Review: Froth & Fury Fest @ Harts Mill
Froth & Furty Fest cemented its position as one of South Australia’s best festivals with another day of incredible music and good vibes.
Words by Will Oakeshott // Images by Danny Wallace
Froth & Fury Festival @ Harts Mill, 09/11/24
“There is something bigger than fact: the underlying spirit, all it stands for, the mood, the vastness, the wildness.” – Emily Carr.
The Big Day Out festival began as a one-day event in Sydney in 1992. A year later in 1993, it became a national touring festival that hosted its last event in 2014, over two decades later.
Soundwave Festival technically began in Perth in 2004, but by 2008 it became an Australian-wide celebration of heavy and alternative music featuring some of the greatest acts of these soundscapes from all over the world. Soundwave sadly met its demise after the planned 2016 version was scrapped; however, for over a decade, it was assuredly one of the most distinguished alternative and metal music escapades known.
Similar to the beginnings of these historic celebrations, Adelaide’s Froth & Fury festival began in the charming capital of South Australia in 2021. Now in its fourth adaption, there was an underlying spirit that inspired every part of this venture: BIGGER. The fact is, F&F24 was this and so much more. The venue upgraded to the location where Laneway is held, with the mainstages being similar in stature. An entire hall committed to beer, tattoos, clothing, vinyl, condiments and merchandise. A wrestling showcase, an entire lane devoted to fantastic food…
It was vast, it was wild and it was exactly what famed Canadian artist Emily Carr described in this article’s opening quote. So, let’s capture the mood…
The extremely early start for opening band Left On Seen on the Explosive stage created an obstacle of a small audience for the self-professed Queer pop-punk trio. To their charming credit, they played their harmonious hearts out. ‘Goosebumps’ was the highlight, showcasing the inspired bounciness of Canada’s Courage My Love and vocalist Ashlea Jaye plus guitarist Will Adam, who were franticly using every inch of the elevated platform.
Adelaide’s LOLA kept the punk spirit pulsating but with a thrashier-skater blend motto. Landing somewhere between Frenzal Rhomb, Good Riddance and even Adelaide’s own The Lizards – the quartet added more of a ‘Beer And A Shot’ theme to the festival and it was a great kick(flip)starter. New single ‘Love It And Leave It’ added a Green Day meets The Meanies motif that was a bouncing blast, ‘BATSHIT’ brought on a loud-vs-quiet dynamic that The Lawrence Arms wish they had written, and ‘Fast Life’ was superbly rockin-rowdy lightning. Having just signed to Teamwrk Records, LOLA will be wonderfully wrecking many more stages in the near future, so keep your eyes and pierced ears out for this four-piece.
Witch Spit cast their spell of viciousness with riot grrrl punk power immediately after LOLA and were happily taking victims to add to their fanbase in the process. Currently recording their newest LP, the duo featured their unreleased audacious anthems to their devotees and new supporters in a brilliantly brash fashion. ‘Repeat Offender’ was crafted to put the middle-finger up to anyone who has wronged an individual, which many in the crowd enjoyed and empathised with; then ‘Small Dog Attitude’ carried this message further with a sensational 7 Year Bitch innovation. BE prepared for Witch Spit’s next incredible incantation.
“Intoxicated & Hostile Blues” read the banner for Adelaide’s sludge doom quintet Sundowner, and that is immaculately their underlying spirit. ‘Substance Abuse’ was a tremendously torrid affair driven by bluesy gloom fusing the devastating drone of Weedeater with math-metal moments of Narrows. ‘Lysergic Ritual’ incorporated a faster punk edge that SPY delivered so crassly and captivatingly, however, Sundowner made this composition their own with a caustic southern blues groove that would make almost any metal devotee reminisce about their first experience with DOWN. Olivia Burton’s snarl was of amazing animalistic robustness and even though the festival does revolve around the golden refreshment that is beer, it was very difficult to not switch this out for a slow burning whiskey.
Adelaide’s prog-mosh-nu metalcore luminaries Signals (previously SIGNV/S) fired out of the gates with mosh callouts and an explosion of Vein.FM meets Alpha Wolf lunacy. Newest single ‘Permanence’ was a magnificent monstrosity of deathened metalcore that had the mosh ninjas soaring higher than the band themselves at times. ‘Poetry Of Spite’ was impossibly more maniacal and provoked the crowd shout-alongs to “Left With Nothing” in a near-deranged manner. It has become blatantly evident that Signals have become a force to be reckoned with in the realms of metalcore – bigger things are on the horizon for these youngstars (not a typo).
