Monolith Festival @ PICA 09-11-24
photos: Nathan Goldsworthy @odin.imaging
The air was thick with anticipation at PICA in Port Melbourne as Monolith Festival 2024 launched into an electrifying night of prog and metal. Kicking off the evening, local heroes Silver Fang stormed the stage, proving they could stand tall alongside the festival’s powerhouse lineup. Their gritty riffs and relentless energy set the tone, igniting the crowd and setting the stage for the metal-infused journey to come.
Next came French metalcore outfit Novelists, bringing a fierce intensity that blended raw power with intricate precision. Their tightly woven rhythms and brutal riffs whipped the crowd into a frenzied mosh, each track building the energy to a fever pitch and refusing to let up.
Then arrived Intervals, Canada’s instrumental virtuoso, who offered a hypnotic reprieve with his intricate, progressive soundscapes. With fluid riffs and jaw-dropping solos, Intervals delivered a spellbinding set that allowed fans to immerse themselves in pure, soaring melodies, creating a near-mystical atmosphere that held the audience transfixed.
As dusk settled, Norwegian five-piece Leprous took the stage, casting an eerie, powerful spell over PICA. Weaving between their seven-album catalog and tracks from their latest release, *Melodies of Atonement,* they captured the crowd with both bone-crushing heaviness and hauntingly melodic interludes. Leprous left fans awestruck, their music swirling through the night air like an arctic wind, heavy and hypnotic.
Then came the highly anticipated set from Periphery, the djent legends who held nothing back. With bone-rattling riffs and their unmistakably intricate sound, Periphery delivered a powerful set that filled the venue with intensity, precision, and unmistakable style. The band tore through tracks from *Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre,* defying expectations and pushing progressive metal to its edge.
But the night ultimately belonged to Coheed and Cambria, who closed out Monolith with a performance that was nothing short of epic. Celebrating twenty years of *The Amory Wars,* Claudio Sanchez led the crowd through the intricate, otherworldly saga that has captivated fans since its inception. Coheed launched into *Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness* in its entirety. Sanchez’s voice, soaring over PICA, became a guiding force, pulling the crowd deeper into the cosmic narrative he and the band have crafted over two decades.
As Coheed’s final song rang out and the last notes faded into the Melbourne night, it felt as though the gods of prog and metal had made their presence known. Monolith 2024 wasn’t just a festival—it was an experience, a journey through myth and sound that left the crowd exhilarated, exhausted, and utterly spellbound.