I walked into Stay Gold which has to be my most frequent and favourite Melbourne Venue at this point and immediately knew it was gonna be one of those nights, like you could feel it in your stomach, floor sticky, someone spilling beer somewhere, smoke hanging low from outside, amps humming like they were alive, people already shoved in, muttering, bouncing, someone behind me yelling “this is insane” like yeah, no kidding. The air was thick and warm, smelled like sweat and beer and bad carpet and somehow it all felt right.
Bitter Kind hit first and oh my god, no messing around. Just noise, jagged, mic cutting in and out, didn’t matter, people shoved together in this half-pit that wasn’t even really a pit yet, people laughing, shouting lyrics. You could feel it, energy thickening, everyone buzzing, not gentle at all, perfect kind of chaos.
Seventh Circle came on and it snapped everything tighter. Riffs sharp, vocals in your face, pit actually moving now, people bouncing into each other, grins, laughter, someone behind me kicked over a cup muttered “shit” and kept going, floor shaking a bit, low ceilings making everything echo, that weird vibration in your chest. Someone screamed “fuck yeah” mid-song, felt like the room finally woke up.
No Life Complex came in from across the ditch and it was a total mess, the best kind. Songs felt like they might fall apart any second, crowd colliding, shoving, laughing, some wide-eyed, some grinning idiots, sweat dripping everywhere, someone got smacked in the back of the head and just laughed, like yeah this is normal. It felt like they brought a storm with them and dumped it in Melbourne. Someone behind me yelled “this is nuts” and yeah, nailed it.
Graphic Nature came next and oh man, first Aussie show, everyone talking about them all night. They hit so hard. Electronics buzzing under riffs, sharp, industrial, some people frozen mid-step, mouths open, some moving uncontrollably, grins spreading, someone spilled their drink right at the front didn’t even care, still headbanging, someone screamed “holy shit” at the ceiling. Didn’t feel like a support act, felt like headliners just showing up to remind us how heavy this gets. The icing on the cake was when vocalist Harvey Freeman stopped the set to talk about men's mental health and how us lads need to TALK about it because too many people are taking their own lives.
Then Diesect. Lights drop, room dark, Damien screams and the pit just blows up. Bodies flying, people climbing over each other, pure chaos. New 'Hide From The Light' songs hit harder live than record, people screaming lyrics even though the EP was barely out, old songs? CRAZY. Crowd surfers everywhere, people clinging to each other mid-pit, sweaty mess, hair in your face, someone got kicked in the leg and laughed it off.
Diesect aren’t polished, not in that shiny, neat way. They’re a storm. Damien’s vocals ripped out of his chest, every word bleeding, ugly, human. Exactly why people pack into Stay Gold. Every time they hit a breakdown, the room shook, bodies were bouncing, someone smashed their drink over the floor right in front of me and didn’t even notice, music so loud you could feel it in your teeth.
By the end, Stay Gold looked destroyed. People slumped on the floor by the bar, drenched in sweat, laughing with strangers they’d just collided with, shirts ruined, ears ringing, air thick with smoke and sweat. Someone muttered “best night ever” and yeah, that’s exactly it. Still buzzing, still feeling it hours later, floor sticky, head ringing, heart pounding.
Nights like this aren’t just gigs. They’re release, reset, pure human chaos and connection. Diesect didn’t just headline. They tore the place apart and somehow stitched everyone together in the mess. I still can’t stop thinking about it. I'm still feeling it.
