25 January 2025 – Riverstage, Brisbane – words by Cody-James Henderson – contribution by Lucas Bell (House of Protection)
In what could arguably be described as the “Hottest Tour of the Summer” (and I’ll let you decide what I mean) the return of Bad Omens has been a tour in the highest of demands. Since hitting Australian shores in 2023 for the very first time (not without its health issues) fans have eagerly waited for the Metalcore Titans to make their way back to our island home.
The ‘goodbye, friend’ tour has left fans speculating exactly what that term means. Could this be the end of the bands current era? The end of the band altogether perhaps? Whatever it is aiming to be, the full line up including Pop Metal Princess Poppy and one of the most exciting new Rock bands in House of Protection this stellar line up was sure to leave a mark on Australia’s east coast.
HOUSE OF PROTECTION
Opening the show for the night, with one of the most chaotic performances I think I have ever seen in my life, was California punk metal group, House of Protection. The band features former Fever 333 members Aric Improta on drums, and Stephen Harrison on guitars. The lads put on a tight thirty minute set, involving walls of death, circle pits, major crowd participation, and even Stephen being chased by security for being a bit of a menace. The Brisbane crowd ate up every second though, as House of Protection slammed through the entire Galore EP live, plus an additional song, ‘Fire’, which has yet to be released.
Opening the set with ‘Pulling Teeth’, more people than I anticipated were singing the words loud. ‘Learn to Forget’ had Stephen taking guitar and mic stand to the middle of the concrete at the Riverstage, and playing as a circle pit ran the entire song. ‘Being One’ slowed the mood down a little, before ‘Fuse’ lit the crowd back up into high energy. The most notable moment of the set though, was when Stephen ran to the top of the Riverstage hill for ‘Better One’, and climbed the roof of the Accessibility seating, as he sat on the roof and sang, feet dangling and overlooking the mountain of people on the hill. ‘Fire’ had the crowd pumping, as ‘It’s Supposed to Hurt’ closed out the craziest 30 minutes of live music I have ever experienced.
| Lucas sat down with Aric and Stephen just hours before them taking the stage at Riverstage in Brisbane – check out the interview here. |
POPPY
In conversations earlier in the evening with friends, I spoke about how a decade ago, the lines of Pop & Metal remained parallel. Like the streams in Ghostbusters, the streams could never cross. But as the time has passed, the walls began to erode and artists began to experiment and soon, these experiments were encouraged to push the boundaries even further. This is where Poppy has inserted herself as the years have gone by. Whether it’s featuring on a Knocked Loose song, or recruiting ex BMTH member ‘Jordan Fish’ to help shape her new album ‘Negative Spaces’ the confinements of what is heavy do not apply to the force of nature that is Poppy.
The faithful that powered their ways in at gates open worship the stage Poppy commands, erupting in an ovation that would have you believe she was the headliner after all. Opening the chaos with “have you had enough?” the power in Poppys screams don’t just come from an attempt at yelling, but from someone who is making a conscious effort to stand out in a field that remains male dominated. Beyond her voice, Poppys embraces the performance side of being a vocalist, making conscious efforts to encourage crowd mosh etiquette in combination with spotlight commandeering spirit.
Tapping into her widely successful ‘I Disagree’ album with ‘Anything Like Me’ & ‘Blood Money’ the backing band (including some familiar “fishy” like movements from the bands keyboardist) don’t miss a single beat. Filling the literal negative space dressed in black against Poppys white outfit, the band performs in perfect chaotic harmony providing the perfect balance of show stealing performances with respect to Poppys spotlight.
As I span across the audience I’m seeing an array of women in the audience. From the seasoned metalcore veteran all the way down to the youngest child on their parent’s shoulders, there are thousands of women in the audience tonight seeing just how much of a place they have in this scene. Poppys performance was not just a staple in how the future of metal is shifting, but showing how a male dominated scene thrives when women succeed. I hope the younger female audience finds a home in metal thanks to Poppy, and maybe opt to start their own band one day. We need it.
