Paleface Swiss - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 5th September @ Northcote Theatre, Melb VIC

Paleface Swiss
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC
September 5th, 2025
‍Supports: Nasty and Lune

‍The growing success of European metalcore/deathcore is undeniable, with new bands from the likes of Germany, France, Russia, United Kingdom and more constantly popping up on our radar, breathing fresh energy and regional uniqueness into what at times can feel like a stale and oversaturated scene.

Following the breakthrough success of Bern-based metalcore act Breakdown of Sanity some years ago, the quintet has carved a path for other Swiss acts to follow, which brings us to Paleface Swiss - a band rapidly emerging as the defining force of Switzerland’s heavy music scene. Taking the world by storm with their beatdown slamming elements fused with a traditional deathcore sound, their eventual debut headline Australian tour was simply inevitable.

I arrived at the sold out venue just in time to catch the opening track from Melbourne based openers Lune. Having seen this band perform many times previously, I was sure I knew what to expect, however, the quartet have since intensified their performance, operating like a well-oiled machine, worthy of making them Australia’s next heavy music export. As vocalist Nathaniel Smith stares down the crowd with a fierceful presence, he carves through the tracks with his blistering highs and lower than hell lows, all while his brother and guitarist Krys Smith and bassist David Freeland competently deliver riffs that were backed strongly by the drumming talents of Harrison Mills which sent the growing crowd into a hysteria early on in the night's festivities. Capping off the performance of a brand new, unreleased track titled ‘All I Am’, which we can expect a studio release of some time in the near future, stays true to the groups heavy roots and will surely push this class act further along on their path of an upwards trajectory.

Following a brief intermission, it was then time for Belgian/German beatdown stalwarts Nasty to take to a Melbourne stage for the first time in their 21 year existence. The energetic presence of the four-piece was so powerful it seemed almost tangible. With low-tuned, beefy guitar riffs ripping through the venues crystal clear sound system, backed by the ferocious attitude of frontman Matthias “Matthi” Tarnath, who stalked the stage from left to right, then back again with a facial expression which bore the question of ‘are you fucking listening?’, which of course the answer was yes. All of which was amplified by the overwhelmingly energetic drumming from Christian “Nash” Fritz who could be seen beating his drums as if they owe him money, resulting in a violent slew of bodies being thrown amongst the mosh-pit area. Roughly halfway through the set during popular track ‘Rock Bottom’, a guest vocalist who I am yet to familiarise myself with further invigorated the set with his deep growls that left me scratching my head thinking ‘who was that and where can I hear more of what he has to offer?’. As the palpable energy maintained its high momentum, the set peaked during fan favourite ‘Shokka’, which had seemingly the entire band room full of concertgoers moving at once, with nobody standing still.

After grabbing a drink and leaving for some fresh air, I re-entered the 1400 capacity venue to find it overwhelmingly full of punters, which made reconnecting with my friends within the crowd unbearably difficult. Squished amongst others in attendance, I witnessed the Swiss deathcore powerhouse Walk into what would become their debut headline appearance in Melbourne, just one week shy of the anniversary of their first ever Melbourne show last year supporting In Hearts Wake, marking a heartfelt milestone in their rising journey. Kicking things off with ‘Hatred’, the Swiss group wasted no time in raising the bar. Seemingly bursting with passion and liveliness, the highly animated and enthusiastic four-piece blazed through their set while frontman Marc ‘Zelli’ Zellweger effortlessly spat venom into the mic without any sign of strain or struggle while claiming to be suffering with a sore throat, proving that the well-rounded vocalist can thrive under what might be considered challenging circumstances.

As the night progressed, Zelli took a moment to address a specific fan within the crowd by saying “before this show we were at a restaurant getting dinner and we were approached by someone who is a member of the audience here tonight. He told us that he flew to Melbourne from Japan just to see this performance.” before spotting this individual on the barrier and handing him a copy of the night's setlist, along with a guitar pick, highlighting to me the genuine appreciation that this group have for the supporters of their music. This was shortly before Zelli and drummer Cassiano “Cassi” Toma shared a mouth to mouth kiss on stage shortly before Zelli passionately announced to the crowd “If you have a problem with that, leave this fucking room right now”, before exploding into ‘Enough?’

‍With an abundance of deafening singalongs and excessive moshing, not at any point did the set lull at any point, but rather remained captivating from start to finish, Which held true even during the performance of their softer track, ‘River of Sorrows’ regardless of having a sore back and tired legs from maintaining my spot in what seemed to be an oversold crowd. As the crowd rounded out their seventy-five minute long set with tracks such as ‘Best Before: Death’, ‘Please End Me’, and ‘666’, it was extremely evident just how adored this group are by the Melbourne heavy music community, signalling a very welcomed return sooner rather than later.

Before finishing the set with encore track ‘Deathtouch’, Zelli expressed his continued gratitude for the opportunity to be able to travel to a country as far away from home as Australia and play a show of such calibre.

European heavy music is on the path to take the crown of deathcore/metalcore capital (in a content context) and Paleface Swiss are making their mark amongst the finest coming out of their region. It is a mere pipe dream for many to headline a foreign city for the first time, performing to a sold out 1400 strong crowd, but Paleface Swiss can now say ‘been there, done that” as they look towards what's next in their bright future.

Written by Adam Rice

Setlist

Hatred
Suppressing Times
My Blood On Your Hands
Youth Decay
...And I Hope you'll Be Damned
Nail To The Tooth
I Am A Cursed One
The Gallow
Enough?
Don't You Ever Stop
Best Before: Death
River Of Sorrows
Please End Me
666
Pain
Love Burns
Deathtouch

Photo Gallery by Jade Vassiaras @a.snapshot.of. Please credit Wall Of Sound and Jade Vassiaras when respoting photos.