[Gig Review] ENFORCER @ The Leadbeater Hotel, Melbourne 25.01.25.
Before we begin, just a bit of housekeeping for some other Enforcer-related content here at ISC:
Reminder that I was fortunate enough to interview Olof Wikstrand, guitarist/frontman for these true-metal Swedes in 2024. It’s only just recently seen the light of day after the untimely/unexpected death on New Year’s Eve (RIP) of our old website. I recently reposted the interview on the 22nd of this month - see here for the link, it’s a great interview and worth a re-watch!
Audio-only version of this interview is still in active holding alongside a couple of other pieces. More fun shenanigans from web/media hosts, sigh. Keep an eye our here/our socials links, Youtube channel (which is one of our many forks/platforms for the ISC Podcast) for the audio-only version, and thanks for your patience.
EDIT 27.01.25 - Our photographer was unfortunately unable to make the gig. Retroactively, gig shutterbug Richie Black has been mega-kind and allowed me to pepper his fantastic work throughout the article! Thanks Richie. :)
You can check his stellar back-catalogue of gig shots via the following links:
Official Photographer Site
ENFORCER, feat. BURNOUT, AARDVARK and LIVEWIRE @ The Leadbeater Hotel, Melbourne (AU), Sat 21st Jan 2025.
Words/Bad Photos/Youtube Shorts: Brady Irwin.
Good Photos: Richie Black.
What an honour.
Our first ‘official’ gig here at Inner-Strength Check in Melbourne by as an assigned media outlet. I couldn’t be more stoked to have been provided the privilege on this occasion in particular.
Why’s that?
Well - read on and you’ll soon find out!
Now. Unfortunately, in addition to last month’s website-death and this month’s podcast-platform buffoonery it seemed yesterday was another helping of absolutely cursed luck. In truth, I came close to having to pull the pin due to some severe medication side effects which decided to really hit hard in unison. About halfway on my sojourn up from the sleepy village I call home in South-West Victoria to Melbourne, in fact.
As a result, I was unfortunately just striding through the door nauseated as hell right on the conclusion of openers Burnout’s set. Sigh.
Richie was fortunately less tardy, and managed to get a bunch of great shots!
Fear not however, weary online-traveller.
I’m not one to do things by halves where gig reviews are concerned, and last night was no different. I miss a set? I don’t just leave a band stranded. They played. It’s only fair. As is my MO, I go do some faux gonzo-journalism and get the skinny from punters who were present.
From all reports, they brought the vibes straight away to an already packing-out venue in The Leadbeater Hotel, Richmond with their amped blend of traditional heavy/speed-metal topped with your everyman bombastic rock flair. As a relatively new entrant to the live scene, I had not no reports any concerns in that respect and in fact, it wasn’t known to some I’d chatted to!
Keep an eye on the socials feeds for video renditions of the gig, as Burnout have been teasing with all manner of clips from recent shows (such as their recent set in support of Tarot). Oh, they’re also on the bill for the stupidly-stacked Brutefest 2025 lineup this coming May - here’s the ticket link!
Back to my review, from my own sensory organs. Walking in with a sigh of frustration due to the above, I nevertheless got my obligatory pint and patch-for-a-battle-jacket-somehow-not-yet-started at age 35.
Curiously, I’d never actually been to this venue before somehow. Which felt odd given my gig-addictive tendencies and many shows seen in prior reviewer auspices for the sadly now defunct Overdrive Music Magazine/Insert Review Here, and my own goblinoid crust-punk/thrasher/grind-fiend adventures in the scene. I wasn’t alone, however - there were a number of folks who noted similar.
Given the wall-to-wall packed attendance, I hope it’s a sign of some more in future. I’m sure the overworked bar staff (who did a great job, alongside the other tireless folks managing hundreds of Aus Day Weekend true-metal Aussie drunks!) may begrudge that. It was loose, and the semi-conical field-of-view up front had a busy stage area.
The venue was abuzz very early in the piece with punters on arrival of second act, Aardvark. Luckily, there were no traffic or health-related interruptions on my brief sojourn up front-stage. Now, I’ll be openly transparent here - I’m pretty edgy in my musical tastes, so the more trad-leaning aspects of our incomprehensibly vast metal galaxy aren’t my typical fare. Thus, as the band belt out referential-as-hell NWOBHM-era refrains there’s a sense of slight pause. The reciprocal energy from stage and punters alike is curiously and cautiously slow for the opener track, an almost unspoken consternation within the room.
That sense of cautious curiosity is thrown to the wind not long after, though. As vocalist Ed Vaark strides up to fellow axe-slinger Sorcha Wilcox, the duel-lead tradeoffs punctuated by a booming rhythm section in Dylan Liebemann on drums and Danny Smith on bass, we get a sudden energy shot with full-band, gang-shouts and more movement onstage.
