LIVE REVIEW: FROM ASHES TO NEW + BANKS ARCADE @ THE TRIFFID BRISBANE 15/10/26

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi Photos Steph Ure

The genre-chameleon American rock band, From Ashes To New, are on their first headline tour of Australia. This band were seriously excellent at 2024’s Good Things, and it is great to see them back in the country. And, it was an end-of tour-blowout for Brisbane, as a sold-out crowd turned up to see the band live at The Triffid. It was a treat that From Ashes To New brought along New Zealand, now based in Melbourne band, Banks Arcade, to warm up the crowd.

The Triffid was almost full as Banks Arcade took to the stage to open the evening’s proceedings. There were many fans in ‘da house’ for the band that describe themselves on their Instagram page as an “NZ Heavy Metal Boy Band”. Banks Arcade set the tone with an energetic performance that showcased their genre-blending sound. The band launched into their set with ‘Move’ and followed it with a ‘clapalong’ for ‘Roulette’ as they opened the mosh pit for business.

The three-piece band of Joshua O'Donnell, James Feekes and Benny Canham brought the genre-bending sounds with a mix of heavy guitar riffs, electronic drums and synth elements paired with organic drums and aggressive vocals as they delivered songs from their 2026 album Second Place Superstar, such as ‘Know Me’, the heavy rock ballad ‘Severance’, ‘Mirror’ and the singalong, “I will find my way back to you”, with phone a lights moment and a walking cane shining with fairy lights held high in the air for ‘Last Time’.

Banks Arcade powered through the last part of their set as they delivered ‘Wait’ and had the mosh pit spinning to ‘Yuck!’. They closed out their set with ‘Don’t Miss’ and a command that “the guy with the afro needed to crowd surf in”, and he did, and he was followed by five young women crowd surfing into the barrier.

The Tetris game was played by The Triffid staff as the stage and equipment were cleared for the dynamic Pennsylvanian five-piece From Ashes To New. The PA played early 2000s nu-metal songs until about 3 minutes before the set started. The sound went up, and the Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’ blasted out and had the crowd dancing along.

The Triffid had filled to capacity. Then, as first member of the band hit the stage, the venue erupted. But vocalist Matt Bradyberry was not satisfied: “I can’t fucking hear you, Brisbane”, as he waved for more noise before the band tore into their heavy opening song, ‘New Disease’. From there, the set never let up. The other members of the band, Lance Dowdle, Mat Madro, Danny Case and touring guitarist Jimmy Bennett, launched into delivering a full-on rock concert with rap, hip-hop, heavy metal and pop rolled into the mix.

The band’s 14-song setlist was a mix of music from their first album to their new music on their fifth studio album, Reflections. According to USA Billboard, From Ashes To New, have just done something remarkable on the charts. Billboard wrote: “From Ashes to New is the third act to notch multiple No. 1s in 2026, joining Shinedown and Three Days Grace”. High praise and elite company for the band to hang with.

Danny Case kept the crowd on a short leash throughout the set. He stated: “From the front to the back, I want everyone jumping on the count of three,” before ‘Nightmare’ started. From Ashes To New were visibly moved by the Brisbane reception, with multiple comments made about the city’s loyal following of the band and how engaged the crowd was compared to other audiences.

The rapped song ‘Heartache’, the latest US Billboard No.1 song, ‘Drag Me’, had a big singalong moment, and ‘Black Hearts’ had the crowd bouncing along. The mosh pit was going off, and the crowd surfers had started (that same guy with the ‘fro was over the barrier first.) Then, the big guitar riffs hit with ‘Monster In Me’ and its heavy hip-hop beat.

From Ashes To New addressed the crowd, and there was a conversation about the importance of the next song to fans and Matt Bradyberry, about how the writing of the song and its adoption by others have taken people away from darkness in their lives. The “issue” of contracting illness and touring in Australia was also mentioned (some members of the band had been very unwell but had managed to continue the tour), and then there was the comment: “There is no way am I going to drink out of a boot.”

Then, Matt Bradyberry started to rap ‘My Name’ before the band re-joined him to give it a powerful kick. Then, Mario crowd surfed towards the band with a boot in his hand and was escorted away by security. From Ashes To New were not falling for that trick. What makes the genre-hopping band so good is the vocal sharing between Matt Bradyberry and Danny Case: they have that perfect connection in rhythm. ‘My Name’ was a set highlight. At the end of the song, Matt Bradyberry talked about how thankful they are to be in Australia, and he was so genuine in his appreciation of the love given by Australian fans to the band.  
A moment of calm followed as ‘Barely Breathing’ balanced out the high-octane adrenaline hit of the previous song. It was swaying arms and phone torches out before the energy climbed back to fever pitch for ‘Villain’, with added fists in the air. After the song, there was also a brief pause as From Ashes To New surveyed the crowd about age demographics. The two 65+ fans got a special mention.

From Ashes To New decided at this point to celebrate their ten years as band and threw the setlist back to ‘Through It All’, and the crowd could hear the change in tone and style. But many “OG” fans had their arms waving again. It was obvious that the fanbase were so happy to have From Ashes To New here in Brisbane and that this headline gig was important to them. The band acknowledged that hunger for seeing and hearing them and promised to be back soon.

Then, the heaviest song of the night hit with ‘Nothing’. The mosh pit was circling and bouncing as the rest of the crowd had hands in the air. The other set highlight was the fabulous ‘Die For You’. From Ashes To New stated before playing the song that they realised many people had found the band through this song. The response and singalong from the crowd was huge.

From Ashes To New looked tired, the result of illness was obvious, but the band had played their hearts out for the crowd. Matt Bradyberry stated that they would “not perform an encore”. But they left the crowd, and Australia, with one last song, and an instruction to “lose our fucking minds”, as they delivered the brilliantly heavy ‘Panic’. It was a fantastic way for From Ashes To New to close out their first Brisbane show on an emotional high.

While the band’s vocalists left the stage to recuperate, the rest of the band stayed on stage to soak in the love and atmosphere. The band acknowledged the fans with gifts of drumsticks, picks and setlists given out. It was great to see, as it had been a great set from a killer band.

The future looks very bright for From Ashes To New. Next time, they’ll need a bigger venue.