GUTTERLORD GATHERING

13 Oct

Going Upstairs To The Gutter!

Saturday 10th October 2026

Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Rashid AlKamraikhi

It’s almost 3pm on a Saturday, and Fortitude Valley is already full of prospective drunks in lederhosen as we make our way up the long concrete staircase of the Crowbar for GUTTERLORD GATHERING.

It’s always strange to be in this venue during daylight hours, and as light pours through the side windows the P.A. rumbles to life as TOWERS BELOW take the stage. State-of-the-art death metal from Brisbane, TOWERS BELOW combine rapid-fire riffage and caustic vocals to create a vicious racket, and eyebrows are raised around the Crowbar when they announce that this is only their second show. Impressive stuff.

Up next is MONSTERS AROUND US, the bedroom instrumental project of Colin Cadell, who has enlisted a live bassist and human drum machine Todd Hansen to perform it onstage. What would it sound like if you gave FEAR FACTORY’s Dino Cazares a massive dose of hallucinogens and locked him in a room with Rhys Fulber? The answer might be something like this. Taking the free-form creativity of IGORRR and digital stuttering of THE ALGORITHM, sticking it in a blender, and adding a powerful moustache, they have the room under their spell, and Colin even manages to get a bunch of hairy metalheads vibing to EDM as he pulls us through the warp and into another dimension.

We were a bit sad to hear that local sludge/noise rock crew LEAKER have had to pull out due to illness, but the blow is softened somewhat to hear that SKIRMISHER are taking their place. Absolutely brutal local powerviolence, the first time I saw them, their vocalist was reading one of Chopper Read’s books over the top of ear-splitting grind, as filthy bass, clattering drums and piercing harsh noise fought for dominance to be the first to get through my earplugs. Music played so loud you can almost see it, getting caught in SKIRMISHER’s blast radius will leave you reeling, but once your ears have stopped ringing, you’ll want to tell all your mates about them. More of this, please.

After briefly flirting with SUNN O))) in the late 2000s (someone recommended them to me while standing in line to see MESHUGGAH, which isn’t relevant, but I just wanted to show off that I saw the obZen tour), I didn’t really have the patience for drone in my 20s. Now I’m in my 40s and on medicinal cannabis, so it was the perfect time for my first live drone show as The Flayed One from SYMPHONY OF PUTRESCENCE takes the stage and brings time to a virtual standstill. A solo project typically performed in a dark robe with a skull mask like a black metal Skeletor, the heat and humidity have led to a more stripped back approach today, with The Flayed One unmasked and in street clothes as the first deafening chord unfurls. No drummer, no bass, no samples, just one guitar lumbering forward with the size, weight and speed of a glacier, as foreboding and malevolent as the Tripods from War of the Worlds. Punters sit and even lie down in the pit, letting the slow-moving waves crash over them, as the outside world moves at normal speed through the window. This was an absolute trip, and one I’m keen to take again.

This isn’t my first dance with THEREIN, and their hypnotic blend of influences, and disregard for convention, is only getting more interesting. Case in point: starting your set with a parody of the Bunnings Warehouse ads while singer-guitarist Cameron Whelan wears one of their branded sun hats. Part OPETH, part IGORRR, and always intriguing, our necks are at the mercy of their eclectic riffage, and as the sun starts to set outside, the lighting operator puts his foot on the gas and turns the stage into a maelstrom of technicolour. It’s mind-melting stuff, but if we think we’re hallucinating now, that’s nothing compared to the set that follows.

A two-piece from Japan calling themselves KOKU SHOKU SEINEN, they launch into a set of bewildering noise rock insanity that has as many punters scratching their heads as banging them. Like my first time seeing THE HARD-ONS, they switch genres with warp speed, as garage rock mutates into absurdist grindcore, and die-hard fans in the pit dance around flogging each other with sawed-off pool noodles. In writing this now, I’m no closer to understanding what the fuck I just witnessed, but frankly, I’m OK with it. More weirdness on our stages please!

Those who were a bit lost at sea during the last set get to put a foot on solid ground as ALARUM take to the stage and kick off a mesmerising set of progressive death metal, as Mark Palfreyman’s guttural roar unfurls over our heads like he’s bellowing black smoke. Polyrhythms clatter from the kit as the guitars weave spiderwebs of angular riffs, and the pit becomes the only warzone where you can die of Natural Causes. Flying the flag for Aussie metal since 1992, they sound incredible tonight, and they make sure we’re all hydrated by checking to see if we’re drinking beer before ploughing into another sprawling track. It’s nice to feel cared for!

Considering we’ve already seen a drone act play after a powerviolence band, by this point in the night we’re used to a vibe shift, and the foot comes off the accelerator again as the stage is bathed in red light, illuminating the five dark figures of Brisbane’s SLOWCUT. Pure red stage lights might be a nightmare for photographers, but for the punters, the vibe it creates fits the slow-burning hostility perfectly, as scorching vocals erupt over NEUROSIS-style guitars. It’s enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I am left staring wide-eyed at the stage as the red haze slowly swells and contracts behind them. It looks like the stage is breathing, and from that breath comes one of the best vocal performances I’ve heard this year. Absolutely stunning.

Following that won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it’s Sydney’s LO! They waste absolutely no time plunging into the opening riff of As Fools Ripen, and the Crowbar is drawn inexorably into their dark world, swivel-eyed frontman Sam Dillon’s face contorting like Jim Carrey doing an impression of NAPALM DEATH. A phenomenally tight band with a keen ear for quality control, LO! don’t do things by halves, and tonight’s set is no exception, with the crowd either losing their minds in the pit or nursing beers up the back while staring in awe. If there is any justice in the world, LO! are destined for massive things.

Unfortunately, it’s been a long day for an old bloke with a bad back, so I’m going to handball this review over to our photographer for the night, Rashid AlKamraikhi, to talk about the literally biggest band of the day, VALTOZASH. Ready Rash? 5-6-7-8!

I got you Tom!

If you were ever in the mood for listening to a jazz-metal fusion band to feel more respectable while drinking tequila because you’re braindeaded and taking a bath, then you need look no further than VALTOZASH. Sorry, scratch that, you will need to look further because you’re going to need binoculars, their lineup extends that far. It’s lucky that they can all fit on Crowbar’s stage, as it’s already late in the day, and we don’t have time to knock a hole through the wall and build an extension out over Ann St just to accommodate them. I’d still consider doing it for them though, if that’s what was needed, because they’re amazing. VALTOZASH was a super fun way to end the night before we all had to stumble back down the stairs and into the bona fide gutters of Fortitude Valley.

Goodnight, sweet Gutterlords!