The third instalment of Pirate Life Brewing's Froth & Fury music festival took place last Saturday (18 November) at their almighty brewpub facility in Port Adelaide, South Australia.
With an increased capacity and improved layout, the festival hosted the most passionate of die-hard metal and rock fans from the area, also drawing a wealth of home-grown and international talent to boot.With no shortage of beer, barbecue and blazing sunshine, the event kicked off with a jam-packed line-up across three stages, ensuring not a moment went by where a band wasn't playing. Local talent enthralled concert goers early in the day, with international and wider Australian acts arriving in the second half.
By the time they took to the stage, the largest crowd of the day so far had gathered for nu-metal outfit Ocean Grove, whose surrounding-buzz and reputation preceded itself, performing with a joyous fervour completely in time with their enthused fan-base and spirit of the genre.
The Amenta - image © Mike Lockheart
As the golden hour began, darkness took over the Fury Stage as industrial death metal act The Amenta terrorised the crowd amidst throbbing bass notes and twisted stage attire. Singer Cain Cressall leered over the front row, menacingly toting a latex mask with a grimacing face above onlookers.
Recently opening for festival co-headliner Suicidal Tendencies across their Australian tour, Melbourne two-piece Mannequin Death Squad demonstrated a wild pop-infused thrash metal performance that saw guitars spun around, and frantic drumming on the intimate Explosive Stage.
New Zealand's most exciting metal prospect, Alien Weaponry's set on the main stage was a huge pull for crowds, and saw the band – formed by brothers Henry and Lewis de Jong with bassist Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds in Waipu – inject a fresh dose of innovation to the genre.
Vocalist Lewis' powerful chorus line were accentuated with seismic riffing and flailing dreadlocks in the golden sun.
Ocean Sleeper - image © Mike Lockheart
Ocean Sleeper and Lagerstein – who followed one another respectively on the Fury Stage – illustrated the incredible diversity of music on display at Froth & Fury, with Ocean Sleeper demonstrating a deeply-honed metalcore set and Lagerstein delighting the same audience with songs of partying and piracy on The Seven Seas.
After reforming in 2022 Sunk Loto, who were playing their first show in Adelaide since, were greeted to a rapturous welcome on the main stage and enthralled fans with a set exclusively of crowd pleasers and hits with gigantic sing-alongs in tow.
German symphonic metal act Beyond The Black, lead by captivating vocalist Jennifer Haben offered a respite from the intensity otherwise found on the Fury stage, and as the sun went down were illuminated by stunning colours suiting their glossy choral sound.
Beyond The Black - image © Mike Lockheart
Suicidal Tendencies wrapped up their 'CycoSTralia' tour with a Froth & Fury co-headline set. Arguably the biggest draw of the event, the tour and show celebrated 40 years since the release of their debut self-titled album.
Mike Muir's classic Venice Beach, California crossover thrash-punk band brought the power to Adelaide, playing a mix of undisputed skate anthems including 'Possessed To Skate' and 'Subliminal', opening with the epic 'You Can't Bring Me Down'.
Suicidal Tendencies - image © Mike Lockheart
As guitarists Dean Pleasants and Ben Weinman took their places onstage, that marked the only time any member would stand still on one spot for any amount of time for the 60 minutes that followed. As soon as the track's furious lead riffs were unleashed and Muir appeared, utter frenzy ensued.
Frantic movements and death-defying aerial moves were a-plenty as the band jammed out numbers such as 'Cyco Vision', allowing current bassist Tye Trujillo (son of ex-ST and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo) to really shine as a remarkably gifted musician, fitting for the legendary band who historically have drawn some of the best players in the game to complete their line-up, including Thundercat, Dave Lombardo and Brooks Wackerman to name a few.
Closing out with 'Institutionalized', Muir spent the duration of the ranting punk track making his way through the crowd, preaching a message of perseverance and head-strong courage to any who may have needed to hear it.
Suicidal Tendencies - image © Mike Lockheart
The similarly named, but thematically disparate closing sets of The Halo Effect and The Butterfly Effect on the Fury Stage and Froth Stage respectively, ended the festival with an epic note between them.
Made up of ex-members of In Flames and Dark Tranquility, The Halo Effect's fervently melodic death metal, at once evocative of its band member's previous projects, was surprisingly infused with incredible grace and joy, especially from charming vocalist Mikael Stanne.
Evidently a passion project for all involved, their music, while not ground-breaking is all-the-same catchy and executed with complete precision.
The Halo Effect - image © Mike Lockheart
The Butterfly Effect's headline set in juxtaposition saw a far more progressive and thought-provoking collection of songs, amusingly delivered by pyjama-clad frontman Clint Boge.
More photos from the festival.
