METALISE - Tonk, Flaming Wrekage, Sunburn Lite

With Josh Nixon

A year is a long time when the increments are so painfully stopstart and broken up by complex rules and regulations.

Yes, we need to keep safe. Yes, they are necessities that we have. And no, we are not a tourism hub like North Queensland that relies on dollars from overseas.

Like I said last issue, though, the glass is half full and the coming month is looking like it might be the start of something if the government can actually deliver on its vaccination roll out and keep up the positive momentum.

First in discussion for April is a fond farewell to a bit of a Canberra institution. Tonk are made up of some bloody lovely blokes, and while it’s sad to see them go at their farewell show at The Basement on Saturday, 10 April, the fact it’s sold out with the increased cap (195 or so) is deserving. So long boys. Fellow longstanding favourites Night Train and Johnny Roadkill will help see the lads out in style.

Farewell sweet Tonk, and thanks for the blistering years of gig memories. We'll always have the music

Metal For The Grave is an interesting show, at The Basement once again, on Thursday, 15 April. Matty “Skitz” Sanders has blastbeaten his way through the Australian metal scene since the early ’90s with Damaged, Sadistik Exekution, Terrorust and many more. The night is focused on his musical journey, but the band includes former members of other founding metal fathers including Hobbs’ Angel of Death, Manticore, and Misery. This will be a good one for the old schoolers out there and fresh from the studio, Wretch will be there to blast some newer material also. Presented by Your Mate Bookings, tickets through Oztix.

Flaming Wrekage have a new album out called Cathedral of Bones and have embarked on a brazen journey across the land of big modern sounding melodic down-tuned twin guitar riffs. The guys have two singles out for the record, including The Voiceless.

The tour smashes into Canberra at The Basement on Friday, 30 April with support from Clarity of Chaos, Queensland’s Diskust, and Arkanae. Tickets through Oztix, presented by Young Henrys.

Pilots of Baalbek will be setting the departure lounge up in The Basement on Friday, 28 May for a blistering set of ’70s hard rockin’ grooves from their fantastic debut from last year. The guys

Flaming Wrekage welcome you to their Cathedral of Bones

have special guests The Dunhill Blues in tow, as well as Canberra band BC. Should be a a big night and – yoooooou’ve guessed it! – tickets from Oztix.

The line-up for Dark Mofo is to be released in the coming weeks and there is always something for the heavy music fan. Regardless, the festival is a good excuse to go down and check out Tasmania and the amazing Mona Art Gallery that coordinates the event.

Sunburn festival had big plans in 2020 with New Zealand, with touring the festival around the country on the cards. Well, the house won that hand and here we are. New Zealand’s loss however, is Canberra’s gain with Sunburn Lite coming to The Basement on Saturday, 22 May. Pod People, Potion, Lucifungus, Burn the Hostages, Astrodeath, and Master Leonard are all on the menu for the stoner doom psych fest. Presented by Black Farm Records you will be able to pick up tickets through The Basement’s Oztix site.

There are a tonne of shows, a lot of them international, booked for Q3 this year. With the USA well ahead of its vaccination schedule but Europe entering a 3rd wave, who knows what that will mean.

It might be overly optimistic, but it feels that, with capacity increasing and gig-goers now being able to stand instead of being confined to tables, we have turned a corner.

Nebula, Hirax, D.R.I., and a whole bunch more are on the cards still; let’s see if the house or the players can take the pot.

Til next time.