Coming back to their hometown for a leg of their Homebound tour, Melbourne post-hardcore band Dream On, Dreamer had one massive bill to fill at The Corner. They may have been touring their debut album Heartbound, but this 6-piece is certainly not new to the scene.
Locals Delawarewolves kicked off the night, their hardcore sounds warming up the half-full room. Catchy guitar riffs sadly did little more than ignite a head bang here or there, the audience remaining pretty chill and chatty.
The second of four supports came in the form of Byron Bay boys In Hearts Wake. Their catchy set included material from their debut album Divination, an album most punters proceeded to buy afterwards.
Smooth break downs and clean vocals were well worked into their likeable songs, flaring some enthusiasm from the crowd with hardcore dancing commencing in the middle of the pit.
Now that they’ve returned back down under after recording in the US, with Divination in tow, In Hearts Wake are definitely ones to keep an eye on!
Fans were hyped as Sydney’s Hand Of Mercy hit the stage. Slightly heavier than the previous two bands, their set enticed a fuller crowd and punters began make their way towards the stage. Hands were thrown in the air, lyrics were sung, with the still half-full venue finally showing some excitement.
All the way from Ohio, USA, Like Moths To Flames exhibited their metal-edged songs to the now enthusiastic audience. The majority of the crowd pushed right to the front of the stage and sang almost every lyric of the entire set, although became annoyed with the band’s constant plugging of merch.
Heavier again than the bands that preceded them and with a bassist that was high on life (or something else) lead to some crazy antics, crowd surfing became a common occurrence from the punters and from a member of former stage-goers In Hearts Wake.
With a bass vibration entrance that made your entire body shake, the anticipation for Dream On, Dreamer to finally hit the stage was enormous.
Their forty minute set opened with the popular ‘Ambitions’, which included an admirable mix of songs from their earlier EP Hope, as well as Heartbound. Their songs were enthusiastically received by the devoted fans as they sang along to both clean vocals and screams.
Synth was worked into their hardcore tunes, setting Dream On, Dreamer apart from the rest. Hardcore dancing transpired for the entire set, and as they came out for the obligatory encore with ‘Yourself As Someone Else’, frontman Marcel Gadacz thanked fans for seeing them through the last five years and towards fame.
– Mairéad Bilton-Gough
