Sick Of It All are a hardcore institution. Over their almost thirty year career they’ve bought their savage intensity to fans across the world. If their two night tenure at Camden’s Underworld is anything to go by, neither their popularity nor their balls to the wall live intensity show any signs of stopping.
Manchester’s maniacal mob Broken Teeth are utterly rampant. Their big, brooding riffs carry the full weight of their hardcore fury, and their heavy use of palm muting brings a metallic bite to their sound. The bass, guitars and drums all lock in thumbscrew tight, belting out bruising staccato lines while the front man prowls the stage, barely containing his malevolent energies. He manages to stir up an initially hesitant, cautious crowd to some spine-wrecking violence, but although his grateful slew of shout outs speak of their appreciation, perhaps the time would have been better spent throwing down another track.
The Underworld seemed suspiciously quiet throughout the support, especially considering Sick Of It All sold the place out the previous night. But, sure enough, a crowd appears as if from thin air, and excitement reaches fever pitch well before the NYHC heroes appear. When they do, it’s as if an alternate universe existing solely of massive noise, swirling bodies and controlled chaos erupts within the venue.
The Koller’s and co. revel in this happy madness, embracing the stage divers and crowd surfers who dominate the crowd. They are staggeringly loud, Pete Koller belting out furious riffs whilst catapulting himself around the stage and bassist Craig Setari laying down rumbling, grooving lines that find their way past even the most deeply crammed earplugs. Lou Koller towers over all with assured confidence and a huge smile plastered all over his face before hollering out his raw throated vocals, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, encouraging circle pits and the infamous wall of death. He’s fucking funny, as well as engaging, and despite a few voice cracks, his performance is second to none.
In terms of setlist, they conjure up a career-spanning mix that delights fans both new school and old school. From a speedy yet grooving ‘Sanctuary’, through a brutal and rebellious ‘Injustice System’, to the one-two knockout climax of ‘Scratch The Surface’ and ‘Step Down’, every word is shouted back from the crowd, and every track goes down a storm. The Queens quartet create a timeless racket that you’ll never, ever get sick of. At all.
