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UNIFY Gathering 2018: Day Two – The Ultimate Gallery

Beer bongs, brilliant bands and more shoeys than you can shake a stick at, Saturday at UNIFY is a memorable one. Shot exclusively by Jay Wennington.

One of K!'s bands of 2017 deliver the goods with a relentless barrage of heavy-as-hell hardcore. Yowzah.
We don't even want to know where that doll head came from.
Yet another case of a native band absolutely slamming it in front of a home crowd. Aussie bands really do it best.
To quote our photographer Jay Wennington: "Have you ever seen a more British site than this?" Thanks for helping us not get homesick, UNIFY.
Braving the rain to support every band on the bill? It's what UNIFY is all about.
The Eastbourne pop-punks couldn't have a better set down under, as the weather clears and the sun comes out to soundtrack second album Great Heights & Nosedives. And frontman Alex Costello even partakes in the Aussie tradition of a shoey – drinking alcohol out of a shoe. Yum.
We can't exactly tell what Matt Roskilly is thinking here, but it's probably something along the lines of: "Yep, we are totally owning this set." And he's absolutely correct.
You think us Brits like our beer bongs? Turns out we've got nothing on these guys…
"I just wanna say, 'Fuck Donald Trump!'" yells frontman Joe Taylor, in between delivering pop-punks jams of the highest quality during one of the best, most exciting sets of the day. It's hard to argue with that, tbh.
Literally no band on the bill gets away with not doing a shoey. Well done to Stick To Your Guns for somehow making it look like a completely badass move. *Grabs sneaker and joins in*
Post-shoey, the Cali hardcore punks prove why they're still one of the best bands in the game, with a pummelling set of older classics and hits from last year's True View. It's truly exhilarating.
Just… why, mate?!
The band's first show since September last year is a big'un. Thankfully their 2016 third album, Opera Oblivia, is full of colossal tunes to see them through the occasion. What a band.
And especially while punctuating Hellions' perfect brand of melodic hardcore punk.
No, Aussie heroes Northlane aren't on the bill at UNIFY (they played last year, duh). But that doesn't stop frontman Marcus Bridge turning up to the Tarwin Lower festival and joining Hellions onstage, reminding everyone that he's a force to be reckoned with. Total dude.
The Canberra rockers might not be as huge back in the UK (tonight they're playing the same slot as Architects did on Friday), but they instantly prove why they're such a big deal on home turf. Brilliant stuff.
Celebrating 15 years of their career with a headline set featuring tracks spanning their entire back-catalogue, there's really no better way to end a festival than with one of Australia's biggest and best bands. Until next year, UNIFY…

After a night of stormy weather and England levels of miserable rain, day two of Australia's UNIFY Gathering has every right to be a complete washout. But no bands nor punters would ever let that happen, as high spirits prevail and the likes of The Amity Affliction, Stick To Your Guns, Hellions and ROAM find their form with stunning sets.

Check out our gallery from the Saturday of the event, and shortly after doing so, get some flights down under booked. From its picturesque setting to the diverse line-up and super-welcoming attendees, there's nothing not to love about the festival – it's genuinely not to be missed.

UNIFY Gathering 2019? Be there.

Photos: Jay Wennington

Check out more:

UNIFY GatheringROAMHellionsThe Amity AfflictionHands Like HousesCursed EarthStick To Your Guns

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