Out of context it’s amusing. In the confides of the record, it’s still amusing – “I’m a fucking dog, that wants to shit on you”. Ever the poets, Falls make will laugh and bang your head simultaneously. ‘Berries’, as is the case with most Falls songs, is a wonderful blend of party rock and intelligent musicianship.

Metallic isn’t usually the primary word to describe Falls, no strangers to a riff or two, but surprisingly the release’s most noteworthy moments all come in the form of stone cold metal riffs. Absolute doozies are dotted all over the place – the boys have been busy beefing up an already fierce sound with a generous helping of doom. The fantastically heavy final track, ‘Liberator’, simply put, absolutely crushes. The hypnotising riff wails on and on and, with a battering drum performance alongside, it ends the EP in epic fashion.

Definitely more diverse than previous material, the listener is hard-pressed to find a dull moment or any momentary silence. Every conceivable gap is filled with gang vocals, off kilter guitars, comedy gold lyrics, and rumbling bass tones. It seems that Falls decided to throw everything they could into this release. Despite creating some excellent music, that driving ambition may have hindered their famed knack for catchiness.

LEW TROTT

An epic opener in every sense, unlike other tunes and massively unexpected, ‘Myrr’ could legitimately handle itself on a massive stage. Whenever listened to it is impossible not to imagine a fiery stage and three dudes absolutely killing it. Almost two minutes in to the metallic savagery, the EP’s heaviest moment hits: ‘China Lake’ is a monster; it’s the darkest shit you can imagine multiplied by ten, paired with the type of brutality any ‘slam’ band would envy.

Standout out track ‘Kleptocracy’ begins with a delicate guitar part and gang vocals which, despite usually being an alien concept for the band, is really atmospheric and nice. The niceties are short lived however as bassist/vocalist Jake Packer, with all the surprise of a Randy Orton RKO, unveils a chilling shriek before the track continues on with villainous power.

The non-stop savage bleakness of the four unforgiving tracks is slightly overshadowed by the bands previous work. Their first EP, ‘Violence’, certainly feels more urgent and though the change to a doomier pace is an impressive step in a new direction, it doesn’t quite live up to older work.

LEW TROTT

Clear by the pomegranate fuelled video that accompanies ‘Unveil’, it is an emotive masterpiece. Epic building acoustic guitars, as is so often the case with This Be The Verse, reveal a crescendo of giant proportions. It’s an excellent first single!

Whether it’s “This is all we want, we want the truth” in ‘Adieu’ or the abruptly heavy cries of “fuck religion” and “fuck oppression” on ‘I Am Charlie’, a socially aware lyrical overtone is present on a large percentage of tracks. The closing song, ‘I Am Charlie’, is a delicate, subtle number, for the most part at least. Crammed with all the bells and whistles you’d come to expect, it eventually erupts.

The only sad thing about this album is it’s almost a victim of overdoing it although the level of intellect and experimentation is first class. At times it feels like actually good songs have been messed about with just that bit too much; a brilliantly crafted album but lacking that bit in terms of catchiness and memorability.

Moodier and certainly darker than the often harsh attacks brandished by their colleagues, TBTV set about capturing you in an electric-tech storm. The London band seem to create scores of music rather than actual songs. Melding a mammoth range of influences and genres into individual five-minute soundtracks, each with a sense of chaos, yet with perfect symmetry. It’s simply astounding. The songs are pretty good but the level of creativity and musicianship is something to behold.

LEW TROTT

Almightily heavy, Counting Days brandish an attack so hard hitting it’s a wonder the venue can withstand the force of the five men on stage. Spinning tunes from their debut album, ‘Liberated Sounds’ appears to make an impression with the more hardcore punk inclined crowd. Unable to turn their heads from the what can only be described as an onslaught of riffs, they showcase their brutal sound to a room more than accepting of the monstrous noise. Opening with ‘Burned By Faith’ and heading straight into the albums self-titled track is a travesty. If you were to stick this band on the Architects tour later this year they would blow minds. A perfect support slot.

Unlike the band, it takes a while for the Southampton crowd to get in the mood, warming up after a couple of songs and then BANG! They’re in the pocket of frontman Lee Tobin. As if not going off for absolute bangers; ‘The Butchers’ and ‘Caller of the Town’ wasn’t mad enough, the room is nowhere capacity. This band deserve so much more. Not dwelling on the poor show of attendance, the boys’ amp up everything, once they’re in gear there is no stopping them.

