Wargasm, Rebellion, 30th November 2021

Tonight it’s Wargasm’s turn to scramble my eardrums. They do a bloody good job. This pair are ones to upset the purists. Banging out ferocious rave metal, with all the aggression of Atari Teenage Riot, laced with hooks and swagger nicked from The Prodigy, but with guitars. A lot of gloriously deafening guitars. The dual assault upfront comes from Milkie Way and Sam. They share vocal duties and command the stage like an angry Duracell bunny tag team. Absolutely phenomenal to watch. They’re dressed for a fight, a fuckin cool looking one and much of the audience are going for the same style (admittedly not all successfully). They turn Rebellion into a swirling mass of limbs within minutes of hitting the stage, as anyone not looking to go nuts and crowd surf runs for cover to the walls. Drink your beer quickly is all I can say. Massive shout out to the stagehand bloke, helping surfers get on and off the stage safely. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do such a stellar job. Even more so when he’s handed the mic, surfs into the crowd, standing aloft as he deftly screams the lyrics. Fucking masterful. Show stealer. With an arsenal of break beats, ear bludgeoning lyrics of alienation and the excellently named Edison Hunter tearing riffs from his guitar like this is it, he’s seen the end of the world and is resound to just fucking go for it. It’s fun, fast and a bit exhausting. I wish I had the energy of the kids that pack the room out. The live drums definitely help. Adam Breeze is a monster. Locked in with Hunter and providing Sam another platform to jump off. Not the riser, there isn’t one, so just stand on the bass drum. It’s an impressive 45 minutes. No filler, just a full on assault. Bloody incredible. I can’t wait to see them again, although not here. I used to love Rebellion, but things seem to have changed a lot in the time I was last here. Including ripping out the toilets and replacing them with bloody awful portaloo’s and a bottle of hand sanitizer. Fucking grim! Just as well the queues at the bar are horrendous. Really not a good idea drinking much in here. Even a shit venue can’t tarnish this lot though, they’re simply that good.