Live Review: Weedeater, Conan, Lo!, Thorax

The fucked-up sounds of locals Thorax began this night's celebration of all things fuzzed-out and slow. The dedicated few who made it for the super-early kickoff time were rewarded with a solid set of off-kilter riffage culled from the band's debut LP. Lo! are about to go on an extended live hiatus in order to record a new record, which made this set extra special. There's a reason the Sydney quartet are the go-to outfit when international doom/sludge bands hit our shores. Tight and unrelenting, the boys' knack for switching between sludge, hardcore and even a touch of traditional metal makes their tunes immediately memorable. If Lo! are in the room, heads will bang — and this was no exception.

Conan are one of the most exciting doom/sludge outfits on the planet and once again they didn't disappoint. From in front of his custom wall of Orange speakers, guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis led the trio through a cinder block-heavy set that included highlights from the latest album Revengeance including the title track and mammoth set closer Earthenguard. Simply put, Conan crushed all before them with casual ease.

Although Dave 'Dixie' Collins' (ahem) unique vocal style isn't to everyone's taste, there's no doubting the fuzzed-out waves of joy he and his Weedeater brethren unleashed upon the gathered faithful. Mixing in material from throughout their career (including particularly punishing versions of Tuesday Night and God Luck And Good Speed) the boys had the crowd eating out their hands before ending with a twistedly distorted rendition of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic Gimme Back My Bullets.

Overall, this was a stellar line-up of sludge goodness that once again proves this most maligned of genres is alive and kicking.