A warm day at the tail end of the weekend, and what better way to cap it off than with this outstanding metalcore lineup at Beanfield! Three of the four bands are from Australia, hitting us with a huge wave of alternative metal, preparing us for an upcoming mid-week storm.
To kick things off, Windmaker took to the stage with an early full house. They’re described as hyperpop-metal and delivered with great execution! It’s rare to see openers win over a large portion of the crowd, but their performance had grit, combined with piercing riffs to loosen things up, earning them a strong cheer at the end.
Next up was Thornhill. I’m not sure if they had a bigger following than the openers, but the crowd was noticeably enthused right after they began playing and with good reason! Thornhill came out swinging with heavy-ass riffs accompanied by great screaming vocals from the lead singer, contrasting with his smooth, melancholic singing voice. They kept a great pace to get the crowd moving!
The final openers, who are the only ones not from Australia, Invent Animate, popped onto the stage! Every member was clothed in white with a hint of glitter, demonstrating a heavenly aesthetic to fit the theme of their latest album, Heavener. I didn’t have any expectations going in, but they were exceeded when they exploded with such stage presence! “Sleepless Deathbed” was their first song, which was perfect to set their tone. Throughout the set, they didn’t stop moving, showed no signs of slowing down, and kept giving it their all! It was great to watch! They closed with their track “Immolation of Night,” which called for a circle pit to suit their heaviest-sounding track and ended the set on a high note.
Finally, the headliners, Northlane, came out with “Carbonized” from their sixth studio album, a very passion-driven song to set their tone. Their stage had a beautiful setup consisting of four monitors tilted at an angle, lined up on each side of the drum kit, showing futuristic animations that fit their cyber-like aesthetic, accompanied by the usual stage lights. It was a treat to watch along with their performance! I was particularly impressed when they played “Bloodline,” with the visuals that came up. As for them, they had immense stage presence, starting from the lead singer who never missed a note to the bassist/synth player wearing tech headgear and accessories. It was evident they were giving us everything they had!
Review + photos – David Machado
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