Live Review: A Day To Remember, The Ghost Inside, I Killed The Prom Queen

As Soundwave winds its way around Australia and into town, Melbourne has a mandate to mosh tonight. I Killed The Prom Queen kick it off. Their grindcore breakdowns feel misdirected and miss the mark. Calls to “fuck this place up” seem disingenuous in the delicately styled Forum Theatre. A staunch Melbourne crowd is a stark reminder that the onetime heirs to the Australian metalcore throne have a long way to go before they can regain favour since returning from their hiatus.

The unmistakable sound of train brakes and pedestrian alarms rise as The Ghost Inside roar into life with Engine 45. The Californian melodic hardcore group are absolutely crushing, sub drops hit like earthquakes and drive stomachs into throats. Frontman Jonathan Vigil is power and precision incarnate, every empowering chant is throatily punished. The crowd is in full flight; fits and spurts of moshing break out as a circle pit whirls. “I see someone without a shred of hope/At the breaking point/At the end of the rope,” Vigil roars before one last shit-kickingly violent breakdown crashes in on closer Dark Horse. The Ghost Inside are headline act-worthy.

A Day To Remember don't take long to remind the crowd who the big boys are. All I Want opens with stadium-rock grandeur before I'm Made Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of? gives us the perfect excuse to bounce around like the pogo stick was just invented. 2nd Sucks is a master class in A Day To Remember's unrivalled breakdown writing. Right Back At It Again takes the breakdowns and mixes in a dose of pop. Add Jeremy McKinnon's unwavering voice and enigmatic energy and the pop-mosh pioneering Floridians are flying. An acoustic version of You Had Me At Hello serves as a mid-set breather and perfect transition into the sweet opening of If It Means A Lot To You. Reaching its crescendo as McKinnon sings, “I'm not some boy that you can sway/We knew it'd happen eventually,” proves to be the sing-along highpoint in a show packed with big choruses. Mr Highway's Thinking About The End and Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way are a devastatingly heavy double-act as the set comes towards its painfully inevitable end. As The Downfall Of Us All wraps up the evening, Melbourne metalcore fans can go home happily punch-drunk from tonight's breakdown beating.