Rolling into Crowbar Brisbane, it feels like the stars are lining up for something epic.
Valhalore's pulling the sword from the stone on this Beyond The Stars tour, and the line-up's stacked with some of the heaviest hitters in our own backyard. Supporting the hometown headliners are Krave, DisKust, and Revoid (23 May).The air's thick with anticipation alongside patch vests, black-tees, the smell of spilt beer and an extremely sticky floor – just how it should be.
Krave are first up squeezed in the space left in front of the black-draped headliner gear. They're greeted with open ears and eyes. Hailing from Brisbane, these genre-blurring alt-metallers throw down a set that's part hard-rock swagger, part full-throttle grunge rage.
Tearing straight into 'Outta Control', frontwoman Siana Davis spits fire with every line, locked in tight with the rhythm section; while guitarist Ryan White tears through riffs with reckless abandon.
'Alchemy' and 'Skeletal' spiral darker and heavier, revealing a brooding edge that hits just right in the sticky Crowbar haze. Closer 'Unalive' lands like a sucker punch to the ribs – jagged, emotional, and leaving the room rattled.
Krave - image © Clea-marie Thorne
DisKust storm the stage next, with Krave's own Davis now filling in on bass. They don't have much space to move and the pretty lights in the back are masked just like their part-masked faces.
Fully loaded, DisKust waste no time dragging the crowd into the swampy end of groove-laced metalcore. From Logan, these blokes are all thick riffs, face-melting breakdowns, and enough vocal venom to peel paint off the walls.
Opener 'Never Have I Ever' sets the tone with its bulldozer riffing and guttural roars, and they're not lifting their foot from the throat. 'Resurfaced' and 'Broken' have the pit swinging elbows like it's a full-blown bar brawl; and by the time they close with 'Khronic', the floor's one boiling mass of hair, sweat and denim.
DisKust - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Then comes Revoid – sharp as a razor and twice as cutting. Also repping Brisbane, they're the most polished of the support acts, but never at the expense of sheer impact. Their flavour of metalcore leans melodic without going soft, and the crowd's absolutely lapping it up.
Kicking off with 'Gloomsayer', they lay down atmospheric riffs and clean/ harsh vocal interplay that hooks punters from the get-go.
'Poison Saint' and 'Blood Petals' showcase their knack for crafting massive hooks that still pack punch, and closer 'Burn With Me' seals it – an emotional crescendo delivered with dead-eyed precision, burning slow and bright like the name suggests but hard AF in parts. Mind blown. Thank you very much.
Revoid - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The curtains close on the stage while the crew prep it for our headliners as drinks are replenished with raucous chattering among excited fans.
The stage now bathed in dark, moody blue and thick fog crawling in like a Norse myth come alive – Valhalore's entrance feels like they're emerging on a calm sea ahead of an aural storm.
Morgan Cox (drums) is a mere spectre taking his seat behind his throne of tubs and cymbals. Next, the shadow of frontman Lachlan Neate steps forward, tambourine in hand along with the shadows of Anthony Willis (guitar), Lucas Fisher (rhythm guitar), Sophie Willis (flute) and Joseph Dipisa-Fiorenza (bass), who are seen behind the mist (aka smoke machine fog) as their Viking ship (the stage) readies for sonic battle and storytelling.
Valhalore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
We hear what I think are the strains of 'Life' and punters chant "VAL-HA-LORE" like war drums. Within seconds after 'Edge Of Forever' kicking in cannons blast us from either side of the stage like they're firing off the bow, red-striped shrapnel tearing through the air to the roar of the crew-packed pit.
Upping the ante and igniting our souls like a meteorite, Lachlan growls the battle cry of 'Legacy'. The flute lively, the drums quick and urgent – it is glorious!
'The Storm' is anthemic while the short, yet beautiful instrumentation of 'Dusk' settles over us like a much-needed fur coat in winter. A sustained frenzy breaks into hearty cheers as the band launches into their revelry song 'Wayfinder' – rowdy, wild, and downed with the enthusiasm of a shipload of sailors on shore leave as beers are raised high.
Launching into 'The World Between', they're setting sail with purpose – all galloping rhythms, thunderous chords, and cinematic sweep.
Valhalore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Just as the crowd is catching their collective breath, drummer Cox barrels into an explosive solo, all hammer and lightning, shaking the rafters like a storm surge crashing against steel.
Before debuting brand new track 'Within The Fire', Neate rallies the horde, shouting that the footage being filmed tonight has to prove Brissie can out-scream Melbourne and Sydney – and the answer comes fast and loud, a guttural war cry from a pit already churning.
By now, the energy's gone full tempest 'Upon The Shores'. 'Dawn' comes with evocative flute; 'Horizon' and 'A Walk Among The Stars' has the pit erupting like a maelstrom whipped up by the Vanir gods, limbs and hair flying as if Njord himself had stirred the whirlpool.
Punters are rowing on the floor, lost in the rhythm of Valhalore's war anthems, the crowd turning into a surging, sweating sea. Crowd surfers roll in waves, and as the set barrels toward its climax, a bloke in a wheelchair is lifted high above it all – a proper Viking king raised high on his shield, the room losing its mind in pure, chaotic elation.
Valhalore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Then comes the encore starting with a comedown – perhaps it is the deep breath before the last plunge. Neate asks the crowd to sit, and they obey folding to the floor as he steps forward with an acoustic in hand.
'Solace' drifts in gentle and glowing, and suddenly the Crowbar transforms into something unearthly – a calm sea under a full moon, the room lit by hundreds of phone lights swaying like lanterns on the tide.
Just as I suspected, the storm isn't over. Neate calls for one final charge, and the crowd rises like a wave slamming into the final track, fan-favourite 'Across The Frozen Ocean'. The room explodes one last time – voices raised, fists pumping, sweat flying; a final, roaring voyage that sees Valhalore crashing into the night's end with everything they've got.
Valhalore - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Valhalore have to be one of the most high-calibre acts in Aussie metal today. They're not just sailing Beyond The Stars – they're burning their sails and storming the cosmos, with devoted Brisbane fans at their backs like wind in the sails, fuelling the fire beneath every storm-soaked note.
More photos from the concert.
