Kollaps Live At The Bendigo Hotel 08/03/2019

 

Kollaps live

 The Melbourne based post-industrialists are committed to their discipline and their recent spate of good luck is no accident. Having completed a wildly successful European tour in 2018 while simultaneously landing a spot on Britain’s premier industrial label, Cold Spring, Kollaps’ first local show in 7 months was as exciting as it is joyfully rare.

 On warm-ups was Pterygium, a Melbourne based solo performer who enjoys a slot on German noise label, Tesco Organisation. While Pterygium’s studio output teeters dark industrial/ambient soundscapes, the live show is confrontational and far more abrasive. Brandishing two microphones, Pterygium screamed heavily processed vocals over an ominous noise/power electronics backdrop. Being only his third live show, Henry Gillet’s solo performance instilled an impressive mix of fear, intimidation and bewilderment in attendees as he wandered aimlessly through the audience. 

 

Pterygium

 Synth-wave act V performed next, only hours after having played a show at Triple R. Promoting her new album, So Pure, on Dero Arcade, V performed a mix of her short, quirky dark-wave 80s throwback tracks, supported only by backing tracks and her bass. A pleasant performance that stood out in the night for being dark as opposed to being abrasive.

 

V

 Now populated by a curious mix of Kollaps returnees and folk looking to validate rumours of their infamous live shows, there was a mix of excitement and uncertainty within the Bendigo. Kollaps did, as they do, rupture the venue with harsh noisescapes, manic vocals and violently measured percussion. Vocalist Wade Black’s performances sit on the edges of both sanity and self-abuse. Pacing endlessly, self-harming and wielding a piece of sheet metal with attached suction mics, Kollaps‘ shows are little concerned with your safety. Accompanied by the synonymous coil, the three-piece emanate a violence and unpredictability that is weaponised directly at you, but never for you. Sticking mostly to tracks from 2017’s Sibling Lovers, but book-ending the set with tracks from the forthcoming Mechanical Christ, 2019 is looking to be another big year for the group. With relocations on the horizon and a growing presence in the much more established industrial scenes of Europe, the future looks very bright.

 

Mechanical Christ