As the name suggests Feed The Rhino are somewhat of an animal in the live arena, let loose from their cage for the first time in over a year, the Kent boys are finally back. I promise there’s no more animal references, honest. Just before their hiatus the band released ‘Featherweight’, with only a handful of plays live, although you’d never know by the sound of it, it slams. Running through classic tracks in ‘Behind The Pride’ and ‘The Burning Sons’ only modestly stirs up the crowd.

Obviously saving their singing voices for ‘Tides’, everyone bellows the words “they’re not your saviour’. Always a fan favourite but tonight this song is so far ahead of anything else. Chilling moments of quiet all before the final explosion of power give the swelling crowd a break from the bite of Sam and James’ vicious guitar tone, but not for too long. Closing the set with a pair of tunes from ‘The Sorrow and the Sound’ is the perfect way to end. It’s an excellent return for the Rhino!

LEW TROTT

Coming in the form of a three-and-a-half-minute banger, the album’s first single ‘Sing This’, is unquestionably the duo’s greatest pop-rock hit to date. That ‘pop’ part, is as minimal as you probably imagined. Mounds of fuzzy pedal board action and its glaring roots in punk make sure the edge is never too far away.

“It bites and it bites it and breaks my mind!” is snarled with attitude that is so often overlooked. ‘It Bites’ sees a beautifully nasty vocal effect that gives Thom’s screams an added layer of gristle. The boys go all in on the dirty flavour on this one. Inexplicably far from the gentle melody enforced on ‘Easily Mislead’, ‘It Bites’ is heinously heavy.

Ever heard Drenge’s ‘Never Awake’? God Damn defiantly have, or maybe they defiantly haven’t? Whichever way you look at it, second track ‘Ghost’ takes vibes from the fellow duo’s 2015 track. Far from a carbon copy, but once the similarities are heard they’re impossible to separate. Both brilliant songs but at times one in the same.

Long-time fans will be pleased to find out that God Damn haven’t gone all experimental on us, at least no more so than usual. Instead of going out on a limb in search of a new sound they’ve put their winning formula on steroids.

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Opening the record with a track about vengeance and social discontent, ‘Oblivions Peak’ is as aggressive an opener this genre can offer. Total animosity is established as the overriding theme within the first sixty seconds, from this moment on there is hardly a moment to catch your breath. The more metallic end of hardcore can at times, despite the swells of power delivered, often feel a little pedestrian. Thankfully Knocked Loose suffer no such problems.

Bryan Garris’s incredibly raw vocal performance is key in achieving such a high level of distress across the record, there’s no more obvious an example than ‘Deadringer’. “Wish I could be like them. Wish I could get away with murder. Wish I could get, away with it all,” paired with Garris’s howls are the same words only softly spoken, they make for a really interesting juxtaposition.

Alive for barely a minute, ‘Counting Worms’ is a vulgar demonstration of how heavy hardcore can be. The band’s punishing guitars are ever present but on this short burst of absolute hate, they exist with all the grace of a monster hangover. A couple of rabid dog style barks are bellowed before the beatdown absolutely crushes.

Enlisting the services of brother and former Street Rat vocalist, Dallas Garris, turns ‘The Rain’ into a bloodcurdling recital of pure fury. Roars of “I can’t pretend that we’re born with a destination!” and “Abandoned!” give the impression ‘The Rain’ is a far more personal tale than any other on the album. When it’s time for Dallas to take over the mic he unleashes a tirade in a similar style to Desolated’s Paul Williams, gritty and unforgiving they fit perfectly.

Ending with the sludgiest riff the band have ever written and an actual laughter track show Knocked Loose to be band of many sides.

LEW TROTT

Every track from Napoleon’s ‘Newborn Mind’ showcases the bands immense proficiency for technical hardcore, in an intimate setting like this it becomes a whole different animal. ‘Different Skin’ is a far cry from its album counterpart. Not fuelled by the desire for a crunching breakdown but rather by finesse and technical prowess. Such is displayed by guitarist James Mendoza who, contrary to popular belief only has the one set of hands. You’d be forgiven for thinking the band had three guitarists but in actual fact they only have one. Ridiculous. The crowd seem eager to take part in a good old mosh but it does become apparent that perhaps the Exeter outfit have no intention of delivering any floor splitting moments. Plenty of mic grabs, especially during ‘Afterlife’, but the mob crave something much harder. Undeterred by the lack of beatdowns several eager gig-goers transform the room into a dancefloor. Good form gentlemen.

