SUNK LOTO - Live In Brisbane
The Hype Is Real!
Tuesday 11th July 2026
Written by Tom Wilson
Photographed by: Tracy McLaughlan
Opening tonight are Melbourne metalcore five-piece EARTHBOUND. I’m not sure what it is about that city and top-notch metalcore. Maybe it’s something in the water? If it is, they must be sipping water bottles full of Victoria’s finest, because they are in incredible form tonight.
The cleans are sparkling, the lows are filthy, and volleys of cutting-edge riffs fire off in all directions. This tour is their first time treading the boards in a Brisbane venue, and it looks like they’re having as much fun as we are – their drummer barely able to keep himself on his stool, leaping up to rev up the crowd – and by the time they walk offstage, the vibe has well and truly been set.
The drummer of VERONA LIGHTS looks like he’s about to step away from his kit, put on an apron and do some blacksmith work, such is the sheer magnitude of his beard. But there is no metallurgy tonight, just a massive George of the Jungle drum beat that opens their set as vocalist Brendan gets the crowd revved up.
Another Melbourne band, they are bristling with energy, and their incorrigible frontman reminds me of another cool Melbournian, Kram from SPIDERBAIT. With a sound that calls to mind bands like KARNIVOOL and THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, they have the crowd in the palm of their hand by the second song, and a punter in an electric wheelchair does a one-woman circle pit, which will never not be awesome. With a name like VERONA LIGHTS, we really should have anticipated being asked to raise a phone flashlight during their set, and as the digital fireflies buzz around the Crowbar, they illuminate just how much talent is currently onstage. Awesome work.
The hype is real. After an amazing run with the original lineup in 2022 and an anniversary run-through of Between Birth & Death in 2023 which also served as the debut for new guitarist Rohan Stevenson, SUNK LOTO are in incredible form, and everybody knows it – this gig sold out so fast they added a second Brisbane date. But this will be SUNK as we haven’t seen them in a while, performing at the Crowbar (formerly The Zoo), which famously doesn’t have a barrier in front of the stage. Tonight is intimate, sweaty, and very, very loud.
Having finally put myself in mosh retirement (several years after I probably should have), I take my place in front of the sound desk, as it’s the one place a 6’7” bloke can stand guilt-free, and something occurs to me – I have probably never heard SUNK LOTO quite as clearly as I’m about to. When the boys take the stage, they cut the foreplay and drop straight into my favourite song, the mighty Lift, and the crowd does just that, bouncing along to Ro’s massive guitar like they’re on a hundred pogo sticks, while Jason Brown hitches his pants and fires off rap bars like an Australian Chino Moreno. It’s glorious, sounding immaculate, and the energy doesn’t dip as they charge straight into Empty & Alone and Fall Apart.
New tracks Dead Shadows and God Complex are great examples of the technicality that Rohan has brought to SUNK, with one of the verses seeing Jason roaring through a stuttering polyrhythm, and if I knew a thing about music theory (which I don’t), I’d say it sounded like they picked the time signature with a pair of dice. It’s wildly impressive.
Considering their last trip to Brisbane was celebrating Between Birth & Death, tonight’s set puts more focus on their 2000 debut album Big Picture Lies and, of course, the EP that started it all, Society Anxiety. The nu metal bounce of Shiver and Porcelain Buddah send the pit into hysterics, before the massive singalong of Everything Everyway sees the whole Crowbar singing as one. Deep cut Spherical Hostage is utterly ferocious, before they dial it waaaay back for the acoustic croon of Submission. Jason’s vocals are in fine form, and when the band kick back into gear with Sunken Eyes, the rhythm section of Dane and Sean create a groove so massive it could knock over a skyscraper.
It’s nice to see a band have so much confidence in one of their newer tracks that they close with it, but The Gallows Wait really is that good, and the final riffs sound like the end of the world. With no security in the way, the band say their goodbyes and share some high-fives with the front row, and it’s a great end to a wonderful night. Nice work, everyone.
