For the uninitiated, a DZ Deathrays show can be an intimidating experience, and from a band famous for their Jaeger drenched videos and amp-exploding loudness, anything less than ear-bursting brutality could really be considered a disappointment.
In Melbourne for the final stop of their Teenage Kickstarts National Tour, the Brisbane duo descended on Ding Dong Lounge – along with locals Damn Terran and Super Best Friends – for a night that, if nothing else, promised to get loud.
Melbourne-via-Canberra party-punksters Super Best Friends are building a following on the back of furiously raw tracks like ‘No Logo Is A Joke’, and offered an appropriately rough entrée to the night ahead.
Their energetic, enthusiastically shouty set was well received and left ears suitably warmed for the carnage to come.
Next up, fellow Melbournites Damn Terran continued the ferocious post-punk vibe with a heaving set of energetic rock tracks that drifted easily from melodic to heavy.
The three-piece combine growling vocals, driving bass, and sharp drumming with grungy guitar work that, performed live, flows above and around the other elements, rather than dragging the tracks forward on their own.
Their unrelenting set took some time to rouse the crowd from their heads down, nodding-along, shoe-gazing appreciation, but by the time they reached their scorching, guitar-hurling conclusion, a sizeable mosh had developed, and Damn Terran left the room fired-up and frothing in anticipation.
Not usually a band concerned with embellishment, DZ Deathrays did for once include some stage adornment, in the form of two skull-faced bat-angel puppets that lurked above and behind them throughout the set.
If their reputation and the performances of the two support acts hadn’t been enough to prepare any newcomers for what they were about to experience, the sight of those demonic LED eyes winking down at them during the interval would surely have done the trick.
Kicking things off with live favourite ‘Cops Capacity’, Australia’s premier party-thrash merchants stormed through a typically unforgiving set of headbanging, calf-tearing, face-melting drums and guitar punk-metal.
Frontman Shane Parsons was characteristically lively, screaming and shredding his way through track after track with minimal fuss, while bandmate Simon Ridley provided a tight and reliable counterpoint on the drums.
With only a single full-length album and pair of EPs released so far, DZ Deathrays have a limited catalogue to draw on, and some of their lesser-known tracks, including some new material, sadly fell a little flat.
The robustness and energy of favourites like ‘No Sleep’ and ‘Gebbie Street’, however, more than made up for any brief lulls, with the crowd surfing and stage diving during the deliciously bass-heavy ‘The Mess Up’ being a particular highlight.
New single ‘Teenage Kickstarts’ was frenetic, screechy, and – in the audience – eagerly violent, providing another reminder that, regardless of how successful they may be in the studio, DZ Deathrays will always be so much more effective live.
As ever, the set reached its peak during the reliably hectic, surprisingly catchy ‘Dollar Chills’; a rippling, menacing track laden with thick guitar loops, pounding drum kicks, and Parson’s snarling vocals.
It was memorable – for those who could remember – an unstinting night showcasing some of Australia’s best new punk and rock talents. For those who couldn’t, it left a day or two of ringing ears and throbbing heads as a temporary memento.