Almost on cue, via the crowd we start getting more heads swivelling, more fists pumping - my own included. With the classic-shtick opening refrains of solos and leads and Ed’s assertion that “this is an impressive crowd for a heavy metal gig, but it’s Enforcer - what else would you expect?” things go from gelling warmly to raucous and energetic as the Melbourne troupe progress through old and new cuts alike. Pivoting from genre tropes such as the almost folkish 80’s-ready ballad in ‘The Dream Is Nearly Over’ through to an actually pummelling, thrashy speed-metal closer, the reception towards these guys only builds with time to venue-wide applause at the conclusion of their set.
Okay, good. They’re all getting warmed up. I’m getting warmed up. Good stuff.
Now, if you’ve checked in with our interview with Olof Wilkstrand in the past, the man has a strong vibe of being methodical and conscientious about his craft. I’m sure the decision to save Sydney’s Livewire as the penultimate support was totally deliberate to help the organic sense of ramp-up prior to the headliners. I mean this not with reference to relative quality/popularity - I’m talking sheer speed, baby.
Blistering out the gate at almost a full run, a mass of flying V’s, hair, solos and shred, Livewire feel like someone cranked the tempo knob on reality to 12 with an immediate, gonad-pinchingly-high-falsetto-vocal-laden salvo of unrelenting but melodic speed/thrash metal.
Standing there in my Municipal Waste shirt, you just know my little thrasher ears pricked up immediately. Oh yeah, fellas, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout.
‘Attack, Attack, Attack’ is just the gang-shout/fist-pump-ready anthem the title implies; the crowd veritably jolted as sheets of riffage pummel into the venue hard. Peppering the set with every requisite frontman “Fuck yeah!”, “How you doin’ tonight Melbourne?!” and classic metal audience trope he can muster, Nick Wilks’ enthusiasm for punters meets a histrionic set of pipes, with a wail on a high enough register to wrest a shit-eating grin from King Diamond himself. There’s your typical thrasher humour too; with the man commenting a single person responding to their call of who’s bought merch as “a man of taste and distinction”.
Might not be funny to some, but if you’re a thrasher, you love these kinds-of self-deprecating quips that keep us perpetually young and goofy.
from our Instagram @innerstrengthcheck_.
Complementing the thick distortion-drenched of the Nick’s bass is the criminally-insane (bad thrash pun, I know) virtuosity of axemen Anthony Ierardo and Chris Puglia would be fantastic to watch, could I stop banging my head in tempo to George Delincolis’ punk-rock d-beat kit destruction! The turbo-tempo ‘Turbo Shark’ does what it says on the tin, a frantic number with some vicious tremolo that could sit right at home in early Nordic black metal between venue-wise chorus-refrains about, well, sharks. Getting a moshpit going was no question, as revellers are equally as untamed as the writhing showmen before them.
Shredding, soloing, axe-chopping flourishes, fist-pumps abound to the announcement of tonight being shred-master Chris’ birthday. Given how belters like ‘Midnight Sun’ and other choice Under Attack! LP cuts are received, not to mention the wailing solos from Birthday Boy on the frantic sets’ finale, it’s safe to say that was a mutual celebration.
The venue’s now packed to the rafters, with nary room to pick up a cat let alone swing it. The collective tension in the air, heightened to its’ zenith with the dulcet tones of ‘Priest classic of ‘Diamonds and Rust’ to a lone stage bedecked with a giant banner that merely states HEAVY METAL? It’s a tease, but this is anything but edging to a disappointing conclusion. No way, no how.
Standing back-to-crowd, horns held aloft as one - that potential energy is immediately unfurled into levels of pure metal fury that instantly transcends the goddamn Kardashev Scale from band and crowd alike. It’s a frantic and mutually-appreciative motion that atrophies not a kilojoule through the whole set. Enforcer waste no time with a ripping set I can only describe as the most fun I’ve watched in a long time.
That seems like a strange assertion to make, right? Gigs are events we enjoy from bands we inherently love and they’re innately fun, right? I’m sure punters present will get what I’m angling at, here.
Sweden’s finest true-metallers gave us unrefined, uncut, industrial-grade joyous fun. Pure, anthemic, posturing, histrionic but genuine FUN, devoid of any and all pretence.
With all the requisite heyday showman-moves of metal’s golden era (synchronised axemen wood-chops, eager fists, tongue-poking, arms aloft, solos on knees with head lolled back - the full works), the histrionic stage presence and technical flair of guitarist-vocalist Olof Wikstrand is met with on par by fretted colleagues in equally-bullshit-talented Jonathon Nordwall (guitar) and Garth Condit on bass. Even skinsman Jonas Wikstrand gets a sizeable slice of the vocal pie, the whole band chanting, shouting, cheering and whirling in a cyclonic wheel from goe-to-woe - and a crowd audible from space throughout in return!
