BORN OF OSIRIS and SIGNS OF THE SWARM - Live In Brisbane

21 Mar

The Brightside Outdoors is Rocked to the Core!

Friday 20th March 2026

Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

Tonight is a busy night at The Brightside, with two very different bands splitting the crowd. In the main room is punk band THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES, and in the outdoor area is a double-helping of extremity from BORN OF OSIRIS and SIGNS OF THE SWARM.

As we enter the room, Melbourne progressive deathcore crew IRONSTONE are taking to the (very high) stage. Their frontman has me onside almost immediately, with a black button-up shirt and mane of hair looking like Pete Steele from TYPE O NEGATIVE, and he has compensated for the lack of fallback monitors by bringing out a milk crate to put one foot up on instead. The band is tight, the lows are filthy, and the first pit of the night quickly breaks out in a flurry of fists and elbows. Nice work everyone!

At the risk of sounding like a grandpa, something about SIGNS OF THE SWARM’s set really pissed me off. The Brightside’s outdoor stage is quite unusual in its design. It’s much higher than a regular stage, which allows everyone to get a good view, but it also means that there is much less room between the barrier and the stage then normal. Never mind calling it a photo pit – there is barely room for a security guard, much less photographers. Why am I telling you this? Because a few songs into an impressive set, SIGNS OF THE SWARM frontman David asks for as many crowd surfers as they can get, despite being able to clearly see that A) there aren’t enough people to catch them, and B) there is nowhere for the seccies to put people. Panicked security have no choice but to push people back into the crowd, and the frontman has the audacity to tell the security to “pay attention” so punters don’t get hurt. How about you pay attention, mate? I should be talking about how tight the band was, or how that was some of the most impressive double-kick I’ve ever seen live. Instead I’ve got to talk about a bloke gambling with the safety of his fans. Fortunately no one seems to succumb to the concrete, and the set finishes without incident.

Even the toughest-sounding band can be undone by an awkward acronym, so it’s nice to see BORN OF OSIRIS leaning into the fact that their initials spell “BOO”. As the band emerge onstage, they are met with an almighty roar, and the crowd surges and crashes at the mercy of founding drummer Cameron Losch’s snare as they rip into Bow Down. Progressive metalcore forged in Chicago, their latest album, last year’s Through Shadows, was clearly well received by the roars that greet songs like In Desolation and Elevate, and they look down over the rapt crowd with smiles beaming. The human ocean surges, crashes and swirls in the chaos, and even at its most intense, the crowd doesn’t forget to look out for each other, and those who fall are swiftly picked up again. Vocalist Ronnie Canizaro is in fine form tonight, and by the time that BORN OF OSIRIS sign off with a crushing rendition of Machine, the crowd is absolutely spent, and we all head off into the night with our jaws still rattling from double-kick.