The Void VIII

I've decided... not to talk about Against the Grain 5, which took place September 19th. Because a) it was so fucking long ago, and b) for once, I went to a gig and didn't see all the bands. SHAAAAAAAAAAAAME.

Mind you, The Void VIII on October 25th was still far too long ago, so I'll try to just sum it up in a few succinct points.

• I am not a hardcore fan. I don't listen to hardcore music, I don't mingle with hardcore fans, and I reserve a special place of hate in my heart for hardcore dancers. Therefore, please don't put hardcore bands on the same bill as metal. Please. Unless you have, say, a metalcore band to bridge it all out... don't do it.
• Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the other bands (whose names I can't even remember) were very good, very talented hardcore bands, but it all sounded the same to me. In short, I don't listen to hardcore, therefore I can't appreciate hardcore, therefore it's not my place to talk about hardcore because I, personally, can't stand it.
• I wouldn't buy Immortal Threat's music, but if they were at a gig, I'd gladly mosh to them. And yes, it was good to see a mosh pit forming to eliminate those pesky hardcore dancers.* Also: It still needs more cowbell.
  
• Admit it - if you were there, chances are it was to see Octanic. Octanic are one of those bands that make a good impression, and then deliver on it. With a sharp set including crowd favourites from debut EP Industry and a sound selection of new tracks from the in-progress album - as well as a cover of Rob Zombie's Superbeast, a guaranteed crowd-getter for these lads - Octanic were the perfect finish to the night.

Yeah, I know this turned into little more than a plug for Octanic, but hey - they deserve it. So go to www.myspace.com/octanic, drop them a line, check out the songs, and if you live nearby, get your ass down to their next show!

Stay brutal!

-Ronnie

*Hardcore dancers are the idiots you sometmes see in mosh pits, where god knows they don't belong. They're the assholes who take up the whole floor jumping and skipping around, throwing their arms in the air, performing shoddy roundhouse kicks, spilling people's drinks, pushing the boundaries of the mosh and hitting people in the face because they don't fucking look where they're going. They have no place in the world of metal. Eliminate them.
This has been a Metallicae Australis community service announcement.