Review & Photography by Andy Payne for MPM
Before they begin their set, the vocalist for Must Kill tells us that “headbanging is encouraged,” there are going to be a lot of sore necks in the morning.
Tonight’s show was originally scheduled to be played in the much larger upstairs venue, but was downgraded to the 250-capacity Downstairs At The Dome (formerly known as The Boston Music
Rooms) due to not enough ticket sales.
Whilst this is clearly a blow for the three bands on tonight’s bill, it does mean that the fans are now treated to the closest most of us will ever come to a thrash metal house party.
It is astonishing how quickly the venue fills up as the opening band begins their set and the Milton Keynes outfit has definitely won over a lot of new fans tonight.
Influenced by bands like Death and Sylosis, Must Kill are definitely on the heavier end of the thrash spectrum, blending the sub-genre with death metal vocals.
During a thunderous breakdown in the second song Ghost Malevolent singer Dan Pool calls for a circle pit and is visibly taken aback at the speed at which one starts just meters away from the barely raised stage.
Pool has a seriously impressive range with his harsh vocals. Switching from low gutturals to high-pitched screams at the drop of a hat and attacking each line with a visceral fury.
Guitarist Daryl Cooper focuses on melody over speed with his solos, a wonderful juxtaposition against the screaming vocals. This isn’t to say that Must Kill play slow, far from it; this is fast, angry music and the crowd is lapping it up.
A minimum of three circle pits are formed throughout their short set and after the
show bassist Alex Reeder confided that they “haven’t played to a crowd like that since Bloodstock 22” and that we were “fucking feral!” They will be playing an even more intimate show in September at The Black Heart with Kodama and Earthbound which I really hope to get down to.
Since the release of their new album Sound & Fury in February, Dust Bolt have been touring relentlessly across the entirety of Europe, seemingly playing at every European festival you can think of, but tonight marks their first show in the UK since just before the lockdown.
As the German quartet takes to their stage, they cheerfully raise their beers to the welcoming crowd and casually don their instruments, singer Lenny Bruce leans into the microphone and says “We came all the way from Germany so let’s move.” As the pulsing intro to Sound & Fury builds layer on layer, the energy in the room matches until the lead riff kicks in.
What follows is pure unadulterated chaos as pints are sent flying amidst a mass of bodies and that is just the people on stage. Dust Bolt play with the electricity of a punk or hardcore band, refusing to stand still as if they were playing a game of the floor is lava.
In direct contrast to the previous band, Bruce is primarily a clean vocal singer which is a relative rarity in thrash. Though there is still an aggressive snarl to his vocal delivery, the added melody is a refreshing touch. This is helped by the fact that Bruce has some serious pipes on him, a really impressive feat as he chugs away nonstop on a low-slung Telecaster. “London let me see you fucking move if you’re alive,” the crowd obey with relish and Dust Bolt matches them all the way.
I wish more bands played their shows with this much energy as the Germans put on an incredible performance that will be remembered for a long time.
Toward the end of their set, Bruce ups the ante again by grabbing his mic stand and marching to the middle of the crowd at which point he asks for everyone to crouch down.
On the count of four the band starts the brutally fast Sick x Brain and a giant circle pit forms around the singer who takes command in the eye of the storm, head banging and screaming into the microphone.
Returning to the relative safety of the stage for their final song, the mosh pit continues with a brutality that errs on the side of danger, but just manages to remain fun as the band closes out with a furious
rendition of Agent Chaos, the final hulking riff drawn out for as long as possible.
The outbreak of Covid-19 really screwed things up for Havok. Touted by many as the forerunners in a New Generation of American Thrash, the world shutting down coincided with the release of their brilliant fifth album V and the band was left dead in the water.
It was a further three years before they were able to play a show again and although they have made up for that time with arduous tour campaigns across Europe and the US, they haven’t been to the UK since the Conformicide Tour back in 2018.
This may be part of the reason why the show has been downgraded, but it also means that the fans who do have a ticket have been waiting for a Havok show for far too long.
The band begin their set with the title track of the Point Of No Return EP. It is a frantic start to the show with the band playing at breakneck velocity and vocalist David Sanchez shrieking into his microphone.
Havok then jump forward 8 years with Fear Campaign off their latest album which has much more of a rock and roll swing to the guitar riffs with lead guitarist Reece Scruggs playing some sublime solos up and down the neck.
The crowd is well and truly warmed up and so Sanchez addresses the room “That second song was off an album called V that we were supposed to tour in May 2020. Instead, they locked us inside for 2 years. This is dedicated to those people,” and the band launch into Hang ‘Em High, with the crowd screaming the chorus back at them.
Thrash metal is a genre that really benefits from being played in a small venue and tonight is a shining example as to why that is the case. As Sanchez lets out an ear piercing Tom Araya style scream in the middle of D.O.A. a huge circle pit forms and Havok continue to throw fuel onto the overgrowing inferno. Drummer Daniel Webber is an absolute powerhouse behind the kit and a fantastic drum solo at the start of From The Cradle To The Grave generates another mosh pit that almost reaches the sound desk at the back of the room.
Downstairs at The Dome is room full of testosterone and adrenaline as the pit begins to resemble something closer to The Octagon at a UFC fight. Havok have absolutely nailed the thrash metal groove in their songs that makes it impossible not to get sucked into their world of violence.
The majority of Havok’s set is made up of material from their second album Time is Up and Conformicide with only two tracks off of V. It is a night of crowd pleasers and the band enjoys a lot of playful back-and-forth with the audience.
Towards the end of their set, Sanchez takes some time to air his grievances about how the UK has become a much harder place for bands to come to due to new costs and that tonight is the only UK
show of their entire European tour.
It is a sobering reminder of the increased hardships for international bands post-Brexit and a reminder of just how unique tonight is.
We are then told that if we want Havok to play the UK again then each member of the audience has to
bring “a prime number of friends,” before adding “We can play 2 more songs or ten more… minutes of music.” The band closes their set with a blistering one-two of Give Me Liberty… Or Give Me Death followed by Time Is Up during which they refuse to finish the show until everyone gives them “the Arnie scream.”
Once everyone has had a chance to catch their breath, Havok returns for one more song and they don’t hold back with the seven-minute Ingsoc.
The dual guitar harmonies really come to the fore on this final track as the band display a real variety in what they are capable of. The tempo is brought down and instead the song twists and turns through a
multitude of instrumental sections.
Thrash Metal is alive and well in London this summer and we have been very spoiled in the capital, hopefully Havok will be able to return for a full UK tour soon. Preferably with a new album. Meanwhile, it’s good to have them back/