The gigantic smiling mouth of Sydney’s iconic Luna Park greeted punters heading to the venue’s Big Top with rides, magic mirrors and fairy floss – but more importantly, one of Australia’s most popular metalcore bands The Amity Affliction were playing in order to promote their new album Chasing Ghosts.
Along for the ride was the UK’s Architects, America’s The Ghost Inside, and local band Buried In Verona, who unfortunately had a very short set consisting of a mere five songs.
To make matters worse, the majority of the crowd were still entering the venue. While this could have seemed like a let down, they provided a great show for those who made it in time.
Architects were up next. Although they haven’t graced our shores in 22 months they were welcomed by fans, playing a killer set which included old favourites like “Follow The Water” and controversial new hit “These Colours Don’t Run”.
Last Wednesday The Ghost Inside found out some terrible news when vocalist Jonathan Vigil found out his father had passed away, but instead of going home they remained on tour.
Vigil spoke out about his father, a fellow musician, before playing their new hit “Thirty Three”. How he had taught the frontman from a young age that what happens between the four walls of a gig is nothing like the rest of the world, that it’s something special, which is why the band decided to fulfil the rest of their scheduled tour.
You could feel the passion when they played, also treating fans with a surprise during their final song, “Engine 45” when Vigil invited Architects vocalist Sam Carter to help sing the melodic ending.
Finally it was time for The Amity Affliction to shine. Having come a long way since they used to play PCYC’s for $15. They were now headlining a sold out venue with some of the most talented international acts.
Armed with an amazing light show, there was no messing around, this was the band people had come to see and they weren’t going to waste a second of it.
Opening number ‘Chasing Ghosts’ provided an interesting start to the set. Sparkly confetti was released into the crowd, which provided a surprise considering this is a band that never had gimmick or tricks previously.
Though drawing mostly from the latter two albums, Chasing Ghosts and Young Bloods, halfway through the set they treated older fans with ‘Stairway To Hell’ from their debut Severed Ties. Not only did it provide some nostalgia but also allowed everyone a chance to see how far Amity have progressed.
Ending with fan favourite ‘Youngbloods,’ which had the crowd on their feet and screaming the lyrics back up at the band, it could have been the perfect ending to a great gig but the metalcore masters weren’t ready to go home just yet.
The encore was one of the highlights of the night. Amity played their new, highly popular song ‘Open Letter.’ Coming to a pause halfway through; all the lights dimmed creating a moody break before finally kicking back with Ahren belting the chorus to an explosion of confetti, that seemed to linger in the air against the words: “I’m not searching the sky for a reason to live/’cause I found beauty right here and found the passion to give.”
A touching moment; something you don’t usually see during a metalcore show.”
The Chasing Ghost tour has been one of the best to hit Australia this year. The diversity of the bands provides an amazing gig for everyone and for anyone who hasn’t attended yet – you are missing out.
