Stray From The Path’s final Melbourne show on Wednesday was one for the ages, and die-hard fans were more than ready to throw down in the pit to celebrate their poetic end.
Stray From The Path are calling it quits after this year, but not without a frenzied week-long stint around Australia to say goodbye. On Wednesday, the metallic hardcore icons tore up Melbourne’s 170 Russell for a show that’ll go down in the history books.
Kicking off the night, supports Diamond Construct and Orthodox had the crowd on their toes in anticipation – and it didn’t take long for the floor to be packed from barriers to the bar as fans tried to get as close to the stage (and, based on the energy of attendees, the pit) as possible.
Before long, it was time. Stray From The Path’s Melbourne swansong – and what a way to go out it was.
If I had to describe the night in one word, I’d call it explosive. That energy did not let up for even a moment as the band tore through both new tracks from their final album Clockworked and classics from their two decade history. Kicking off with ‘Kubrick Stare,’ the band had everyone in the venue shouting back the lyrics from the get go – a trend that continued til the very final track.
Crowd surfers were a-plenty, with the pit growing larger by the minute. Bodies heaved as everyone took in Stray From The Path at their very best – energised, electrified, and celebrating everything the band is and has been.
It may sound cliche, but the band’s performance had me (and likely many others) so deeply in the moment that the set felt like it was over when it had barely begun. After taking fans through a career-spanning set (and after I weaselled my way to the barrier), it was clear the end was near. ‘Guillotine’ echoed through the venue as the energy onstage and in the crowd grew more frenzied, before closing out to the ground shaking “shut the f**k up” callout during ‘First World Problem Child.‘
Stray From The Path are closing this chapter, and it’s a hard pill to swallow after seeing the band perform at what might be their very best and most refined of their whole career. But maybe it’s the light at the end of the tunnel energising a group that is ready to call it a day on a poetic note, rather than doing a disservice to their band’s legacy and their fans. It’s been real, guys. I’ll be talking about this gig for years to come.
RELATED
MORE IN Live
