Review: Hellions @ The Gov 08/05/26

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of their acclaimed third studio album Opera Oblivia, Hellions ripped the roof off The Gov and left everyone craving for more.

Words Will Oakeshott // Images Thomas Jackson

Hellions w/The Beautiful Monument, RinRin & Jon Ann @ The GOv 08/05/26

“Aren't we ecstatic as we all dance along it?” Dre Faivre/Matt Gravolin, ‘Nightliner Rhapsody’, Opera Oblivia.

It is a complex and confusing world in which we currently exist. The cost of living literally brings to a halt the idea of “living” and actually enforces the idea of just “existing”. World War III is looming, yet somehow is more terrifying in its categorical “verging on” status than an actual declaration - the confusion is almost more petrifying. There is a saddening uprising of hatred toward our fellow human beings. The concepts of love, understanding and acceptance are borderline excluded instead of embraced.

What if we could time-travel to simpler times? What timeframe would be the first to visit? Better yet, what if it wasn’t even a venture of time travel, but purely an atmosphere of respect and reverence that we wanted to be immersed in?

What if all of these conceptualisations were possible?

Sydney’s progressive hardcore punks Hellions, alongside The Beautiful Monument, Rinrin and Jon Ann, made this possibility a reality. Whether it was rewinding the clocks back to 2016 or just living in the moment and dancing like no one was watching, reality was inverted for a magical evening.

“Aren't we ecstatic as we all dance along it?”

Local indie hardcore punks Jon Ann had the honour of opening the event and were certainly determined to make the most of the opportunity, regardless of the undersized yet growing audience. ‘Can You Keep Up’ was a blistering introduction channelling Canada’s Fucked Up with elements of Amyl And The Sniffers thrown in for magnificent measure. Latest single ‘Kings Cup’ would have had the Lambrini Girls dancing and raving in adoring appreciation.

The band’s chemistry was undeniably electric, showcasing the live vigour of Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells, but they incorporate many different sounds and textures into their punk formula. Moments of Black Sabbath and Pulling Teeth’s doom sonic landscapes are delightfully drizzled through, but softer and poppier moments are broadcast like their English cover of NENA’s ‘99 Luftballons’, which undoubtedly seized the crowd’s attention.

“At least one mosh or dance would be great?” the quintet collectively requested.

‘F With Me’ inspired exactly this, with multiple concertgoers engaging in the two-step mosh moves while frontwoman Christie HERoically howled over the grungecore extravaganza. Welcome to Scowl’s Australian brilliantly bratty cousin, Jon Ann – they put the “thrill” in “thrilling”.

Perth’s Rinrin created an atmosphere of respect and reverence that admirers of music want to be immersed in, but included within this universe was a savage storm of charismatic chaos exploding in thunderous electrocore.

Without doubt, it was a radiant demonstration to dance to and enhance one’s life with.

‘Washed’ initiated the exhibition with jangly nu-metalcore and trance moments that flaunted the wondrously lavish soundscapes of latter-day Bring Me The Horizon, BabyMetal and HANABIE. The audience was instantly engaged. This wasn’t just a performance; this was cinematic.

‘Chainsaw’ and ‘FCKNRUN’ sensationally synthesised magical melodies with metallic maliciousness – at times the quartet excellently exemplified the charming characteristics of POPPY, Reliqa and even Enter Shikari. ‘Killher’ unbelievably escalated all of these musical ventures further, with a hint of Amy Lee refinement. A lucky crowd member joined in as a guest vocalist, and the energy elevated gloriously.

“This song is the heaviest shit – it’s about FOOD!” Rinrin jokingly expressed as the four-piece launched into ‘CORNDOG!’, a synthpop delicacy that Owl City would be envious of.

“This song is about racism and fuck that shit!” the songstress announced and ROCKeted into the hip hop-driven, powerful political composition ‘FOB’. As a Filipino-born artist, it is beyond saddening to learn about her experiences in Australia. The track is an incredibly imposing scripture of honesty and should act as a wake-up call to the small-minded people with these intolerable beliefs.

‘SmokeBomb’ was an electro-alt-rock ballad that allowed Rinrin to let her angelic vocal prowess soar eloquently. Closer ‘Gunmetal Black’ combined everything that defines Rinrin artistically, but erupted in a kawaii experiemetalcore earthquake of dazzling derangement. Rinrin finished the performance atop her bassist and guitarist in a gymnastic pose, and ensured Adelaide would not forget her anytime soon.

