Kilat at the Curtin

24 October 2026 in Melbourne, supported by Tongue Dissolver and False Fate.

Time for a metal show! I had seen Kilat at least once before - at a performing arts venue at Monash Uni, and in the mid-afternoon. It was a strange time and place for a metal show, but it was a good one. The excellent Faceless Burial also played that time.

This time, it was Kilat's album launch tour. I have wanted to see them again for a while.

False Fate got us off to a start - one guy with a plastic folding table with laptops, synths, you know the type. His music (along with the red lighting behind him) to me was very much like being trapped in the movie Hardware. (I now realise he describes his music as cinematic synth doom, so, nailed it.) Adrian described the music as "scary arpeggios".

I estimated that 5 to 10% of the crowd was not wearing black. I was, but Adrian was wearing one of my patented, home-made, and may I say iconic fish shirts.

Next up, and possibly of equal attraction to this show as Kilat, was Tongue Dissolver. They are a three-piece with two drummers and one bass player/vocalist (they all do other things too). Tongue Dissolver combine punk with techno and are so very good, irresistible to move to, and just, well, I highly recommend them.

As it turned out, Tongue Dissolver were also responsible for a good proportion of that 5 to 10%.

Good thing I had inserted some yellow foam cylinders into my ears as Kilat took to the stage promising "sonic annihilation." As a Jeff VanderMeer fan those were like magic words to me. Frontwoman Karina Utomo began by lighting incense and kneeling quietly for a moment, as the guitarist and drummer found their places.

Kilat's black metal is raw and extreme. Utomo's screaming and growling vocals are distinctive but after a while it occurred to me that the drummer was in charge of the crowd's movements. It was all headbanging, including me - I had somehow found myself right in front of the stage. The guitarist I would describe as a lifer.

Audiences at metal shows really are the best. Even at the Curtin, a decent-sized room that would have been pretty close to sold out, there is obvious implicit respect for each other's space and for the experience they want to have. There is no pretence going on. Everyone's just there to experience live metal.

I enjoyed it a lot, and really need to see metal more often. It's always a great experience. We picked up a copy of Kilat's new record and listened to it over breakfast this morning. My neck is a teensy bit sore.