(((O))) : Live Review: Xentrix, Acid Reign & Shrapnel – The Underworld, London. October 4th, 2015.

The Underworld, London | October 4, 2015

British thrash is a funny old thing. Always seen as an American movement the best of the UK bands took thrash and added their own feel, much like the Swiss did with Celtic Frost. This gig at the Underworld featured 3 british thrash acts who played to an enthusiastic audience. This was a real night of metal in London with both Paradise Lost and Annihilator also playing locally on the same evening, but the turn out was still pretty good.

First band Shrapnel play energetic, powerful thrash from… Norwich. I don’t know whether they are regulars on Mid Morning Matters or not, but they play old school thrash, lots of chugging E strings and “songs about killing people”. It’s nothing new, but it is really well played, loads of stage presence and good lead solos. The audience really seemed to enjoy it. Well worth seeing.

Next the mighty Acid Reign, who most people seem to be here to see. They are playing their first live shows in over 20 years. I always loved their Moshkinstein EP when I was a teenager and they were a band I never thought I’d see live. This is a “reboot” of the original band, only singer H (Howard Smith) remains. Ex-guitarist Kev was watching and seemed to approve. They were brilliant, loads of energy. The band are tight and powerful, really nailing the original sound and feel of the band, tight but loose. They have more of a hardcore feel than straight thrash. H is a great, hilarious frontman and the crowd really responded with loads of stage diving and moshing. Early highlights include ‘Humonoia’ and a great cover of ‘Hanging On The Telephone’. They finished with H stage diving off the barrier into the audience and their two finest songs ‘Goddess’ and ‘Motherly Love’, the best British thrash song about Norman Bates ever. A great live band. Joyous.

Headliners Xentrix struggle to get the same level of reaction from the audience, but play a great set of more traditional Bay Area influenced thrash. Kristian Havard and Chris Astley are superb guitar players, really tight rhythm playing and Chris is also an excellent, powerful vocalist. The new material from the forthcoming album was also excellent, especially the brilliant ‘Red Mist’, a highlight of the end of their set as good as their classic material. They finished to calls from the audience for their cover of the Ghostbusters theme, which they chose not to play. With new songs as strong as this it just wasn’t required.