gig review: holding absence at 170 Russell with kingdom of giants and stepson
recently Ethan and I got given the honour and privelige to shoot and review the welsh powerhouses Holding Absence , with Ethan shooting at liberty hall in Sydney and me reviewing in Melbourne at 170 Russell .
this is holding absence's very first Australian headline tour, and it is one of the first shows the band have played in a year and a half, due to taking a break from touring to focus on their upcoming album "modern life is lonely" which is set for release next month.
The venue was close to sold out, with people piling in nice and early, queuing for the merch, which all but sold out before the first band had even finished playing.
Speaking of the first band, opening up the night were Brisbane local melodic hardcore legends stepson, who set the bar high early with an amazing performance. The entire band was incredibly captivating to watch, with frontman Brock Conroy's vocal talent and stage presence being particularly undeniable.
With a set packed with songs spanning across their entire career, including the live debut of an unreleased treat, as well as a super fun linkin park cover which got the crowd moving, reception was overwhelmingly positive, which is great especially seeing as a good half of the crowd seemed to not have heard of them when brock asked in between songs.
Overall, both the band and the crowd were enjoying themselves and Stepson did an incredible job warming everyone up for metalcore band Kingdom of Giants, from California.
Going into their set I had never heard of this band, but I seemed to be one of the only ones as the crowd had erupted in song, yelling the words back to vocalist Dana Willax who was super commanding, opening a massive mosh pit the second the band started. Going in with absolutely no idea what to expect, I was blown away by the stage presence of every member of the band, even Drummer Truman Berlin was splitting the room in half, commanding a wall of death in the second song. Willax did an absolutely stellar job at working the crowd, and the way the two vocalists worked together was so harmonious. Their clean vocalist in particular, JT Gutierrez was incredible, and the choruses were super catchy. The live mix was also super clear, every instrument had its time to shine, which I really enjoyed. Being able to hear the bass and both guitars over the drums and tracks was really nice. Overall kingdom of giants are a band id highly recommend you go see if you get the chance.
After that, it was time for holding absence to grace the stage, and boy did they ever. The set felt like magic from start to finish, with vocalist lucas woodland’s vocals being just as beautiful live as they are in the songs. The entire band's stage presence was absolutely awe inspiring, no one staying still for a second, doing guitar flips and swinging themselves around, you can tell holding absence really love what they do and take pride in their live performance. I was pleasantly surprised with Scott Carey's harsh vocals throughout the night, including Lochie Keogh' from alpha wolf's part in "aching longing". The band played a couple of songs from their first album, including "like a shadow" and "wilt" and surprisingly not a lot from their last full length "the noble art of self destruction". However, since the release of that album in 2023, they have been here twice and stated they wanted to play some of their older favourites from their self titled and "the greatest mistake of my life" before they roll out the new album and have to cut a few from the set, which was understandable and very welcomed by me, given they hadn't played "curse me with your kiss" since I saw them live in 2022, and it's my personal favourite.
Something I've always loved about holding absence is their love for Australian artists, and that was not missing from this show at all. From commending tour openers stepson for doing the whole tour in vans, driving from state to state instead of flying like them, to shouting out bigger bands Alpha Wolf, Void of Vision (rip) and Thornhill for making them feel so at home in the Australian community, with members of all three of those bands present and watching from the greenroom, the mezzanine and side stage.
Overall, this show was probably one of the best shows I've been to ever. Much like every time I see holding absence, they absolutely blow me away with how talented they are. Backed up with a bill of this calibre, the entire night was very entertaining and fun, and the whole crowd walked away happy. I already can't wait for the next time they grace Australian shores, and with a new album on the way, hopefully we aren't waiting too long.
"Modern life is lonely" by holding absence is coming out on September 18th and you can presave the album wherever you listen to music here.
you can also watch mine and Ethan's interview with Lucas woodland we did a couple of months ago via the hot and heavy YouTube, or you can watch below .
