Kicking off with ‘Punk or Lust’ and ‘Kids’ from 2015’s ‘Broken Thrills’, it’s a breathless set of old and new, with latest single ‘Punks in a Disco Bar’ getting a rousing response and singalong. And if that’s anything to go by, new album ‘A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings’ is going to keep Beach Slang as one of the most exciting bands to watch.

That being said, the highlight of the show isn’t exactly what you’d expect. It’s the revelation from Alex that the rest of the band had happened to learn how to play Santana’s 1999 hit featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty – ‘Smooth’. Yes, you read that correctly.

And as outlandish as that sounds, and the rest of the crowd can’t quite believe it, the most amusing part of the show is when the band prove that they have learned it. And play it. And then again between every song for the rest of the night.

Closing out with an encore of ‘All Fuzzed Out’ and ‘Young & Alive’, Beach Slang end on the highest possible note – a rousing rock ‘n’ roll crescendo that is as much fun as it is awesome.

Part punk show. Part comedy show. All party. Viva la Beach Slang.

CHRIS ROBINSON

Full blown slaves to the ‘90s, Eat Me kick off the evening, and with their immediately invigorating and energetic fuzz-laden pop-rock they catch almost everyone in the audience’s attention within a song or two. While the temperature rises in the upstairs of the Barfly, it doesn’t dampen anyone’s desire or enjoyment – Eat Me are a fantastically entertaining band, and worth keeping an eye on.

Black Foxxes immediately stake a claim this evening to be one of the hottest bands to look out for in the next year or so. Instantly infectious from the first note to the last, the strength of their songs, performance and delivery turns a chatty crowd deathly silent, completely in awe of what this three-piece are doing on stage. From recent single ‘Husk’ to new track ‘I’m Not Well’, Black Foxxes have something very, very special about them. With the ability to go from soaring Xcerts-esque singalongs to emotionally charged quiet tracks, they’re capable of so much.

With such strong support acts, you’d think the pressure is on Milk Teeth, but after 89 days of touring at this point, across 11 countries, they come out swinging, looking fresher than ever and not missing a single note. Milk Teeth sound the best they’ve ever sounded tonight, raising the bar for a sold out show in front of many adoring fans, friends, and family,

Opening with a rousing rendition of ‘Brain Food’, it’s the venue-wide singalong of ‘Brickwork’ that leaves frontperson Becky Blomfield almost speechless at the love this audience has for them and their music. A heartfelt reminder on the importance of discussing one’s own mental health, and supporting those who are struggling, accompanies a deeply emotional rendition of ‘Kabuki’, which is respected with silent observation from the crowd. Throwing in deep cuts from the album and a few choice favourites from previous EPs, Milk Teeth’s set not only demonstrates how far they’ve come as a band but also how bright the future is for them.

Closing out with ‘No Fun’ and ‘Vitamins’, the party mood is in full swing – with the release of balloons and confetti cannons, and the floor of the Barfly bowing under the weight of an entire audience dancing along. Milk Teeth bring their best this evening, and it seems fairly obvious that they won’t be playing venues of this size on UK headliner tours for much longer.

CHRIS ROBINSON

But fast-forward to 2016, a new record deal with Hassle Records sees the release of this self-titled, 12 track album.

While Max Raptor have always written catchy, accessible punk rock, ‘Max Raptor’ feels somewhat neutered. It’s had the thorn ripped out of it, losing a lot of the groove and darkness that made them stand out. The songs aren’t bad, they just feel lacking in bite. The visceral, snotty side to Max Raptor that balanced the groove to their songs has wilted – making a 12 song record feel very long indeed.

Songs like ‘Old Romantics’ have a great pace to then, but it sounds like something Hundred Reasons would have released in 2005, and ‘When I Was A Gentleman’ combines an unoriginal riff with almost predictable gang vocals. Don’t get us wrong, though, ‘Torch Led’ is a stronger moment – a fierce, sub three minute slice of punk rawness.

‘Max Raptor’ isn’t a bad record, it just balances really good songs with distinctly average ones, so it struggles to retain your attention for the duration. The one-two of ‘Big Divide’, with its thick, syrupy chorus and sing along vocals, into the savage ‘Concrete’, works superbly and plays on a tried and tested slow/fast dynamic.

2015’s ‘Damage Appreciation’ EP was a good sign of what to expect from this record, but it feels like this wasn’t capitalised on for ‘Max Raptor’. For every good moment, there’s something that ever so slightly disappoints, and overall that leaves a disjointed sounding record that only frustrates, because we’re aware of this band’s ability to write fantastic punk rock tracks with a classic British bite to it.

CHRIS ROBINSON

While only a brief record, it departs as quickly as it arrives, making its statement with precise efficiency. It wastes no time with labouring any of the points, or dragging any songs out unnecessarily. It’s sharp, smart and ruthless; the sound of Beartooth at their most aggressive, with shades of Cancer Bats in some of the chord structure. A devastatingly large sound from only four people.

