Posts Tagged ‘guitar’

Live Review and Gallery: Bullet for My Valentine @ Sydney HiFi – February 27, 2013


04 Apr

Bullet for My Valentine @ Sydney HiFi - February 27, 2013     Bullet for My Valentine @ Sydney HiFi - February 27, 2013

Bullet for My Valentine @ Sydney HiFi - February 27, 2013     Bullet for My Valentine @ Sydney HiFi - February 27, 2013

The annual Soundwave festival tour never fails to bring some excellent ‘Sidewave’ action along with it. 2013 saw numerous fantastic Sidewave lineups, including the Slayer show we shot and reviewed HERE. We were asked to go along and shoot the Bullet for My Valentine show at Sydney’s HiFi a couple of days after the Slayer show and were not disappointed. Read our review below and CLICK HERE or on the thumbnails above to check out the gallery (items originally published on heavymag.com.au):

Plain and simple: if we’d paid to see Bullet for My Valentine‘s gig tonight and happened to be under 18, we’d be pissed. The two age brackets were split into two lines, with the kids funnelled up into the mezzanine level of the venue, well away from the action (and the bars, granted) below. You can tell by the looks on the faces upstairs that this decision is not a popular one.

US five-piece Miss May I open the evening’s activities with a frenetic set that sees front man Levi Benton enthusiastically cover more kilometres of stage in one short set than some musicians cover in their careers. The band has no problem getting the early crowd moshing with their brand of metalcore, covering tracks from Monument and 2012′s At Heart, despite largely playing in the HiFi’s murky darkness. (more…)

Live Review and Gallery: Demon Hunter @ Manning Bar, Sydney – March 28, 2013


03 Apr

Demon Hunter @ Manning Bar, Sydney - March 28, 2013     Demon Hunter @ Manning Bar, Sydney - March 28, 2013

Demon Hunter @ Manning Bar, Sydney - March 28, 2013     Demon Hunter @ Manning Bar, Sydney - March 28, 2013

Seattle Washington’s Demon Hunter toured Australia for the first time this month and Hosking Industries was at Sydney’s Manning Bar to cover all the action. It was a five band line-up for the gig, with three Sydney deathcore/metalcore bands playing support to Demon Hunter and their fellow American Christian metal band I, the Breather. Read our review below (originally published on lifemusicmedia.com). CLICK HERE or on the thumbnails to view all 32 images:

Tonight’s show at the Manning Bar proved to be a great event for fans of the deathcore and metalcore persuasions. Not only that, but with three local bands supporting the two US-based attractions, it was a great showcase of Sydney talent, too.

five-piece deathcore outfit Absolution kicked off proceedings to a fairly empty room, no doubt thanks to the early start. Despite a wobbly start with a mismatch of grandiose intro music and overly casual on-stage entrance, the band launched into a brutal set containing some truly bludgeoning breakdowns.

Caulfield upped the ante with a tight set of blistering metalcore of the two-singer variety. Tonight proved to be a veritable smorgasbord of talented drummers and Caulfield’s sticksman belted the crap out of his kit. But the band’s livewire bassist was undoubtedly the highlight; seemingly incapable of standing still for even a moment and putting on a great show. With plenty of big melodic choruses, they have no problem generating some movement in the small crowd. (more…)

Live Music: Karnivool @ Metro Theatre, Sydney – Dec 29, 2012


09 Jan

Lifemusicmedia recently published our live images and review of Karnivool’s Sydney show at the Metro Theatre on Saturday December 29, 2012. You can now read the review below and simply click on the thumbnails or CLICK HERE to go view all 37 images of Karnivool and their support act, High Tension.

Karnivool @ Metro Theatre, Sydney - Dec 29, 2012  Karnivool @ Metro Theatre - Dec 29, 2012Karnivool @ Metro Theatre - Dec 29, 2012  Karnivool @ Metro Theatre - Dec 29, 2012

There’s little disputing Karnivool‘s place among the top echelon of Australian music. Their unique brand of progressive rock/metal has won them fans all over the world, including international music critics and renowned musicians alike.

However, the tardy Sydney crowd had this reviewer more than a little worried when four-piece support act High Tension took to the stage to a half-full Metro Theatre. Had Sydneysiders let one of Australia’s best bands down? Had we all fled the city for the Xmas holidays?

Thankfully it was not the case and as High Tension, led by their Eva Spence-style screaming front woman, ripped through their high-energy, fuzz-bomb of a set (only their third gig, apparently), the room continued to fill with eager punters. It’ll be good to watch this band continue to get more stage time together as their incendiary riffage will benefit from an even greater stage presence.

