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Review By: Steve Shyu

Artist: SiM Supported by REVOID & Banks Arcade

Date: Thursday 12th September 2024

Venue: Princess Theatre, Brisbane, Australia

Doors had barely opened and there were already two blocks' length of people lined up outside Woollongabba's Princess Theatre.

Tonight marks my first ever gig in Brisbane, needless to say, I had no idea what size the Princess would be or how it would sound. Turns out the venue was a charming old art deco ballroom with brick walls, second storey viewing platforms and heaps of old-timey observation windows overlooking the floorspace. Can't say I've ever seen rock bands play in a place like this before!

I'd flown all the way from Aotearoa specially to see Japan's SIM play their first ever Australian shows, as part of the Playdead world tour. I had seen them on their home turf of Tokyo just six months ago and was blown away by their performance and swore to catch them again whenever they set foot down under. Brisbane called and I answered.

Local Brizzy metal legends Revoid were set to open the night, as were Banks Arcade, the New Zealand-born, Aussie-based alt-metal stalwarts. I could see no better way to break the seal on Australian gigs than witnessing these three giants.

Revoid wasted little time and launched the night with Burn With Me, a technical yet beautiful metal number. "Our job tonight is to warm you all up for our brothers in Banks Arcade", vocalist Dale Dudeson declared. Did he miss the memo on the main headline act?

In any case, in true modern metalcore fashion, Revoid ticked all the boxes. However, Australia has fostered a very particular style of metalcore in the past decade or so, and Revoid falls squarely in this domain. Along the likes of Polaris or Northlane, there are groove-laden riffs. Soaring vocals. Shrieks and guttural growls. Intricate guitar leads. And of course, crisp and crunchy breakdowns. It's all here, and it all sounded spectacularly well-balanced in this old auditorium.

Saving the best for last, Euphoria boasted some of the juiciest riffs, but unfortunately the ill-timed lighting left Revoid's members in the dark during the punchy breakdown. Never mind. The musicianship and delivery of the set definitely deserves praise.

By the time the quartet that is Banks Arcade emerged on stage, the floor of the Princess has packed up past the sound desk. The Thursday night crowd appeared invigorated but subdued... Perhaps they were saving their energy for the main event.

Fear not, for the catalyst in unlocking the crowd's power came during the second song No Future, where the frontman demanded a circle pit. From there, practically the entire audience were jumping, many with arms in the air.

Banks Arcade are known for their distinctive blend of R&B with guitars and breakdowns, as well as their dynamic live performances. While the guitarist and drummer hold down the meat and bones of each song, vocalist Josh O'Donnell and bassist Harlan Allen-Jones provided the stage presence and commanded the audience.

With one last "wall of death" during their final song Roulette, it was safe to say that this crowd was amped up and ready for SiM.

The "Silence Iz Mine" logo backdrop is glows in the stagelight; the nu-metal house music is dialled down. It's time for the act I flew all the way from Tamaki Makaurau to see.

One by one each member of SiM emerge and take a bow, then propel the eager audience into a frenzy with one of their recent singles, Under the Tree.

The energy of SiM's members was reflected in the audience throughout every song. From crowd favourites Hide and Seek and Blah Blah Blah, to the highly frenetic Devil in Your Heart and Baseball Bat, every performance brought out more and more energy.

This is in a large part thanks to frontman Mah’s exceptional ability to hold an audience's attention and even making people dance in specific moves. It was nothing short of a master-class in being a frontman!

Personally, the bass player Shinya and guitarist Shouhei were by far the most impressive to watch live. Their synchronised movements, spring-loaded headbangs, and shufflings back and forth on stage were dizzying to watch. There's a few bass player moves I wouldn't mind borrowing...

The crowd around me was highly energised, jumping about and singing along with far more words than even I knew! The song Red taken from their most recent record Play Dead - the tour's namesake tune - garnered a tremendous response from everyone in the crowd.

In a true show of devotion, most if not all of the audience remained and chanted "One more song!", after which, to everyone's delight, were treated to a two-song encore of F.A.I.T.H and a personal highlight of mine, Killing Me.

Lead singer Mah expressed great gratitude toward the crowd in attendance, and promised to return to Brisbane, hoping to gain entry to the festival circuit and perhaps to also “cuddle a koala”. Who knows, with any luck, SiM might even treat Aotearoa New Zealand to a gig in the future!