From the southern stomp of ‘Failsafe’, with its Corrosion of Conformity-esque groove, to the mosh-inducing candour of ‘Anti-Venom’, Bailer demonstrate a hearty balance of headbanging melody with evenly distributed aggression. Culminating in the deeply downtuned and creeping epic, ‘The Benefit of Doubt’, it’s the gigantic wall of sound that confronts you that nurtures your intention and satisfies significant riff cravings.

‘Shaped By The Landscape’ is short, but that plays to its charm – it is a vital burst of excitement that doesn’t tail off or feel repetitive. It’s a release of pent up aggression and adrenaline that gives you exactly what you need, without the need to question it.

When done to this level, hardcore can never be accused of being boring. It’s records like this that remind you of the energy and creativity that can be found in a genre that far too often relies on cliches.

Smart, vicious, and clever, if Bailer aren’t picked up to tour with the likes of Beartooth or Norma Jean in the very near future, then the music industry is failing bands of this quality, plain and simple. They deserve it, and we’d sure as hell pay to see it.

CHRIS ROBINSON

On this four-track EP, titled ‘Home Is Where My Heart Dies’, Create To Inspire provide the perfect taster selection to what they are capable of, delivered with great flair, style, and execution, it triumphs not only in its songwriting but also in its production.

Throwing some ‘80s/’90s style hardcore riffs with huge, melodic metalcore-esque choruses provides a great one-two on the opening tracks ‘History’ and ‘Counting Days’, which fly out the traps with aggressive pace and swagger. It’s Create To Inspire’s ability to jump between giant singalong moments and mosh-inducing riffage that is their greatest strength, and something they are fully aware of.

‘Home Is Where My Heart Dies’ covers a lot of ground, with ‘Don’t Let Go’ showing the bands more progressive side – sweeping clean sections and ambient lead lines building to even bigger melodic output than seen on any of the previous tracks. Closing out with the EP’s title track, it’s another 3 minutes of riff and chorus to-and-fro that sounds written for the stage – something designed to be played live, and loudly.

Mastering the art of the singalong and biblical sized chorus, with punishing riffs, Create To Inspire are on to something very strong, very impressive here – the only shame being that it’s a four track EP. ‘Home Is Where My Heart Dies’ leaves you constantly craving more, hitting the play button again and again when it finishes.

CHRIS ROBINSON

It’s the swaying chorus of ‘R.E.D.’, the unhinged Dillinger Escape Plan frenetics of the riffs in ‘The Streisand Effect’, and the bottled half-life of The Chariot exhaled in ‘E=MC Hammered’ that make you sit up and take notice. Those little things that make you pause ever so slightly when the record is on in the background and think “What have we here?”.

Despite the ‘we’re funny and putting puns in our song titles’ naming convention, which is a little tired in 2016, the content itself is quite strong. There’s a great balance of melody and aggression with the chorus in ‘R.E.D.’, with a riff that has strong echoes of The James Cleaver Quintet, which is easily the best track on offer.

‘Usama’s Bin Liners’ hits you like an electric shock in one arm and an adrenaline shot in the other, with the skill here being that it doesn’t drag itself out unnecessarily. You get everything you need from it – this controlled chaos, the visceral snap of the vocals and surge of power from the instrumentation, and then it’s done and out.

In fact, the whole EP finishes before you’ve even had chance to catch breath. That said, the main criticism is the length. Unfortunately, four songs don’t give you an appropriate understanding of what this band are capable of, and what else they’ve got in their locker.

Sure, they’ve demonstrated a range of influences, and can balance aggression and melody well, but like bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan it takes a full-length to tell the real story of what this band is about.

We’ll wait until then to make our minds up completely about The Colour Line, but expectations have been set.

CHRIS ROBINSON

‘A War Against You’ was released 10 years after your previous album, ‘[Our Darkest Days’. What have you guys been up to over the last few years, and what influenced the decision to come back now?

We originally started working on new songs back in ’07-‘08 but then some things got delayed in the process. Zoli joined Pennywise for three years, myself and the others in Ignite were playing in bands like Into Another, Strife and Nations Afire. But there was always the intent of writing, recording and putting out the next Ignite album, we just didn’t know when we were going to be free enough to put the necessary work in, to make the album the right way.

We started writing songs again in early 2013 once our schedules kind of cleared up and we entered the recording studio in May 2014 and finished recording the new Ignite album last year.

You’re known for being very socially and politically conscious, what issues did you want to address or highlight with ‘A War Against You’?

I would not say that the album is a concept record or anything like that, but there are themes that have some consistency with our previous work. The lyrical content on Ignite albums generally deal with issues involving personal, political, environmental and social topics. If you know Ignite songs from the past this is very clear.

This album, I would say follows pretty close to the categories that I just mentioned, but we delve into a lot of new issues and current events that are going on in the world like the worldwide immigration issue, bullying, decimation of land for profit, racial issues, etc… There is never a shortage of issues to write about on the planet that we live on.

Issues such as the environment and vegetarianism have featured quite prominently on previous records, what do you think the real pressing issues are in the current climate?

