For the fourth year of Froth and Fury, the festival moved down the road to Hart’s Mill. One assumes that it was due to logistical reasons; not having to close off roads, two stages side by side, and more space. There are still three stages, with the Froth and Fury stages alternating shows, with the smaller Explosive stage hosting shorter sets with even shorter changeover times.
Aiming to catch local band LOLA early in the day proved harder than expected. The VIP line was taking around 20 minutes to process, while ironically the GA lines had no lineup at all. Every attendee had to have their name checked off a list and a specially labelled bag had to be found for each person before they could enter. However, once inside, the music was what mattered the most. LOLA performed well as per expectations. Witch Spit were another exciting female duo that impressed. In fact, there were a whole host of incredible performances from Signals, Of Virtue and Great American Ghost.
On the Explosive Stage, the tight turnaround time of 15 minutes meant that bands ran late trying to do a super-fast sound check. Lumen ad Morten looked impressive, but the singer’s voice only cracked across the loudspeakers sporadically. Similarly, Blood Sucking Freaks and Dharma seemed to suffer from sound issues. It was refreshing to see Blood Sucking Freaks still performing after 20 odd years, along with other crowd favourites such as Testeagles and Hard Ons, headed up by Tim Rogers. In true rock and roll fashion, they were shirtless by the third song, with impressive dad-bods.
Taiwanese band Dharma were an fascinating combo of ancient Buddhist sutras with modern death metal. An incense burner at the front of the stage was a pleasant touch. Melbourne outfit Pizza Death was an amusing interlude. Their short sharp songs all reference pizza. You know that one mate that goes to the pizza bar and orders pasta. It’s not a pasta bar, mate. A pineapple onstage apparently ended up in the crowd and there was a rumour that someone in the front row was hit on the back of the head with it. Luckily as the day progressed, the stage timing got back to normal and the wrestling and jousting performances that were meant to fit in between acts also could run to schedule.
Some of the things that were organized well – plenty of toilets, great food trucks and spaces to sit, a large hall with seating, merch and tattooists, great weather. Naturally the music was the main attraction, with Fear Factory, Thy Art is Murder and Northlane all putting on massive shows including spectacular light displays.
Overall it was a massive day out, with a few small niggles, but a VERY solid day of heavy metal music.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
For more details about the Froth and Fury Festival, which took place on Saturday 9th November, head here: https://www.frothandfuryfest.com/ – and enjoy all the photos below!
