


[Gallery] You Me At Six @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 27/01/2025
You Me At Six
Hevenshe
Holding Absence

[Review] Leon Bridges @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl, 23/01/2025
Do you ever hear a song for the first time and in that moment, you know that this artist is something special and has that extra magic that many don’t? Leon Bridges first appeared on my music radar about 9 years ago and when I heard him sing his hit ‘River’, my body had a complete visceral reaction to the beauty of this tremendous song.
Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Leon Bridges is one of their best exports and is currently touring to promote his fourth studio album simply titled, ‘Leon’. This album is a nostalgic journey back to his roots, celebrating the people and places that raised him and the experiences that have shaped him. Bridges brought his neo soul sound to Australian shores captivating audiences all the way down our east coast, with the final night of the tour wrapping up in Melbourne at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. It was an extremely eclectic crowd strolling through the Botanical Gardens in the direction of Melbourne’s iconic outdoor music venue, but all seemed eager to get inside and find their positions to settle in for the night. Los Bitchos and Glass Beams were the two support acts to get the night started, and both groups did just that. Both offering up an entirely instrumental set with a different flavour from each, the crowd were really digging what they had on offer. Darkness now descended on the bowl as we took our seats to await the soulful sounds of Leon Bridges.
With warming stage lights and a roar from the crowd, a 7-piece band hit the stage and found their positions with Leon not far behind. Kitted out in white flairs and a tan suede tassle jacket, Leon kicked the show off with tracks from his latest album, ‘When A Man Cries’ and ‘Panther City’. Two songs in and I thought an all-in brawl was about to erupt in the groups around us, due to the fact that majority of the crowd felt the need to stand from their seats, completely blocking the view of those behind them. Brawling definitely didn’t fit the vibe check, so once heated words were exchanged everyone eventually cooled their jets and decided just to enjoy what they could see of the show. ‘Flowers’ with it’s upbeat swing feel had the crowd dancing and clapping along, whilst ‘Coming Home’ from the 2015 album of the same name, had us ladies absolutely swooning even more than we already were. ‘Laredo’ was giving off that iconic funky sexy feel that his music seems to continuously emanate, and I have to say ‘That’s What I Love’ about Mr. Bridges. Everyone was getting down to ‘Never Satisfied’, but I can tell you that’s definitely not how the crowd were feeling as they were getting lost in his sultry, hypnotic melodies.
I was personally excited that he did a couple of songs from his collab albums with Khruangbin which included ‘Mariella’ and my all time favourite, ‘Texas Sun’. The latter is one of those songs that can instantly transport you to a time and place and every time I hear it, I swear to God I’m rolling down that highway, with the wind blowing through my hair with that hot Texan sun beating down on my skin. His lyrics truly are something else and provide a completely immersive experience as they seep into your veins when combined with his soothing instrumentals. I got the feeling that despite his vulnerable lyrics and confidence on stage, he seemed quite introverted given his very limited interactions with the audience. He was a man focused on his task for the night which was to entertain us, and that’s exactly what he delivered.
Asked if there were any dancers in the house, the crowd responded with their best moves during ‘You Don’t Know’, as it delivered its funk-flavoured bass line. I loved that instead of the usual stage formation, the band were seated on stage in a semi-circle with Leon at the forefront, which made it feel like we were just hanging out in a friend’s lounge room having an intimate jam session. Floating through his enchanting set, the audience were slurping up every bit of musical goodness exuding from this talented being. Soon enough, it was time to take me back to where my Leon Bridges discovery began with the spine tingling, gospel-like track, ‘River’. Bridges played the first half of the song alone with his acoustic guitar, whilst his bass player swapped out his bass for a cello to give the song a deep resonance that consumes you entirely.
‘Peaceful Place’ and ‘Smooth Sailing’ not only took us on another journey but also rounded out the end of his set. This crowd were salivating and weren’t going to let him get off that easily so luckily, he reappeared to give us a couple more treats that we so desperately craved. Bridges once again hit the stage on his own with only his guitar for company as he sang ‘Lisa Sawyer’, before the band joined him again for the final song, ‘Beyond’. As one of his earlier hits from his ‘Good Thing’ album, the crowd were ecstatic as the band led into this track and the song had never sounded so good with 10,000+ additional back-up singers. It was now time for a real goodbye as Leon departed the stage and left everyone to slowly come out of their hypnotic trance he’d put them in right from the first song.
The perfect recipe of soul, with some funk and gospel influences and the right amount of sexy, Leon Bridges is an incredible talent that puts him up there with some of the greats. His voice is pure magic that gives you all the flutters, and his tone is as smooth as a hot knife gliding through a block of butter. In addition to his musical talent is his stunning lyrical prowess, and debriefing with my friend after the show we both agreed that the way he writes about his muses (whoever they may be…) with such adoration is what girls can only dream of. Oh, to have a man worship and write that way about you. This is one show that will stay with me, and I will continue to have his records on high rotation for my regular Leon fix. If you haven’t heard of Leon Bridges or his music, then it’s high time you add him to your streaming playlist and experience the tingles and flutters for yourself.

