Avalanche - The Duke 22/6/2023

Avalanche have been running strong with their residency shows at The Duke in June of 2023. With only two shows left for the month, it was essential to make the best out of it. Here, on a rainy Thursday, I decided to check them out for the second time following their successful Vanguard show on March the 3rd earlier this year.

The support band for the show is Terror Bite. Their energy is very accurate to how the 1990s hard rock pubs are portrayed. Though, their setlist created a contrasting juxtaposition between monstrous tunes (ie Wild'N'Free) and the softer, toned down ones for the songs which are unreleased. This gave me and the audience the impression that the band are showing their softer side. Their stage presence is immensely strong, given how Caelan and Max are wearing their hats backwards. Max still nails each and every guitar solo consistently throughout the set while Caelan shows us what his postures in playing bass can do. What grabbed my attention was how Ash looked like a fly flew around his eyes whenever he did any drum fills. This worked effectively as it got me headbanging for each tom and snare hit. Nathanael presents himself as the lead vocalist across 90% of the set while Caelan did main vocal duties for Wild'N'Free and Freedom. Freedom though got a well received audience participation towards the start as Caelan told the audience that the song has "just one word". The highlight for their set was Ryan of Avalanche jumped on guitar for a song; it created a very strong yet harmonious energy throughout the song. I was glad to have witnessed this moment first hand!

Headliner Avalanche showed no signs of slowing down throughout their monstrous 50 minute set. Given that they have two Duke residency shows left for June of 2023, it was critical the band all conveyed their energy and passion into their performance. And they successfully did. I was awestruck at how Steven articulated his high notes and screams perfectly and flawlessly across the entire set. Thus, when he was shirtless, the sweat dripping from his left elbow became prominent once he moved around very often. Ryan kept the flow and rhythm of the drumming smooth while Arthur flicked his long hair up on occasion. Veronica though grabbed my attention the most. Not only did she shred each guitar solo flawlessly, but she also stepped into the audience pit more than once. She even played in front of some of audience members and fans, which created harmony in the room. Hence, her lying down while shredding is the highlight of the show as she nails each note and technique with perfection. Overall, Avalanche performed a very strong and tight set which will get you into your metalhead roots and headbanging for their set.