Lethal Minds play New York style hardcore. The guitars are pretty sharp and incisive, the bottom end is weighty enough and they aren't overly beatdown orientated (which I generally hate). They're not too bad at all. 'Brain Freeze' gets a pretty decent response from the pit although generally the dancing is terrible. I have the feeling the dancing is only going to get worse too (I'm happily proved wrong on this as when the venue fills up later on, it becomes much more good natured rather than kids just trying to kick each others heads off).
Chain Of Survival have a more straight forward hardcore punk sound, with maybe a touch of crossover thrown in too. 'Scratch That Itch' has a pretty cool chorus but the verse is rather basic. One track has more of a NYHC vibe and is satisfyingly chunky. They are better when they play at a mid-pace as their sound seems a bit thin when they play too fast. They are much more my style but then again, it's nothing I haven't head before. They do have some really good moments though.
Local boys Going Off instantly incite carnage as soon as they take to the stage. Their sound is made for people to go crazy to. This is modern, heavy hardcore made for the dancefloor. There are lots of beatdown parts but the songs are all pretty short so you never lose interest, and the riffs are surprisingly well thought out. The fast parts almost reach grindcore levels of speed and intensity, and are pretty devastating. I like how committed the band are. The drummer plays HARD whilst the guitarist (Nate) and bassist play with conviction, stomping around the stage. Nate has some neat hardcore jumps too. Generally, they mix bouncy NYHC with heavy beatdowns, with various hardcore styles sprinkled on top. More powerful than I expected, Going Off are a bit of a revelation.
Madball are, well, Madball. Full of energy right from the off, their brand of NYHC doesn't really sound like anyone other than them. There is historically a connection with Agnostic Front but Madball's serrated guitars always stood them out. Freddy Cricien is a seasoned frontman and seems in pretty decent spirits. 'Set It Off' does exactly that and sets the place alight. 'Smell The Bacon (What's With You?)' follows and is played more stop/start than on record but is still great. 'Lockdown' powers along fantastically. The 'Set It Off' material still sounds incredible over thirty years after it was originally released. The punky blast that is 'It's My Life' is still fun. A new track sounds great and bodes well for any future release because it sounds like it easily could have been on 'Set It Off'. The breakdown at the end of 'New York City' is utterly crushing. They blast through the start of 'Get Out' twice because Freddy thinks people aren't singing along loudly enough. I sing along even harder the second time around because even though Freddy seems quite affable tonight, I wouldn't really want to upset him. 'Across Your Face' is pretty furious whilst the dance section is as crucial as ever. 'Doc Marten Stomp' is anthemic as hell and shows a heavy Agnostic Front influence (hardly surprising). 'Down By Law' is the signal for a steady stream of stagedivers to take to the stage and is as classic as ever. Madball are great but to be honest, I'm not very objective when it comes to the band or 'Set It Off'.
Madball ****
Going Off ****
Chain Of Survival ***
Lethal Minds ***
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