You said it. Climate. There needs to be even more awareness of fossil fuel use, the rise in the earth’s temperature/climate, clean water. Do a little research yourself, read some environmental blogs, check out Earth First, Sea Shepherds and groups like that if you want to hear about some stuff that major media doesn’t touch.

You’ve used your platform to support several organisations and charities in the past, how important do you think it is for musicians to use their platform to raise awareness of these organisations?

For us it is important. However, we believe if you put in the years of work to be in a touring band then nobody should tell you what you should say or what message you should spread. Some bands are just out the to have fun and party.

For Ignite however that wouldn’t work, that’s not how we are wired. We feel we have been given the opportunity to share a positive message to people around the world, to inspire people and to possibly help open the eyes of people on subjects and issues that maybe they haven’t heard of or haven’t thought about.

What do you think about the current state of punk rock and hardcore? What new bands have you come across that you feel are really flying the flag for the genre at the minute?

That’s an interesting question. I think harder music is getting more and more popular every year. When we started Ignite, the big Green Day & Offspring explosion was happening, which opened a lot of doors for punk and hardcore bands. At the same time metal bands were getting bigger and bigger with the mainstream success of Metallica and bands like that.

All of that has helped make metal/punk/hardcore more accessible to everyone. It seems to continue to grow all around us which in turned has helped Ignite grown along the way too, without even putting a new album out in 10 years.

We have enjoyed listening to and playing with bands like Wisdom In Chains, Turnstile and Broken Teeth.

What are your plans for the remainder of 2016?

We just finished a European Tour with Terror, H2O, Wisdom In Chains, Iron Reagan and a bunch of other great bands! We are making plans now for the rest of the year, I’m sure we will get over to Europe for some festivals and hopefully get out on a US tour soon.

Mainstream audiences had Kvelertak brought to their attention a few years ago, showcasing just what else you can expect from the likes of Norway and Finland; but alongside bands such as Victims and Jeroan Drive, there’s a lot more going on unnoticed. Introducing Ondt Blod, whose pace, urgency and downright groove demand that you pay attention.

Debut full-length Finnmark, released via Loyal Blood Records on January 18th, is an intense, roaring ten track album, packed full of influences ranging from black metal to power pop, loaded with riffs that would make James Hetfield envious.

Right from the first second, ‘Svarta Daga’ doesn’t hold up – launching head first into a chaotic, yet catchy, hardcore menagerie. For a track that’s little over two minutes long, it packs a lot in, and really sets the tone for the whole album – punchy, pacy, and damn groovy. Then when you take a track like ‘Nye Lydspor’, which throws huge power pop chorus, pure sing-a-long material (if you know Norwegian) into the mix, you understand quickly that this is a big, experimental record.

This is the album Kvelertak wish they could make. It’s the essence of Kvelertak, taken one step further. Ondt Blod have no fear in putting massive breakdowns, power pop choruses and blast beats in a song clocking in a 2:30 because they do it so well. ‘9900 Sodoma’ sees Ondt Blod at their most traditional hardocre, evoking the spirit of 80s and 90s DC hardcore, with a Billy Talent-esque chorus. Trust us, it works. Every time you think a mix up of styles and genres wouldn’t work, Ondt Blod are the band to pull it off and impress you while doing it.

Finnmark is a joy to listen to, ambitious, experimental and delivered with phenomenal pace and ability. It’s also incredibly well produced, with drums sounding vibrant and close, and a rumbling bass that sounds like a thunderstorm going off inside your skull, it sits perfectly with the vicious guitar work and acid-soaked vocals.

For a debut record, you won’t hear many better this year. If you’re a hardcore fan, you may have just discovered your new favourite band.

CHRIS ROBINSON

Forgive us for sounding harsh, but we thought we’d save you any bullshit and give you a truly honest opinion. As a debut full-length, it feels like an album that still needs a lot of work, from a band who need to understand the direction they wish to go in.

What this leaves is a confusing, jarring collection of songs, that darts from post-hardcore to metal, indie to 90’s DC-hardcore riffs in a split second. Is it trying to be smart? After three listens to the record, I’m just not sure. It leaves you feeling confused and uncomfortable, not sure what you’ve just listened to and a bit baffled by what’s gone on.

It’s packed full of clichés, from the strained hardcore vocal style adopted by so many hardcore and pop-punk crossover bands, to the stale drums and predictable riffs, you can’t help but wonder if more time should have been spent on trying to do something unique, something original, rather than looking at what has worked well for bands over the past 5 years.

The key thing missing here is a central theme. Sure, these guys can write songs but there’s a rigidity there that has the feeling of a band being let down by a producer, or being guided poorly by management – I can’t quite put my finger on it.

It’s never particularly enjoyable to write a negative review, to tear a record apart that I’m sure Household worked hard on to create and are very proud of, but this album isn’t going to change the world. It all sounds done before, which is what makes it such a disappointment. Sorry, Household.

CHRIS ROBINSON