Blog — Page 18 of 277

The Formative Years – Voivod

In the late 1980s as a prepubescent metal was the law and after meandering through the limited offerings of the local record stores, befriending older scenester and actively tape trading, I was introduced to bands that derived from the speed metal formula I had become infatuated with.

One of those bands was Voivod, who not unlike their countrymen Annihilator enjoyed a bit of an exotic status in my tape collection as they hailed from Canada. 
While their Dimension Hätross album excited me with its raw thrashy approach, it was Killing Technology that blew my mind with its unusual tempos and machine-like cadence.

Killing Technology has stood the test of time with its unheard musically varied surge of aggression and the sonic equivalent of a haunting, dystopian future that suddenly seemed all too real.

With their breath-taking, progressive thrash comprised of obscure, outstanding riff sequencing, dominant bass, machine-like complex drumming and an underlying industrial feel, Voivod sounded otherworldly and were light years ahead of their time only to evolve to the next level at an alarming rate once the epigones came close to catching up with them.

With its razor-sharp, nuanced and highly unorthodox delivery, Killing Technology managed to conjure apocalyptic images backed by what seemed to be an avid appreciation for the power, grit, filth and frenetic propulsion of bands like Discharge, Venom and Mötorhead.

Killing Technology constituted a quantum leap for thrash metal by infusing it with the complexity of progressive metal elements.

Water of Life – Waubs Harbour Distillery

If you are remotely following this series, it should not have gone unnoticed that a deliberate effort has been made to cover Australian distilleries, with one of our foci firmly set on Tasmania. 

Given that we yet have to encounter a distillery on Van Diemen’s land that does not know how to convince with its quality and dedication to provenance, it should go without saying that I find it difficult to contain my excitement every time a new entity pops up on my radar.

Enter Waubs Harbour Distillery.

Centred around the vision of the brothers Tim and Rob Polmear, the latter of which having honed his craft as the head of production and distilling at the Lark and Overeem Distilleries, Waubs Harbour Distillery incarnated as an endeavour to merge the borders of Tasmania’s coastal context, a connection to the land’s aboriginal heritage and the employment of the best techniques possible.

Located within the confines of a converted oyster hatchery and with the etymology of the distillery’s name derived from a  Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, i.e. Wauba Debar, the way Waubs Harbour channels its alchemy in the creation of whiskey is borderline scientific in nature, centred around a forensic knowledge of why the particular elements within the spirit act in certain ways: With an in-house lab allowing experimentation with fermentation and yeast cultures, the complexity of distinct flavour profiles is calibrated to create Waub Harbour’s unique DNA, which is further enhanced by the salty, maritime terroir, the usage of pristine Tasmanian water and the naturally oily and richly flavoured barley from around the state. 

What sealed the deal for me that apart from the aforementioned, Waubs Harbour experiments with local organic peat comprised of decayed coastal reeds, the local melaleuca tree and salt bush, thereby creating an authentic equivalent to what I love about Islay whiskies in terms of provenance and terroir.

Waubs Harbour Distillery’s limited Double Tawny Port expression is an example par excellence for a complex tour de force in terms of well-rounded flavours: 

Briny, maritime aromas tickle the nostrils along with raisiny, brown sugary and vanilla toffee notes, the latter of which materializes via a buttery mouthfeel on the top of the mouth, flanked by sweet, eggy and crisp apple nuances. The mid-length finish culminates with a crescendo of plump, sweet, and juicy sultana tinged highlights.
Clocking in at a tame 43% ABV, a sessionable a sweet rounded port style whisky.

The Apera Bourbon Cask expression differs from the aforementioned in that it the ex-Sherry Casks add stewed fruit characteristics, which dance against a backdrop of spicy oak flavours derived from the maturation in ex-Bourbon cask. The common denominator is Waubs Harbour’s idiosyncratic maritime aromas, which are further enhanced by a well-calibrated composite of its cinnamon, esters, aldehydes and vanilla.

The palate is dominated by pronounced spiciness, sour flavours, a slight bitterness along with very little sweetness, with the finish reverberating with buttery dried fruits.

A favourite of Waubs Harbour’s current portfolio is the Apera Cask Strength exprression, which despite packing a punch with 63% ABV still artfully conveys subtleties, starting with a nose reminiscent of oak, caramel and salted vanilla and a flavour profile that ranges from a honey-like sweetness with a subtle hint of berries via a citrussy crispness to a pronounced spicy oakiness.

The finish is dangerously moreish as it provides the stage for poached pears singing with cashews and pistachios on a fundament of earthy oak.

