Monetopia
Monetopia’s set consisted of complex and interesting riffs and solos, which excited the audience and made their repertoire incredibly engaging. The movement from the frontman and drummer made watching Monetopia perform more interesting, and their energy, arrangements and distorted guitars got their audience head-banging in no time, and I was glad to see the frontman celebrate the end of a song with a pint- drink, as a result.
Monetopia also slowed their set down and changed their guitar tones to give the audience a chance to catch their breath from moshing (before abruptly returning!).
40 Day Warning
40 Day Warning’s set included plenty of dynamic variation, exciting guitar solos and a well-suited style. They have an exciting stage presence and a clear love for performing to an audience, who they managed to get to mosh and head-bang further, as well as getting the audience to go lower to build tension, a classic and well-received move.
Their heavy drums and aggressive vocals created an intense atmosphere which was perfect for the genre and embraced by the audience. 40 Day Warning also performed an excellent Nirvana cover, which wasn’t (but almost was) ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, which they went to start playing, but ended up being ‘Breed’, which was just as energetic and exciting.
Crucible
Crucible’s set opened with an intro accompanied by a power stance, and aggressive vocals, dramatic guitar solos and fast and heavy rhythms featured throughout their set. They had an exciting stage presence and style that suited their genre, and all of this together created an authentic musical experience.
One of my favourite parts of this set was starting a song with an almighty bass string pluck, which was so immense that it became a 2-person job, and the bassist got the frontman to actually pull the string. The set featured lots of tempo and tone changes but, in the heavier parts, encouraged lots of head banging and short bursts of moshing.
Kryptic
Kryptic’s set started with a long and tense instrumental intro, before introducing the frontman’s dramatic and distinctive vocals. Their repertoire features complex and catchy guitar riffs and vocal melodies, moody vocals and shear volume. Their technical skill is applied to their songwriting well as all members of the band demonstrate their ability in their performance in a way that suits the songs. Their style and stage presence aligns with their musical genre which creates a much more immersive musical experience, and encouraging the audience to mosh, and scanning the room to see the results, contributes to this authentic grassroots experience.
One of Kryptic’s unique features was their frequent and immensely impressive guitar solos, which never failed to grab the audience’s attention. Kryptic’s set encouraged even more moshing, which became so intense that I found myself removing a fallen can of Red Stripe from my notes, a testament to the chaos that ensued. The band’s stage presence and charisma enhanced their performance by making it all the more engaging and personal.
Overall, this gig was not for the faint-hearted (and those who value their Red Stripe), but was perfect for those who love aggressive mosh pits, heavily distorted guitars and more crash cymbals than your ears can handle. The genre and atmosphere created an environment where you can truly let loose and go wild with other audience members.