Essex boys, Create To Inspire, much like their tour mates also released a record this year. They’re still very much a new band but this second EP is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor. Title track, ‘Home Is Where My Heart Dies’, about as cliché melodic hardcore as they come, excites the audience. “Get the fuck over here and give me a cuddle you bastards” exclaims Sean Midson, and much to the delight of the front man many crowd members gladly obliged. Lapping up every riff and unrivalled in popularity, Create To Inspire prove to be the highlight of the night. When the beatdowns do arrive the modest crowd lose their minds, flying limbs, all in good fun mind, dominate the floor. Culminating in the biggest singalongs of the night Midson barely has the microphone in his has hands whilst ‘Halfway Home’ is played, definitely a fan favourite and an excellent way to end the set.

LEW TROTT

The bands obvious love of a fat-off riff (or two) is never more apparent than on first single ‘Entombed’, the cloudy line that covers this bands genre placement is at its most clear. This is a heavy metal showcase. Classic metallic riffs demand headbanging, “All is lost. Entombed” is uttered in unassuming fashion, making the following neck snapping guitar wizardry feel that bit extra cold-blooded.

In accomplished fashion the rhythm section really take charge on ‘My Tree’. Low end rumbling and tonnes of classic china hits separate it from the pack. The altogether beefier manner in which the way the track is attacked is given the cold shoulder when a fully-fledged wind blowing through 80’s long hair style guitar solo is presented. It’s unexpected and outstanding in equal measure.

A constant juxtaposition to the onslaught of heavily armed guitars is the flowing and sometimes sheepish delivery of Jock Norton vocals. The man’s voice conjures up an LA sun deprived Rivers Cuomo bound with the eccentricities of Ghost’s Papa Emeritus kind of vibe. On paper, something that should probably never happen, but the bashful front man pulls it off. Not only does he pull it off, he absolutely triumphs.

When James Hetfield isn’t churning out fabled power driven metal anthems and fancies writing a sweeter sounding song, he turns to a riff just like this. If it’s good enough for the big man, then it’s good enough for these guys. The sombre tones of and ‘Here at Home’ give the EP another layer of identity, altering the pace down to a slower brooding tempo. “Remember how we used to break the rules”. I suppose you could say Puppy are doing just that, marrying a myriad of genres in such a nonchalant way, appears to be almost too easy for the London band.

LEW TROTT

‘Don’t Be Afraid of Love’ is brilliant, the removal of the all too often lazy vocal style is definitely a factor. A scuzzy pairing of sunny riffs with an underlying grungy tone is only made better by the backdrop of hugely complimentary drum hits.

There is something distinctly Oakland about this record, it’s nimble song structure and low-fi aesthetic are good examples. Unfortunately, far outweighing the positives are the poisonous negatives. It’s overriding lame cool guy desires are most notably cringe worthy. In an attempt to best their previous material, the California band have fallen devastatingly short.

LEW TROTT

First single ‘Oh My God’ is an enthralling few minutes, kicking off with singer Charlie Kerr simply yelling ‘Oh My God’. Much like the whole album it’s stacked with pace, another feature constant throughout the record is the cleverly written and witty lyrics. On this track a standout is defiantly “Our ghosts should really hang out when we croak”, not to be outdone, in the song ‘Trojan Horse’ Kerr seems to have some top pretty ambitious life goals, “I wanna drop outta school and rap (cool), I see a real future in that”. Incredible scenes.

The conflicting styles of Arctic Monkeys (considerably less of the Sheffield-ness of course) and Chon aren’t often banded together, but with a passion for melody, power and technicality that is exactly what JPNSGRLS have done. Constantly reassessing the sound is something the listener is forced to do. Creating indie emblazoned rock n roll with balls the size of Canada seems to be an elementary exercise for JPNSGRLS.

‘Circulations’, the band’s first album, saw moderate success throughout the US and Canada, even venturing to the UK for a handful of appearances. With this album bolstering their discography with yet more infectious tunes, if these dudes don’t rise to the top pretty sharpish then there is something seriously wrong.

LEW TROTT