Comeback Kid – Camden Underworld – 17/04/14 | Live Review

Credit: Andrew Pepin

It is simple mathematics when you think about it… a near sold out Camden Underworld + Comeback Kid / Xibalba / The Greenery / Malevolance x stagedives and moshing = MAYHEM. For tonight in support of their brand new album ‘Die Knowing’, Comeback Kid will prove once again why they are one of the most cherished hardcore acts of the past decade.

Malevolence are the first band to open up tonight’s festivities, and they do so with such technical precision that it genuinely shattered any preconceptions of what this reviewer had of the band previously. Usually the band’s name has been traded around in the UK ‘hardcore hype’ circles over the past year or so, but seeing is believing – actions speak louder than words. There is a great amount of sheer enjoyment that is filling the crowd as Malevolence play some sickeningly tight and heavy riffs that just dominate the stage and the sound system. They sure have got a lot of energy about them as well, and Malevolence were a genuinely pleasant surprise by all means. Keep your eyes peeled on this lot!

Next up are Californian crew The Greenery, who sound like the bastard children of Down To Nothing, Trash Talk and Cancer Bats, with a bit more of a balls out hardcore punk fury. A hyperactive and raucous set that pumps up the volume along with the tempo, there is a genuine crossover appeal here that would be translatable to the hardcore crews, the metal kids, and obnoxious punks. With songs such as ‘Reapers Keeper’ and ‘Faceplant’ smashing it and warming the crowd up a treat, as well as a cheeky Beastie Boys cover for good measure, The Greenery arrived – raised hell – and left. A genuinely welcome shot of natural adrenaline to the evening.

The main support comes in the form of Xibalba. The sound that these lot make is truly sickening, it should be criminal just how low the tuning of those guitars go! But for what it is worth, Xibalba churn out some of the most evil, dark, and foreboding tunes of the evening – with a truly powerful and menacing stage presence coming from vocalist Nate Rebolledo. Whilst they lack the speed and the tenacity of the previous two acts, their sound get a little lost in translation with some members of the crowd.Admittedly, there were a couple of off-time cues during the set, and some of the music sounded a little too disjointed in general (not necessarily live), but what Xibalba lack in the studio they make up for it live. At times a little strung out, but for the best part Xibalba absolutely smashed it.

Credit: Andrew Pepin

Of course the dance floor packs out to the rafters for the main headliner – Comeback Kid. For 14 years now the Canadian hardcore quintet have toured the world and played shows more times than they have had hot dinners, and in the process have become a most loved and influential peer to many new bands in the game today.
Beginning up with new album opener ‘Die Knowing’ and following in to the electric ‘Do Yourself A Favour’, this crowd unleashes its full fury, as does the band on stage. The set is filled with a wide range of fan favourites such as ‘G.M. Vincent & I’, ‘Talk Is Cheap’, ‘Our Distance’, and ‘Broadcasting’, the place is just a non-stop flurry of mayhem and chaos in the pit and on stage. Just how we like it!

During the set, frontman Andrew Neufeld informs us that there is a music video being shot tonight for their new single ‘Wasted Arrows’. The band ask politely if they can play it twice, so there is enough sufficient footage for the video. What follows is nothing short of mentalism on the next level, as a sea of stagedivers go in to kamikaze mode, and the whole place really shows a lot of love and appreciation for the new material being played tonight
Of course no Comeback Kid set would be complete without ending it on a high note with the singalong inducing hardcore anthem ‘Wake The Dead’, which puts the crowd in to a fever pitch and threatens to blow the roof of the venue with its non-stop maelstrom of moshing, stagediving, and pile-ons. All in all a feverishly great set to which Comeback Kid prove all over again just why they are the kings of their game, and more importantly show no signs of slowing down any time soon.