One of the greatest things about Australia - the city of Sydney in particular - is the fact you can find people of practically every nationality and heritage. All you need to do to find them collectively is lure them in with one of their own - particularly if they're European. And lo, with Biffy Clyro finally making a stop at the Metro after delaying their January tour, the thick Scottish burr was not only commonplace amongst the audience, but anyone speaking otherwise couldn't help but feel out of place. Biffy might not have sold out the venue, but the reaction they were given certainly suggested the reaction of a sold-out venue three times the Metro's size. With good reason, mind - the trio gave the audience more than their money's worth, sweating out every last note and selling every track in the setlist as if it were the last song they might ever play.

The good thing about Biffy Clyro fans is that they're only there to see one band. Unfortunately, After the Fall weren't that band. Nobody went out of their way to boo, but perhaps the apathetic silence and crossed arms said more than jeering ever could. Even so, it's not as if the Central Coast band did anything to generate a negative response. The band have changed in line-up since their 2004/5 heyday (new drummer, only one guitarist) but their straightforward, energetic take on Australian rock remains the same. It was certainly a trip to hear "Sunshine Showers", "A Friend Named Karma" and "Mirror Mirror" as the first three songs after all these years - who'd have known one could feel nostalgia after just a half-decade? The newer material from last year's In-Exile didn't fare as well, but the band still put as much effort in and it resulted in a strengthened sense of likability. There were even some heads nodding by the time the band finished with Always. Forever. Now.'s "Concrete Boots". Given the recent success of the band's previous contemporaries, such as Gyroscope and Kisschasy, one can't help but wonder what might have been if the band hadn't stagnated in the four years between their second and third albums. Still, After the Fall seem content with working their way back up the rungs, and tonight seemed a good start preceding their upcoming tour in support of Gyroscope. Welcome back, boys.

With a half-hour wait in-between acts, it wasn't a question of if a "Mon the Biff!" chant was going to start, but how many times and how quickly it would take to get really  annoying. Thankfully, "the Biff" made the wait worth it. Tearing straight into "That Golden Rule" from their fifth and most successful album, Only Revolutions, it didn't take very long at all for the moshpit to fire up and for relentless frontman Simon Neil to get sweaty - dude didn't even bother with a shirt, if that's any indication. Progressing to "Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies" barely seconds after "Golden" finished, the trio roused an en-masse singalong in the midst of their thrashing, volatile energy. It was nothing short of a spectacle, as Neil and the Johnston brothers were treated like definitive rock gods - you'd have never picked Biffy to have such a devout and boisterous audience in Australia if you weren't there yourself.

The set borrowed heavily from the band's last two albums, 2007's Puzzle and the aforementioned Only Revolutions. Interestingly, it was when the band went back as far as 2004 with "There's No Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake" that the band not only delivered one of the most intense renditions of the entire night; but also displayed how far they have come in developing the sound they have today. The contrast didn't come in quality - they've been consistently good with their discography - but rather in terms of the diversity of their musical stylings. Hit single "Mountains", perhaps the foremost example of their current style, was a mid-set surprise; whilst "Born on a Horse" saw bassist James Johnston try out some synthesizer with notes so deep you could literally feel it in the back of your knees. They're at a fearless stage of their careers, feeling as if they've nothing to prove. This is not only reflected in the tracks lifted from Only Revolutions, it was reflected in the entire performance - sure, the energy levels don't drop for one second, but not once does their shtick ever feel forced or even rehearsed. The band work off their own personal on-the-fly impulsions and the reaction the crowd gives them, and both were at impressive highs throughout.

Neil returned solo acoustic in the encore to perform the final track from Puzzle, the beautiful "Machines". Much like "Jaggy Snake", one of the more out of place moments of the set turned into a defining moment in the performance. The lighters came up, the crowd sang Neil's backing vocals while he took the lead and there were even a couple of misty-eyed Scotsman near the front as the lyrics "take the pieces and build them skyward" repeated over and over in the lead-up to the final crescendo. You know you're in power when you can control an entire room with simply your voice and your acoustic guitar - especially a mosh-hungry, loutish rock crowd. Kudos for that one, Simon.

As "The Captain" ended on a well-known high, it would have been incredibly difficult to walk away from the performance a dissatisfied punter. Biffy Clyro gave it everything they had, as one can only assume they do every night; and their audience were all the happier for it. See these guys live, and then chant Mon The Biff until you're hoarse. Oh, and you don't have a say in the latter happening if the former does. Just so you know.

SETLIST:
That Golden Rule
Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies
Glitter and Trauma
Bubbles
9/15ths
Shock Shock
Who's Got a Match?
Justboy
God and Satan
Mountains
Bodies in Flight
Born on a Horse
Saturday Superhouse
A Whole Child Ago
There's No Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake
Many of Horror
Whorses

ENCORE:
Cloud of Stink
Machines
Convex, Concave
The Captain