Live Review: Dead Letter Circus, 10 Years, Guards Of May

The fake stars on the Forum Theatre ceiling shine down on a crowd of black-clad punters ready to rock. Brisbane's prog-rock up-and-comers Guards Of May win fans during Future Eyes, which features a show-stopping cameo by a cordless drill. Guitarist Keita Neralic busts out the Ryobi to add some extra sound effects in the song's closing moments, and all present would most definitely agree it was a truly magnificent moment.

10 Years' lead singer Jesse Hasek undertakes some poetic spoken word soundchecking first up, loudly chanting, "wet, pink, hot, bubblegum" and "hard, erect, large, buildings" into the mic. Sound duly checked, 10 Years begin an intense and dramatic set. From first track From Birth To Burial through to third number Knives, 10 Years slowly win louder and louder howls from the crowd with their uber passionate performance. Bass player Ryan Collier eyeballs the crowd between intense full body headbangs, while Hasek holds hands with punters in the front row as he screeches out the vocals. He then offers a very heartfelt speech, saying, "This amazing and beautiful ride is because of each and every one of you who supports our dreams — we can't thank you enough for that," before launching into early career hit Wasteland. What a guy.

Dead Letter Circus incite mass Forum-wide euphoria by playing John Farnham's You're The Voice before triumphantly entering the stage. Getting the drunk and emotional crowd singing the familiar lyrics is quite frankly a stroke of genius. Beginning with tracks off new ARIA Award nominated album Aesthesis, Dead Letter Circus play a set marked by unrelenting, heart-palpitation-inducing intensity befitting a juggernaut of Australian rock. New tracks In Plain Sight and While You Wait showcase their more melodic new approach, before they launch back into standard alt-rock mega crowd faves The Space On The Wall and Reaction from 2010's This Is The Warning. A front row fan then scores amazing video for his Facebook page when lead singer Kim Benzie steals his phone and films himself screeching hardcore Next In Line into the (probably now cracked) screen. Drummer Luke Williams is given a couple of minutes to perform a topless drum solo like no other, backlit by spotlights and strobes flashing like mad. Finishing with an almighty shredfest on The Mile, Dead Letter Circus give the Melbourne fans one final forceful display of alt-rock at its very eardrum-busting finest.