Botch and Conjurer gig review Melbourne 18/5/24-An absolute classic banger of a gig. Word/Pics by Mark Jenkins.

May 31, 2024

Botch and Conjurer gig review Melbourne 18/5/24-An absolute classic banger of a gig. Word/Pics by Mark Jenkins.

Botch and Conjurer gig review Melbourne 18/5/24-An absolute classic banger of a gig.

I was looking forward to this so much as Botch is one of those classic bands you always wanted to see and never thought you would. All their releases are solid and crushing. Having Conjurer join the Melbourne leg was also a dream come true as these blackened post-metal/hardcore modern wizards are at the forefront of their genre.

Let's do this.

Conjurer is at the cutting edge of current British extreme metal with their sublime mix of sludgy doom meets death metal/hardcore with some atmospheric black metal edges also. It Dwells was the perfect opener as it showcases the wide range of the band's skills.

Dual vocals of different tones, acidic riffs and a bombastic rhythm section all create an emotive armageddon. The set draws from their two banging albums, Mire and Pathos. Both are different, but super essential beasts. The key for this band is each album utterly drips in raw, unhinged and cathartic energy whilst being utterly grim as fuck.

Choke and Hollow off Mire knocked most punters for six with sheer bleak doom fatigue and scathing brutality.

But I was gobsmacked to hear Scorn, from the band's 2016 release I and it was definitely a set highlight as this classic track melds Converge with Eyehategod and probably six other classic bands, but an essential track by any means. All You Will Remember is a brilliant moody piece and a moderate break from the abrasive set. But it showcases the depth and balance of melody vs overwhelming dark tone.

Retch is a whirlpool of crazed tempos, vocals at war with each other and general psychotic mayhem which leads into two standout tracks from Pathos-the post-metal/ nasty hardcore multiple personalities of Those Years, Condemned and Cracks in the Pyre.

Earlier I spoke of how skilled and varied this wonderful band is and those tracks are epic examples of a band not pigeonholed into bland, straight-line genres.

And then they close with their dirtiest, total day of reckoning track; the ever-glorious Hadal simply slows things down and focuses on the disharmonious clashing of vocals and acerbic riffs. Hell of a set and we still had Botch to finish us off.

Botch-I won't give the history lesson, but basically, they are mathcore legends that are chaotic and unhinged, whilst being clever as fuck. Their set, the second of two shows in Melbourne was energetic, engaging and utterly hectic(yet the performance was one of the tightest possible).

It was flawless, they had the humour and skills to leave every punter smiling from ear to ear after this classic gig. Did you get all the tracks you wanted? Of course, they played all the bangers off the main releases with obvious highlights such as: To Our Friends In The Great White North, Mondrian Was A Liar, Transitions From Persona To Object, Saint Matthew Returns to the Womb, C. Thomas Howell As The "Soul Man", John Woo, Oma, Thank God for Worker Bees, Hutton's Great Heat Engine and also 5 out of 6 tracks off the majestic final EP, and yes Afghamistam was wonderful.

The imposing light show matched the ferocious nature of the music and you can see how influential this band is, and equally so on both recorded and live presentations. Well, ok they are even better to see live.

They honestly played so aggressively and feverish, it was like a young band out to prove their point.

But this is a band of guys in their late 40s on their farewell tour, fuck me dead-they could record a new album and tour for the next ten years-with no doubt.

To say this show was memorable is a massive understatement, and I was so pleased we actually got the tour here, much love to Bird's Robe for making dreams come true and combining this with Conjurer thanks to Greg from United Front Touring made for one classic show.