LIVE REVIEW: POISON THE WELL + HAYWIRE + IRON MIND + WETWORK @ THE PRINCESS THEATRE 14/06/26

Words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi Photos Charlyn Cameron

It was a boisterous Sunday night filled with hardcore metal classics both old and new. Poison The Well brought the searing Boston hardcore group Haywire to deliver their debut set in Brisbane along with Melbourne’s hardcore veterans Iron Mind and local Brisbane band Wetwork in support at the Princess Theatre. 

The evening opened with local hardcore purveyors Wetwork. The band consists of Dylan (guitars), Mina (drums), Mark (guitar), Lucas (vocals) and Noah (bass). The band had an introduction before Lucas stated, “Get the fuck up Brisbane” and followed it with an almighty roar as the track ‘Prox-Ring’ was delivered. The mosh pit fired up from the first note as the dancers spun and kicked.

The songs ‘Streak’ and ‘Sulfate’ followed. The drummer slayed as she kept the beat as the guitars and bass delivered plenty of riffs and grooves. Lucas had a fantastic voice. The band stopped for a short breather and a drum kit fix as Lucas explained the set of new and old songs. He explained the album coming in the near future and told the crowd, “I’m not good at talking between songs” and “we have one more old song and five new ones to play you”.

Wetwork then played ‘Still Wet’ before the new songs ‘Let Go’, ‘Mirrors’, ‘Visions’, ‘Deaf’ and the song ‘Wetwork’ were performed. The band got the crowd warmed up and delivered roaring power to the crowd. It was a strong start to the evening from the five-piece as they set the tone perfectly for the evening ahead.

Melbourne based Iron Mind: Sam Octigan (vocals), Neil Bloem (guitar), Akira Asahina (guitar), Dan Collins (bass) and Josh Barclay (drums) commenced their heavy hardcore frenzy with an eloquent spoken word introduction about resilience in the face of life’s disappointments and one that finished with the aggressive statement: “…I won’t stay down, no more pain? Fuck that, more pain! How much you got? How much you got? How much you fucking got?!” Then, bang! The set opened with ‘More Pain’.

The band members stomped and circled as front man Sam Octigan sang over the bombardment of groove beatdowns. With a ‘What’s up Brisbane” and his spat-out line, “Keep your head above the water”, Sam Octigan incited chaos. “Brisbane, show me: ‘How You Get Down’” and the mosh responded with wild dancing and the barrier rattled with the headbangers. Iron Mind followed it with ‘Assume Your Ultimate Form’.

Iron Mind delivered a blistering set of high-intensity, no-frills, hardcore as ‘Nail Becomes The Hammer’ was performed and the band had their shirts off as the sweat flowed. Then, the band towelled down before ‘Look Into My Eyes’ and ‘Guilt’ were delivered at rapid pace. The band’s blend of muscular riffs and relentless intensity was met with the crowd responding in kind.  The vocalist Sam Octigan was like a demon possessed, leading the pit into battle as the band launched into uncompromising track after track: ‘Solitary Realm’ and ‘Test Of The Iron Mind’.

The quintet expressed their gratitude for being on “this awesome tour” as they thanked the other bands, management and venues for the opportunity to play with Poison The Well – a band they have admired. The last track in Iron Mind’s set was ‘Calm And The Storm’ and they had more than proved why they are the “best hardcore band in Australia”.

The change overs between the bands were really quick. The next band up were Haywire – and they were going to perform their first ever set in Brisbane.

Boston-based band Haywire took to the stage and immediately raised the performance intensity. The band emerged to perform “the national anthem of Australia” as the guitarist played the opening riffs of The Angels’ immortal classic ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ and the singalong began in full volume as they instantly won over the Brisbane crowd.