READ MORE: Review: Superheaven @ Lion Arts Factory 05/05/26

“How you feeling, Adelaide?” vocalist Lizi Blanco of Newcastle’s The Beautiful Monument enquired of the building audience – there was barely time to answer, the quartet were already hurtling into ‘Hellbound’. This metallic gothic rock anthem fused the theatrical alt-metal of The Birthday Massacre with the haunting darkness of Madonna’s Ray Of Light era (namely ‘Frozen’), then immaculately incorporated those hard-hitting scream breakdown moments.

Despondently, the impact was lessened by a less-than-average mix through the sound system, but the acrobatics and musicality shimmered enchantingly.

A nod to Knocked Loose’s BryanGarris captured the attention of the entirety of the venue as the four-piece tore through the spiritual ‘Deceiver’ that was practically impossible not to sway and dance to. ‘Invisible’ brought the heavy with its machine gun breakdowns, and Conquer Divide inspired theatrics.

“This next song is our second single for this year, and it goes out to minorities,” Blanco declared.

The trancecore song was a detonation of dynamism. ‘Stay’ slowed the exhibition down a bit, allowing for Blanco, Amy McIntosh, Alex Manhire and Adam Pinzone to deliver their artistic finesse wonderfully. Newer single ‘Dancing With The Grave’ would fit superbly on the next Marvel blockbuster soundtrack with its phenomenal grandeur.

To finish was ‘Misery’, a striking ballad that is as captivating as it is contagious. What truly glows about The Beautiful Monument is how much they put into their live demonstration, twirling, fly-kicking, thrashing around the stage, yet the four-piece gracefully move and perform in enrapturing elegance. New songs are on the horizon, and the future looks to be rather beautiful for these Novocastrians.

In a blink, the crowd size had doubled, perhaps more. A proper stage setup had been assembled with blazing lights and the aura of a theatre production, maybe even an opera.

Sydney’s Hellions were in Adelaide to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their ARIA-nominated album Opera Oblivia, and the New South Welshmen were going to bring the intensity up to 10 for its celebration.

“Whaddup, Adelaide?” frontman Dre Faivre asked The Gov as the quartet surprisingly ripped into their scintillating new rapcore single ‘Fear Flow’. The mosh was instantaneous. Adelaide was unquestionably here to party. The groove-core track ‘Hellions’ brought out Deez Nuts’ JJ Peters and Rinrin in an epic hardcore choir of severity. ‘X’ then brought a funk-punk anthem of dance and brightness, its positivity uplifted all and motivated the first crowd surfer of the night.

The introduction was done, and the band exited the stage for a few moments.

Act II (retrospectively).

“We wrote this 10 years ago.” Faivre expressed with smooth straightforwardness.

So begins Opera Oblivia.

‘24’ sparked instant mayhem, with deafening acapella sing-alongs, much like an opera’s chorus. ‘Quality Of Life’ impossibly outdid this in every value, although it must be noted that the poetic anthem of “Validation, valediction, what's the difference now?” is astonishingly catchy – literally, this poetry is made for stadiums.

“I was not expecting this…” Mr Faivre admitted with an overwhelmed joy.

‘Lotus Eater’ dabbled in salsa-math-rock-hardcore luminosity. ‘He Without Sin (Halation)’ amplified the madness more. The entirety of the exhibition was an elation of soulful glee, crowd-surfers, circle pits (“Is this still a thing or am I too old now?” guitarist Josh Campiao joked), sing-alongs and clap-alongs altered our existence for the better. For many, including the band, time and reality had escaped us.

‘Bad Way’, ‘Nightliner Rhapsody’ and ‘Nuestra Culpa’ maintained the lunacy lustrously. With the last being a rather remarkable classical music venture that was deeply moving.

Act III

“Who here is 25?” Campiao asked the hundreds of spectators before him.

‘25’ became Hellions’ pièce de resistance for the ending, and thankfully, this was not the conclusion. New song ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ demonstrated that the outfit have more experimentation in the already phenomenal arsenal, with electronic flourishes and an extremely infectious lyrical articulation that is still ingrained in this writer’s mind (and assuredly countless more).

‘Smile’ was another magnificent inclusion and a surprise for Adelaide. Then, to conclude the opera, the adored ‘Thresher’, a punk (p)opera which was truthfully breathtaking in its honesty and innovation.

“Aren't we ecstatic as we all dance along it?” That’s exactly what Hellions and South Australia did, even if it was to the level of guitarist/vocalist Matt Gravolin falling over.

Thank you for letting us escape reality for a little while.

Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.