BAD OMENS
My first “metal” concert was Soundwave 2014. As I eagerly anticipated seeing Five Finger Death (please take a moment to stop laughing at me before continuing on) I was just one man in a sea of thousands ready to lose my mind. For 11 years since, I have been getting to as many shows as I possibly can, but even after hundreds of acts seen I couldn’t tell you another time I’ve seen an audience so eager for a show to begin. The decibels of screams as the lights went down and shadowy figures hit the stage was indescribable.
As the 4 piece from Virginia hit the stage for ‘CONCRETE JUNGLE’ decked out in full jackets and balaclavas, my heart goes out to them for the outfit choices in the horrific humidity of Brisbane. LED skyscrapers compact the stage as a storm simulates its way into the night. Flames explode through the breakdown; spotlights fill the air; it’s hard to believe that this is the same band that opened a stage at the inaugural Knotfest Australia just 2 years ago.
The chaos only multiplies for ‘Artificial Suicide’ as Carbon Canons explode (caps removed and no ceiling to destroy) that encourages destruction within the crowd. Destruction that only continues as a familiar face shows herself on the LED screens. Poppy soon emerges on the stage for one of 2024s top collabs in ‘V.A.N’ prompting every voice (including yours truly) to go as high as possible to sing along. Vocalist Noah Sebastian who can hardly be heard on the studio recording provides accompanying harmonies and screams, creating this new level of hostility on an already aggressive track.
The journey through the Concrete Jungle OST continues with the likes of ‘The Drain’ and ‘Anything > Human’ providing a spectacle of a pyrotechnics and suitable backdrop imagery of the dystopian nightmare curated on ‘The Death of Peace of Mind’. The balaclavas have disappeared and even i feel immediately cooler for it. A man usually protective of his personal space, Noah finds himself on the barricade, getting closer to the already decibel smashing voices serenading the band. Even the most casual of Bad Omens fans can be amazed by the sheer amount of effort put into curating a show that takes it audiences on an adventure; filled with tidbits and video journal entries from a scarred Noah.
“That’s what 8500 people sound like, make some noise Brisbane” Tonight’s gathering according to the band is the biggest headline show the band has played outside of a festival setting. Not only is this audience being a part of the future of metalcore, but also a key moment in the history of one of the fastest rising bands in Metal full stop. Where the bands debut tour to Australia in 2023 was plagued vocal issues for frontman Noah Sebastian, the man has hit his redemption arc this tour around sounding completely flawless in his incredible range of vocal ability: from the lowest growls to the highest harmonies, not even the tiniest creak could be heard.
If you ever had any doubts about Bad Omens being just “another TikTok metal band” then tell that to the almost 9000 people screaming their lungs out to Glass Houses, one of the very first songs the band ever released. You would honestly believe that this was the one song people were actually here to see.
Oddly enough, the lyrics of this song whilst applying to a more personal level of the band, reflect extremely well to anyone that ever doubted Bad Omens.
“You said I’d never make it, you said I’d fall on my face
But now I’m right where I belong and I put you in your place”
But when it comes to the audacity ever giving it even more than the 100% they’ve been running at in the Brisbane heat, the sold out Riverstage managed to find another gear in volume for ‘The Death of Peace of Mind’. A luminance of phone screens flooded the air as an ocean bathed in red filled the background. As I get older, I find myself running out of energy especially in the summertime. But even after a horribly sweaty evening, the audience finds ANOTHER GEAR for ‘Just Pretend’.
Has anyone made a “hole in the ceiling” joke yet? No? Okay fine. But if there was a ceiling there would be a hole in it here too okay?
“CON. CRETE. CON. CRETE.”
“DE. FUCKING. THRONE”
In arguably the greatest encore in Metalcore HISTORY, pillars of fire tear the audience into hell with Dethrone. And if you thought the audience could find another gear, Bad Omens double down in intensity. Quite literally saving the best for last, the concrete jungle journey ends with ‘goodbye, friend’ written across the screen as the lights finally go up.
Spectacle would be an understatement. The foundations created by the concrete jungle foursome will continue to tower into the depths of history. Between the 3 acts tonight, the future of all things heavy are in the safest hands.
