Enter Shikari @ The Triffid Review

Only a year after their last visit, Enter Shikari return to Brisbane (20 September) with more energy and just as much fury.

Opening the show were Sydney metalcore band Stories. The unassuming five-piece’s entrance was far from grand, just simply walking on, grabbing their instruments and launching straight into a set of hard-hitting riffage.

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‘Alone In The Fallout’ impressed the most; opening with atmosphere, slow tempos, and the chimes of delayed guitars, before morphing into a slow-crawl of power chords. Frontman Morgan made many an impassioned speech about never giving up on creativity, making sense later upon learning the band are going on an indefinite hiatus following this tour. It’s a shame, but a number of interesting projects are sure to spring from this inventive crew.

Stories - image © Ophelia Symons

Next was the rumble that is Hacktivist. The band are an interesting mix, featuring metal instruments such as an eight-string guitar and six-string bass, and fronted by two MCs. Hacktivist are a mixture of metal with UK rap-grime, featuring the booming bass-sounds of the latter.

Hacktivist - image © Ophelia Symons

The band are great example of the disappearing tribalism in music; finding the common ground each genre has – anti-authoritarian lyrics, building verses, massive choruses and heavy beats – and fusing them together. But the band weren’t completely serious; they showed their fun side by taking constant selfies mid-song, chugging drinks from shoes and playing a heavy cover of Kanye West and Jay-Z’s ‘Niggas In Paris’ to the circle pit.

Hacktivist - image © Ophelia Symons

Headliners Enter Shikari showed from the start their taste for grander statements. Beginning their set with a recording of a voice sharing anti-government sentiments paved the way for what felt like a modern update of the great dystopian concept albums of the '70s like ‘Animals’ by Pink Floyd.

Enter Shikari - image Ophelia Symons

After chanting: “Still we will be here, standing like statues,” the band launched into storming opener ‘Solidarity’. Throughout the set were more allusions to a dystopian future, with more voice-overs on how music frees the spirit from a man who sounded a lot like Alan Rickman. The allusions to this chaotic world fit especially well with The Triffid; turning the former aircraft hangar into an underground gathering of political dissenters.

Enter Shikari - image © Ophelia Symons

The talk of totalitarianism wasn’t going to keep the band down, as they rose up to howl and thrashed their way through the wildest set I’ve ever seen. The group launched into ‘The Last Garrison’ in the hopes to, as lead singer Rou said: “Make your foreheads glisten like a lake on a summer’s morn'.” The combination of yelping rave synths, frantic beats and fit-inducing strobe-lighting reminiscent of the Porygon Pokémon episode were enough to drive the audience into a frenzy.

Enter Shikari - image Ophelia Symons

The band themselves were driven into a rage, with band members swinging their instruments like they were wrestling, and Rou throwing his mic-stand across the stage, accidentally hitting their laptop, but luckily not damaging it. When things couldn’t get any wilder, the band played 'The Paddington Frisk' leading to guitarist Rory being carried into the crowd on the shoulders of fans, shredding over the top of a rough circle-pit.

Enter Shikari - image © Ophelia Symons

After closing with ‘Mothership’, the band returned after the crowd resumed the chant at the top of the set. Enter Shikari finished with the knock-out trio: ‘Redshift’, ‘Anaesthetist’ and 'The Appeal And The Mindsweep II’.

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