Matt Hewson
Progressive metal/hard rock three-piece Age of Emergence comes to Geelong for the first time this weekend as part of their east coast tour following the release of their latest EP, The All Seeing Eye: Part 1.
Originally formed in the Hunter Valley in 2014, Age of Emergence consists of Dean Holmes on bass and vocals, Matt Neilson on guitar and vocals and Benn Baxter on drums.
Their groove-heavy, riff-based prog metal sound hearkens back to classic heavy bands such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, while incorporating more modern elements from acts like Mastodon, Cog, Wheel and Tool.
All Seeing Eye: Part 1 is the trio’s third release, following their previous EPs Plea for a Dying World (2016) and The War Within Ourselves (2020).
Holmes said the band had focused on making the songs on the new EP more accessible.
“Obviously we’ve been developing our own sound over a long period of time,” Holmes said.
“With the songwriting, I really wanted to try to find ways to make it a bit more catchy, a more hooky and groovy version of what we’ve done previously. That was the main goal with the overall sound.”
With Part 1 of The All Seeing Eye just out, Holmes said the band were focused on completing the tour, which runs till the end of June, before setting their sights on recording Part 2.
“We haven’t got a timeline at this stage,” he said.
“We’ve got new material, I’m going to do some more writing. After these shows, the rest of the year, we’ll probably just do more local shows and try to get the new stuff sorted out.”
Age of Emergence are at the Barwon Club on Saturday, May 18, supported by alt metal outfit Spacegoat, Corio Bay area thrash band Get Rekt and The Sinsemillian. Doors open at 7pm.
