15 August 2025 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Dan Maynard
For the last 24 years, there has been one constant in the New York hardcore scene. Stray from the Path. Eleven albums, some line up changes, and two decades of hectic riffs, all lead to the bands final tour of Australia. Brisbane was the first stop for this monumental tour, as Australia says goodbye to one of the best bands to ever do it. And a farewell tour wouldn’t be complete with some of the best bands in the hardcore/punk/metalcore scene along for the ride. Tennessee metalcore band Orthodox came along for the ride, as did some insane local talent in Diamond Construct, and ZUKØ.
Brissy lads ZUKØ walked out to open the show with a ripper version of ‘Hatred’. A shout out for two steps came from vocalist Jesse Hudson for ‘Kamakazie’, as the pit opened and body parts flew. It was already chaotic, and we weren’t even five minutes into the show. Hudson shouted out Stray for bringing them on tour, and giving them the chance to crush some of the biggest stages they’ve played, as they launched into ‘Stand for Nothing’. ‘ROE CT’ was dedicated to the “day ones”, as they blitzed through the final songs, ‘Callous’, ‘Venom’, ‘Broken Neck’, and ‘No Place for You’. ZUKØ are a band quickly on the rise. Get on the train.
ZUKØ – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
Out next were the lads in Diamond Construct. Been a big fan of these guys since catching them at Cvltfest a few years back. So to see them doing shows alongside bands like Stray and Babymetal have shown how dependable as a live act they are. I missed the first couple of songs, but I managed to catch everything from the end of ‘Jynx’, I think. ‘Hit It Back’ and ‘Neon’ popped the crowd off, as did ‘Faded’. Lead singer Kynan Groundwater asked who had heard of the band before, which drew a thunderous response, which was awesome to see. ‘Deathparty’ and ‘Animus’ followed on, before set closer ‘Psychosis’ drew out monster pits.
Diamond Construct – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
The time gap between Diamond Construct and the next band, Orthodox, was short. But the precision of the installation of the drums for Mike White was some of the most impressive stage work I’ve ever seen. Shout out to the road crew, because his kit is beastly, and to have that entire thing assembled in less than 10 minutes is an insane feat.
Walking out to some Dean Martin, the vibes quickly shifted as Tennessee hardcore band Orthodox walked onto stage. Opening with ‘Sacred Place’ and a quick “Brissy are you ready?” from lead vocalist Adam Easterling, they launched into ‘Body Chalk’. Bodies were flying and sweat was everywhere by this point. The pit was going mental. The band didn’t do much talking, making the use of their 30ish minutes by pushing through most of their latest record, A Door Left Open.
Easterling spoke about the time difference back home in Tennessee messing him up a bit, as ‘Searching for a Pulse’ kicked in. The first throwback track of ‘Head on a Spike’ played, before back to back tracks like ‘Blend in With the Weak’, ‘Godless Grace’, and ‘Keep Your Blessings’ kept the frenetic energy flying. Dread Weight was dedicated to Stray from the Path, and the moshers, and the set closed out with ‘Waiting’, and ‘Cave In’. Brisbane loved these lads. Hope they come back soon.
Orthodox – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
9:25pm rolled around, and after what seemed like some technical glitches, the legends in Stray from the Path walked on stage to a massive ovation. The set that was before us, featured nothing before Subliminal Criminals being played, which was unfortunate for a farewell tour. But hearing songs from every record since Subliminal Criminals was also so kick ass, as the set was bouncy, fun, and violent. Opening with ‘Kubrick Stare’, the pit immediately imploded. ‘Needful Things’ and ‘May You Live Forever’ played, before Drew York himself, Andrew Dijorio, yelled out to Brisbane “How the fuck we feeling on a Friday night?”. He then introduced the band, and demanded chaos and spin, which Brisbane obliged with circle pits for ‘Chest Candy’.
Stray From the Path – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
‘Can’t Help Myself’ played, and the intro to III drew a massive ovation from the crowd. Dijorio spoke about how much he loves the hardcore and punk scenes, and that they are spaces where everyone can be included to have fun and community, which drew a massive round of applause. He did provide one caveat though, in that the only people that are not allowed into these spaces are “Nazi punk scum motherfuckers”, which scored a big amount of cheers from the crowd, and Dijorio introduced ‘Goodnight Alt Right’. ‘Shot Caller’ was up next, and Dijorio screamed for one army, together, as ‘Fortune Teller’ was announced to the crowd.
Stray From the Path – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
Dijorio then did a speech about how cool it is to bring Orthodox out on tour. Dijorio mentioned wanting to tour with them for over a year, and to bring them not just to their debut Australian tour, but debut international tour, meant so much to them, which again, drew another round of applause. Dijorio asked who’s seen Stray before, which elicited a pretty big response, and then when it was asked who hasn’t, the noise was almost equally the same. After shouting out the security team, and asking for 50 crowd surfers, Clockwork played to cause pit chaos. The final two songs of the evening were ‘Guillotine’ and ‘First World Problem Child’. Unfortunately, no encore. But it was a punishing hour of moshing, for the final time in Brisbane.
Stray From the Path – The Tivoli – photos by Dan Maynard
