Review: Iron Mind @ Jive 04/07/25
Touring the country in support of their third long player, Test of the Iron Mind, Melbourne favourites Iron Mind delivered a blistering set of high-intensity hardcore when they played Adelaide’s Jive.
Words and Image Will Oakeshott
Iron Mind w/Horsepower, Culture Shock and Time Ends @ Jive 04/07/25
“Prevail despite all pressure.” - Sam Octigan, ‘The Crucible’, Test Of The Iron Mind 2025.
We are living in difficult and uncertain times. Economic turmoil, the probability of World War III is terrifyingly looming, illnesses are rampant throughout the globe, natural disasters are frequent and devastating, healthcare is becoming less affordable and available; each day seems to carry with it more news of suffering and constant declines in the states of various affairs.
The arts, however, can help humanity persevere.
For decades, the hardcore genre has thankfully featured many acts that uphold messages of “resilience” and “tenacity,” encouraging strength and positivity in challenging times. Gratefully, Australia is home to one of the premier acts that embrace this resolution, Melbourne's Iron Mind. To celebrate their newly released and critically acclaimed third album Test Of The Iron Mind, and further advocate their quoted lyrical empowered motif: “Prevail despite all pressure.”
The quintet invited along three outfits who shared this motivation and fundamentally, inspired the spectators to forge ahead in the face of adversity. Here is what unfolded
Adelaide's Time Ends kicked off the event with their blend of progressive moshcore, quickly transforming Jive from a mellow atmosphere to a magnificently malicious mosh extravaganza. Stage dives, windmills, fly-kicks, two-step dancing and microphone hijackings became the “modus operandi”, and the excitement of it all was beyond palpable.
‘Progress’ was a highlight, with its stomping metallic hardcore and moments of Cavelera groove. Its energy was so infectious that even bassist Nicole Fickling was inspired to fling her bass over her shoulder and two-step dance, while occasionally windmilling between backing screams to frontman Lucas Gonzalez. It must be acknowledged that Lucas is unquestionably one of the most heartfelt and passionate hardcore vocalists in the Adelaide hardcore scene. His between-song addresses were filled with gratefulness and honesty – it genuinely warmed the spirits of everyone within the venue. Undeniably an act to keep an eye and ear on.
Culture Shock followed and moved the soundscape toward the hardcore punk realm superbly. Their introduction was an explosion – pile-ons, fly-kicks and mosh-dancing overwhelmed the dancefloor whilst the most enthusiastic attendees jumped and clambered to astonishing heights to have their moment screaming into the microphone. Demands to “Fuck It Up!” were frequent and the guest vocalists who invaded the stage were remarkably recurring in a celebratory attitude. ‘The Shrine’ was a raw and uncompromising onslaught of hardcore madness, and ‘.308’ was the absolute pinnacle, a venomous blast of intensity that Backtrack would have admired.
This writer has had the great fortune of witnessing Culture Shock on multiple occasions, and their live showcase is certainly one you become absorbed in. To what degree though, is up to the onlooker - stage dives can admittedly be a delightfully dangerous endeavour.
READ MORE: Review: LANDMVRKS @ The Gov 13/05/25
Melbourne’s Horsepower had the role of main support and were champing at the bit to give both full-flight and fight with their demonstration to Adelaide (again). ‘Change Of Heart’ was an earth-shaking metallic hardcore stomper that incited sprinting and cartwheels from their aficionados until the wall-crumbling beatdown blasted all within Jive, and the ninja-mosh moves were immense as a ravishing result. ‘Do It’ was a punk powerhouse that New England’s Outbreak wished they had written and would hopefully bring them out of retirement (please?!).
These musical fluctuations were the most wondrous characteristic of the quartet. At times they were as hectically heavy as Lionheart, then in an instant, they could be as melodically inspirited as Perth’s Miles Away. For the audience, this comprehensive exploration of hardcore was savagely serendipitous, and Horsepower’s A Tear Or Two EP is a must-have if these aforementioned acts are on admirers’ playlists.
Melbourne’s Iron Mind were not going to waste any time in electrifying their fanbase at Jive this night. After a shortened version of the ‘Intro’ from their most recent and phenomenal third LP, the quintet launched into ‘More Pain’, vocalist Sam Octigan became a manic preacher of perseverance, with his outstanding band members elevating this energy in hardcore form. Undoubtedly, First Blood would have also engaged enviously in the thriving mosh-antics once this belter was set alight in a live setting. The thrash-groove of ‘How You Get Down’ provoked mosh moves from the entire spectrum, as well as a deafening shout-along to the title of the track when poetically delivered by Mr. Octigan. The resoluteness of this exhibition was incredibly immeasurable, and that vitality echoed off the walls and ceiling of the venue brilliantly.
‘Assume Your Ultimate Form’ was a metallic hardcore marvel that pulsated with its rhythmic devastation, which the crowd relished incomprehensibly. The five-piece then wound the clock back with ‘Nail Becomes The Hammer’ as a thankful recognition to their long-time fans and the Adelaide hardcore scene. This appreciative motif was furthered masterfully with ‘Look Into My Eye’ and ‘Guilt’, the latter being colossally crushing in the elite fashion. ‘The Calm And The Storm’ impossibly escalated all of this to the next echelon, and that empowering aura was beyond the bounds of possibility to ignore; simply exceptional.
‘T.I.M.E’ was fantastically frantic, and all of Iron Mind accelerated into a thrash-bound voracity that set the speakers and crowd afire in the best way possible. ‘The Iron Mind’ then heightened that sensational sentiment, but also displayed the “endurance” subject matter which the quintet embraces and encourages so poetically, it entrusts self-belief exquisitely.
The closer was somewhat expectedly ‘Solitary Realm’, a Christopher Nolan metallic hardcore epic that will assuredly become an anthem in the Australian (and more-than-likely global) hardcore landscape in the near future. The gang vocals, the vibrant viciousness, and a breathtaking groove beatdown that alters the witnesses’ senses sublimely – this is indisputably a monument.
For if only a few hours, the attendees had, in-all-probability forgotten about the negative happenings in their lives, and truth be told, the current state of the world. Iron Mind, or even hardcore music, may not have all the answers. However, both the band and, to an extent, the genre alike, harbour inspirational tools to strengthen our resilience.
“Prevail despite all pressure.”
