Review: Loathe @ The Gov 11/05/26
Experimental heavy beasts Loathe cemented their position as one of the world’s most ambitious metal acts going around with a mindblowing live performance at The Gov.
Words Will Oakeshott // Images Cameron Stemmler
Loathe w/Static Dress @ The Gov 11/05/26
“To ascend you must rise above, and I believe in the idea of keeping your ‘feet in the clouds and your head in the stars’.” – Jennifer Sodini.
Jennifer Sodini is a Los Angeles and Mexico-based writer, speaker, artist and producer whose creative endeavours expand to various disciplines of spirituality and art. She has published numerous best-selling guidebooks (and card decks) focusing on the convergence of esoteric philosophy and groundbreaking technology, breaking down the barriers between ancient wisdom and modern breakthroughs. Her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Vice and many more respected publications.
However, the question is: “What connects this forward-thinking writer with progressive heavy music?”
The answer can be discovered in the aforementioned quote about the pathway
“to ascend”. Figuratively, poetically, physically, artistically and other ventures immaculately describe the innovative heavy music which both Static Dress and Loathe dazzlingly dream up. Essentially, for themselves and their devotees, their art provokes ascension to having their collective “feet in the clouds” and heads “in the stars”.
This sensational showcase magically moved Adelaide to a higher level through adventurous metal music, and it was unforgettable.
Leeds’ Static Dress were making their debut Down Under via this tour, and were hell-bent on ensuring that Australians were going to unwaveringly remember them by knocking the attendees for six via their melodic-math-metalcore.
“Open up this shit!” was the commanding demand from frontman Olli Appleyard – the packed-out crowd obliged as best they could with the limited available space in The Gov.
‘Nostalgia Kills’ was the incredible introduction that fused the enthralling elements of earlier Architects (Hollow Crown) and Haste The Day (When Everything Falls/Pressure The Hinges). However, SD incorporated their own adventurous, delightful dalliances of beauty and brutality.
Guitarist/vocalist Vincent Weight, bassist/vocalist George Holding and Appleyard were beyond rampant on The Governor Hindmarsh’s platform, ambushing the audience like ravenous orcas. Playing with the concertgoers almost torturously as well as rapturously all at once, with bombardments of metallic beatdowns and thrashings of aerobic elevations having everyone’s feet seemingly in the clouds.
The quartet glistened in the darkness, exhibiting an array of new tracks from the forthcoming album Injury Episode, set for release at the end of May. During maniacal moments, the four-piece could obliterate their witnesses with Dillinger Escape Plan-esque discordant breakdowns. Then other times, such as ‘…Hospice’, Static Dress charmed their onlookers into emotional oblivion, aligning with the criminally underrated Boys Night Out (the smartphone illumination from the capacity crowd enhanced this motif majestically).
“We never thought we would be here,” Appleyard exclaimed, before announcing that Static had “enough of the sad songs.” SD exploded into ‘face.’, which was assuredly the pinnacle of their performance, channelling the glorious Glassjaw, although with (impossibly) more frenzied physicality.
Closer ‘clean.’ explored the earlier emo post-hardcore historic moments of Finch and A Static Lullaby; however, the ‘Dress delivered a theatrical undertone that was immeasurably infectious through the composition’s poetry.
“We don’t know if we will ever be back, but we are SO thankful we got to be here,” Appleyard exclaimed during their scintillating set.
They better be.
READ MORE: Review: Bowling for Soup + Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls @ Hindley Street Music Hall 09/05/26
As South Australia perceptibly returned from the clouds and stars, a lengthy delay and near overuse of a “white noise” soundtrack increased the tension of waiting for the heavily adored headliners.
8:40pm was the official launch time for Loathe’s scheduled demonstration.
8:45pm, the surroundings had not changed.
8:50pm, the aura of the entire venue had become distressing and discombobulated. Were the Scousers even present in The Gov? The city? South Australia?
The confusion was borderline overwhelming.
8:53pm, LIGHTS OUT!
