Review: BLACK RHENO - Live in Brisbane

24 Nov

Making The Biggest Racket

Friday 21st November 2025

Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

PUNK ROCK FACTORY are plugging away at Crowbar a few doors down, but I’m not in the mood for P.R.F. … I’m in the mood for P.F.R.!

Formerly KING LEAR’S THRONE, the famous Fortitude Valley punk dive has been given a major spruce up and been re-christened P.F.R., which I choose to believe is an acronym for “Punk Fucking Rock”, and as bass starts rumbling through the wall, we know that TOAD CULT have just kicked off, and we’ve got to look lively! Fuzzed-out doom played at what feels like 3000dB, the lumbering, molasses-thick riffs rumble under the warble of a theremin, as vocalist Lawrence Hocking holds his hands over both antennae like a puppet master, brow furrowed in concentration as he conjures musical spells. Guitarist Jerry Mathers showcases both an impressive repertoire of riffs and a wide range of stank faces to go along with them, and the vibe of the night is well and truly set.

If TOAD CULT fired the starting gun, PISTONFIST are the boot on the accelerator, and they floor it. It is awesome to see Jimmy back on guitar with them tonight, and their blend of hard rock and heavy metal goes down a storm (but really, when does it not?). I’m slightly distracted, but I think I hear them mentioning something about playing a new song, before the drums hammer out a familiar pattern, and after a few bars of guitar I smile as I recognise MACHINE HEAD classic Davidian. The chorus builds and builds, and fists are thrown in the air as all of P.F.R. helps Geoff O’Leary scream “Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!” Unexpected and absolutely awesome.

Highly organised professionals, FORESTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, are busy men on a schedule. Who has time to get changed into a mankini? Fortunately, they come prepared with their mankinis on under their clothes, so they are both almost naked onstage in the blink of an eye, meaning they are ready to F.U.C.! A two-piece with a shared love of thrash metal, dick jokes and the environment, they straddle the line between comedy and brutality, and is there anyone better suited to straddling than men in sweaty mankinis? Joining them onstage tonight is their mascot, Dicky, AKA one of the band’s friends in an inflatable penis costume, who has two jobs tonight: dancing, and constantly throwing smaller inflatable phalluses into the audience. Unfortunately, after a few songs, Dicky looks a bit deflated, and has to get blown up again, but is soon back at full mast. It’s silly, it’s juvenile, and it absolutely rocks. Five stars, would F.U.C. again.

He's got support straps on both knees, but Ryan Miller will not be slowed down by such trivial matters as his load-bearing joints. There are more important matters to attend to, like the band, BLACK RHENO, marking their first decade of existence, and with zero fanfare they plunge into their first EP, Let’s Start a Cult. I am loving the sound that stripped-down bands can make. Whether it’s F.U.C., WORMROT, ASTRODEATH or BLACK RHENO, there is something to be said for making the biggest racket you can with as few people as possible. The riff of First World Bitches is absolutely punishing and a set highlight, and this reviewer has to regain his balance after headbanging so hard. With a lot of great heavy music playing in town tonight, there have been some brutal clashes, and turnout has suffered a bit, but those who chose to spend it with BLACK RHENO do not leave disappointed – Miller launching himself off a speaker stack, knee straps be damned. They bust out a cover of F.U.C.’s The Elephant Song, prompting an A+ heckle from the back – “Finally, some good music!” – and close their set with a berserk version of LIAM LYNCH’s United States of Whatever. In a recent interview with Sense, the band claimed that they take not taking themselves seriously very seriously, and it looks like their attitude hasn’t changed. Here’s to another ten years!