(((O))) Live: Kakihara • Row of Ashes • Johanna Rey – 13th Note, Glasgow

It has been a long time since I have been to a five-band bill at the 13th Note, and by the end of this warm evening underground in Glasgow I was reminded of those with a varied bill, plenty of riffs and many a beatdown.

Opening act Violent was not like anything I had come across before. To a backing track of ferocious deathcore, a solo vocalist ripped through thirty minutes of chugging beatdowns and thunderous guitars. It is a cheap blow to call this karaoke and Dean Kerr Watson has put in a great deal of effort from writing to being in a place to play solo shows. Whilst there is a feeling of missing those other bodies on stage, with just the vocalist it actually lends itself to being memorable – especially as it isn’t a genre I frequent.

Memorable is probably the word of the evening and second act Alldeepends again blew things wide open. A combo of banjo, bass and drums fire through a punk sound which leaves everyone failing to find a reference to pin it to. There is a glorious pace to the songs but even in slower moments still raises the pulse. The dynamic of the three members is infectious and the unique arrangements and sounds create a wonderful positive atmosphere in the venue.

The first of the touring trio is up next with Birmingham-based Johanna Rey. The four piece unleashed Reality Fallacy, a blistering debut album towards the latter end of ’22 and its full diversity was well on display in a live environment. Twisting between the harcore of Norma Jean and Converge to the mathy aspects of Burnt By The Sun and DIllinger Escape Plan, Johanna Rey holds a furious attention which soon gets necks bending in time to the stunning drum work and multiple beatdowns.

Bristiolian sludgers Row of Ashes make a debut appearance in Glasgow and slay through highlights from third album Bleaching Heat. The heavy opening trio of ‘Jerk’, ‘Bleaching Heat’ and ‘Worcester Man’ set a high tempo of doomed sludge which ‘The Next Away’ meets and transitions to closing duo of ‘Contraband’ and ‘In Summation’. As with Will Waven and LLNN, Row of Ashes has a grasp on pushing heaviness and also allowing some moments of calm and space to add further weight to the songs, the set tonight is absolutely flooring and surely bigger things await them given the quality outlayed.

Localish headliners are Edinburgh menaces Kakihara who are no strangers to Glasgow, and they really bring me back to the early 2000s hardore/metal-core scene of the Scottish central belt. WIth the tagline “Big Stupit Beatdoons” the band’s sound casts the mind back to Edinburgh legends like Friday Night Gunfight or Glasgow pals The February Solution and The Punchline Is Murder. With three-fifths of the band on the audience side of the monitors, the band gets right into it and vocalist Keith Muddiman is a colossus with a dominant performance matched by the danger of swinging guitars crunching into every beatdown like conductor’s baton. They keep getting better every time I see them and I can’t wait for the next instalment. 

For £10 there isn’t much better evening entertainment to be had on a Sunday in Glasgow thanks to the hard work of Duncain from Redcrust Promotions for putting it together.