The screams from the overabundance of supporters were practically excruciating. Loathe had finally arrived, and gravity had seemingly escaped The Governor Hindmarsh completely, in the best way possible.
Newer single ‘Gifted Every Strength’ became the launchpad for the electro-prog-djentcore experimentalists. Moving from crunching industrial dance metal to nu-metalcore devastation to Pink Floyd-inspired atmospheric prog rock – it was excellently excessive. All present had undergone an ascension to the stars - our feet were floating above the ground, in fact, weightlessness was in all likelihood the most accurate disposition for us all.
‘Screaming’ initially instigated a sing-and-dance along with its pop-driven groove, until the metalcore madness was intercepted with earth-shaking breakdowns. The song was remarkably heavier in a live setting, yet flawlessly spiritual with its ambience.
“Adelaide, how are we feeling tonight?” frontman Kadeem France enquired very quickly before Loathe erupted into ‘Aggressive Evolution’. The tremendous track charismatically combined electro-punk, djentcore, alt-metal, and sprinklings of hip hop into an artistic exploration of pure enchantment.
‘Broken Vision Rhythm’ was an electro-mathcore bewildering ruination that shook everybody to their core, and the venue to near collapse. If the witnesses’ heads were not in the stars at this point, they were more than likely seeing them.
“You ready?” Kadeem offered.
BOOM!
A cacophony of monstrous Meshuggah-flavoured metal pummelled Adelaide in the form of ‘Dance On My Skin’. Our feet were in the clouds, mostly because we could not feel them. Loathe had rocked our socks off! France simply crossed his arms and headbanged in appreciation of his hundreds of grateful adorers.
“Yo, Adelaide, how we feeling tonight? This is our first headline tour in Australia. Thank you so much for being here. We travelled a long way to get here, so get ready to have some fun…” the mesmerising frontman ordered.
No one was in the mindset to disobey.
‘Two-way Mirror’ slowed the exhibition down, but in a soulful shoegaze meets Deftones rejuvenation. Just as South Australia seemed to be entering a new orbit of dreamy hypnosis…
“Adelaide, you know what a circle-pit is? Open. It. UP!” KF insisted in his endearing Liverpool accent.
‘Heavy Is the Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts’ incorporated sirens, blackened extreme metal and mathcore psychosis with deathened severity. It was surprising that the ceiling had not collapsed from the cavernous onslaught.
‘A Sad Cartoon’ offered a bewitching enchantment in musical form and a revivification for the concertgoers, and Kadeem himself. Guitarist/vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe took the reins for the entirety of the song’s journey, thanking the brilliant bassist/keyboardist Ryan Chow for his sensational services while Feisal El-Khazragi was away with celebrated (new) fatherhood duties.
“I’m gonna shut up and play more songs,” the guitarist/vocalist humbly admitted.
The instrumental ‘Athena’ encapsulated the beauty of Disney’s FernGully before the newsingle ‘Revenant’ obliterated every sense known to humans with its devastating heaviness. ‘New Faces In The Dark’ was sent out to Loathe’s best friends in Static Dress, but wholeheartedly created a magnificent heavy metal hug that everyone needed on a Monday.
‘Dimorphous Display’ would have had The Prodigy envious with its ExperiMetal electro-punk ventures, ‘White Hot’ showcased Sean Radcliffe’s superhuman drumming. Then, ‘I Let It In And Took Everything’ transported all into a post-punk daze with djent-quakes of impossible magnitudes.
“Adelaide, you have been amazing, we have been Loathe,” Kadeem France announced in loving appreciation.
Predictably and gratefully, there was an encore.
“One more song? Two more? Three more? Play the whole new album?” Kadeem stated with a laugh.
‘Is It Really You?’ was the ballad that acted as the calm before the storm…
“I need this whole room opened as wide as it can go,” France implored.
‘Gored’ was the typhoon with a wall of death inclusive – its intensity caused Kadeem, Loathe, the crowd and the world to ascend and spin…
And our feet were in the clouds, our heads in the stars – thank you, Loathe and Static Dress for the metallic euphoria.
Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.