[Gallery] Cavalera @ Northcote Theatre, Melbourne 19/01/2025
Cavalera
Algor Mortis
Black Jesus

CABAL Release Brand New Single ‘Unveiled’ + New Album EVERYTHING ROTS Out On April 11th
During a packed autumn touring schedule of over 30 dates across Europe as part of the Nordic Invasion and Faces of Death tours, CABAL introduced fans to their latest album material. Now, in 2025, the band returns with their powerful new single ‘Unveiled‘, featuring Matthi, frontman of beatdown legends NASTY. The new album Everything Rots will be released on 11th April via Nuclear Blast Records. In spring 2025 CABAL will support CALIBAN on their “Back From Hell Tour“. All dates are listed below.
Singer Andreas Bjulver comments: “If you’ve ever had your trust horribly betrayed this track is for you. This is CABAL at it’s most furious, it’s pure anger distilled into sound and it features none other than Matthi from Nasty, which only adds to the aggression.”
Pre-Order Everything Rots here: https://cabal.bfan.link/everything-rots.ema
Stream ‘UNVEILED‘ here: https://cabal.bfan.link/unveiled
Watch the video of ‘UNVEILED’ here: https://youtu.be/WfWA0FDSOmM
Everything Rots Tracklist
1. Become Nothing
2. Redemption Denied
3. Everything Rots
4. No Peace (ft. Jamie of VISCERA)
5. Hell Hounds
6. Still Cursed (ft. Aaron of TEN56)
7. Unveiled (ft. Matthi of NASTY)
8. Forever Marked
9. End Times
10. Snake Tongues
11. Stuck (ft. Joel of AVIANA)
12. Beneath Blackened Skies (ft. Alan of DISTANT)
CABAL has through the years proved themselves as one of the heaviest and most uncompromising metal acts hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark. The bands sound is visceral and destructive and aims to bring forth absolute chaos by drawing inspiration from everything from crushing death metal, contemporary metallic hardcore and metalcore to unnerving soundscapes and dark electronic music.
Since the release of their first album in 2018 the band toured most of the planet, from Europe and North America to Japan and Australia, as well as renowned festivals like, Roskilde Festival, Copenhell, Summer Slaughter, Brutal Assault and many more, and they have no intention of slowing down. All of the above combined with features from some of the modern metal scenes most prominent names like; Matt Heafy from TRIVIUM, Jamie Hails from POLARIS and Joe Bad from FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, the band has shown the world that Denmark has something to offer when it comes to bone crushing heaviness.
The band are now gearing up for the release of their 4th studio album; Everything Rots. Everything Rots is the most focused and ferocious CABAL has ever sounded, while still expanding on the sound that fans expect from the band. Ear piercing electronic parts and unsettling soundscapes fuse together with bone-rattling riffs and uncompromising breakdowns to create a sonic attack on the senses that’s sure to please and surprise any fan of extreme heaviness. Just like instrumentals the lyrics are dark and direct as they detail the cyclical nature of depression, addiction and trauma, as they work through and detail deeply scarring life experiences and invite the listeners inside a dark world were everything rots and falls apart again and again and again.
Tracks like ’Still Cursed’ dives into the struggle of dealing with depression and feeling eternally cursed, while the title track is an anthem for the generations born into a world of crushing uncertainty, that feels like it could collapse around them at any time. ’No Peace’ describes the harrowing real life ordeal of finding a dying suicide victim in the streets of Copenhagen, and powerlessly watching the life drains from their eyes. ‘Unveiled’ and ‘Forever Marked’ deals with two sides of the same experience of having an abuser close to you. One describes the intense anger and feeling of betrayal, that comes from finding out that someone you considered family could commit such acts, while the other the feeling of guilt in knowing that this happened so close to you without you catching on to it.
The album will be released through Nuclear Blast in April 2025 and like a rabid hell hound on a chain, this album is foaming at the mouth to be released and unleash the rot upon the world.
CABAL online
https://www.instagram.com/cabalcph/
www.facebook.com/cabalcph
www.cabalcult.com
www.patreon.com/cabalcult
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHWujbw3iYHcXq9ExfRiA4Q
https://www.tiktok.com/@cblde4th