4 October 2026 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Isis Totora
Back on their first headline tour for a while, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania metalcore titans that are August Burns Red are back for another dominating run of Australia. And with the release of Season of Surrender in June, they made Australia a priority to get back to, to celebrate this record. And with such an insane undercard, this tour was lined up to be a show of pure bodies being dumped over the barrier.
Out first were Melbourne based post-hardcore outfit, Fallweather. A band that have been on the radar a little for me the last few months, getting tonight to be the first time to experience them live was awesome. Vocalist Cullen Forbes immediately set the tone right with getting Brisbane to “light the fuck up” before a song was even played had the energy high, as they cranked through the opening tracks ‘I Would Have Told You’ and ‘Glance’. The band didn’t do much talking, but mentioned how much they loved being in Brisbane, and how sick the lineup was for these shows. They got the crowd even more hyped up with ‘Mourn’, and had Brisbane pull the phone lights out for ‘Beneath the Dirt’. With a big thank you to Brisbane, they closed on ‘Tired Eyes’, and a big want for more from the crowd, myself included. Hope to see these lads on more tours in the future. Super fun band.
Fallweather – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
What the hell do I even say to describe The Gloom in the Corner? The band are such an anomaly in the Australian metalcore scene, and probably the scene’s most unique act. Vocalist Mikey Arthur set the assignment early. “For the next 30 minutes, everyone is a target”. And then boom, straight into ‘The Jericho Protocol’. Arthur welcomes old fans and new to the shit storm, and talked about how amazing it is to be back into warm weather in the Sunshine State, as we got tracks like ‘You Didn’t Like Me Then (You Won’t Like Me Now)’ and ‘Nope (Hollow Point Elysium)’. After a “quick word from our sponsor” as an ad for “Angel’s Wrath Whiskey” played, the track ‘Angel’s Wrath Whiskey’ was then fittingly played, which was hilarious.
The Gloom In the Corner – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
Arthur turned the microphone over to drummer Joshua Clinch, who for a brief moment, sounded like he was about to say something serious. But, this is Gloom after all, and expecting something serious from this band should never be in the cards, as he talked about how they started the tour in Perth, and that’s where all the ships dock. But there is one ship that didn’t dock there this year, and that was the Premiership, as he screamed out “GO LIONS” for the Brisbane Lions having one of the best AFL Grand Final wins in recent history. ‘Assassination Run’ was dedicated to the Lions, with Misanthropic being dedicated to all bands on the line-up. ‘The Problem With Apocalyptic Tyranny’ closed out the set, and again. Another band that should be on more tours. Pure fun and chaos for 30 minutes, and are a band the Australian scene should really be getting into more.
Without any pomp or circumstance, the lights cut and I Promised the World immediately jumped out onto the stage and burst straight into their set. The Texas six piece have been one of the most impressive bands for me in the last decade, making high school era shit for me, as 20 year olds themselves. A lot of the music this band emulates and seems inspired by, was probably released before they were even born. But holy hell, does this band rule. The set didn’t have much talking, outside of some jokes about snare bombs. After the opener ‘Weather to Believe’, Vocalist Hunter Wilson talked about Brisbane being more lively that Newcastle, and said “the next song is about whatever you want it to be about”, and played a newer song called ‘Beloved’. Pretty banging track and I can’t wait to hear this one in a more detailed listen, as it’s not out yet.
I Promised the World – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
After ‘Proud’, we got one of my favorite songs in ‘A Pure Expression’. The riff on this is pure 00s metalcore nostalgia, and they followed on with ‘Future Worth Dying For’, which I think is the most underrated song from their 2026 self-titled EP. After checking in with the crowd, and a few more songs, Wilson talked about it being the band’s first time in Australia, and how cool it was to be here. They shouted out all the bands on the tour, and got the crowd dancing for ‘Tears on the Moon’ and ‘02’. With a final shout for one more song, ‘Bliss in 7 Languages’ predictably closed out the set. This is the song that I first heard of theirs when it dropped, and it’s just as good live as on the studio recording. This is a band that is the future of the scene, and I’m so excited to see what’s next for these kids.
Out for the headliner, was August Burns Red. In what I can only describe as the most WWE style entrance I’ve ever seen from a band, with a crazy light show, the boys came out and immediately hit the ground running with ‘Meddler’, as vocalist Jake Luhrs screamed “Brisbane” during the intro. This song also had the sickest lighting I’ve ever seen on a song before, with this gold-orange hue I’ve never seen before, bathing the band. Luhrs said tonight was the final show, and it was time to warm this place up, as the pit opened massively for ‘Back Burner’. Luhrs then got Brisbane to bounce for ‘Sonic Salvation’, and had the ladies only pit open up for ‘The Eleventh Hour’.
August Burns Red – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
You could tell the band were having so much fun on stage tonight. Luhrs was ripping all kinds of mic tricks out, and even did this insane mic trick where he managed to do some spirit fingers as well, which was funny, during ‘Paramount’. Luhrs talked about the new record ‘Seasons of Surrender’, as they introduced the crushing track ‘The Nameless’. When I spoke with drummer Matt Greiner before the album dropped, he told me as story about once they hit this song out on the set, the show is such easy going for him. And considering how insane some of their songs are, I could tell from this point on, he was cruising through the set.
Luhrs got more bouncy for ‘Behemoth’, and there were big cheers for tracks like ‘Bloodletter’ and ‘Den of Thieves’. Luhrs at one point got behind lead guitarist JB Brubaker on the solo to Den, and put his arms in front of Brubaker and did more spirit fingers at the guitar during the solo, which is such a funny thing to see at a metalcore show. But August Burns Red can do no wrong for me, and the crowd were giving those spirit fingers back just as hard. Luhrs shouted out all the bands tonight, and how amazing the tour has been. He got the crowd to bang their heads out to ‘Invisible Enemy’, and there were cameras on stage for ‘Empire’. Not sure what this was for, because ‘Empire’ has been around since the ‘Leveler’ days. Interested to see what that’s about.
August Burns Red – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
Luhrs checked in with the crowd and encouraged kindness, and creating memories we remember for the rest of our lives. He then invited anyone that has never crowd surfed before to get up and do it, because ‘Exhumed’ is a song for the first timers. Bodies flew over the barriers as security really got a work out on this track. Even Mario went over the barrier. After a quick security shout out, the phone lights came out, and a plea from Luhrs for grace and understanding and peace, as they closed the main set out with ‘Marianas Trench’. The encore started up with Matt Greiner ripping an insane four minute drum solo, that effortlessly blended into the intro to ‘Composure’, before Luhrs shouted one more song for ‘White Washed’, as he told Brisbane to pick a side for a wall of death.
August Burns Red – Tivoli – photos by Isis Totora
August Burns Red are on the Mount Rushmore of metalcore. It’s always such a pleasure to see them live, and tonight’s show shows exactly why for over 20 years, they have been one of the bands in the forefront of metalcore.
