A four-band bill of quality crossover thrash - and for free!
Tonight, I find myself back at The Dev, but fear not; though it may be a favourite haunt for London’s goths and metalheads, I’m not trying to decouple this website from the punk train. No, I’m here for an evening of crossover thrash, that wonderfully unholy union of speed metal and hardcore punk, and on entering, it’s pleasing to see the venue so packed at this relatively early hour – as it should be for a free gig!
Kent quartet Locusts have the task of kicking things off, and they grab the opportunity with both hands and damn near throttle the life out of it. The likes of ‘From Skin To Charcoal’ and ‘Last Chance To Die’ are as raw, abrasive and intimidating as anything we’ll hear all evening, and although the pit has yet to get moving, things are already starting to get a bit sweaty down the front – and quite rightly so. Be sure to give the band’s recent ‘Deathmatch’ single a listen.
RAD clearly love playing live as much as a a Border Collie loves chasing a stick (that’s a lot), and their enthusiasm is infectious. We could cite vocalist Andy’s bug-eyed delivery, or the synchronised head-banging and guitar histrionics from the two Bens, but really, this is a team effort – and a great one at that. The Brighton crew give their new songs (from recent EP, ‘Rad To The Bone’) their London debut, and they sound fantastic, with ‘Soundtrack To Slam’ deservedly getting things stirring in the crowd. A band on fire, no less; check out that EP as soon as possible.
There’s something gloriously unhinged about Leeds quintet Sidewinder, as if ripping through songs like ‘The Price Of Purity’ and ‘Mutagenic Deconstruction’ is what they need to stay sane. Man-mountain frontman Damien appears to be bleeding from his forehead, but he doesn’t seem particularly bothered as he briefly ventures into the crowd for an impromptu waltz with a crowd member. His band’s thunderous attack isn’t flashy, but it is brutally effective, with the pit finally boiling over halfway through their set. Your listening homework is their recent ‘Demons’ EP.
The gold medal for hardest-working frontman of the evening goes to Machete Law’s Gabriel, though, who spends most of his band’s set in the pit, and actually ends up surfing on top of it during the closing ‘Chains Of Despair’. It’s proof enough of a job well done, and his band are no slouches either. They’ve come all the way from Barcelona, are clearly eager to prove themselves, and as they dispatch the mid-set brace of ‘Desert Hammer’ and ‘Liturgy Of Violence’, they encapsulate pretty much everything that’s great about crossover thrash. ‘Liturgy Of Violence’ is also the title of their recent album, and it’s definitely worthy of your ears.
Cheers to all involved, including The Dev for putting on a great crossover thrash gig for free! Check out the bands via the Instagram and Bandcamp links below.
All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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