From hum to scream in seconds

HEADLINERS: Coridian will perform in Gisborne for the first time next month at Smash Palace. Picture supplied

Heavy metal sounds are going to explode at Smash Palace on September 16, as alt/progressive Auckland rock band Coridian play their first ever Gisborne show, accompanied by Whanganui's Pull Down the Sun and Gisborne's own UNI-FI and Lazy Fifty.

The big show is part of Coridian's Elements Tour, and the band has toured New Zealand extensively, including their own headlining tours and performing with high-profile national acts such as Devilskin, City of Souls, I AM GIANT, Skinny Hobos and Written by Wolves.

Coridian has supported US acts such as Skillet, P.O.D., Fuel and Fozzy, Sumo Cyco from Canada and Red Sea from across the ditch.

Formed in 2015, Coridian is brothers Mike (guitar), Kris (drums) and Nick Raven (bass), with Dity Maharaj on vocals.

Blogsite Ambient Light wrote “Raven brothers (Mike, Kris and Nick respectively) work as a well-oiled machine, the gearbox of which is Maharaj, his vocals taking the band from a hum to a scream within seconds”.

Over the past five years, Coridian has released a string of singles and music videos (including New Zealand On Air funded Reflections and Rite Passage, plus three EPs as part of their Elements Concept in 2015 Oceanic (Water), 2017 Caldera (Earth) and 2020 Eldur (Fire), which have brought them a worldwide following.

With the first single Wicked Game (a reimagining of Chris Isaak's classic tale of the same name) released in 2021 followed by Endless War, a new chapter for Coridian begins.

Pull Down the Sun play atmospheric and groove-heavy music shaped and inspired by the curious history and scenic nature of New Zealand.

Gisborne's own UNI-FI — and no stranger to Smash — is a four-piece heavy rock/groove metal band. Their song with te reo Māori lyrics Whakapiripiri Mai featured on the UK radio airways earlier in July.

And rounding out the night are Lazy Fifty, playing original Kiwi rock music influenced by British blues and rock and the classic rock of the 70s. New music in the style you've loved forever.

Some of the night will be purely for the headbangers, some for lovers of solid 70s-style melodic hard rock, and some for those who are partial to a little Black Sabbath or George Thorogood, but whatever the case, it will be Gizzy all over and a night of epic proportions.