DYSTROPOLIS- "Goth culture is rooted in creativity and self-expression, the two principles that drive artistry in all its forms"
DYSTROPOLIS- "Goth culture is rooted in creativity and self-expression, the two principles that drive artistry in all its forms"
AS PART OF:
BLACK PLANET
25TH JULY TWO VENUES THREE STAGES 21 BANDS
O come, creatures of the night!
Bear witness to BLACK PLANET: A Celebration of Australian Dark Music.
Descending for the first time as a full-spectrum gathering of darkness, Black Planet hosts 3 stages across two iconic venues: The Bendigo Hotel & Nighthawks. Built for devotees of sonic extremity and shadow culture, this inaugural edition transforms the night into a living cathedral of sound, atmosphere, and chaos.
The night will be separated into 3 spaces:
The Ossuary (Bendi Main Room) - A shrine to brutality and all things heavy
The Void (Bendi Upstairs) - A chamber devoted to noise, ambient, drone and experimental
The Black Hearts Lodge (Nighthawks) - A sanctuary of goth, darkwave, post-punk and nocturnal romance
Headlining Black Planet 2026 is THE AMENTA - One of metal's most uncategorizable acts, THE AMENTA have been synthesising the ugliest aspects of death, black, and noise into a unique maelstrom for over 25 years. Well-known across the world for their intense live shows, THE AMENTA combine speed, anger, and a weird sound with smoke and strobes to create a brutal, overwhelming experience.
Joining them across the 3 stages are: Mammon’s Throne, Hybrid Nightmares, Victoria K, Küntsquäd, Bentham’s Head, Knife, Npcede, Živa, Inaugural, Chiffon Magnifique, Blood In The Champagne, Dystropolis, Palliative, Blood of a Pomegranate, Military Position, Anocht, AnnaBortionist, Serene Ailment, Angellis Taliuu, and Koolooz.
By this point in the Black Hearts Lodge's evening, the room's already made its case — darkwave and horror aesthetics filling out a scene that's bigger and more active than most people give it credit for. Dystropolis' slot fits into a run of Melbourne gothic-scene regulars who've been turning out for each other's nights for years, which is a lot of what "underground" actually means in practice.
ARTIST: DYSTROPOLIS
Dystropolis are part of Melbourne's active darkwave/gothic scene, having featured on recent horror-themed local bills such as Red Heart Rising's "Vampire Night" alongside Red Orchestra, Malicy and Lesbian Vampire Cult. Gothic Post-punk with unsettling aggression and style.
INTERVIEW:
1. "Nocturnal romance" is a specific phrase to be filed under — darkness as seduction and ritual rather than pure aggression. Where does Dystropolis sit in that, and where do you push against it?
The way we see it, goth and romance are inherently tied in with one another. From romantic era-inspired fashion to romanticism of the dark itself, romance is a subject that’s prevalent in many aspects of the goth scene.
Romance is heavily touched upon in our own music, drawing upon themes of love, lust, and longing. We have two songs that both touch on the idea of dark romance while contrasting in terms of aggression. One of these songs falls under the classic post-punk sound while the other has a much more aggressive tone, influenced by post-hardcore and noise rock.
2. Post-punk and darkwave carry a lot of inherited iconography at this point — is that a language Dystropolis is consciously working inside, or something you're trying to strip back to zero?
It is evident that our sound and image as a whole align with the iconography of classic post-punk in a way that resonates deeply with the local goth scene. However, “goth” is a term that we choose not to go by as we feel like it doesn't explicitly represent us.
For example, not all of us are particularly involved in the goth scene beyond our live shows, and some of us favour music and fashion beyond what is considered to be goth. Each one of us bears a unique and distinguishable style, with some of us conforming to the classic goth iconography more than others.
Ultimately, the key reason we choose not to go by the label “goth” is that we feel like it sets a standard that we would be inclined to adhere to. All of our songs are, in one way or another, influenced by music beyond the classic goth subgenres, and we feel that going by specific labels limits how far we can think outside the box. We want to be able to bring new ideas to the table without breaking people’s expectations.
3. Black Planet's being pitched as a "living cathedral of sound" — where does your most recent release, or whatever's next in the pipe, sit inside that? Anything dropping around the show we should know about first?
It’s a great description for such an event; we interpret it as a space where people from all corners of the music scene can unite and celebrate different styles of music alike through a grand-scale live experience.
We have nothing dropping in the immediate future, but we are in the early stages of an album which falls under that vein. Most would consider it to be a gothic rock/post-punk album, but we see it as something beyond that.
The idea was to create a unique listening experience which caters to a specific audience while appealing to the masses through elements of sound derived from all across the musical board, experimenting with genres including pop, hip-hop, reggae, metal, post-hardcore, shoegaze and Latin rock while retaining that same ‘gothic’ overtone that we’re known for.
4. This is billed as a celebration of Australian dark music specifically. What does that qualifier — Australian — actually mean to what Dystropolis does, if anything? And why does this underground still matter to you, this far in?
Over the years, our lead vocalist has developed a unique style of singing which retains key attributes of their natural Australian accent. Beyond that, as well as minor influence from classic Australian acts such as Nick Cave and The Church, there is not much about the music that we consider to be uniquely “Australian”. Our lead vocalist is half-Colombian and grew up listening to Latin acts such as Soda Stereo and Virus, so a significant part of our sound is derived from Latin rock.
The Australian underground matters deeply to us because it emanates such a strong sense of community and mutual support that transcends across every subculture. Through this vast community, we have met so many lovely people and discovered all kinds of talented acts who have supported us as much as we have supported them.
5. Bendigo and Nighthawks are two venues, three rooms, one night. What are you actually trying to do to a room when you play it — what's the physical or psychic effect you're chasing?
We take a strong introspective approach to our songwriting with the intention to create music that can be interpreted by each individual listener in a way that speaks to them personally. In the context of live shows, we aim to create a safe space where people of all walks of life can connect and relate to one another, whether it be direct or passive, evoking a collective sense of belonging.
6. In such a short time, your self-defined Gloomy Alt-Rock mixed with grim toppings of goth and post punk sprinkles has gained you cult-like love — what’s the magic or foundation of your killer audio art?
We owe our gratitude to the goths of Melbourne for helping us achieve this cult-like success. Goth culture is rooted in creativity and self-expression, the two principles that drive artistry in all its forms. Hence, most people in the goth scene are heavily devoted to their art as well as supporting their fellow artists.
Our first show was Red Heart Rising, a gothic event which initially started off as a fundraiser event for one of our friends and soon became a well-established event that takes place regularly, building its own community of devoted supporters, drawing huge crowds in venues all across Melbourne and bringing so many remarkable acts into the spotlight. We have since played at several Red Heart Rising events, which have heavily contributed to our growth.
LINKS:
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SO GRAB A TICKET ASAP AND START WORKING OUT HOW YOU CAN SEE EVERY BAND...SOMEHOW
KILLER PRICES TO BE HONEST;
Both venues: $75+BF
The Bendigo Hotel Only: $45+BF
Nighthawks Only: $35+BF
ALL PICS ARE FROM THE ARTIST OR BAND'S SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES
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