Review: Luke Petty
Wage War are back in Australia to tear up the stages with their “It Calls Me By Name” Tour. Bringing along Orthodox and Heavensgate with them. The metalcore heavy hitters descended on The Tivoli to bring us a powerhouse setlist after releasing their most recent EP.
Local Melbourne heavyweights-in-the-making Heavensgate kicked off the night with a devastatingly powerful opening set. Bombarding The Tivoli with relentless energy, they proved beyond doubt that they are a force to be reckoned with—leaving the crowd completely enthralled from start to finish. Giving us tracks like “Rain”, “Ratking” and “Petrichor”, HEAVENSGATE continue to prove how razor-sharp they are as a live act. Pairing heavy, emotional intensity with top-tier songwriting and production, they had command of the room from the second they started—truly rewarding the early crowd who came ready to bring the energy to the floor.
Tenacious Tennessee talent Orthodox brought an international class to the stage, quickly engaging the swelling audience with a gloriously heavy bombardment and a ferocious barrage. Frontman Adam Easterling and the lads were wild, angry animals last night, delivering an enormous sound packed with bowel-moving riffs and punchy vocals. Unapologetic in his delivery, Easterling made the band’s mission clear, declaring to the crowd that he wasn’t there to sing choruses—he was there to ruin their night.
Tracks like “Head On A Spike” and “Blend In With The Weak” drove through the venue like a Viking ship bouncing over high waves, their commitment to heavy-duty riffs making the floor feel like shifting tectonic plates. Pausing only briefly to harness the kinetic energy of the room, Easterling commanded, “This entire room is a mosh pit, I need to see absolute fuckin’ chaos, and if you have a beard and you aren’t moshing you are a pretender.” The crowd on the standing floor instantly obliged with frenetic fervor, turning the pit into total madness while body surfers rode the storm before them.
The lights went down, and a cinematic-like tension engulfed the room as Wage War took the stage. Frontman Briton Bond bounded out like a battle-ready leader, commanding attention alongside Cody Quistad as they unleashed an explosive opening run of “4×4,” “Alive,” and “NAIL5.” Wage War are a band befitting massive halls and arenas, so watching them stride into the venue was like seeing the biggest kid in the playground take total control. Bond worked the risers with a growling voice that the crowd desperately tried to match, while Quistad’s soaring clean vocals created the perfect dual-vocal contrast on anthems like “Teeth” and “TOMBSTONE.” As “BLUR” and “KARMA” blazed through the room, the energy was electric and contagious, turning the floor into a frantic sea of headbanging fans and a steady stream of crowd surfers being flung over the barriers.
Without wasting time on chatter, the Floridians let their music do the talking, tearing through an extensive twenty-song set that brought the sweltering heat and humidity of Central Florida straight to the venue. “Death Roll” landed like a ferocious sonic assault, sending the pit thrashing wildly, while a massive crowd singalong erupted during the gloriously heavy “Low.” One of the highlights for me was when they announced the next song was going to be the only slow song of the night. The lights dimmed blue and the intro of “Gravity” started. Cody owned the stage with his acoustic expertise and incredible vocals. The whole crowd singing along to every word. Even without the crushing heavy riffs and blasting beats, the room was filled with pure euphoria—hordes of fans swayed, writhed and grooved together in celebration rather than malice.
By the time they closed out the night with “SONG OF THE SWAMP,” Wage War left the crowd breathless, delivering a masterclass in modern metalcore and reminding everyone just how lucky they were to witness such an intense, high-octane performance up close.
