Review and gallery: Nate Rose

Brisbane doesn’t always get the first punch, but last night at The Triffid, it took it square in the jaw and asked for more.

The sold-out room felt volatile before a single note rang out—a low hum of anticipation that turned feral the moment the first band stepped up. This wasn’t just another stop on a tour; it was the launch point. California’s SPITE chose Australia, and more specifically Brisbane, to kick off their run for the new record. That alone gave the night a sense of weight. What followed justified every bit of it.

ZUKO didn’t just open the show—they owned it.

From the first note of ‘Hatred’, it was obvious the band had outgrown the idea of being “support.” The response was immediate and overwhelming, with the kind of crowd energy usually reserved for headliners. They have clearly reached the status of hometown heroes, and the early packed-out room was ready to deliver.

Their set was relentless, storming through the likes of ‘Callous’, ‘Venom’, and ‘Broken Neck’, with the crowd singing every word back. ZUKO’s growth has been seriously impressive—not only has their stage presence hit world-class levels, but so has their musicianship. Frontman JESSE BRUCE held the room with swagger and purpose, with the pit opening bigger and bigger with every call.

It was ‘Teeth to the Curb’ that defined the night for me, though. Before launching into it, JESSE BRUCE made a point that cut deeper than any breakdown, calling out the presence of creeps in the world and making it clear there’s no place for them in hardcore—or anywhere. The message was direct: women shouldn’t have to tolerate that behaviour at shows or in life, full stop.

It wasn’t performative. It was necessary. And the crowd responded accordingly.

If there was any doubt about ZUKO’s rise, this set erased it—ZUKO are no longer rising. They’ve arrived.

DIESECT followed with a set that was straight-up cold brutality.

“All I need you to do is bang your fucking heads,” vocalist DAMIEN BIGARA demanded. It wasn’t a suggestion—it was an instruction. And the room locked in.

Their set felt like a demonstration of discipline within brutality. Bassist TOM HEDGE is where DIESECT separate themselves, with a thunderous low end thickening the sound to a heaviness I’ve rarely witnessed live. In tracks like ‘Too Many Scars’ and ‘Hide From The Light’, you could feel that extra weight anchoring the riffs, giving them more depth and physical impact. DAMIEN BIGARA didn’t rely on theatrics; he controlled the room through presence and conviction, especially on ‘A Different Kind of Alone’. DIESECT hit with mechanical precision, with ‘Second Death’ layering tension on top of sheer weight.

The standout moment came with ‘No Home Left to Find’, played live for the first time. There was no hesitation, no sense of testing the waters—it landed like a sledgehammer.

It was clear: this was a masterclass in heaviness without excess.

VARIALS brought a different kind of impact—less suffocating, more kinetic. If DIESECT proved how precise heaviness can be, VARIALS showed how physical it can feel when everything locks in.

The Philadelphia natives hit Australia on the back of their latest album Where the Light Leaves, opening their set with the title track. Their set leaned into heaviness and groove, giving the pit something to move with—not just against. Drummer SEAN RAUCHUT was the backbone here, locking everything into a pulse that kept heads bouncing nonstop.

Frontman SKYLER CONDER delivered with intent, while guitarist SHANE LYONS’ riffs had bounce, giving the pit direction instead of just impact.

Tracks like ‘Conscious Collapse’, ‘Your Soul Feeds’, and ‘The Hurt Chamber’ kept the pressure steady, and SKYLER CONDER kept the energy high and the crowd honest. “Fuck someone up,” he demanded—and with that, ‘Empire of Dirt’ detonated. The pit opened instantly, bodies colliding with intent rather than chaos.

They closed with ‘I’ll Find the Dark’, leaving the room teetering on the edge and more than warmed up for what was to follow.

If the rest of the lineup built the night piece by piece, SPITE tore it all down—louder, ruthless, and completely unforgiving.

They came out swinging with ‘New World Killer’, ‘Gavel’, ‘IED’, and ‘Snap’, setting a pace that felt deliberately punishing. There were no gaps, no room to reset—just continuous impact.

Frontman DARIUS TEHRANI controlled the room with a mix of command and confrontation. “Open that fucking floor.”
“We are SPITE—we want violence, that’s all I need.”

And again, Brisbane answered, with The Triffid exploding into a sea of bodies.

DARIUS TEHRANI’s vocal range and stage presence are something to behold—right up there with the likes of WILL RAMOS and RANDY BLYTHE. When he introduced ‘Lights Out’ with “This is a new one,” it didn’t slow the momentum—it fed it. ‘Shallow’ and ‘Shedding Skin’, from the album they’re currently touring, New World Killer, reinforced that this new era isn’t a departure—it’s an escalation of the visceral brutality they’re known for.

The set hit hard with ‘Pledge’ and ‘Kingdom of Guts’, before pulling out ‘HANGMAN’, a track they hadn’t played in a long time—giving a nod to longtime fans.

Even with the unrelenting pace of their set, guitarist ALEX TEHRANI’s work never felt rushed. Every chug landed like blunt-force trauma, but the technicality still cut through—especially on ‘Psychopath’.

The band finally paused for air, momentarily.

“So the whole thing that we do is that we don’t shut the fuck up—we just play and we play and we play… so this is the part where I’m supposed to say what’s up. So how the fuck are you guys? We’ve got a couple songs left—are you with me?”

The response was immediate and deafening.

They launched into ‘Dedication to Flesh’, then what was introduced as the closer, ‘Caved In’, complete with the demand for one last circle pit. The floor erupted.

But they weren’t finished.

‘Kill or Be Killed’ closed the night, pushing everything past its limit.

This wasn’t just a strong lineup—it was a perfectly constructed escalation.

ZUKO brought urgency and purpose.
DIESECT delivered precision in heaviness.
VARIALS added groove and movement.
SPITE stripped it all back to pure, unrelenting force.

And Brisbane met every second of it.

When SPITE thanked the crowd for selling out only their second-ever show in the city, it didn’t feel like routine gratitude. It felt like recognition of a scene that showed up, pushed back, and made the night matter.

If this is how the tour begins, it’s not just promising—it’s dangerous.

 – GALLERY –