Ringworm, Kingdom, xBishopx, River Freshney and Hang The Bastard

@ Camden Underworld 20/01/09

I was going to write a normal review but half way it turned into me going into a rant - you've been warned!

The first band on tonight are Hang The Bastard. They're one of those bands that are constantly touring (especially in London), yet for some reason i keep missing them live. Tonight they play on of the tightest sets I've seen - everything works for them and with such precision and drive they deserve to be much higher on the bill.

The second band are River Freshney - and unkown to me it's their last show (thankfully!). As they launch into their first predictable thrash/metal 'song', it is only a handful of the old faithful that gather at the front. To me the music wasn't enjoyable but endurable. The fact that their song titles includes; Sex With Minors and Titwank, showed that they were just a dumb thrash band with nothing to say. As the lead singer introduced the next song, Your A Queer - I had enough. Stupid lyrics is one thing - homophobic shit is another. I don't have time for that crap. I walked out with my friends. I think River Freshney put it best, when on their myspace it reads "It gets no shitter than this". That's one thing we agree on then.

The third band to take to the stage are xBishopx. They seem to be one of those straight edge bands that people either love or hate - and the crowd's reaction showed just that. They were however the first band that appeared to get some of the crowd genuinely excited! Their approach is steadfast bellowing lyrics backed up with hard hitting breakdowns, which can appear more tough guy than it actually is. The new album 'Drugs' is considerably better than previous material - yet for me live they still lack that certain something to make them stand out and be counted for.

Kingdom were the band I came to watch. It is their first time in the UK and vocalist Davin has twisted her ankle in a stage diving incident and she still has the brace on, this however takes nothing away from the band's deleivery tonight. Kindom set things off to a roaring start with a cover of Straight Edge, by Minor Threat. The also played tracks from their 7" Nine Lives, as well as several new songs which are to appear on on thier new release The Rage That Guides (31st March - Eulogy Records). Kingdom let their true colours show and are not afraid to be in your face with their socially aware ideals and meaningful lyrics - all backed with solid crushing fury. Brilliant.

I only caught a mear glimpse of headliners Ringworm - yet they looked as if things went down well. Sometimes the mix of hardcore and metal bands on a bill work and sometimes they don't. Tonight was one of the later, and each may have suffered from the split in the crowd. For me tonight's performances from Hang The Bastard and Kingdom made it all worthwhile.