By the time Perth’s Karnivool take to the stage, the Metro is full to the back bar with enthusiastic fans. It’s truly heartening to see the venue packed for an Aussie band and the mood is largely happy and light-hearted with people clearly here to witness something special. Karnivool don’t disappoint, either.
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Live Review: Nickelback @ Allphones Arena, Sydney (24.11.12)


04 Dec

Our review of Nickelback’s Sydney concert was originally published at theaureview.com.au.

Nickelback Sydney 2012

Despite the constant barrage of name-calling and derision that this Canadian monster rock band seems to receive from all corners of the globe, this reviewer has always felt that Chad Kroeger and co’s ability to write larger-than-life, catchy hooks can simply not be denied. Additionally, for all the slings and arrows fired in their direction accusing them of being sell-outs, plastic, fake and everything else, you surely have to admit that their catalogue contains some truly fist-pumping moments.

Apparently some 20,000 people agreed with us on November 24 when Nickelback filled the Allphones Arena for the first of two nights. The band’s broad appeal was certainly obvious when you looked at the seemingly disparate throng making their way into the over-sized shed at Sydney’s Olympic Park through several layers of security, bag checks and ushers.
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CD Review: Paradise Found – Foundations


06 Nov

Originally published at lifemusicmedia.com:

Paradise Found - FoundationsHailing from Newcastle, Paradise Found offer the listener a mix of hardcore-influenced vocals with down-tuned riffing that combines equal parts hardcore and circle pit-inducing breakdowns. According to the band’s bio, Paradise Found has been credited with having one of ‘the highest energy live shows in Newcastle to date’, which is a big call; however, as far as the local Newcastle scene goes in recent years, that could be a perfectly believable statement.

‘Foundations’ is the band’s new debut EP and it’s full to the brim with concise, infectious slabs of brutality that remain totally hummable thanks to their strong guitar melodies. From the opening strains of ‘Northern Lights’ to the closing gang vocal of ‘End of the Story’, this EP will have you either shouting the words or humming to the guitars – no question.

With plans for a full-length album in 2013, you can expect big things from this Newcastle quintet. Their unique mix of influences will no doubt continue to see plenty of bruised and bloodied bodies in mosh pits up and down the east coast in the coming years. Keep an eye out.

Live: Mnemic @ Whiplash Festival IV, Sandringham Hotel, Sydney – October 20, 2012


29 Oct

Lifemusicmedia.com recently published our photos and review from the Whiplash Festival IV, held at the Sandringham Hotel in Sydney on October 20, 2012. We now bring you the images and words here for your viewing and reading pleasure. Headlined by Denmark’s Mnemic, it was largely an excellent showcase of Australian metal. Read the unedited review below and CLICK HERE or on the thumbnails for the full image gallery:

Mnemic @ Sandringham Hotel, Octob 20, 2012     Mnemic @ Sandringham Hotel, Octob 20, 2012

Mnemic @ Sandringham Hotel, Octob 20, 2012     Mnemic @ Sandringham Hotel, Octob 20, 2012

So let’s set the scene of the Sydney leg of the Whiplash Festival: It’s been a 35-degree day of hot winds and sweaty butt cracks, but there’s been nowhere quite as hot as the insides of the iconic Sandringham Hotel in Newtown. Sadly, the heat is not all related to the scorching Aussie metal found within. This old venue is a steaming hot, sweaty, stinking series of boxes with stages and you feel the oppression from the moment you walk through the front doors. If the venue has air-con, you wouldn’t know it.

The building is a scene of barely controlled chaos with music equipment stacked into almost every corner with no sign of security for any of it, besides the two security guards at the doors of the venue. As a result, we were unsurprised to hear that one band’s cymbals had gone walk-about before their set.

Don’t get this reviewer wrong. A pretty picture it isn’t, but there is the overwhelming positive aspect to the Whiplash Festival that remains: it’s an incredible showcase of Australian metal with bands traveling from every corner of this country to perform. That’s something that can’t be undervalued.
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Live: The Amity Affliction + Architects + Ghost Inside + Buried in Verona @ Big Top, Sydney – 29 Sept, 2012


17 Oct

Originally published on lifemusicmedia.com, here’s our review and photo gallery from the recent Amity Affliction gig at Sydney’s Big Top, Luna Park on September 29, 2012. The Australian metalcore band was supported by UK’s Architects, USA’s Ghost Inside and Australia’s Buried in Verona.

Amity Affliction, September 29, 2012     Amity Affliction, September 29, 2012

Amity Affliction, September 29, 2012     Amity Affliction, September 29, 2012

“Tonight’s all-ages gig meant it was an early start for punters hoping to check out all four bands playing The Big Top at Sydney’s Luna Park. While the eager crowd wrapped its way around the Luna Park grounds in serpentine fashion, patiently waiting for the doors to open, it seems as though most of the other press outlets missed the memo on playing times, with the photo pit looking rather barren for opening act, Buried in Verona.

