Plini at the Borderline, London - live review

Australian guitar whizz teams up with Disperse and David Maxim Micic at headline London show

The crowd at a prog gig
(Image: © Katja Ogrin)

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Meshuggah. Even they must be taken aback by the proliferation of bands engendered by their downtuned, rhythmically complex DNA. Tonight’s three acts share that djent genome.

To aid cross-fertilisation, Serbian-born producer and guitar player David Maxim Micic is joined by two members of DispersE (guitarist Jakub Żytecki and drummer Mike Malyan) and Plini bassist Simon Grove.

Micic colours his sound with drum loops, samples and software synths from a laptop, adding atmosphere to his ever-shifting but intensely melodic compositions. Nobody’s Perfect thickens the air with palm-muted grooves and technical yet tasteful soloing on extended range guitar.

687 Days, meanwhile, has the lyrical style of a Joe Satriani ballad. His music could easily fall into the trap of being a throwback to the six-string slingers of the 80s, but Micic’s trance shred is thoroughly modern; futuristic even.

After a brief interval, Rafa Biernacki (vocals/keys) joins his Disperse partners. Reduced to a trio tonight, bass duties are capably handled by the sequencer on the aforementioned laptop. Again, the technological factor enhances the songs – there’s a strong element of EDM to their sound.

Between the heavy riffs and jaw‑dropping displays of speed and sweep picking, Jakub Żytecki triggers samples and delays from a MIDI control pad. Tether and Gabriel sway with a jazzy pop lilt that’s more George Benson than Fredrik Thordendal, but that unmistakable djent heaviness is only ever a few bars away. Message From Atlantis is a stunning widescreen closer from a young Polish band who are mutating the genre from which they sprang.

Plini Roessler-Holgate is greeted with near-reverential fervour when he takes to the stage. Before playing a note, he proclaims, “This is the best show ever!”

The 24-year-old from Sydney has already made a name for himself globally, despite releasing only one album. He has garnered praise from none other than Steve Vai, whose influence is clear in opener Electric Sunrise, as is a debt to fusion maestro Pat Metheny.

Atlas and Cascade are as joyful and playful as they are crushing. Troy Wright’s drums punctuate the heaviness with finesse. Handmade Cities features John Waugh of electropop outfit The 1975 on sax, before a return to the stage of all tonight’s musicians leads into a G3-style wig-out on Away.

Plini’s melange of tech metal, prog and jazz is mature and complex, and yet the vast majority of the sell-out audience is under 25. There’s a new wave of progressive music emerging that they’re surfing.

Latest in
Vera Farmiga in 2021
The Conjuring star Vera Farmiga announces debut album with her heavy metal band The Yagas
'Emo' Ed Sheeran busking
Watch Ed Sheeran cover Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club on the New York subway while disguised as an emo busker
A close-up shot of the Marshall Major IV on-ear headphones on a turquoise, blue and black background.
I’ve never seen the Marshall Major IV headphones this cheap before - get them for half price in Amazon’s big spring sale
Evanescence in 2025
Evanescence release new song Afterlife from Devil May Cry TV series soundtrack, have their next album in the works
Tony Banks
“You only have to hear the opening sweep to reach for your lighter and wave it in the air”: Tony Banks' greatest Genesis moments
The Horrors
Ghouls Aloud: The Horrors come back from the dead with "a dazzling nocturnal spectacle of sombre reflections and oozing catharsis"
Latest in Review
The Horrors
Ghouls Aloud: The Horrors come back from the dead with "a dazzling nocturnal spectacle of sombre reflections and oozing catharsis"
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Sex Pistols at the RAH
"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more
Arch Enemy posing in an alleyway
Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass
The Darkness press shot
"Not just one of the best British rock albums of all time, but one of the best debut albums ever made": That time The Darkness added a riot of colour to a grey musical landscape
Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux Deluxe Box Set
“The live recording sees the piece come to life… amid the sepulchral gloom there are moments of real beauty”: Roger Waters' Super Deluxe Box Set of his Dark Side Of The Moon Redux