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WINDWAKER
+ Day Saints
+ Outloved
+ Heartline
@ Sooki Lounge, Belgrave, Melbourne,
9th June 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Tristan Skell

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Windwaker

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Before making their debut in the USA opening for Northlane, Windwaker scheduled a few intimate headline performances in Belgrave, Melbourne, and Wagga Wagga this June to showcase their upcoming record, “Hyperviolence”, which will be available worldwide on July 12th. With their recent success at Knotfest 2024 and their sold-out national headline tour in July 2023, Windwaker continues to gain momentum and attract new fans. I had the opportunity to attend their show at Sooki Lounge in Belgrave on the 9th June. The lineup on Sunday was fairly stacked, featuring local Melbourne emo grunge band Day Saints, Gippsland’s metal outfit Outloved, and Adelaide’s Heartline as supporting acts.

Given their current standing in the music scene and the calibre of the bands scheduled to perform later, Day Saints needed to set a high standard for the night, and they certainly delivered. Opening with their latest single, “Early Exit”, they successfully drew the crowd closer. Their stage presence and ability to engage the audience were particularly impressive.

However, halfway into their set, guitarist Irving Campos-Sanchez’s guitar strap unfortunately broke, leaving him struggling to fix it for the remainder of the track. Despite attempts to reattach it, even using duct tape, nothing seemed to work. I was thoroughly impressed by how he managed to hold the guitar up and continue playing for the duration of their performance, undeterred by the technical issue. Day Saints also performed a cover of Superheaven’s “Life In A Jar”, and wrapped up their set with their 2023 single, “Unstuck”. And almost on theme, towards the end of their final track, the microphone unfortunately became unplugged. After a few unsuccessful attempts to fix it, vocalist Sam Kriesel decided to improvise and scream without a mic. This valiant and remarkable effort added an unexpected and captivating layer to their performance.

Next to take the stage was Outloved. I had been eager to see these guys for a while after catching them at Maxx Watts last year supporting Windwaker again, so when I saw they were performing, I knew I was in for a treat. They opened with the title track “Drowner” from their latest EP. The sound production was impeccable that night, so props to the sound engineer for being on the ball. Despite the small stage, they made sure no part of it was left without movement, pouring their hearts into their performance. Their set primarily featured songs from their new EP, but they threw a delightful curveball with an elite cover of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer”. Vocalist Jaydon Colvin delivered such a powerful performance that even Chester Bennington would have been proud. Towards the end of the song, Colvin took it upon himself to join the mosh pit, diving into the crowd and raising the energy to another level.

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Windwaker

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The third support act on the bill was Heartline. I had seen these lads recently at the Banks Arcade show at Max Watts a few weeks back, and they certainly know how to put on a show. The crowd was already entertained during the soundcheck when bassist Nevenko Sarunic quipped, “What the f**k is up, Denny’s?”—a popular joke among many metal fans. Heartline delivered a mix of fan favourites and new material, playing classics like “Ten” and “Loose” from their “Somewhere Else [I]” singles, as well as their latest track “Lovers”. They also teased an upcoming release titled “Pink Lemonade”, which prompted the crowd to either use phone lights, throw their fists in the air, or go wild in the pit. Now, guitarist George Carey likes to take a break about halfway through the show, lying down on stage when his guitar isn’t required. This time, he even had some water fed to him while he was laying down, which got a good laugh from the crowd. Having seen Heartline live essentially back-to-back, it’s amazing to witness their growth with each performance, and I personally can’t wait to see what awaits them in the future.

Now came the headliner, Windwaker. This was my third time seeing them live, but my first time writing about them. I am incredibly proud of these guys for the direction they’re heading, constantly evolving their sound and experimenting. Watching it all pay off makes me feel like a proud parent. They kicked off their set with their latest track, “Get Out”, from their upcoming album “Hyperviolence”. Released on June 7th, it gave fans just enough time to learn the lyrics for Sunday. However, things got off to a rocky start when there was an issue with the soundtrack. Liam Guinane remarked, “there is a first time for anything,” managing to keep the crowd entertained while DJ Connor Robins worked to fix the problem. Demonstrating their resilience, they decided to restart the entire song once the issue was resolved, which was met with a wave of applause from the audience.

They treated the crowd to a mix of old and new material, including classics like “Superstitious Fantasy” and “Lucy” from the “Love Language” album, as well as fresh tracks like “Villain” and “Fractured State of Mind” from their upcoming release. However, luck didn’t seem to be on their side as the soundtrack malfunctioned again. The stress was visible in Robins’ hurried movements as he worked to resolve the issue. Fortunately, the metalheads in the audience, known for being some of the most understanding and patient fans, were happy to wait until the problem was fixed. Once the soundtrack was back on track, another mishap occurred: guitarist Jesse Crofts’ strap came undone, echoing the earlier incident with the first support act, Day Saints. Despite this, Crofts demonstrated his expertise and dedication by soldiering on and fixing the strap after a couple of minutes, showcasing an impressive display of musicianship.

Later into the set, Liam treated the crowd to an acoustic version of “Left in the Dark”, the first song he wrote with the band after becoming Windwaker’s vocalist. The audience responded by lighting up the venue with flashlights and lighters, creating a beautiful atmosphere for the ballad rendition. They wrapped up their set with an electrifying encore of “Trenches”, which ignited a circle pit like Sooki had never seen before.

I wish Windwaker the best of luck for their debut USA shows supporting Northlane. After witnessing their stellar performance at Sooki, I’m confident they’ll knock it out of the park. The entire night was filled with incredible talent and expertise, overcoming any setbacks with professionalism and flair. And don’t forget to stream “Hyperviolence”, out July 12th!

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Windwaker

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Follow WINDWAKER
Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

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About WINDWAKER

Windwaker examine the aftershocks of love and the changes made in its wake over a soundtrack tilt-a-whirling from moments of insane heaviness to heavenly release. Bubbling up out of Melbourne, Victoria, the Australian quintet— Liam Guinane [vocals], Jesse Crofts [guitar], Indey Salvestro [bass], Chris Lalic [drums, programming], and Connor Robins [synths and samples] —first landed in 2017. They built a growing fan base with independent EPs such as Fade [2017] and Empire [2019]. The latter boasted “Colourless” and “My Empire,” which each cracked over 1m Spotify streams. In between selling out headline tours, they joined Beartooth on the road, while I Prevail tapped them for an upcoming 2022 run across Australia with Motionless In White. Along the way, they inked a deal with Fearless Records and wrote, produced, and engineered their full-length debut Love Language by themselves over the course of 2021. After amassing millions of streams independently and building buzz around the world, the band deliver an unpredictable and undeniable exploration of love across 12 tracks. Guitarist Guinane returned to the fold  —but is now installed in the role of vocalist — after the release of Love Language, while Robins was added to the lineup. With the new-ish members in place and praise from Distorted Sound, Hysteria, New Noise, Sonic Perspectives, and MXDWN, Windwaker are ready to take the next leap forward.

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AMNPLIFY – DB