SENSORY OVERLOAD - The Best of 2023
Words by: Tom Wilson @thetomwilsonexperiment - Sense Music Media | Friday 22nd December 2023
Banner Photo by: Charlyn Cameron
Tom’s End of Year Wrap Up
The post-pandemic tour boom has been utterly relentless, and it is showing absolutely no sign of slowing down next year, so let’s take a brief rest between mosh pits and look back over all the best moments that you couldn’t see because I was standing in front of you.
BEST LIVE GIG MOMENTS
10. Andrew Hansen – Eulogy Song 2023 – Brisbane Powerhouse
When Andrew dipped his hand into the Chaser showbag at the end of his solo comedy gig, we knew we were in for something special, but few could have anticipated the contemporary updates to 2007’s infamous Eulogy Song, poking fun at polite society’s habit of ignoring famous people’s controversies when they die. I won’t spoil the new additions, but the audible gasps from within the crowd were worth the price of admission. Absolutely brutal.
9. DAD FIGHT – The Zoo
Brisbane punks DAD FIGHT took no prisoners in an absolutely bonkers set at The Zoo. A sweaty, swivel-eyed frontman, a guitarist dressed as a high court judge, a hyperactive bass player and a pocketful of banging tunes – what’s not to love?
8. BATTLESNAKE – The Zoo
When one of your guitarists uses a ladder to climb into the venue roof and start playing in the rafters, you know you’re at a good show. Relentless, ludicrous and utterly brilliant. All hail BATTLESNAKE.
7. (HED) PE – Waiting to Die – The Brightside
G-Punk heroes (HED) PE brought the heat to a packed Brightside for a riotous show in the heart of Brisbane, and this banger from Broke saw both the band’s energy and the humidity hit fever pitch.
6. WORMROT – The Triffid
Opening for grind heroes NAPALM DEATH, new vocalist Gabriel Dubko melted away from the front of the stage to let Rasyid Juraimi and Vijesh Ghariwala drag us head-first into a grind vortex, showcasing their stellar new album Hiss and one of the most astonishing displays of extreme metal drumming I’ve ever witnessed. “Phenomenal” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
5. LIMP BIZKIT – Fortitude Valley Music Hall
Fred Durst looked like he was dying from the bug that was circulating during Good Things, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a glorious display of nu metal classics to a riotous crowd, in one of the more intimate shows of their tour that saw walls of death one minute and slow dancing to George Michael’s Careless Whisper the next. Ace.
4. DEAFCULT – Ghost Tropic
DEAFCULT more than lived up to their name when playing their album release show at a pop-up venue in the Brisbane CBD, generating a wall of sound so intense that I swear you could see it. Thank god for earplugs!
3. CHOOF – King Lear’s Throne
Melbourne grind nutters CHOOF weren’t headlining, but I don’t think anyone told them, because their set before powerviolence crew DESPISE YOU was nothing short of insanity. If you’re not covered in spit, sweat and spilled beer, were you even at a CHOOF show?
2. HELMET – The Tivoli
It took a looong time for this gig to happen (three years, in fact), but when HELMET took the stage with no opening band, it was worth the wait. A twenty-three song set spanning their entire career, the encore of Just Another Victim was an absolute firestorm of angst and riffs, and led straight into set closer In The Meantime. It doesn’t get much better that this…
1. SHIHAD – Spring Loaded
…Unless you were at Bribie Island to witness this shit. Holy hell. Kiwi hard rockers SHIHAD are famous for crazy pits, but the opening of this set, the cataclysmically heavy Tear Down Those Names and Think You’re So Free, put the crowd at risk of a neck injury. Just when the heaviness is at its apex, they pull a left turn and have the crowd singing I Got You by SPLIT ENDZ, before opening up their war chest of The General Electric classics as the sun sets over the sea. All this from a band with a bassist still recovering from a hospital stint. Absolute warriors.
TOP 10 TRACKS
10. CRISISACT – Two Sides of the Same Coin
If the first words out of your mouth aren’t “holy shit”, you either need to fix your headphones or your ears. An absolutely devastating opening salvo from the best heavy release of 2023.
9. BATTLESNAKE – Nazarene Extreme
Gloriously silly and utterly righteous, Nazarene Extreme is power metal on crack, played by a band who dress like medieval priests and have one of the most bonkers stage shows ever.
