too quiet . That seems to sort itself out later as their heavier take on the Warzone / Judge New York sound becomes more clear . The epic storming intro and overall intensity of their self-titled track is the set ’ s highlight , resulting in some spin kicks and dancing on the crowd floor . Their cover of As One ( Warzone ) sees crowd members getting involved on the mic . They might not quite be doing anything groundbreaking but they are a tight band and have a fun vibe about them .
For New Jersey ’ s Lifeless , the hall is absolutely packed . That said , a good portion of it is the massive circle near the front which is likely being used for “ ninja action ”. Taking influences from the likes of Merauder and even Crowbar , Lifeless play crushingly slow hardcore that makes you want to punch things . For this show and the rest of the band ’ s tour , they are joined by friend Mike Ledet ( Paid In Full / Choose Your Weapon ..) on stand-in vocal duties . He controls both the mic and the crowd as if this was his full-time gig .
Being one of the most popular bands to come out of the UK , Dead Swans ’ comeback this year was quite exciting for many . Today , the boys absolutely tear it up on stage , playing with full force and vocalist , Nick , shouting at the top of his lungs . As great as their metallic-tinged aggressive hardcore is , the vocals are nothing special and make them sound a tad generic . Only a few people are making use of the “ circle ” while everyone else just stands around , either due to disinterest or purely because the performance is more captivating to watch .
Being Dutch hardcore legends , No Turning Back have a full house . Although they have a huge fan base , the band have a similar problem to Strength Approach that they sound just a little bit too similar to New York bands such as Madball and Terror . They still play great hardcore , like the invigorating Rise Up , the crushing Destination Unknown and the unifying True Love , all of which get the crowd moving . It is a shame that they shy away from doing their earlier work but it shows that they take pride in the progress they have made .
Many of the bands and fans here today may not be who and where they are if it wasn ’ t for the likes of Judge . Even if they got into hardcore through Sick Of It All or Madball , Judge are to thank for those bands . Whether straight edge or not , they wrote anthems for a generation and paved the way for others . This is proven by the amount of those filling up the floor right to the front of the stage . Singer , Mike ( Ferraro ), is centre of attention , holding the mic out every time someone wished to sing along . They practically play their greatest hits of hardcore punk anthems like The Storm , New York Crew and Where It Went , causing people to pile on top of one another and stage diving galore . They top things off with their famous cover of Warriors by Blitz . This helps show British punk ’ s influence on the New York hardcore scene and acts as a nice lead to the following act .
The honour of final act for the whole event goes to 70s Oi punk rockers , Cockney Rejects . Singer Jeff ( aka Stinky Turner ) doesn ’ t shy away from being as British as possible , using slang and his infamous “ Oi , Oi ”. As the band plays through songs like We Are The Firm , I ’ m Not A Fool and Bad Man , the classic punk sounds get people in a jolly mood . Jeff is absolutely full of life on stage , doing some shadow boxing-style dancing every so often . With the crowd singing along to most songs , it ’ s the football anthem I ’ m Forever Blowing Bubbles that really gets everyone going by the end . They may be overshadowed by the legacies of Cock Sparrer and Sham 69 , but their live performance proves that Cockney Rejects have still got it and are not to be overlooked .
Words by Jonathan Miller & Photography by Tanguy Maes
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