is easy to see why this band has risen to the very zenith of Australian extreme music and are relentlessly gaining notoriety overseas. It is also fantastic that a core of brave and entrepreneurial people have taken it upon themselves to harness and unite the power of Aussie progressive and experimental music. These are exciting times if you love this scene.