Gig review: Perturbator + Gost + Bitumen at 170 Russell, Melbourne

By SAM LAWRENCE

PERTURBATOR is about as close to heavy metal that you can get without electric guitars and distortion. Since 2012, Perturbator has been at the forefront of the Synthwave movement as one of its most interesting and influential artists. His dark, heavy, pulsing synth and cyberpunk inspired beats have certainly held him apart from some of his more derivative contemporaries. 

Unlike artists such as Mitch Murder, who seem perpetually obsessed with the same Sega and Miami Vice-style soundtracks of yesteryear, Perturbator has continually experimented with different influences as vast as metal, darkwave and synthpop.

James Kent got his start in music by playing drums for various acts in the Parisian underground black metal scene. As Perturbator, he definitely displays the same sensibilities, with dark, occult imagery and a love of pentagrams and erotic art. In his accomplished yet modest career of just over a decade, he has left quite a mark on popular culture with his music appearing in the video game Hotline Miami as well as horror films like The Guest. 

Perturbator. Photo by Brendan Delavere/Gaslight Photography 2023

Perturbator was the first international act I saw since my relocation to Victoria and it was a well anticipated and long overdue one. For the uninitiated looking in at the crowd lined up outside the venue, you wouldn’t be blamed for confusing the gig for a metal show. For the Melbourne show, they picked a good lineup of support acts.

First up was a local post punk act called Bitumen, who impressed me quite a lot. They had a sound which could be best described as She Wants Revenge meets Garbage (or perhaps Angelfish might be a closer comparison, when it comes to the work of Shirley Manson). They played with a great energy and a heavy sound that I’m sure earned them many new fans. I’d like to see them in a smaller, more intimate venue with a longer setlist, as I found their performance and music was right up my proverbial alley. 

The next act was Perturbator’s support, Gost (pronounced Ghost, no relation to the metal band). Gost has always been somewhat of an American answer to Perturbator, but they are alot house and far more rooted in what you might think of traditional electronic music. Gost performed with a live bassist that added a well appreciated heavy sound to his live show that isn’t as present on his recordings.

The man behind the mask, who’s quite an enigma, is an energetic performer who did a lot more than just press play on his laptop. Gost performed live vocals and held complete control over every aspect of the music from his pair of decks. I was surprised when he first appeared on stage without his mask – Though I suspect this was possibly unintended as he seemed anything but sober. He disappeared for a moment half-way through the set only to reappear wearing it. 

When it was time for Perturbator, the venue filled up quickly. It was hard to believe it wasn’t sold out considering the turnout. If I had to describe Perturbator’s performance in two words, I would say that it “went off”. The entire floor opened into a mosh pit complete with crowd surfers, and the energy was so high I even felt the need to get up myself. The crowd was a great bunch. 

Perturbator performed with a live drummer on an acoustic kit, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering his background and experience with the instrument. The two of them performed on a smoke-doused stage shrouded in black silhouettes. My friends who were not familiar with his work got right into it and had an absolute ball. 

His set mostly contained songs from the darkwave influenced Lustful Sacraments, starting with the album’s lead single “Excess“, but also played a variety of fan favourites including “Future Club” which was featured in the aforementioned Hotline Miami, and was probably how most of his currents discovered him. The crowd went nuts during the opening of “Humans Are Such Easy Prey” which samples Kyle Reece from The Terminator: “It can’t be bargained with/It can’t be reasoned it/It doesn’t feel pity/Or remorse/Or fear/And it absolutely will not stop/Until you are dead.”

All in all, an incredible gig with a live show that somehow eclipsed the intensity of his recordings, which I’ve always found were some of the heaviest in electronic music.