Currently celebrating their newest EP 'Random.Access.Misery', Melancolia brought the house down on Saturday night at Melbourne's Revolver Upstairs.
The blackened nu-metal troupe were joined, on the EP release tour, by metalheads st.sinner, hardcore band Outsider and metalcore group Apate (13 September). From the moment doors opened, the Prahran venue was filled with fans front to back.
Canberra's own, st.sinner started the night off loud and mysterious with lead singer Rory Maclean keeping his identity hidden under a balaclava for those who had never seen the emo-infused metalcore band prior to the evening.
Concluding the opening song, Maclean revealed himself after dramatically ripping off the material headpiece. Also wearing what seemed to be a misleading school-boy-like dress code, no one bar diehard fans would expect the old-school Bring Me The Horizon-esque vocals coming from Maclean and heavy instrumentals from the other members.
It was an interesting choice to go with st.sinner as the first support act, considering they have a larger following than both Outsider and Apate. However, crowd response was pretty spot on to how the line-up was set.
With the odd audience member climbing the stage's caged walls to rock out with a high-ground advantage, concertgoers were merely teasing the energy they were holding back for the night's explosive, headline performance.
st.sinner - image © Maxine Thomas
Adelaide metal collective Outsider broke the crowd's resistance to mosh, turning attendees into human beyblades with limbs flying all over the place. As great as the crowd response was, one major downside was the restricted size of the venue.
With legs kicking out and arms spinning in circles, patrons who attempted to stay back from the chaos unfortunately found themselves either pulled into the ruckus or hit with a flying foot.
The room felt too claustrophobic for the Adelaide band and their fans who simply wanted to let loose more than they could, resorting to standing in rows and syncing up their crazy mosh movements.
Frontman Tom Drizners finally gave into begging revellers reaching for the mic, giving them a shot at the spotlight; he was not disappointed in the slightest as they would scream perfectly along to the words.
With how Drizners moved across the stage, it even seemed the band's usual performance was restricted due to the stage design. It would be super cool to see Outsider in a venue where they can give 110 per cent energy to their performance, as it truly seems these guys are already on the up in becoming one of Adelaide's best metal artists.
Outsider - image © Maxine Thomas
After being relatively quiet throughout 2025, with their most recent single releases being in 2024, Brisbane's Apate are back better than ever with new music on the horizon, teasing three new songs yet to be released.
With bassist Bradley Jordan (BJ) absent up north, the group were down a bass player having to resort to a laptop replacement (with thankfully no tech issues) set up in BJ's usual stage position.
Not knowing what response to expect from the crowd, Melbourne metal enthusiasts made sure to let Apate know just how much they have been missed over the past year. The wait however has not been for nothing, with vocalist Zakk Ludwig teasing an upcoming album release, date to be confirmed.
Ludwig and fellow guitarist and vocalist Caleb Patch are a power duo when it comes to creating an entrancing and moving performance. Unlike the rest of the line-up, Apate incorporate clean cadences versus the harsher vocals from earlier openers, making them a standout on the line-up.
Playing some of their most popular pieces like 'Pallor Mortis' and 'Under My Skin', Ludwig had no issues enticing metalheads to start a circle pit to get themselves moving and head-banging along.
With drummer David Hensler providing bone-rattling dynamics and other guitarist Jake Battle vibing stage right and bringing razor-sharp riffs to the set, hard and heavy music lovers were excited about the future of Apate and can feel happy knowing the five piece are officially back in action.
Apate - image © Maxine Thomas
Deathcore hometown heroes Melancolia brought the theatrics to their performance. Uniformed in what seemed to be zombified psychiatric patient outfits, the intense stares, exaggerated movements and up-close crowd engagement really added a whole other level of immersion to the concert.
Their performance as a whole gave a combination of Slipknot meets Thy Art is Murder – the blackened nu-metal outfit would be so well-suited for a music festival line-up like Knotfest or Good Things.
The energy Melancolia bring, in which fans bounce off and return the favour, severely outgrowed the vibrating walls of Revolver Upstairs.
For a local band still making their way, their talent is impressive, with lead vocalist Alex Hill's shrieks sounding like no other – you do have to admire the strength his vocal chords would have for his dynamic range. The way Hill also gets down and close with the crowd during his performance shows how much engagement drives their whole gig.
Melancolia - image © Maxine Thomas
If the lead singer remained away from the front row, the whole mood of the night would be entirely different. There's just something unique about the way he connects concertgoers that draws them in more and builds the characteristic persona which he plays onstage.
The same thing can be said about the other band members, including bassist Toby Thomas. The intense, deep into your soul, stare which he gives towards the crowd is enough to get anyone dancing when he catches you at stand still.
Continuing the night's usual crowd antics of people climbing the cage, getting rowdy in mini beyblade circle pits and screaming along to the words, fans pushed forward, trying to get as close as they could to the Melbourne icons.
Unfortunately this did reveal a few nasty attitudes hidden amongst the crowd, which sadly can be expected from older audience members holding the superiority belief.
Alas, this did not stop the younger generation from partying hard, showing who the real bosses were in the pit, encouraging the crowd around them to get involved and looking out for one another if someone fell down.
Melancolia - image © Maxine Thomas
Only debuting in 2022, the Greyscale Records group have already such a tightly-knit fanbase that adores them to the core. Although not a sold-out tour, there is no doubt Melancolia could one day be selling out rooms the size of The Forum on an even bigger headline tour.
Melancholia's hometown 'Access.All.Misery' show was one filled with intensity and passion. With a stacked metal line-up, each band brought a unique twist and aspect to their performance, showing the world why metal music is still such an under appreciated genre.
More photos from the concert.