Their fourth visit to our fine city this year, Sydney’s alternative punk rock partycore loonies FANGZ stomped onto the stage in matching overalls with Cancer Bats’ ‘Sabotage’ blaring. The quintet were ready to “fly off the handle” – sure enough, they did. ‘Wasting Time’ opened the celebration with vocalist and crazy Canadian Josh Cottreau quickly performing a one-hand cartwheel while singing; ‘Victims’ brought that infectious joyful punk party vibe that A Wilhelm Scream do so well and even had FANGZ themselves screaming at Harts Mill: “Let’s fucking party!” – we did. ‘Self Medicate’ had the rollicking good vibes of Masked Intruder and even prompted an appearance of the 56 herbs liqueur Jägermeister which Cottreau ingested straight from the bottle with an evil smirk.
FANGZ’s show presentation is one of an elite level, even if their sound is not of one’s preference, their live energy is impossibly contagious. Goofy jokes insulting each other, practical swordfights with their instruments and a singer who is happy to climb the stage rigging to the top, dozens of metres in the air – it is a sensational spectacle undoubtedly.
Melbourne’s emotional metallic prog core five-piece Future Static was the outfit that essentially became an event stopper. Once they stormed onto the right main stage, their thunderous detonation left South Australia awe-struck. ‘Chemical Lobotomy’ was a typhoon in itself, spiralling between dreamy alt-rock, to djent metal breakdowns, to near-punk speed ferocity in one breathtaking composition. Vocalist Amariah Cook was majestic with her delivery, moving almost effortlessly between ethereal angelic melodies to cataclysmic screams. It was an impossibility to not be transfixed by this enchanting demonstration. ‘Plated Gold’ enhanced all of this superbly and ‘Roach Queen’ erupted like a torrential cyclone, moving from bombarding ruination to uncanny rapturous divinity all in this genre-bending song. There is no static in this quintet’s artistry, their exquisiteness is beyond clear.
At almost every festival, an attendee will more than likely discover an outfit they were unfamiliar with and instantaneously become a devotee. Newcastle’s Volatile Ways were in all probability that band for many punters at Froth & Fury, including this writer. Their brutal deathcore was undeniably impressive, but it was how they showcased their sound live that was the most astonishing. Frontwoman Emily Beekmans mostly stalked the stage like a predatory lioness, threateningly growling and ready to pounce on her unsuspecting prey which was her audience; however, in a conflicting counteraction and in virtual glee, she will then execute nearly perfect acrobatic kicks, present a model’s pose and even charismatically dance in a playful manner. Her mosh callouts were also sensationally striking: “Side-to-side c*nts!” and “It’s showtime bitch” thrilled the onlookers and enlivened the mosh dancers brilliantly. New single ‘The Invocation Of Doom’ was earth-shattering and hopefully 2025 will bring a lot more fire-raising deathcore from these Novocastrians.
Royalty and innovators of Adelaide metalcore Day Of Contempt reunited for Froth & Fury 2024 and this was the largest crowd the Explosive stage had hosted so far. Having been well over a decade since the quintet had performed in Adelaide, supporters from as far back as 1997 had turned out to relive their hardcore glory days and there were certainly going to be some sore bodies the next day. Appropriately ‘The Terminator Theme’ was used as DOC’s march on song and a different type of Judgement Day was about to be executed in a distinct form of metal; “This world a fucking lie” vocalist Ben Coyte howled and pandemonium took over. Quickly Coyte was at the barrier allowing the devotees to scream along with one of the many favourites played in the afternoon heat. The death circle of slam dancing had also opened up and this was one of many instances during this day that time travel had in a way, become reality.
‘Comatose’, ‘Where Shadows Lie’, ‘Tear You Down’, ‘Walk Away’, a cover of Hatebreed’s ‘Last Breath’ and ‘Drain’ were exhibited and remarkably revered by Adelaide, especially with the historic tales Mr Coyte spoke of with each track. The rampage came in the form of ‘One By One’ which was terrifically tumultuous in the best way that hardcore can be. It was all over a bit too soon, but rumour has it, 2025 may have Day Of Contempt live as a mission priority.
Canada’s Brand Of Sacrifice were one of the bigger names of the outfits from overseas and their powerful variety of deathcore-tronica was extreme and oddly addictive. Frontman Kyle Anderson was virtually beyond human capability with his vocalisation, to a point that it was more like a savage lynx. The hisses, screeches and bellowing growls were marvellously menacing and his epic dreadlocks created their own tornado when Anderson whirled them around in beastly exhilaration. ‘Exodus’, ‘Purge’ and ‘Millennium’ were standouts that even hyped up numerous revellers to crowd surf. Hopefully, full-length album number three will ‘Dawn’ on the world in the near future.
