

The kids are alright, folks. Washington DC quartet Petrichor are probably sick of journos like me mentioning their age (all between 13 and 15 years old, since you ask), but it’s rare that we hear a young band that gel as well as they do on this debut EP.Continue Reading

Truly, Real Life Presents has been on a roll recently, with a week of great hardcore shows now coming to a close with a beast of a double header from Terminal Sleep and Spaced. If anyone out there made it to the full week of shows, you win at life; meanwhile, we’re still recovering from last Friday’s Fentanyl gig as we haul arse back to the New Cross Inn this evening.Continue Reading

There are plenty of gigs happening tonight, including a fair few rock n’ roll ones, but we rest assured that we’ve made the right choice with a bill of this quality - Botox, WitchDoktors and The Darts - at one of the few remaining great central London venues. Cheers to promoter Shake Some Acton for delivering the goods, and belated congratulations on passing the 100-gig mark!Continue Reading

If you’ve seen Fantazmaz live, you’ll know that the mostly-Brazilian London-based quartet are less a band than a force of nature. This album was recorded in just two days, and we’re happy to report that it’s as blisteringly intense as you could hope for.Continue Reading

It’s only recently that I came to realise just how rich the Benelux region is in metallic hardcore. From the recent return of veterans such as Born From Pain and Ancestral Sin, to newer bands such as Mindwar (the Belgians’ debut ‘Still At War’ is a belter), and now this first offering from West Netherlands quintet Rival Pack.Continue Reading

Blink and you’ll miss this one! At only ten minutes long, ‘I Think It’s Time To Leave…’ doesn’t stick around, but the passion and energy contained within is certainly helping us get off the sofa and actually DO things on these hot, lazy days.Continue Reading

Here at Punktuation, we like it when bands blend punk and rock n’ roll with a sense of humour, and in that respect, this second album from Bay Area quartet M.U.T.T. is pretty much tailor-made for us! Formed from the ashes of the critically acclaimed Culture Abuse, they’ve taken the ballsy (or just crazy?) step of naming several of their tracks after classic rock and metal Continue Reading

Be it venturing into the crowd (with his guitar, natch), inviting a random crowd member onstage to play keyboard, or even playing his own instrument with a length of chain (of all things!), you get the feeling that Dion and his band would stop at nothing to keep the rock n’ roll party going - and for that, we salute them.Continue Reading

This evening, I arrive at the New Cross Inn in a filthy temper and leave feeling completely reborn - and without the help of alcohol, to boot. Great people, great music, and a great venue - together they are transformative.Continue Reading

Of all the adjectives one could throw at Manchester punk trio Aerial Salad, ‘romantic’ isn’t the one that first comes to mind, but you get the feeling that at least some of the five tracks on 'Roi De L'Herbe' (their first release since last year’s superb ‘R.O.I.’ album) were written with that special someone in mind.Continue Reading