8. OLIVER ANTHONY – Rich Men North of Richmond
There was no getting away from this one. An achingly relatable ode to working yourself to death while politicians waste your money and grind you down, people spent a lot of time trying to figure out who Oliver Anthony was, and either elevate him or tear him down based on what they perceived his politics to be. Those people need a new hobby, because this song is amazing.
7. STAIND – Cycle of Hurting
With all the focus on frontman Aaron Lewis being (gasp!) a conservative, people seem to forget that STAIND are still capable of crafting a banger that will make you feel like it’s 2001 all over again. This is the best they’ve sounded in years.
6. ASTRODEATH – Permafrost
A sludge-y, SABBATH-worshipping slab of heaviness, the opening track of ASTRODEATH’s latest album is metal boiled down to its base elements. When I finally cracked 150kg on the bench press, this was the soundtrack, and once you hear it, you’ll understand why. Absolutely stunning.
5. DR.PARALLAX – Science
Pummelling prog in the vein of MASTODON, Brisbane’s DR.PARALLAX left jaws hanging when they released their EP Stick & String, and their power was no better demonstrated than on the stunning Science. The climax is heavy enough to level a building.
4. MUTOID MAN – Call of the Void
Brooklyn headbangers MUTOID MAN announced their album Mutants with this absolute banger, melding CONVERGE drummer Benjamin Koller’s percussive mayhem with a killer riff and a chorus that will be in your head for days. Whatever you do, don’t avoid the Call of the Void.
3. DEAFCULT – Metamorphosis
Taking MY BLOODY VALENTINE’s wall of sound and pushing it into redline, Metamorphosis is DEAFCULT at their noisy, moody best, as bassist Kellie Lloyd screams her heart out behind instrumentation the size of a weather formation.
2. WARGASM UK (FEAT. FRED DURST) – Bang Ya Head
By turns abrasive and hypnotic, Bang Ya Head saw British wrecking crew WARGASM UK enlist LIMP BIZKIT’s Fred Durst to inject their hi-tech electro punk with his signature nu metal bounce. The result is a banger of the highest order.
1. HYRO THE HERO – Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check
Taking BUSTA RHYMES’ 1996 track and mutating it into a scorching nu metal anthem, HYRO THE HERO showed what makes a truly great cover, keeping the spirit of the original while taking it in a new direction. This is about as subtle as a locomotive being driven through your living room, so either get on, or get out of the way.
BEST ALBUM
Runner Up
OSAKA PUNCH – Mixed Ape
It almost seems like cheating to heap praise on Mixed Ape, given how long the band have been working on it, but OSAKA PUNCH took everything that makes them one of the best live bands in Australia, put it in a pot and gave it an almighty stir. Road-tested fan favourites sit snugly amongst new tracks like the glorious Too Old (For This Shit), showcasing the groove and humour that make them great.
Winner
DEAFCULT – Future of Illusion
If their 2017 album Auras sounded like a sunny day, Future of Illusion sounds like a Queensland thunderstorm. From the shuddering darkness of Oppenheimer’s Regret, DEAFCULT take the listener through a maelstrom of feedback and reverb, where beauty and ugliness linger long after the album ends, like a bad case of tinnitus. An extraordinary achievement.
The Mr. Rogers Award For Nicest Person
Kris Peters – HEAVY
In an industry that awards sycophants and bullies, it’s nice to know someone who is neither. Whether it’s having the guts to stand up for what is right, or constantly helping out other publications and never treating them as rivals, the scene needs more people like him. An absolute madlad.
Best Interview
Runner Up
Page Hamilton - HELMET
Most interviews are scheduled for about twenty minutes, so getting to speak to HELMET mastermind Page Hamilton for almost three quarters of an hour was an amazing way to start the year. As I remarked at the start of the interview, this conversation was setting the tone for his whole year. I hope I was right, because this was a lot of fun.
Winner
Eugene S. Robinson - OXBOW
“I don’t think you should travel anywhere unarmed.”
Arguably as famous for his habit of attacking audience members as he is for his music, a conversation with OXBOW frontman Eugene S. Robinson was never going to be boring, but I could never have predicted how fun this conversation was. Surprisingly affable even when talking about his horrific childhood, the interview ducked and weaved through racism, gun culture, hardcore punk and his reasons for wanting to leave the United States. If Zoom hadn’t kicked us off after 45 minutes, the conversation could still be going today. A remarkable chat with a remarkable man.
