Live Review: Battle Beast in Australia
13 March 2026 at Max Watts, Melbourne, Australia
Photos & Review by Jeana Thomas
Review by Jeana Thomas Photography
The noise kicked off before the band even had a chance to play a note. Someone started chanting the band’s name and suddenly the whole room piled in — not politely, but loud and restless, like the crowd had been holding onto this energy all day and finally had somewhere to throw it. Lights burst across the venue in flashes of colour, bouncing over a sea of black band shirts, raised horns and strangers grinning at each other like we were all about to witness something gloriously loud together.
For anyone new to them, Battle Beast come out of Finland and have built their name around a sound that blends classic heavy-metal grit with the larger-than-life theatrics of power metal. Think massive riffs, shimmering keyboards and choruses designed for thousands of voices at once. On record it already sounds huge, but live it feels even bigger, louder, brighter and somehow more alive. They are touring following their seventh album, Steelbound. The members consider of: Marina La Torraca (new vocalist known for Phantom Elite, Exit Eden), Juuso Soinio, Pyry Vikki, Eero Sipilä, Janne Björkroth and Joona Björkroth.
When the band stepped onto the stage, guitars roared, drums crashed in with that marching, thunder-metal punch and the entire room flipped instantly into full power-metal mode. At the centre of the storm stood vocalist Marina La Torraca, who wasted absolutely no time proving she wasn’t just filling a role — she was claiming it. One moment she’d unleash these huge, soaring notes that sliced through the wall of guitars, the next she’d flash this mischievous grin like the whole venue was hers and it basically was.
Marina quickly became the centre of gravity on stage. Watching her perform is genuinely captivating. Her voice carries both bite and elegance — gritty when the music needs muscle, but also capable of soaring into those huge melodic moments the genre thrives on.
During the set Juuso had the crowd laughing by teaching everyone the easiest sing-along imaginable during a moment from the album Circus of Doom. “This singing part is really easy,” he told us. “There’s no lyrics at all… just a bunch of na na na.” Within seconds the entire venue was chanting along like a choir that had been rehearsing it for weeks.
Right in front of the stage, the mosh pit quickly became the heart of the chaos. Before long a circle pit carved itself through the middle of it, bodies moving in a fast, swirling loop as fans ran, laughed and collided in that perfectly unhinged way only a metal crowd can pull off.
Between songs Marina kept the vibe relaxed and playful, chatting to the audience like we were all just hanging out between riffs. At one point she admitted she was a little sad she hadn’t actually seen much of Melbourne yet — especially the penguins — because she’d been struggling with her voice recently. Thankfully, she laughed, most of it had come back tonight… which officially meant she’d have to come back and see the city properly and to see the penguins.
Then she shared something that sent the crowd into another cheer. “I don’t know if you guys know this, but I’m from Brazil,” she said. “So I think we’re kind of brothers. You guys wear yellow and green (referring to our soccer uniform) — we do too. Sometimes I see it on TV and think ‘Oh is that Brazil playing?’… nope, Australia.” Penguins might be missing in Brazil, she joked, but spiders definitely weren’t. With that she launched into the Latin-flavoured groove of “Twilight,” inviting everyone to lean into the rhythm like family.
The band themselves were clearly loving the chaos. Guitarist Juuso Soinio paused at one point to look out across the room and just shake his head, laughing. “You guys are amazing! We are in Victoria, right? Because you’ve got some great beer names… Victoria Bitter.” That line got a huge reaction, especially when he admitted that everyone he’d spoken to locally seemed to hate it. Saying“ I go to Germany and people will fight you if you don’t drink the local beer,” he joked, before admitting he loves everything about Australia except the spiders.
Then came one of the night’s funniest moments. The crowd had started chanting for a shoey — that very Australian tradition of drinking beer from a shoe. Rather than pouring it straight into the shoe, he improvised their own safer metal-tour version: a can of beer propped into the shoe and chugged from there. It was chaotic, ridiculous and the crowd laughed, but loved it.
Later, Juuso rallied the audience again with what he proudly introduced as the Battle Beast Viking Medal — after joking that we’d already witnessed the “Battle Beast Salsa Medal.” The instructions were simple: whenever the bass drum hit, the entire crowd had to clap along. “Do we have any Viking warriors here tonight?” he shouted. The roar said yes. Then he grinned and corrected himself: “Let me rephrase that — do we have any crazy kangaroo-riding Viking warriors in Melbourne tonight?” The place erupted.