Fronted by Austin Sparkman, the band (bassist Eli, drummer Pat and guitarist Garrett) delivered a sharp, high-energy set that balanced hardcore urgency with big chant-ready lyrical hooks. The singalongs were huge as the band urged the crowd “to show us what you got” as the crowd sang along at full volume. Haywire ripped through the likes of the fabulous fun ‘Summer Nights’, ‘Hang Up The Telephone’, the chanting ‘Haywire’ and ‘Boot Boys’.

Then, the ‘Boot Party’ started and they followed it with ‘Poser Disposer’. Songs about ‘Feeling Depressed?’ and ‘The Henchmen’ were performed in a fast and furious manner. Austin Sparkman was the perfect front man as he told story arcs about the songs and his life experiences. The crowd loved it! There was a break to espouse love’s virtues in ‘Love Song’ with added 1950s rock music and the tying up of shoelaces. Before ‘Always By My Side’ and ‘Clocktower Place’ kept the set ticking along before the huge moment of the cover of ‘Shed’ by Title Fight set the venue alight.

Then, Haywire closed their set with ‘Like A Train’, and that’s what the crowd felt like they had been hit with as Haywire cemented their place in Australia’s hardcore scene. The band promised to return to Australia in August and this statement was met with thunderous applause and approval from the crowd that clearly hopes they will be back to our shores very soon.

And then, it was time for the main event. Miami's Poison The Well and the last time they were here in Brisbane – it was late 2009. It’s been a while! So, the crowd were ready to reconnect with the band.

Poison The Well had a pivotal role in shaping the modern hardcore metal scene. They are a band who have always embraced, as Iron Mind explained about them, “Poison The Well have always been able to blend heavy music, art and poetry” in their sonic soundscapes. The set delivered by Poison The Well was a vivid mix of brutality, melodic melody lines and dense lyricism.

The band came to the stage with ‘Still’ by Geto Boys playing as an introduction. Before they launched straight into fan favourites ‘Botchla’, ‘Zombies Are Good for Your Health’ and ‘Slice Paper Wrists’ that had the crowd screaming along with their arms stretched up before they stopped and addressed the crowd.

“It’s been a fucking long time since we’ve been here!” stated lead vocalist Jeffrey Moreira. He welcomed old and new fans to their headline performance of their music, but especially to those fans who have found the band through ‘Peace in Place’, their first album in 17 years. Then, Poison The Well played the first new song of the night, ‘Thoroughbreds’.

Throughout their set, Poison The Well sounded heavy and the rhythm section’s drive provided by Noah Harmon (bass) and Chris Hornbrook (drums) was enormous. Then, the following songs, ‘A Wish For Wings That Work’, and the emotional ‘12/23/93’ that had the phone lights out. It was one of the set’s most intense tracks. You could feel the power in the songs ‘Everything Hurts’, ‘To Mandate Heaven’ and ‘Letter Thing’.

The emotional songs had the melodic guitar riffs delivered by Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver as the tracks ‘Artist's Rendering Of Me’ that had the crowd screaming along. Then, the anthem of ‘Not Within Arms Length’ and the fantastic, and one of the set’s highlights, ‘Wax Mask’ were all well received by the crowd. The melodic guitar riffs made Poison The Well’s sonic soundscapes truly unique.

Poison The Well continued with ‘Mid Air Love Message’, before ‘Ghostchant’ exploded from the start and the crowd bounced along and the mosh went off even through the crooned and instrumental sections, and it was another highlight. The band even got a bit into pop music with ‘Parks And What You Meant To Me’ and it was followed by ‘My Mirror No Longer Reflects’.

The set was closed with ‘Nerdy’ and it had a frantic finality to it. The mosh pit heaved, the crowd was going off and there were arms in the air as the melodic chorus had voices singing along. It was a wild and explosive finale.

What was amazing about the night was that the four bands had such different takes on hardcore. It just proves that variety is the spice of life as Wetwork, Iron Mind, Haywire and Poison The Well had their own flavour and style. It was a banquet of music that was “heavy, art, poetry”.