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image from company website

The Offspring
Hordern Pavilion
Sydney, Australia
11 December 2022

It must have been in 1990 when I was first exposed to The Offspring via their debut album that was released by Frank Harrison on his label Nemesis Records label. 

The result saw the band incarnate with exactly the brash, gritty and raw edge that made me fall in love with 1980s-era punk rock from Cali’s Orange County area and while most songs followed the structure bands like the Adolescents and D.I. defined, from the get-go the charismatic vocal delivery and the band’s knack for infusing their memorable ditties with melodic harmonies stood out.

Four years later in the year that “punk broke” and ten years into the band’s existence,  The Offspring released their third album, which was to become one of the best-selling independent album ever. 

While trying my utmost to resist the appeal of punk rock bands that leapfrogged into mainstream acceptance, I could not resist the extremely infectious allure of Smash. 

As I grew beyond my years as a juvenile delinquent and abandoned the notion of “guilty pleasures”, I thoroughly enjoyed the albums that followed and their innately playful nature as the band continued to evolve and flirt with novelty without ever diluting its DNA.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to The Offspring incarnating again on terra australis, especially since courtesy of global pandemic, the tour had to be pushed back several times.

What eventuated after Sum 41 opened the proceedings could not have been more of a pitch perfect homage to The Offspring’s legacy. 

The sold-out crowd was treated to a well-curated set comprised of timeless bangers from their Smash album along with more recent emissions as well as some of their widely popular cheesier radio tunes, interweaved with banter, crowd interaction galore and all the trimmings and theatrics to keep a large-scale audience engaged at all times, including but not limited to a crowd cam, a blimp zig-zagging above the crowd dropping guitar picks, bouncing beach balls being unleashed onto the pit, pyro and the obligatory confetti rain.

Closing out their set with the anthem that is "Self-Esteem," a fun and life-affirming evening that brought together three generations concluded on a nostalgic high.

Rüfüs Du Sol
The Domain
Sydney, Australia
03 December 2022

It took a hot minute in between opportunities to witness Australia’s electronic mavericks Rüfüs Du Sol channelling their alchemy in the creation of intricate soundscapes in a live environment. 

Needless to say, it would be difficult to frame their homecoming in more suitable surrounds than Sydney’s heritage-listed open space that is the Domain to serenade the launch of the summer season.

Having established themselves as one of the biggest electronic acts on this earthround, it did not take long for the trio to set the mood audience for what was to be a two hour tour de force of a well-curated set.

Artfully mixing their hits with deeper, lesser known cuts from their earlier albums, Rüfüs du Sol’s idiosyncratic brand of textured, ethereal electronica married sweeping synths connected with the receptive festival sized crowd from the get go, resulting in an immensely enjoyable, atmospheric dance party. 

The fact that the balmy night underneath a starlit sky was punctured with an accompanying, hypnotically intricate and seemingly tangible laser show dancing against a backdrop of colourful visuals only added to the allure.

A high energy, epic and euphoric show of a unique act that has established itself firmly on the forefront of international dance music and one that did justice to the immense range of their ebbing and flowing sounds, which made it hard to resist immersing oneself fully in the experience that is the microcosm of Rüfüs du Sol.

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photo by T

Sharon Van Etten
Opera House
Sydney, Australia
01 December 2022

If I was forced to find a common denominator across Sharon van Etten’s oeuvre, I would condense it down to the DNA being a seemingly earnest effort to inch towards her idiosyncratic and melancholically tinged version of the truth. At the very core, especially her stripped down songs seem to be a confession of her character paired with the immortal movement of her circumstances.

Given the aforementioned and having missed out on her incarnation as part of Sydney’s Vivid Festival in 2019, I was intrigued to experience her channelling her alchemy within the confines of a live environment.

Backed by a full band, the opening songs proved to be a fulminant tour de force and served as a backdrop against which Sharon van Etten confidently prowled the stage, leaned into the audience and actively engaged with the constituents of her superb musical backbone, thereby exuding exactly the captivating and engaging stage presence one would have hoped for to be the extension of her recordings.

Sydney Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre has yet to disappoint in terms of adding a je-ne-sais-quoi quality to whoever is gracing its stage and it was no different tonight.  Even the tamer, sleek acoustic parts of her performance sans rhythmic posturing did not feel like plateauing, as they allowed to focus on her emotional delivery of her delicate and vulnerable subject matter.

While the performance was deliberate, precise and professional, Sharon’s balanced set and full-bodied vocal recital did not lack soul and spirit and therefore formed a foundation for a sense of intimacy to reverberate.

A personal, nuanced and jubilant evening in majestic environment, the equally sweet and mesmerising authenticity of which helped to amplify Sharon communing with her audience.

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photo courtesy of Jordan Munns