After having postponed their January tour, Emmure’s return this June has been highly anticipated, and with bands Shinto Katana, Dream On, Dreamer & Hand of Mercy also on the bill, this was a show I have been keen to attend. To my devastation, Dream On, Dreamer pulled out of the Sydney show last minute, with a post on their twitter announcing that they would be playing a headline show in Melbourne rather than filling their Sydney support slot for Emmure. A few unhappy Dream On, Dreamer fans around tonight.

Unfortunately my organisation skills failed me tonight as I did not check door times for the gig, and not knowing it was an early all ages show, turned up late missing the first two bands. A huge disappointment, however I did get to see the band I went for, Hand of Mercy. The last opportunity I had to see them was reviewing their show at Hot Damn, where I mentioned I’d like to see them in a better venue. Well tonight, I was in luck. The sound, although not amazing, was better, and I could actually see the band. Fantastic! Pulling most of their set from 2010 LP The Fallout including crowd favourites "Sick For It", and "Mr Nasty Time" we were treated to a short yet punchy set from HOM.

To follow up was Shinto Katana, a band I had not witnessed prior to tonight but had heard a lot about, so I was looking forward to the set. Clearly there was a lot of support for them in the room tonight, the wall was packed with eager underage hardcore kids at the front then the more mature crowd hovering around the mid to back of the room trying not to get hospitalised by this utterly stupid thing taking up the majority of the floor space. Supposedly called ‘hardcore dancing’, it consists of people swinging their arms and legs fast in the air in a type of capoeira-on-speed style. It does not interest me at all and maybe I am turning into an old person but it can ruin a set for me and tonight, that’s exactly what it did. Shinto Katana were at times excellent, tight guitar riffs and a lot of energy on stage, however I was too preoccupied trying to move out of the way of the ever-growing ‘handcore dance circle’ and complaining about the terrible sound to really enjoy the band. I don’t know what ever happened to the old school mosh pit, you know, jumping up and down at the front of the room?

Finding a somewhat tiny but more spacious spot at the very back of the room, to my delight I managed to actually see Emmure. Front the moment they took to the stage their set was undoubtedly a step above the rest which is what I would expect from this international band. I had much anticipated this gig after listening to their records for some time. Their crew knew how to mic the drums, and the sound tech knew how to make this band sound tight as ever, as well as the lighting guy doing quite a good job trying to give everyone a fit from the strobes; simple yet effective. He managed to always have the singer lit up, while the rest of the band came in and out of focus with the strobe lighting, which was pretty impressive and made for much more interesting visuals than the usual red and blue lights.

A well rounded set came from this New York five piece outfit, we heard tracks from their early Lp’s including "Rusted Over Wet Dreams" from their first album, Goodbye To The Gallows and "Sound Wave Superior" from their second, The Respect Issue. Of course their was a handful from their latest Speaker of the Dead, which had a fairly epic response, and seems to be a continuation of their success. Sometimes it does sound like this band writes songs specifically for a break-down. Don’t get me wrong I do love a good breakdown, but when there’s one every 30 seconds it can get quite repetitive and this is the only downfall I can spot with Emmure.

Overall, a good Sunday night gig to round out the long weekend. A shame Dream On Dreamer did a no show, and the sets were short and early, but Emmure brought it home in the end with a tight set.