Review: Ecca Vandal / New War

Ecca Vandal quite literally leaps into her set at RCC’s The Attic, warming up the small crowd with a fiery opener, not once letting her flame falter. That enigmatic, nu-metal sound is entirely Vandal’s and, along with her soaring vocals, elevates the standard of metal's new wave.

It is a testament to Vandal’s showmanship that she keeps the crowd alive and it is hard for an audience not to emulate the raucousness of Vandal and her band. This is especially when metal is performed so passionately. Ending her set on the crashing ballad ‘Broke Days, Party Nights’ from her eponymous debut album, Vandal proves there is a lot more room within the punk scene for her energised brand of hardcore.

Opening the night are the comparatively pared back and heavily percussive Melbourne band, New War. Sonic and instrumental, lead singer Chris Pugmire treats his vocals as the band’s fourth instrument, surging his vocals against bass, drum, and keys, into a chaos that teeters on the edge of cataclysmic.

This is a stellar homegrown pairing, and adds much needed musical diversity to the RCC Fringe line-up.  

Run ended.