LANDMVRKS - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 11th May @ 170 Russell, Melb VIC

LANDMVRKS
170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
May 11, 2025
Supports Bad Juju and Fallweather

I was fortunate enough to witness French metalcore quintet LANDMVRKS' debut Australian headline show roughly fifteen months ago, at a small Fitzroy band room with no more than fifty concertgoers in attendance. Following a period of immense growth, the group returned to perform at a sold out 1,000 capacity venue. ‘Highly anticipated’ is a phrase that is used so frequently that it often loses its meaning. However, following the recent release of their stellar album The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been, anticipation to witness LANDMVRKS perform was truly at record heights.

I arrived at the venue shortly before doors opened at seven o’clock and was taken back to see how many punters had lined up so early. A lengthy queue wrapped around the venue, with hundreds of heavy music fans eager to secure their spot within the venue floor before Fallweather began their performance at eight o’clock. As the Melbourne based melodic-hardcore five-piece took to the stage, I was taken back again by their enjoyably aggressive energy and confident composure. With built up tensions climaxing at multiple ‘no holds barred’ breakdowns, this group can be simply described by one word - badass. Canadian vocalist Cullen Forbes seamlessly held the attention of everyone in attendance with animated composure, and even at one point swapped the microphone with his band mate's guitar, as the two swapped roles for a length of time, proving to be a group of well rounded musicians, and far from being one-trick ponies. This was my first time as a Fallweather gig attendee, but I can confidently say that it won’t be my last.

With a lengthy thirty-five minute wait until the next act, all those in attendance were evidently chomping at the bit to see what Bad Juju had to offer. Being a soft rock/indie act sandwiched between two heavy bands, the group had the challenging task of winning over a venue full of heavy music fans, and unfortunately, they failed to grasp my attention in this instance. However, others were getting into the spirit of this act's performance by shining phone lights, waving arms from side to side, and even some singing along, so perhaps my thirst for heavier music got the best of me in this instance, which would explain as to why my interest piqued when Hate Complex vocalist Jesse Dylan jumped on stage to perform guest vocal gutturals.

With another unusually long wait between bands, I found myself beginning to feel flat within the packed music venue, but I was quickly reinvigorated by the sight of LANDMVRKS’ latest album artwork displayed across the stage's visualiser as the venue's lighting dimmed. Vocalist Florent Salfati appeared on stage and without a second to spare began rapping the introduction of the groups hit single ‘Creature’, which is a song the ebbs and flows between French verses and an English chorus, giving the crowd of English speaking concertgoers the opportunity to both sing along and quietly take in the performance. With renditions of old and new tracks such as ‘Death’, ‘Blistering’, ‘Visage’, ‘Sulfur’ and more, it continued to become more and more evident of exactly how high calibre this act is. Like cogs in a well maintained machine, each member had a job and they executed it flawlessly. Synchronised headbanging, air punches and high kicks presented almost like a show within a show and had my eyes locked on all three guitarists, while Salfatti vicariously darted from left to right, then back again while singing, staying true to the studio recordings by emulating its quality perfectly.

After an eight track build up of heavy back to back hits and breakdown after breakdown, the set took a surprising, yet wholeheartedly welcoming turn, with Salfatti single-handedly performing an acoustic rendition of 2022’s ‘Suffocate’, which was so breathtakingly beautiful that fewer dry eyes were in the room by the time the track was brought to completion. Without any sign of strain, the group then returned their energetic output to fifth gear with heavy tracks ‘Tired Of It All’, ‘Rainfall’ and ‘Lost In A Wave’, which featured the guest appearance of Fallweather vocalist Cullen Forbes.

As the festivities slowly made its way towards it’s conclusion, a technical issue arose during the performance of ‘Blood Red’, giving reason for the band to perform it twice, which brought a smile to my face as I tried to squeeze every bit of juice out the moment I found myself thoroughly enjoying. Once the performance of final track ‘Self Made Black Hole’ came to its conclusion, Salfatti promised the crowd that “We’ll see you very, very soon”, which left me feeling jolly, as honestly, observing a performance like this is good for the soul and everyone should indulge in it given the chance.

Truly, this performance was a show for the ages and is bound to be spoken about by those who witnessed it for some time to come. Brimming with passion and liveliness, this unique French act delivered a showcase of creativity that could be matched by very few as their bilingual capabilities, raw musicianship and individual flair puts them in a league of their own.

Review by Adam Rice @riceyadam

Setlist

Creature
Death
Blistering
A Line In The Dust
Visage
Sulfur
Say No Word
Scars
Suffocate (Acoustic)
Tired Of It All
Lost In A Wave
Rainfall
Blood Red
Self-Made Black Hole

Photo Gallery by Clinton Hatfield. Insta: @ampd.agency. Please credit Wall of Sound and Clinton Hatfield if you repost photos.