It’s Friday night and that means Combichrist’s Down and Under tour hits Sydney. And ‘hits’ is an understatement.

Arriving at the Crowbar it’s good to see the venue has put some serious dollars into improving what was an already great venue. Excellent sight lines and sound along with professional staff making it a great place to see and hear bands. Oh yeah, and GREAT bar service. Important, that…

It’s also great to see such a large, cool crowd of people turning out for what is undoubtedly a metallic smorgasbord of music. And people are here EARLY. Which they get paid back for in spades.
Because although this is, of course, Combichrist’s night, we’d be seriously remiss in not mentioning just how great the three excellent Aussie opening acts that got the packed crowd going are.
I must say, I’ve had the good fortune to have been around all three of these bands for years and they all just keep getting better- with each one at the top of their respective game.

First up were Noveaux– pounding out a great set that included at least one new, very cool tune. Sharp as a shard of broken glass and relentless. Then we had Our Last Enemy-also showcasing new material and ruling the stage with ease. These boys are a machine-a piledriver comes to mind. Enough? Nope. Witchgrinder then get to show us yet another facet of this music we all love so much. Coming on with a fierce attack and powering their way through their set, they show just enough light and shade to convince any unknowing audience member that the musical well runs pretty deep with these guys. Excellent.

The variety between these three, (two Sydney, one Melbourne) bands and yet still with a common metal thread that links them is something pretty special. The crowd already had their money’s worth…

But then it’s time for Andy LaPlegua and his Combichrist cohorts to finish the audience off. And they do so, mercilessly. Hitting the stage in a blur of volume and motion, it’s everything you’d expected ,and judging by the audience reaction, spot on! Running through classics such as Electrohead, Desolation, Modern Demon and Children of Violence, La Plegua shows that he has lost nothing of the vitriol and angst that drove his band in their earlier years. In fine voice and with a sense of humour in evidence, he absolutely owns, prowling the stage with confidence.

The supporting players he has assembled for this incarnation of Combchrist- whom I believe have been more or less constant for some time now-are all at the top of their game too.
Shredding guitar, drums blended with techno tracks and a keyboardist ably switching between keys and bass gave the band the power they needed to put across that glorious aggrotech sound they’re known and loved for. Combichrist fully live up to expectations (MY expectations, absolutely!) Relentless and uncompromising music and attitude.

If I had one quibble it would be a personal one…I was hoping for This Shit Will Fuck You Up but it never happened.
Oh well…just greedy, I guess…

Photo lifted from Combichrist’s Facebook Page…