Live Review: Thy Art Is Murder, Psycroptic, Fit For An Autopsy, Revocation

Thy Art is Murder hosted a mammoth metal line-up at Fowler’s to mark their Australian return.

Revocation are one of the most exciting new technical death metal bands to emerge on the scene at the tail end of the ‘00s. Along with a Clementine appreciation and execution of fast, abrasive groove-laden shredding Revocation are also one of the hardest-working bands in the biz, with five major records under their belt since their 2008 debut. David Davidson is one of metal’s most fantastic contemporary guitar players and watching his fingers fly across the fret board while singing Revocation’s best in songs like Invidious, Dismantle The Dictator and Madness Opus is a sight to behold.

Fit For An Autopsy brought forth a fitting onslaught of heaviness, laying a bedrock for crushing riff-laden breakdowns and Middle Eastern-influenced guitar solos that saw a relaxed yet masterful command of the eight-string guitar. Greg Wilburn also bears a striking resemblance to a young Phil Anselmo. One can’t help but muse that maybe the great Down frontman cloned himself twenty-odd years ago and slowly but surely, the embryo was raised in a test tube to see the stage at Fowler’s Live.

Psycroptic lifted the bar with a lesson in tech death that had a distinctly post-apocalyptic feel. Putting Hobart on the map for extreme metal acts in 1999, Psycroptic are a force to be reckoned with, delivering scores of hedonistic power along with a definitive vision. They’re one of those metal bands that are impossible to dislike because they really embody what it means to play heavy metal music.

Thy Art Is Murder were then an impressive culmination of the diverse array of bands that were billed that evening. With some songs being more anthemic and technical and others being more brutal or bad-arse, Thy Art is Murder were distinctly unrelenting. CJ is a born vocalist, creating powerful sounds with effortless ease. It’s almost as if he simply has an on button that causes those screeches and screams to emanate from his mouth.

Thy Art is Murder also create a sound that grows on you, becoming more compelling with each song, almost like an indoctrination. With the number of punters flailing around like devil spawn suffering horrid conniptions it was clear the band was doing their job well. The band didn’t bother wasting the crowd’s time with an encore, remaining on stage to play their final songs and promising their new record will be the best we have ever heard.