Live Review: At The Gates, Truth Corroded, Voros

If there was an entry requirement for this event, it be at least one item of black clothing, preferably facial hair and a passcode of devil's horns. But any form of rejection was certainly not in action; a show of this magnitude deserved acceptance to any metal enthusiast. 

Presented with the honour of opening, local quintet Voros were not going to waste this opportunity. Launching straight into their thrash-death-metal in front of a small yet building crowd, their proficiency and technical ability was undeniably very impressive. Devilment and Sea Of Dead Trees were highlights, but it was the combat-like precision each member brought to Voros' sound that stood out the most. Unfortunately their stationary-tough-guy-hea-banging-attack on the stage was rather 'token', but their Revocation-inspired metal recipe was a good warm-up for the evening.

Icons of Adelaide metal — scratch that, Australian metal — Truth Corroded had the task of main support and quickly established that they were the correct choice for this role. With a throng of fans in tow, the five-piece treated Adelaide Uni Bar with favourites such as Worship The Bled, Last Of My Flesh, Pride Of Demise, They Are Horror and The Disfiguring, which provoked neck-dislocation-like headbanging and an abundance of devil's horns plus raised beers in tribute. Truth Corroded's very clear and cohesive live sound is why they are seen as a superior metal act in Australia.

In 1996 the world was shocked by the announcement of melodic death-metal legends At The Gates' hiatus; they reconvened in 2007 for a year, and reformed again in 2010. 2014 brought about a new album, their first in 19 years, titled At War With Reality, the record which brought the band to our shores. The audience was now near capacity and the excitement impossible to ignore. The opening track El Altar Del Dios Desconocido (translated as The Altar Of The Unknown God) provoked a deafening roar from Adelaide metalheads. Death And The Labyrnith commenced the hair-whipping venue-wide and vocalist Tomas Lindberg conducted his admirers: an ocean of fists pumping the air. The vocalist gallantly cavorted around the stage in jubilation, becoming one with the crowd, embracing them like family and maintaining an incredible work-horse demeanour and venomous vocal delivery. The rest of the band were heroic in stature; these lords of the Gothenburg sound still have chemistry, and each instrument is still utilised as a near menacing weapon.

The setlist understandably comprised mostly newer material such as At War With Reality, The Circular Ruins, Heroes And Tombs, Eater Of Gods and closer The Night Eternal which were executed with near perfect precision; but it was the outfit's earlier material like Blinded By Fear and The Burning Darkness which incited pandemonium.