Review and Photos: Luke Petty

From Ashes to New officially returned to Australia, hitting The Triffid in Brisbane for their first ever standalone headline tour in support of their 2026 album, Reflections. The Pennsylvania heavyweights first tore up Australian stages back in December 2024 for Good Things Festival alongside a run of intimate sideshows, bringing along New Zealanders Banks Arcade as support. If you’ve been following their rise, this next chapter isn’t one to miss.

Banks Arcade kicked off the night, tearing through a set packed with heavy hitting riffs, electronic hooks, and raw, aggressive vocals. They managed to hit that sweet spot in the modern heavy scene, sounding genuinely fresh rather than just following a formula. Opening with “Move” and jumping straight into “Routine,” it was clear what this set was going to bring.

Tracks like “Know Me” and “Mirror” pushed the intensity even further. While Thursday night crowds can usually be a bit sluggish, these guys had a pit opening up before I even had time to grab a spot. The momentum was immediate, pulling the crowd down toward the stage song after song. By the time they stepped off, the floor was sticky, the air was thick, and the room was primed and buzzing for the main event.

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for. The PA blared Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” as a warmup singalong before the lights dimmed and “New Disease” started roaring to open the headline set. Danny Case and Matt Brandyberry always look like they are not only performing perfectly in sync but also having the absolute time of their lives doing it. Wasting zero time, they threw down “Nightmare” as the second song, sending the entire front barrier into a total meltdown, followed by the crushing hooks of “Heartache” and their Active Rock #1 smash “Drag Me.”

A pivotal moment arrived mid set when co vocalist Matt Brandyberry addressed the room, revealing he had been fighting a severe illness that nearly derailed the whole tour. Facing the final night of the run, Matt declared he was prepared to push his voice to absolute destruction to finish what they started, as long as the crowd helped him by singing along. “Love Me,” which was executed to absolute perfection, followed. Matt then paused to connect with the crowd again.

He confessed Australia was the one country he had always dreamed of visiting, revealing that Spotify stats proved Brisbane was actually the band’s top city in the world for listeners and support. He joked that if no one believed him, he’d go grab his phone right off the tour bus to prove it! He shared how, early on, nobody believed in the band, making tonight’s sold-out room all the more surreal, promising they’d be back Down Under soon enough.

That raw determination and emotional connection elevated the entire night. The crowd matched the band line for line on new material like “Die for You” and “Barely Breathing,” alongside established fan favourites like “Through It All” and “Hate Me Too.” The physical energy reached its absolute peak when “Panic” dropped as the final song of the night, sparking intense crowd movement and surfers that sustained right through the last crushing note. The band’s sheer tenacity turned the finale of their Australian tour into a resounding victory.