Shikari up first, serving staggering proof as to why they only have Takaru to worry about when it comes to this kind of frenzied, teeth-gnashing hardcore. One song is brief and deadly like a shotgun blast to the neck, separating bone from flesh whilst ranting succinctly on the subject of state-induced fear. The second number is slower, beating you about the body while discussing friends who’ve “grown up” and cast their youthful beliefs aside. Like a clash between the icy bleakness of Canucks Uranus or One Eyed God Prophecy and the Teutonic brutality of Systral, Shikari are a relentless wall of utter fucking terror that will destroy you.
Ação Direta hail from Brazil and play a mix of burly hardcore and machine gun grind which isn’t bad, but hardly stands as being the punk rock virgin birth. They do what they do well enough for a couple of minutes, but are on the verge of shrivelling in Shikari’s shadow by the time their side ends,. Time to hurriedly flip the record over for some more panic-inducing carnage, then…