The Underworld is already living up to its name even before Secreum hit the stage. The streets are warm in Camden, below them in this famous little venue it’s toastie hot. Secreum turn it up to gas mark 8 with a pounding show that sets the tone for the rest of the evening. The riffage here is on a grand scale but it’s vocalist Sonny Antoniou that sets the band apart. He is the Justin Hawkins of thrash with crowd engagement skills bigger bands could learn from. We get an added bonus with Charlotte Jones joining the Londoners for ‘Voice Of Reason’. The Underworld just became an inferno.
On first looks Skarlett Riot might seem an odd fit sandwiched between, on paper, much heavier acts. That’s not really the case these days though with the Scunthorpe four piece hitting harder than ever before. You still get those hard rock vibes but now the metal flows through every vein and note. This band are tight too, seriously so. A few sagely nods from musicians in the crowd mimicking Dan Oglesby’s guitar licks tells you all you need to know. While the music has morphed Skarlett has wisely resisted any temptation to go full on screamo – a wise move. It’s her power and clarity with varying degrees of fry that set the combo apart. Tonight shows just how far Skarlett Riot have progressed.
Latest album ‘Time’ has helped to propel Infected Rain not so much to the next level but up several rungs of the music ladder in one go. They’ve spent years grafting away making incredible music with geography and trends not being very helpful to them. Now though things are different. Fans access their listening content differently with less influence from the industry. Being more DIY is an asset too now. So the real cream is rising to the top, at least where the alternative scene is concerned. The current band line up looks sharp as a pin in the heat of The Underworld. There’s a natural balance to how they look and crucially, sound. Eugen Voluta is a bit of an unsung hero on the drums giving rhythm section partner Alice Lane room to do her impressive thing. Lane has made bass playing an art form laying down the thunder while commanding her part of the stage. Vadim Ojog is a whirling dervish of dreads and guitar. His playing is mighty impressive by any standards. And then of course there’s Lena Scissorhands, someone who is rapidly becoming a metal superstar. As humble as she is ferocious, with her signature brightly coloured dreads flying you get the sense you are watching a bit of history being made. This is a big venue performance in a much loved but pretty compact room. Infected Rain are on the march, and tonight they look unstoppable.
Review And Photos By Gary Trueman