Olof’s eyes are essentially popping out of his head with excitement, fists pumped between chord changes wherever he can for ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Undying Evil’ whilst also sporting a vocal range that hearkens everyone from Hetfield to to Sebastian Bach. The kitsch factor is there, and it’s hammed up to 200% with the initial shut-up-and-play trifecta’s cleverly-placed Nostalgia fave, ‘Unshackle Me’.
The tonal shift of the visuals at this point pivot hard from epilepsy-hell metal strobe, to (literally) disco-balled neon lighting. There’s an immediate arena-rock sense of scope and grandeur, and here’s where one of many invitations for the crowd to sing choruses are met with a volume that threatened to drown the instruments out, and in many cases did so.
Rollicking an outro most bands keep drawn close to their chest, eternally-thankful Wikstrand bellows a welcoming greeting, espousing the mutual excitement in the air. There’s enough pomp and flair to feel like you’re copping 15 NWOBHM/trad/speed/arena-rock/80’s AOR bands at once, but there’s not one shred of self-ingratiation here. Olof
“How are you doing tonight, Melbooooooourne?! We are Enforcer from Sweden, we came here to crush your skulls with some true heavy metal - let’s kick some life into you with” ‘From Beyond’, which wastes as little time getting epic as the prior tracks. It honestly feels transcendent, this show. I don’t feel like I’m in the Leadbeater, in Melbourne or even existing in 2025 for that matter.
Spiritually, I’ve been transported to some gargantuan US/European arena gig in the mid-80’s - the leathers and chains definitely assist that aesthetic. With both guitarists effortlessly spindling soloing that is Loomis levels of proficient atop all manners of bass arpeggios and rollicking drum fills, the choral chant is almost ear-piercing as Melbourne punters OI-OI-OI incessantly when not roaring lyrics seemingly on autopilot.
Throughout, Olof’s bringing the classics straight from the metal-frontman-Bible; Goading the audience to prove we’re better than Sydney (easiest bait ever, even for me as one of NSW origin), roars of gratitude about “you guys are out here keeping the spirit of heavy metal alive in 2025!”, begging for us to “Please keep making noise - keep banging your head! Keep chanting!” and every true-metal showman variation you can think of.
But there’s no exposition in between, really - just track after track of guitarists and bassists leaning into the audience, sweeping through all of us with cheeky mock-surprise, shit-eating grins, bug-eyed expressions over strong wails. It’s all here, but it’s timed and delivered so fluidly it feels like a masterclass in live metal performance.
Spanning everything from a heartily-received drum solo into Nostalgia’s Jovi-esque title-track ballad and the equally pensive but fast-building ‘Die Young’ through to drenched synth intro’s contrasted with up-tempo no-nonsense bangers such as ‘Coming Alive’, ‘Roll The Dice’ and ‘Running in Menace’, by the time ‘Take Me Out of This Nightmare’ comes to a rupturous closure, the crowd immediately roar the “EN-FOR-CER!” clarion call.
Olof and Co plug back in offstage to thunderous applause, announcing they said “fuck that!” to heading off for a shower. Raising a can instead, the sweat-drenched helmsman of these merry virtuosos leads us into a furious rendition of ‘Katana’ and ‘Midnight Vice’ to roaring applause. After all’s said and done, I’m left realising I’m still wanting for much more at the set’s conclusion - a sentiment I think the band shared and would’ve gladly obliged if they were allowed to!
So yeah - there you have it. A fantastic night. I don’t profess to be anything even remotely approaching a NWOTHM enthusiast, but Enforcer have sealed the deal for me from the wrap-around to interview, album material and live front.
Executing lawless technical proficiency with performative showmanship of godlike stature (but with small-venue/DIY humility and gratitude), these guys are THE total live package.
Go see ‘em live. Especially if gigs are a rare opportunity - you’re going to feel like you’ve copped the best classic metal has to offer all in one show, but with a speed-metal edge and 100% pure, unadulterated, capital-F FUN time.
ENFORCER January 2025 Australian Tour Dates
Saturday 18th January Rosemount Hotel, PERTH
Wednesday 22nd January Hamilton Station Hotel, NEWCASTLE
Thursday 23rd January The Baso, CANBERRA
Friday 24th January Marrickville Bowlo, SYDNEY
Saturday 25th January The Leadbeater, MELBOURNE
Sunday 26th January Soapbox, BRISBANE
Tickets Onsale Now From: www.yourmatebookings.com
