Wine Cellar Review - Libel Music

A killer triple bill of melodic hard rock at Auckland’s leading delicious dive, Wine Cellar – yeah, you can’t beat that on a Friday night, boy!

Headliners Coridian, who have just released their excellent EP Caldera (buy it) have just come off a hell of a hot streak, playing in support of Kiwi metal titans Devilskin.

The Eternal Sea and AnimalHead beefed up the bill here, also playing a very appealing mix of metal and melodic hard rock. I had never witnessed either live, but think of a mix of System of a Down, Incubus, Beastie Boys and Deftones and you start getting close to their sound; Eternal Sea more melodic, and AnimalHead sounding slightly heavier with alt influences. AnimalHead were particularly impressive – count me as a new fan!

Coridian blasted out a solid and energetic 40 minute set, with songs like ‘Nonetheless’ and ‘Blind Faith’ being surefire crowd favourites. The most effective track was ‘Seed’, their most recent single (by the way, it would be a crime if this wasn’t playlisted on The Rock or Hauraki).

Their on-stage energy and tightness has boosted ten-fold since the last time I saw them –maybe two years ago, my bad - as the boys have been playing to some massive crowds lately with Devilskin and at the Tauranga Rock Fest.

All three Raven bros were absolute beasts on their respective instruments (shout out to Nick Raven’s top-quality lid), and frontman Dity Stranger was a vocal force to be reckoned with. They even pulled out their magnetic cover of ‘Wicked Game’ to close out the show. Like the evacuation of a magma chamber, this show was hot.

Any of these three bands could be the next big thing in Kiwi rock, but my punt’s firmly on Coridian. Make sure you catch their next show ASAP!