Like spaghetti and meatballs, fashion and music go hand in hand. The year’s latest fashion trend? Anti-religion.

According to the grapevine, it’s now cool to wear shirts with an ‘Inverted Cross’ or anything that has ‘I hate God’ on it. Even hipsters have jumped on this train and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. So it wasn’t a surprise when I arrived at The Factory Theatre to see a swarm of people sporting anti-religious t-shirts. I guess 2010 is the year to hate on God and worship Satan.

Newcastle faux-metal-poser band The Storm Picturesque were lucky enough to snatch supporting slots for tonight’s show. Judging by their performance, they definitely didn’t get picked for their skills.

The band was more worried about how their hair looked and showing off their awesome guitar swings rather than actually playing their instruments. The whole set was just a mess. The sound was appalling (and no it wasn’t the sound engineers fault) and the guitarists were out of time with the drummer. Vocalist Jordan Wright encouraged people to move and start circle pits, however not a single person moved throughout their entire set.

After standing through that ordeal I needed a drink or two. Up next were Sydney hardcore band Hand of Mercy and they were astounding. The last time I saw them was at Hot Damn! supporting The Ghost Inside and within that short time they’ve grown exponentially in skill, while perfecting their live performances. Their set was engaging and full of raw energy. Vocalist Scott B ruled the stage with his commanding vocals, playing a set made up mostly of new songs from their upcoming album. The only downside was that their set ended as soon as it began.

American metalcore band Unearth entered the stage raising their beers high in the air. Lead singer Trevor Phipps is an exceptional vocalist and made a constant effort to engage the crowd, urging them to get involved. Playing tracks mainly from their older records, they opened with ‘Crow Killer’, the set mainly appealing to die hard fans. During ‘Sanctity of Brothers’ I felt a cold shiver pass through my spine, as if a demon had just possessed me or maybe it was the alcohol,
whichever you prefer but I decided to jump into the pit and proceeded to crowd
surf over a couple of metal heads (I never crowd surf). It wasn't
until their last song ‘Black Hearts Now Reign’ that my inner demon was
fully unleashed in the form of sculling beers and raging in the pit,
oh metal music how I've missed you.

The Black Dahlia Murder is undisputedly one of the best bands in their genre. Vocalist Trevor Strnad’s ability to alternate between high pitched shrieking and demonic growls make this band stand out from the rest. ‘Unhallowed’, ‘Funeral Thirst’ and ‘Necropolis’ were furiously unleashed, turning the crowd into frenzy.

However, it’s not a one man effort. Drummer Shannon Lucas is the spine that holds the band together with his mind-blowing drumming proficiency - he did not miss a single beat! Combining this with Brian Eschbach and Ryan Knight’s bone crunching guitar riffs and Ryan William’s pounding bass lines creates a sound so flawless that even Satan himself would head bang in approval.

With a good mix from each of their albums - from ‘Everything Went Black’ to ‘Christ Deformed’ - each sound was played with such fervor, the crowd loved every second of it. To finish their scorching set ‘I Will Return’ proved why they were the best. Captivating the entire venue, it was impossible not raise your horns and head bang.