Review and Photos by Stephen Goodwin
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Trail of the Dead may have shed almost half their members since their last visit, but an evening at the Hi-Fi with this leaner line-up remains a punishingly loud experience.
Five back-to-back cuts from latest release Tao of the Dead give the feeling that the band is rushing to get the new material out of the way. Still Ebb Away and The Fairlight Pendant, in particular, are anything but second-rate. |
The pay-off is a pulverising second half. Caterwaul, How Near How Far, Another Morning Stoner and A Perfect Teenhood are all immense, infused with breath-taking intensity. However, the highlight is surely Will You Smile Again? Keely’s drawl plays delightfully against the measured thump and abrupt crunch-stop of Reece’s toms and crash cymbals — the whole glued together by an ebbing, flowing wall of guitar noise.
As Keely and co lay into their instruments, fans’ arms flail. Their fierce chopping motions match the beat — and the shared madness is surely off the richter scale.
Set List
Strange News From Another Planet
The Spiral Jetty
Weight of the Sun (or the Post-Modern Prometheus)
Ebb Away
The Fairlight Pendant
Will You Smile Again?
Caterwaul
It Was There That I Saw You
How Near How Far
Fake Fake Eyes
Another Morning Stoner
A Perfect Teenhood
Clair de Lune
Richter Scale Madness
Acts: …And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of the Dead, Nikko, To The North
Venue: The Hi-Fi, Brisbane
Date: September 9, 2011