On Saturday, The Tivoli hummed with anticipation.
Outside, the humid night clings to the air, but once I step inside, it's the tang of wet clothing and freshly poured beer that takes over. Fans jostle for a place at the bar, merch line or prime spots on the floor and mezzanine (18 January).Pre-show chatter crescendos, every word charged with the promise of a legendary night and there's no mistaking why: Cavalera Conspiracy, the powerhouse duo of Max and Igor Cavalera, is here to deliver a night soaked in primal, unfiltered metal fury.
The room is packing in thick and fast with a sea of black shirts, many emblazoned with iconic Sepultura logos, evidence that tonight is not just a gig – it's a communal rite, a moment for fans to connect deeply with the visceral roots of heavy metal; that pun was indeed intended.
The night opens with Brisbane's old-school death metal/ grindcore act Cryptivore, whose set tears through the venue like a road train barrelling across the outback at dusk. Relentless and commanding, their grinding riffs shake the room's foundations.
I acknowledge some stops and starts during their set were unexpected, but kudos to the frontman's retort to some heckling from nuisance punters in the pit: His response, 'Go hard, and we'll go home!" It's live and the band kept on unapologetically so.
Their tracks were lapped up by their fans in the crowd and 'Death Plague' rippled through the crowd, drawing those head-banging fans to the front with a force as primal as the music itself.
Cryptivore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Following them, Melbourne's Algor Mortis brought a blistering showcase of technical death metal precision opening with 'Severed'. The following tracks like 'Welcome To Hell' ignite a primeval response, the crowd surging forward in a wave of heat and raw energy.
Sharp riffs cut through the room, each note slicing the humid air, as the moshpit churns like an unrelenting tide. Their closing track 'Spoiled' is another standout, its relentless tempo matched by the intensity of the fans, some of whom form a small yet ferocious moshpit, clearly primed for the night ahead.
Their intricate riffs and relentless drumming leave a lasting impression, building anticipation for the main act. However, while both acts impress, it's clear everyone's gaze is set on what's to come.
Algor Mortis - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The house lights dim, bathing the stage in crimson as the Cavalera backdrop comes to life. As the recorded intro 'The Curse' plays, Igor is first to take his place onstage and as Max finally arrives before us, the Cavalera brothers are met with deafening roars.
Max opens the night roaring "Brisbane! Let's f...ing go! Bestial Devastation!" The perfectly timed and measured opening blasts of 'Bestial Devastation' are followed by Max's barking "eoh!" bark and from this point on the tone is set for fast and brutal. It's exactly what the crowd are here for.
Igor's drumming is relentless, each beat like a hammer striking the earth, while Max's guttural roar slices through the room. The crowd erupts into "Oi! Oi! Oi!" fists raised, their roars matching the raw fervour of a footy crowd in the final minutes of a grand final. Crowd surfers come over the barrier and the photographers are ejected for safety reasons during 'Antichrist'.
We raise hands as commanded, punching the air to bring on 'Necromancer', which keeps the momentum pumping, guttural growls and razor-sharp riffs striking like lightning. The pit is alive – a swirling vortex of flailing limbs and sweat-drenched camaraderie.
Cavalera Conspiracy - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Max approaches his guitar with an almost shamanic intensity, conjuring riffs that ripple through the crowd like shockwaves, each note a visceral call to action. Igor's drumming is ferocious, each precise pedal strike landing like a war drum reverberating through the room. The crowd responds in kind, and the circle pit persists in the middle of the floor as fans slam into each other with reckless abandon.
An unexpected detour: the haunting strains of 'Carmina Burana: O Fortuna' (Carl Orff song) echo a brief moment of theatricality, a dramatic prelude to the unrelenting 'Morbid Visions'. Max's snarling delivery of the song title during the song encapsulates the timelessness of this track, a throwback that still feels vital decades later.
'Mayhem' and 'Crucifixion' bring more furious riffage to our ears, Max and Travis Stone trading off incendiary solos that have us transfixed. The interplay between Max's primal growl and the precision of the instrumentals is a reminder of why the Cavalera brothers' legacy endures.
Cavalera Conspiracy - image © Clea-marie Thorne
After 'Funeral Rights', the set takes a nostalgic turn with 'Intro' and 'From The Past Comes The Storms', each note dripping with old-school brutality. Max's command of the stage is magnetic, his presence larger-than-life as he leads the charge into 'Septic Schizo'. The track's dissonant riffs and frenetic pacing seem to whip the pit into an even greater frenzy, fans colliding like atoms in a reactor.
Igor Amadeus Cavalera has shown fans his bass grooves are a phat feel to be reckoned with and with Uncle Igor on the tubs they bring us a hefty and hard bottom end. When 'Inquisition Symphony' melds into 'Escape To The Void' The Tivoli shakes. The crowd chants the iconic "Escape! Escape!" at full volume. Voices rise above the relentless wall of sound.
Max prowls the space between his mic stand and the drums, his grin a battle-scarred general's as he rallies the crowd with each guttural growl, turning the chaos into a shared, almost primal catharsis. A shared celebration of pure, unadulterated metal.
'R.I.P. (Rest In Pain)' and 'Chaos B.C.' are a surprise in the mix. The latter's groove-infused riff sending waves of headbangers into overdrive that hits another level and brings sheer joy as the classic banger is unleashed upon us.
Cavalera Conspiracy - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Such is the frenzy that the tang of rain-soaked fabric mixed with the earthy, musky aroma of sweat creates a heady, almost claustrophobic intensity in the packed moshpit. Fans are crowd surfing not just for fun, but for the exhausted the ride is a quick eject button to escape the fray. It's a raw, almost primal mix that adds another layer to the night's gritty, thrash-laden atmosphere.
'Refuse/Resist' and the medley of 'Propaganda' and 'Territory' follow in quick succession, the crowd roaring along with every lyric. The atmosphere is electric, every note landing like a thunderclap; if I've missed mentioning anything along the way, it's because I am lost in a metal rapture!
Max calls on fans to yell the title of 'Troops Of Doom' and he is obeyed with a blasting of "troops of doom" screamed from the crowd and for a moment, it's as if the entire venue is suspended in the intensity of the moment. The track feels almost sacred in its delivery, the raw aggression is palpable keeping to core of the pit swirling with a maelstrom of bodies.
However, it's the encore finale (and maybe the birthday song to Stone) medley of 'Morbid Visions', 'Dead Embryonic Cells' and more 'Bestial Devastation' including a little ACCA DACCA 'Whole Lot Of Rosie' instrumental tease, that leaves us utterly spent. The unrelenting riff assault and blistering tempo deliver a masterclass in pure metal purgation, leaving no soul untouched.
Cavalera Conspiracy - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Cheers reverberate through the venue like an earthquake, and after band and fan photo the band dole out picks and sticks to their fans. The iconic Cavalera brothers exit the stage to calls for more from the diehards but after that blistering encore, I reckon they've left everything they had to give on that stage.
Tonight wasn't just a gig – it was a raw, unrelenting tribute to the heart of heavy metal. As fans spill out into the night, their ears ringing with Max's riffs and Igor's thunderous drumming, this Tiv-hosted performance is already cementing itself as a tale for the ages in Brisbane's metal lore.
More photos from the concert.