Tech death metal Hobartian heroes Pyscroptic were the dark horse of this timeslot (Melbourne alternative metal pop favourites Thornhill were on the mainstage), yet strangely it suited the four-piece flawlessly as their herculean musicianship blasted in deafening volumes. Frontman Jason Peppiatt was rapid with his provocation to fire up the South Australians, commanding the bustling audience to get more involved. ‘The Watcher Of All’ was magical in its severity, ‘Frozen Gaze’ trounced with its galloping march, ‘We Were The Keepers’ had an eerie chorus that exceeds memorable status, and closer ‘Enslavement’ wailed like a siren and the crowd escalated in dynamism frantically. This DEMONstration was essentially just a taste compared to the band’s headline shows, which are now required in Adelaide ASAP.
Big Day Out regulars and Adelaide legends TestEagles conceivably brought the largest audience attendance to the festival thus far, and they were ready to be wonderfully weird with us all again. ‘Stomp’ was the welcoming strange symphony, as the trio broadcasted their indie-disco-rock concoction to thousands who grooved along. A huge roar of cheers and applause ignited upon its conclusion and all vocalist and guitarist Matty Matt could respond with was: “Fuckin aye shitbags! This is a PROPER GIG!” – this was truly unbelievable.
‘Wise Up’ was the heaviest track put on display that had a fist-pumping alt-groove metal vibe that adrenalized all of Adelaide. Then ‘Rebel’ showcased hip-hop experimentation, ‘Hammerdrill’ hammered Harts Mill, ‘Underdog’ was a nu metal trip-hop mash-up and the anthem South Australia had waited 20 years for, ‘Turn That Shit Up’, was riotous. History was made on this day.
The sun was setting and it was time for an Australian exclusive from Froth & Fury Fest, Fear Factory. This was to be the only show the industrimetallists were to play down under and thousands clambered to get as close to the main stage as possible for FF’s ‘Moment Of Impact’. This was matter-of-factly a momentous impact – ‘Damaged’ simply pulsated and new vocalist Milo Silvestro indisputably proved he was the right man to wield the microphone moving into the future. ‘Fuel Injected Suicide Machine’ felt like the narrative song for whatever dystopian future humankind might face, then ‘Linchpin’ actually created an earthquake from the devoted thousands jumping to that stomping beat. ‘New Breed’ thrashed around instigating a human whirlpool in the crowd and ‘Demanufacture’ reverberated so intensely it practically created its own universe. The whole production was evocatively faultless and best of all, Dino Cazares appears to be overwhelmingly happy after years of struggles; the Soul Of A New Machine is here.
Darkness had overcome the festival brutifully and Sydney’s deathcore titans Thy Art Is Murder were set to obscure and obliterate the calm that had made itself present peculiarly. ‘Destroyer Of Dreams’ broke the silence and serenity as the lights illuminated five virtuosos of extreme music, TAIM were present to ‘Deliver Us To Evil’.
New frontman Tyler Miller was outstanding in his role. He wasn’t trying to be a replacement for Thy Art, he was bringing his valiant vehemence to their sound and has the prodigious pipes to do this. ‘Join Me In Armageddon’ was wildly theatrical in its wickedness, ‘Reign Of Darkness’ cloaked the festival under a blanket of deathcore ruthlessness and ‘Puppet Master’ pulverised all within. The five-piece have lived up to their latest album’s title in this genre, this scribe doesn’t need to disclose that name to the readership.
If Thy Art were theatrical, then NSW experimetalcore quartet Northlane were entrancingly cinematic. Their stage production was breathtaking and as headliners, they ensured that Froth & Fury closed in a blaze of glory.
‘Carbonized’ began the venture with The Prodigy meets Nu Metal fluctuations before the alluring harmonic chorus that frontman Marcus Bridge accomplished poetically. ‘Miasma’ was sensationally spasmodic, electronic flourishes of ‘4D’ were spiritual and captivating, ‘Talking Heads’ was elite nu metalcore, and ‘Bloodline’ should be present on the new Spawn film soundtrack if it ever comes to be with its vivacious versatility of heaviness.
‘Nova’ was radiantly striking in its Moby-driven house-pop balladry. Bridge was so moving with his delicate croon, and to close, ‘Citizen’ laid Harts Mill to waste in its djentcore rapture.
So concludes Froth & Fury 2024, and what was BIGGER than fact in reflection was the spirit, the vastness and the wildness of this heavy music festival occurring only in Adelaide should be the envy of all of Australia, and in all probability, the world.
Check out the full gallery of images from Froth & Fury Fest 2024 here.
