Photos and review by Ashley Crowson

Personally, it has been 6 long years since my last venture to the Underworld, a much more gentle
evening of an acoustic night with the legendary Mark Morton performing hot on the release of his EP, Ether. Lamb of God themselves were set on a big year and then some with the forthcoming release of their self titled studio album, and an interview with Mark before the gig around the tour
for Ether, he was very clear that “If not now, then who knows if it could happen.” Little did we know the World would shut down and life as we know it would change within weeks.

Fast forward 6 years and I find myself visiting the venue and my favourite pre-gig haunt The Black Heart again, Covid had devastated both the live music and pub industries, let alone its impact on life. For many now, life has moved on, for some, not so much. Personally myself, I have suffered
lost lung capacity and been scarred with heart failure amongst a constantly growing list of ailments you wouldn’t wish upon some of your worst. I am at least alive, and although nowhere near close to being as able as I was pre-covid, I am alive. Never have I been more thankful for the opportunity to
find myself with cameras in hand, and music blowing my face off again!

The first band to try and settle my anxieties and remember how to enjoy gigs again fell to British outfit Secreum. The Londoners bring some heavy, catchy as fuck metal with a progressive edge. Their enthusiasm is clear as day on their face as the smash through their set, and the tightly flashy
playing is a refreshing wake up for those working their way through the heat of London with their first beers in hand for a night in the deep, dark depths of the Underworld. The trouble with opening bands, is that they are usually limited in set times, and I for one could have enjoy another 15 or 20
mins of their set if it were an option. A band well worth giving the time of day if you find yourself in a position to see them.

Following came the main support in the ‘Eruption of Screams’ tour, LA hardcore outfit, Cutthroat. Whilst being the main support, it seems they didn’t get the memo. Headline worthy in every respect at any show. I’ve a bit of a marmite taste when it comes to hardcore, but they left no foul taste in my mouth at all, any absolute battering ram of groove from the off and zero punches pulled throughout.

The energy really picks up as they hammer their way through their set, with the venue soaking it up like a sponge. You could be forgiven for forgetting the struggle us British go through when it comes to summer heat given how the venue is popping off, being from LA, Cutthroat are merely basking in comparison. An ideal time for vocalist Neil to remove his man mountain stature from the stage
and rile up the crowd. I’d be going home happy if that was the end of the night, but it isn’t.

Through the decades, with break ups, hiatus, reunions, life threatening health ordeals, and a pandemic for good measure just to name a few. It took until 2022 for the headline band to hit our shores with a slot on the main stage of Bloodstock, since then they have now returned for a second time to the Underworld to bring their thrashy goodness. The current line up is overflowing with talented names in their own right, with vocalist Sean Killian being the remaining root to the bands name. Vio-lence are no longer a stranger to our land. Most surprisingly, is the age of faces around the venue.

We have the obvious generation that are familiar faces at any and every gig, no matter the band, you have those ticking their bucket list needs off with their first time finally catching the
guys, and you even have some lovely young souls, front and centre of the stage, who when asked, made me feel years closer to the coffin with their mere age of 17! A beautiful collection of folk to all come together to have their faces ripped off, and Vio-lence only know one way, and that is
fucking thrash!

Their current live line up boasts alongside the anchor vocalist Sean, on bass, Jeff Salgado (Psychosomatic), Claudeous Creamer (Possessed) on guitar, the youngest and by no means a  stranger to the music scene considering his name, Nick Souza on drums, and lastly, Ira Black also
on guitar…from every band and then some ever.

They carry the torch that Cut Throat had lit to set the venue ablaze and wave it high, focussing their
set on heavily on their debut and sophomore albums, ‘Eternal Nightmare’ and ‘Oppressing the
Masses’, whilst also touching upon ‘Nothing to Gain’ and the 2022 EP, ‘Let the World Burn’. Despite the EP being the only release this side of the millennium, their sound and music proves to be timeless, with the crowd clearly savouring this rare chance of a show, the stage mirrors the
excitement and fun, as they march through the set with machine gun precision.

Going from not visiting the venue since before the pandemic, and given the battering it took on my
body, to say I was apprehensive of the show before hand would be a bit of an understatement, especially given how I would not know exactly how my disabilities would handle it. It is safe to say that I clearly had nothing to worry about, the line up was fantastic and completely worth the incoming physical suffering I earned the next day, the crowd were nothing but a delight to be alongside, and a special shout out to both the venue and all their staff who were so quick to put me
at ease. If I could choose to live in a moment from recent years, this night would be amongst them.