Playing to a half-full venue, the Sydney sextet appeared a more polished, confident band than when this reviewer last caught them supporting Sweden’s Soilwork at the Manning Bar at the tail end of 2010. They’re plagued by the usual opening-act muddy mix, which is exacerbated by the three-guitar attack that’s the fashion these days. And while the clean vocals (courtesy guitarist Richie Newman) have improved a lot, every time singer Brett Anderson tries to sing along it all falls apart.
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2011: Australia’s Year in Music – We’re Included!


08 Aug

For the second year running, one of our images from the previous year’s concert shooting in and around Sydney for the AU Review has been included in their annual Australia’s Year in Music book. Last year we had a few images appear, but this year just one made it, with a shot of Suicide Silence on stage at the Bald Faced Stag Hotel in Leichardt, NSW on September 10, 2011.

I remember the gig vividly: they were originally meant to be playing the Roundhouse, but the gig got moved at the last minute to this tiny sweat box on Parramatta Rd. The night outside was freezing, but step a few feet inside the front door and you were dripping with perspiration. The show was all-ages and the room was full to the brim with angsty teens and twenty-somethings. I arrived just as the support band was finishing up – hormone-drunk dudes flailing their arms around wildly and moving around in some retarded attempt to form a circle pit, but probably just hoping to hit someone.

Suicide Silence had been here the previous year for the No Sleep Til’ Festival and they put on an excellent show there. It was no different here at the Bald Faced Stag, where as headliners, they owned the show and punished the rabid audience with a set comprising songs from their catalogue at deafening sonic – and subsonic – levels. I think singer Mitch Lucker enjoyed being so close to the crowd: with no mosh barrier, but a high stage level, he could get up close and personal without too much fear of jumpers.

Anyway, CLICK HERE to go check out a digital version of Australia’s Year in Music: 2011.

Australia's year in Music 2011

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Live Gallery: Sick of It All + Agnostic Front + Toe to Toe @ Manning Bar – 05.05.2012


13 Jun

Issue 10 of Australian Hysteria magazine is on-sale now, featuring our live photos from the recent Sick of It All show at the Manning Bar at Sydney University on May 5, 2012. Supports included Australia’s punk veterans Toe to Toe and New York’s Agnostic Front.

The last time Hosking Industries had seen Agnostic Front was when Ben worked at the long-defunct Music Factory in Newcastle, NSW Australia back in the mid-late 1990s. The rehearsal studio boasted a cool live venue downstairs called The Pitt (that was the spelling) that played host to hardcore and punk bands from all over the world. Agnostic Front played two shows that day, with an all-ages in the morning for the kids and an over-18s later that night. Ben was charged with making sure the band were comfortable during their stay.

All three bands put on excellent performances this time around at the Manning Bar, although Agnostic Front singer Roger Miret was feeling the rage for other reasons: a series of technical issues causing plenty of angst and no doubt creating some tension back stage after their set.

Despite the humourous and numerous comical excursions and larger-than-life persona of Agnostic axe-slinger ‘Stigma’, Sick of It All were still the highlight of the night with brothers Lou and Pete Koller putting on live wire performances. In fact, it’s always surprising Pete doesn’t collapse with cardiac arrest, considering the non-stop performance he puts on. Anyway, enjoy our gallery of 30 pics from the show! CLICK HERE to view them on our Flickr page.

Sick of It All @ Manning Bar, Sydney     Sick of It All @ Manning Bar, Sydney

Sick of It All @ Manning Bar, Sydney     Sick of It All @ Manning Bar, Sydney

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Live Gallery: Lostprophets + Kids in Glass Houses + Versaemerge @ Metro Theatre


24 Apr

The annual Soundwave Festival brought a ton of great international bands to Sydney through February and March of 2012 and if the festival itself wasn’t enough to get you smiling, there was also a full week’s worth of official ‘Sidewave’ gigs where the various bands would team up and put on additional shows in smaller venues. One such Sidewave was headlined by Lostprophets at Sydney’s Metro Theatre on February 28, 2012.

We shot this gig for Australian Hysteria magazine and the band were supported by Kids in Glass Houses from Wales and American band Versaemerge. We weren’t asked to review this gig, suffice it to say that all three bands put on a great show with plenty of energetic performances by each and having watched the previous night’s show with Angels & Airwaves at the UNSW Roundhouse, it was nice to see three bands with singers who could sing.

Anyway, check out 32 images from the gig by CLICKING HERE or on the thumbnails below and enjoy!

Lostprophets @ Metro Theatre     Lostprophets @ Metro Theatre

Lostprophets @ Metro Theatre     Lostprophets @ Metro Theatre