MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY & ALL THIS FILTH - LIVE @ ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH 09/03/2024
MACHINE HEAD and FEAR FACTORY began their ‘Slaughter the Martour’ in Perth last night to a sold out Astor Theatre, with local openers ALL THIS FILTH.
Opening the night with an enthusiastic call to support the local Perth metal scene, Brendan Preston of ALL THIS FILTH set the tone for their performance, championing Perth metal and rallying the crowd behind their cause. The band delivered an energetic set of their brand of industrial groove metal, with plenty of headbanging from the crowd. Their final song, ‘Drowning’, saw the crowd enthusiastically clapping along, warming them up for FEAR FACTORY up next.
All This Filth
FEAR FACTORY instantly ignited the crowd's enthusiasm from the moment they emerged to the iconic Terminator theme song. The room pulsated with energy as they launched into their set with ‘Shock’, inciting the first pit of the night with waves of crowd surfing. New vocalist Milo Silvestro sounded on point and proved himself more than capable of filling the shoes of Burton C. Bell, while Dino Cazares, Tony Campos, and Pete Weber delivered a ridiculously tight instrumental backing that fuelled the audience's frenzy.
Hits like ‘Linchpin’ and ‘Demanufacture’ had the crowd rumbling, while ‘Replica’ brought out the crowd’s voices with the memorable, “I don’t want to live that way.”
From start to finish, FEAR FACTORY's set was a relentless onslaught of energy and passion, leaving the audience hungry for more. Silvestro's commanding vocals, coupled with the band's precision playing, created an unforgettable set, paving the way for headliners, MACHINE HEAD.
FEAR FACTORY’s SETLIST:
Shock
Edgecrusher
Dielectric
Disruptor
Powershifter
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine
Linchpin
What Will Become?
Slave Labor
Archetype
Demanufacture
Zero Signal
Replica
Resurrection
Fear Factory
The anticipation was building as the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted in excitement. Opening the set with ‘Imperium’ off 2003's ‘Through the Ashes of Empires’, MACHINE HEAD wasted no time in reigniting the fire of their Australian fanbase after a six year absence. The pit opened up immediately.
‘Ten Ton Hammer’ followed suit, driving the energy levels even higher, before the relentless onslaught of ‘CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE’, a track from MACHINE HEAD's latest album, ‘ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN’. Rob Flynn, the charismatic frontman, commanded the stage, encouraging the crowd to chant "Dimebag" as they launched into ‘Aesthetics of Hate’.
As the set progressed, the intensity only escalated. ‘Old’ prompted a unified roar of "Jesus Wept" from the crowd, who showed no signs of slowing down. Jared MacEachern's backing vocals soared throughout the night, particularly shining on the chorus of ‘NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS’, and especially when harmonised or layered with Flynn’s, such as the pre-chorus of ‘Locust’.
The singalongs to the new tracks from ‘ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN’ were clear of MACHINE HEAD’s incredible return to form, and evident from the chaos that ensued as the band launched into ‘SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR’.
‘Davidian’ then hit like a sledgehammer, with Matt Alston's impeccable drum intro inciting massive circle and mosh pits. The dual guitar harmonies between Flynn and Reece Scruggs (lead guitarist of Colorado thrash metal band HAVOK) on ‘Halo’ were nothing short of epic.
Throughout the entire set, MACHINE HEAD proved why they are considered one of the best live bands of modern metal. Their performance was a masterclass, leaving the Astor Theatre exhilarated and very satisfied. It was clear that MACHINE HEAD's return to Australia was nothing short of triumphant.
The tour continues next week in Brisbane on March 12.
MACHINE HEAD’s SETLIST:
Imperium
Ten Ton Hammer
CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Locust
The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears
NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS
SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR
Bulldozer
From This Day
Davidian
Halo
Machine Head
