Gig Review: Bass Drops Over Britain Tour

 Date: 24.8.25

Location: The Camden Assembly, London

Headlining band: Gutrectomy

Supporting acts: Kanine and Dead Flesh

The Bass Drops Over Britain Tour has come to an end as everyone got their organs rearranged (calm down, it's a figure of speech) this Bank Holiday weekend, along with Hertfordshire's Dead Flesh and the French boys, Kanine. *bark bark* A triple threat! All bands were offensively outstanding!

Dead Flesh has got some solid grooves, and boy, their performance is remarkable! When they were performing their self-titled song at the end of their set, they got the crowd chanting "Dead Flesh". They will be performing at Camden Underworld with To The Grave on August 29th, which is very soon. @dead_flesh_official

I used to associate France with croissants and macarons (Poké puffs) until I discovered Kanine. Their performance was out of this world, even though there was no flying bin this time, disrupting the show, so they moved to another venue in Manchester. Bad bin! Aside from the bin, the best part was when Kanine's vocalist, Jason Gerhard, put on some cool glasses, shooting bubbles out from the bubble gun while performing Counter Slam Bass Drop Offensive. Ain't no party like a Kanine party! They've performed their latest song, 808 and an unreleased song (which will be out on 4th September), Doom Bringer, which is an absolute banger! They're forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air. Hold on a sec, this ain't about football! *shoots bubbles* @kaninedsc

 Stephane from Goliath has stepped in as the replacement vocalist for Gutrectomy's Dennis Schuler. Aside from that, the energy from the crowd was intensely brutal as the German slam boys pulled through the night, performing songs from their latest album, Angst. These guys were amazing! @gutrectomy

Album Review: To Rid Myself Of Truth by Signs Of The Swarms

Date released: 22/8/25

Genre: Deathcore, Slam

Pittsburgh Kings, Signs Of The Swarms are taking over the deathcore scene as they have recently dropped their sixth album, To Rid Myself Of Truth, and oh boy, that shit is fire! Especially with guest vocals from:

• Phil Bozeman (Whitechapel)
• Will Ramos (Lorna Shore)
• Jack Murray (156/Silence)
• Johnny Crowder (Prison and ex-member of Silence)

To Rid Myself Of Truth has a dramatic breakdown, and I'm fucking here for it! The song will take you by surprise. These guys don't beat around the bush when it comes to making gnarly music. 

Oh, we certainly weren't ready for this bad boy of a track, HELLMUSTFEARME (I think the keyboard's broken again) is beastly as fuck. David Simolich never fails to blow me away with his ruthless vocals, explosive riffs and punishing drums. This is more bloodthirsty and less djenty than their previous work; it's darker than I thought. I also love the Amongst The Low and Empty cameo in the lyrics. However, I could sense some Thy Art Is Murder when CJ McMahon was in the band.

They have a music video which matches the aesthetic of their latest album. Davey, don't do it!!! 

The collab, we've all been waiting for...Clouded Retina (with Will Ramos of Lorna Shore) is a blend of tech-death and deathcore with an illustrious bassline. The lyrics are composed by the man himself, David, as he addresses his struggle with vision loss and Stargardt disease. Hence, the inner dialogue he has with himself in the song. Bless him! However, the vocals are exhilarating, along with remarkably obscene, me gusta! 

I must say. Natural Selection is in a class by itself. The opening riff of this song is electrifyingly gorgeous, holy fuck! 

I give this album a 9/10 because I like how they combine their older work with modern deathcore, and their choice of collaborations is top-notch. I don't have anything else to say other than how amazing this album is.

Go and give this album a listen, you won't be disappointed!

Instagram: @signsoftheswarm

Songs I recommend: HELLMUSTFEARME, Natural Selection

For fans of: Lorna Shore, Chelsea Grin, Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder

Gig Review: Worst

Date: 4.8.25

Supporting acts: Exile (UK/NZ), Street Soldier (UK) and Chaos Reign (UK)

Location: Signature Brew Haggerston, London

Brazilian hardcore Worst ended their Euro summer tour at Signature Brew, London, with support acts Chaos Reign, Xile and Street Soldier. 

I won't lie; I was initially reluctant to see Chaos Reign live after checking out their music. But seeing them live changed my mind. Solid performance from the hardcore punk band from London. I was not expecting Jason Heightman (Chaos Reigns' frontman) to be singing directly in my face *chuckles*. Although I thought he would be hanging around steel joists. Talk about being the HEIGHT man, get it? He was quite a character, getting on the table, screaming into the mic. @chaosreignsuk

Xile's brought Kiwicore to the pit with lots of two-steps, flying karate jumps and brutal breakdowns (I'm talking about New Zealand here, not kiwifruits). The kiwis know how to party! Especially when they performed from their EP (such a great EP), I Am Your God. They are the Kiwi version of Cold Hard Truth @xile_hc

Yorkshire's finest hardcore band, Street Soldiers' performance is always *chef's kiss*.  They kicked off their set with Here Comes The SLDR and Walk With Tha Talk. They performed other classics such as Bully Basher, Scumbag, One Man Gang and Bossman. They gave the crowd the option of which Nonce Killa song to perform, and the most requested was Nonce Killa (Total Elimination). I was hoping they would end their set with Drill Seargant's Scruffy Little Twat, but I guess they'll play that when they're headlining. @streetsoldierhc

Lastly, Brazilian hardcore Worst (mind you, nothing negative) were oh boy, awesome! This was the first time seeing these guys live, and they were killing it. @worsthcband

I enjoyed all of the bands' performances, but I will say that Street Soldier and Xile smashed it!