Marina also took a moment to reflect on joining the band and what it meant to her. She spoke warmly about how long fans had followed the group and how touring with them had shown her they were just as incredible off stage as they are on it. The next song, she explained, was the first one she ever sang with them and it meant a lot to her — partly because of its message. “I love men, okay?” she laughed, making sure everyone knew it wasn’t a battle-of-the-sexes moment. “But I’m also a girl’s girl.”
Looking out across the crowd she noticed just how many women were in the room and encouraged them to make some noise before launching into the defiant anthem “Spellbound.”
Moments like that made the whole night feel like a shared celebration. At one point she even summed it up perfectly: they were here celebrating heavy metal — and live music itself — something made by real humans, something even AI still can’t replicate.
One of the best parts came during “Eye of the Storm.” The song already has a dramatic build, but live it expanded into something almost cinematic. The sweeping keyboards filled the venue, the guitars surged underneath and for a few minutes it felt like the entire room had become the soundtrack to some epic fantasy battle scene.
Part of what makes Battle Beast so much fun is that they completely embrace the drama of metal without taking themselves too seriously. There’s swagger, there’s flair and plenty of fist-pumping moments, but it’s delivered with a sense of joy rather than aggression. The band clearly love what they do and that enthusiasm spreads through the crowd in seconds.
The visuals only added to the spectacle. Lights didn’t just shine, they attacked the beat. Deep reds throbbed, electric blues cracked across the stage and sudden blasts of white turned every guitar solo into a moment of pure legend. Even though the venue wasn’t enormous, the production carried the energy of a much bigger show. One small thing that would’ve lifted the visuals even further: a bit more lighting on the drummer now and then would have been great, just so we could actually see the person powering those thunderous beats rather than watching them work mostly in the shadows.
What stood out to me straight away was just how tight the band sounded. Power metal can sometimes get a bit messy live, with all the moving parts flying around, but Battle Beast had everything locked in. Every riff, every keyboard flourish, every drum hit landed exactly where it needed to. Despite that precision though, nothing about the performance felt stiff or overly polished. If anything, the band radiated personality. There was laughter, movement and plenty of playful interaction between the musicians as the set rolled on.
By the time the final stretch of the set arrived, the energy had somehow climbed even higher. People were jumping, singing, throwing horns in the air and completely letting go. Before the last song Marina gave the crowd one final instruction: give everything you’ve got. Mosh. Sing. Stage dive and honestly, Melbourne did exactly that.
Walking out into the night, one thing felt pretty clear. Battle Beast is loud, joyful, a little chaotic and completely unapologetic celebrations of heavy metal. The kind of night where you leave sweaty, hoarse and grinning like you’ve just been part of something gloriously ridiculous.
SUPPORT: ANA
Walking in early, I caught the set from Melbourne’s own ANA and honestly they were the perfect way to kick the night off. The band lean heavily into that dramatic, symphonic-metal sound — big cinematic keys, crunching guitars and vocals that soar right over the top of it all. Frontwoman Ana Hristenko has a fascinating voice live, with this operatic edge that instantly grabs your attention. It makes sense when you realise she comes from a classical background, which gives the songs that slightly theatrical, almost haunting feel.
From my spot in the crowd, you could feel people slowly locking in as the set unfolded. Songs like “Scars” and “Ouroboros” carried this dark, cinematic vibe, the kind of music that feels like it belongs in a fantasy film battle scene. The band themselves looked completely at home on stage too, tight and confident despite being early in the night. Formed in Melbourne in 2023, ANA have quickly carved out their own sound blending symphonic metal with heavier, modern elements and it really translates live.
What I liked most was that they didn’t feel like “just the support band.” There was genuine atmosphere in the room while they played — dramatic builds, big chorus moments and that sweeping keyboard sound filling the venue. When their set wrapped up, it felt like the crowd had properly warmed up, which is exactly what a good opener should do. If anything, they left a lot of people around me curious enough to go look them up afterwards and honestly, that’s the best sign a support act has done their job right.
About the Writer: Originally hailing from Western Australia, Jeana Thomas now thrives in the vibrant city of Melbourne. Amidst the hustle of her role in a prominent teaching hospital, she also navigates the dynamic world of entrepreneurship as the owner of a medical transcription company. Beyond her professional endeavours, Jeana finds solace and joy in the rhythm of music, the allure of travel and the artistry of photography, with a particular passion for wildlife photography.
About SAM: Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to over 200 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth Melbourne), Backstreet Boys, KISS, Iron Maiden, RHCP and P!NK with reviews shared by the likes of Suzi Quatro, Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Tina Arena, UB40, Delta Goodrem, Leo Sayer and Tina Arena on social media. The founder has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro, Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N’ Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS), and over 70 other artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
