A feast of veteran hardcore and crossover thrash in London!
It’s been another boiling, sweaty day in London, so the prospect of spending the evening in a packed Underworld is not hugely appealing. However, needs must, because tonight the godfathers of crossover thrash and the godfathers of New York hardcore have joined forces for what is sure to be an absolute blinder of a gig, so how could we pass up the chance to witness it? The place is pretty much as sold out as sold out gets, and rightly so.
Under The Influence are delayed due to terrible traffic, and must be seriously pissed off as a result, but the Sheffield quartet channel their rage well during their shortened set. The likes of ‘Vegan Reich’ and ‘Dead Babies’ owe something of a debt to both of tonight’s headliners, but in a good way; this is old-school style hardcore punk with a thrashy edge, and judging by the applause, we’re not the only ones who’ll be hoping they return to the capital soon.
Like their NYHC brethren, D.R.I. have no business sounding this good in the middle of their fifth decade together. Let’s give a shout out to the soundman, because the band’s razor-sharp riffing sounds particularly clear and crisp this evening, and of course to the band themselves, with frontman Kurt Brecht proving himself quite the master of ceremonies.
Few bands obliterate the boundaries between punk and metal as well as these guys do. The highlights come thick and fast; ‘I’d Rather Be Sleeping’ utterly destroys everything in its path, the chugging riffs of ‘Beneath The Wheel’ sound twice as potent as on record, and ‘Syringes In The Sandbox’ is just gloriously…ominous. It’s a shame the pit isn’t bigger, but it makes up in ferocity what it lacks in size, and the stream of stagedivers grows steadily throughout their set. They finish with – of course! – a teeth-rattling ‘Five Year Plan’ and depart victorious.
There’s a touching moment during Agnostic Front’s set, when frontman Roger Miret encourages us to shake hands with our neighbours and make new friends. “This is real, not social media bullshit!” he declares, and that sums up his band – and their appeal – in a nutshell. This is street-level New York hardcore in its purest form, simultaneously anthemic and utterly crushing, with the warp-speed blasts of early favourites ‘The Eliminator’ and ‘Victim In Pain’ sending the pit into overdrive, and the evergreen ‘Gotta Go’ prompting the loudest sing-along we’ve heard in ages.
It’s a joy to watch Miret and guitarist Vinny Stigma bounce around the stage like guys half their age; they clearly very much still believe in what they do, and their enthusiasm is infectious. For the most part, this is Agnostic Front exactly as you’d expect them, but there’s a surprise in store at the end of their set; a raucous cover of the Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ as a tip of the hat to their fellow New York punk rockers. It’s a great, grin-worthy finale to an evening that’s served as proof that hardcore and crossover thrash’s old guard needn’t worry about having to pass on the torch just yet. Essential.
Main Photo Credit: JAMES SHERRY
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