Review: Dan Maynard
Photography: Nate Rose
It’s felt like a lifetime, yet somehow only feels like yesterday since Gold Coast veterans Sunk Loto last toured. Yet here we are, out the front of Brisbane’s Crowbar, in what feels like the blink of an eye, waiting in line to go in and see four of the best do their thing once again in all their glory.
Melbourne’s Earthbound are first up. 7:30pm hits on the dot and even though the crowd might still be trickling in slowly, that isn’t stopping these young fellas from playing as though they’re playing to their own sold-out show. The frontman’s energy is brilliant, showing absolute confidence in himself. The way he presents himself to the crowd and interacts is something you see less and less of these days.
Having a joke and a banter while not taking away from the band’s set is rare these days, and he did just that. Giving off some great Aussie progressive metalcore vibes, these guys know what’s up. It’s a great mix of heavy and melodic, while throwing in humour and banter to spin the crowd into mini circle pits and throwdowns. Earthbound definitely earned their due tonight.
Another Melbourne band are here to warm up the stage tonight before our main act hits the stage. Verona Lights jump straight into their set, blasting into their own blend of rock and metal, bringing some old-school 2000s vibes to the stage. Larger-than-life rock vocals string across the top of some chonky guitars and big drums. I genuinely am not sure how to describe their sound. And I mean that with no disrespect, much the opposite.
They have a sound that seems very genuine to them and them alone. While sharing the likes of maybe Circa Survive and Billy Talent, I still can’t pin them down on that alone. The whole band has great energy, interacting with the crowd and even enough to have a wheelchair-bound patron doing donuts in the pit at one point. The room is more than warmed up for our final set, that’s for sure!
It’s been three damn years since we last saw Sunk Loto take to the stage. We’ve had a new single, Dead Shadows (which the tour is aptly titled after), on top of two previous singles and a few updates on the band here and there. All along, we all sat back, listening and waiting for a new tour, and we’re finally here.
The lights shut off. A warm orange glow lights up the stage fog as a groaning soundtrack plays over the PA, slowly building and building until the band takes to the stage, no doubt to an uproar of cheers and screams from the adoring audience. 1999’s Lift kicks off what is about to become an unforgettable set. Empty and Alone, Falls Apart, then followed by two new songs, Dead Shadows and God Complex, to round out the start of the set. Huge start to a set, honestly.
The band took to their socials at the start of the tour announcement, asking what people wanted to hear, and boy, does this set give off those vibes with some of the incredible variety and deep cuts we get. Shiver makes its way into the set and sounds fucking incredible, one of my personal favourite Sunk Loto tracks to date, and it still holds up live perfectly. Human Ashtray and Primitive, my god, those are two songs that should always be in a Sunk Loto set. Completely made for a big live sound.
Along with the band asking for requests, my own personal request was Submission from their 1999 EP Society Anxiety, a track I have, in all these years, never seen live. Much to my surprise, there it was, three-quarters of the way down the set. It sounded massive. I’ve waited years to see what I think might be the most underrated Sunk Loto song ever, and it did not disappoint. Perfection.
I won’t give away any more of the setlist in case you’re reading this before seeing them this tour, but I promise you, you will not walk away disappointed. The perfect blend of everything they have released to date. A lot of thought went into this set, I’m sure of it. With nearly 30 years of music behind them, summing it up into a setlist is no easy feat, and they nailed it.
With an album on the horizon, I don’t think we will have to wait long for another tour, luckily. Mid to late 2027 would be my guess. And if the new tracks are anything to go off, I can only assume the new album will be fucking bonkers. Good lord, I cannot wait for that tour. And I’m still trying to recoup after last night. Feels like I’m planning my next Japan trip the day I get back from Japan.
Sunk boys, you fucking killed it tonight. Thank you. Let’s do this again real soon!
– GALLERY –
