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CROSSFAITH
+ Paledusk + Future Static
@ The Croxton, Melbourne,
23rd February 2024
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Michael Gow (@alchemi_glow_music_phot)

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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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The night started with a VIP meet & greet for the biggest Crossfaith fans in Melbourne. Once the meet & greet was over, the doors opened for the public to fill the room in anticipation of one of the most anticipated concerts so far for 2024: Japanese metalcore phenomenon Crossfaith would take the stage.

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FUTURE STATIC / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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But first up were local heavyweights, Future Static, with their brutal, punch-in-your-face sound of heavy music. VIP meet & greet fans had locked in their spot on the barrier for the headliner tonight, but for those unfamiliar with Future Static, they did not know what they were in for with the brutal assault on their senses. This is like the sixth time now I have seen Future Static, and each time they put me in awe. Amariah always puts on an impressive performance on stage and vocally is one above many in the Melbourne Heavy scene for female vocalists. Kira Neil (Bassist & Backing/Clean Vocals) always shows how well she can complement the heavy vocals of Amariah, and these two together are a force to be reckoned with. Ryan Qualizza & Jack Smith are both powerhouses on guitar, and that is proof this band is destined for greatness. Jackson Trundell rounds out the band on drums with his heavy-hitting, fast-paced assault on the kit.

Their set tonight consisted of their great songs, including the fast-paced “Chemical Lobotomy,” which they started off with right out of the gate, and it showed they were here to put on a performance tonight. They followed that with another fast-paced song, “Venemosa,” which is one of my favourite songs of theirs and shows that this band has what it takes to go big time. When will that be? Who knows, but I, for one, am here for the long ride. They followed on with songs like “Waves,” “Spanish song Gasolina” (A cover of Daddy Yankee’s), and with this in their arsenal, it shows they can be versatile. They followed that with a track, “Plated Gold,” off their debut album, “Liminality” (Minus vocals by guest vocalist on the studio version Sean Harmanis from Make Them Suffer), which didn’t detract from anything as their set and performance tonight was equal to their previous times I’d seen them, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for their future.

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PALEDUSK / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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Following on from locals, Future Static, were the Japanese band Paledusk, who of the crowd were familiar with, especially from their performance at Good Things 2022. Paledusk were here for CVLTFEST, but with Crossfaith, they wanted to put on a tour for those who could not attend the festival. Paledusk put on a high-energy performance which showed they were not here to cruise through till CVLTFEST but to make the tour as memorable as possible for their loyal fans. More crowd showed up during their performance, which is disappointing as opening bands should get the same attention from all attending as do the main supports and headliners. This was my first time witnessing Paledusk’s live performance, and it will go down as one I will remember for a long time as they spun around and jumped on stage and got the crowd energized for what is yet to come. They played various tracks, including their latest single, which was so great to hear live. There were moments when the singer got the crowd involved by waving their hands back and forth and crowd surfing began now. Their guitarists are both amazing to hear live and especially the antics on stage of one of them spinning and leaping into the air at times including fly kicks. There was a moment during their set that Crossfaith Singer Kenta Koie came out to join in on one song before disappearing back off stage preparing for their set. Now that their set was ending, they had whipped the crowd into a frenzy for when Crossfaith will take top the stage.

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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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Now the time had come for the band I have been waiting 10 years to see: Metalcore legends Crossfaith from Japan. I was ready to witness the brutal assault on the senses and wow did they bring it with their high-energy stage performance. At times it was hard to keep track of band members on stage as they were moving around at speed which made for a great spectacle. Kenta Koie at times asked the Crowd to make some noise. At times during their set, it felt more like a rave than a metal concert, but that is one thing that makes Crossfaith stand out from the rest. Kenta Koie said at one point that both him and the band were happy to be back here in Australia and by the crowd’s response, it showed they were most welcome.

Two times during their set, their Keyboardist/Samples/Programmer Terufumi Tamano came out front to sing with Kenta Koie on a few songs. He proved he could also be a lead singer and by the crowd’s response from those on the barrier as he came out front, they looked up in awe at him. Times during the set Kenta got the crowd involved and one specific moment was when he asked those who had t-shirts, they bought to wave them around in the air and the crowd were happy to do so. The lighting during their set gave for a great atmosphere and it made for what was an amazing night so far even more amazing. The instrumental parts of the band sounded very tight which showed why they are such a powerhouse in the metalcore community.

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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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During their set, they brought out their first new song in two years Zero to a crowd so engaged in the music audience were seen with big smiles on their faces when this new song got played for them live for the first time. The crowd were asked at times to do circle pits and even a wall of death which always get me cringing as I worry someone may get inadvertently hurt by accident. During one song, Paledusk singer came out on stage to perform a song with them in return for Paledusk having Kenta Koie come out during their set. For one moment the drummer came out front on stage waving a flag high above his head before inevitably returning behind the kit.

It was amazing watching this band perform on stage especially with all the spins the guitarists were doing and even at one-point Terufumi Tamano climbed up on top of his instrument. This was a brilliant set to top off an amazing night. But it was not over yet as the band disappeared off stage for a few minutes while the crowd began chanting “One More Song, One More Song.” Which was so obvious they were coming back for an encore with not one but two songs first of which being their incredible The Prodigy cover of the song ‘Omens’ which was the song that introduced them to me over 10 years ago. They finished their set with Leviathan off their 2012 album Zion and by the brutal impact of this song they showed they could continue for longer as they had not spent all their energy yet. Finishing off the night after their set they took a photo with the crowd before the lights went up and it was time to go home.

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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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Check out Michael Gow’s (@alchemi_glow_music_phot) full gallery of this event HERE

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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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Follow CROSSFAITH
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CROSSFAITH / Photo – @alchemi_glow_music_phot

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AMNPLIFY – DB