hAvOK

DARKEST hOUR/ CEPhALIC CARNAGE

UNDERWORLD, LONDON Sounding the klaxon on a triplethreat brawl of US acts, Denver’s

CEPHALIC CARNAGE [8] blend brutality with humorous chatter, vocalist lenzig leal speaking confidently – and entertainingly – on marijuana, masturbation and “snack metal” throughout an explosive array of death-grind riff-riots. Though sharp and tightly orchestrated, DARKEST

HOUR’S [7] modern metalcore offering falls comparatively lighter. A sucker-punch cover of The Dead Kennedys’ Nazi Punks

Fuck Off provides a notable exception, stirring enthusiasm before the headline act. Spitting political fuel from the offset,

HAVOK [8] frontman David Sanchez opens with scream-fest

Hang ’Em High, igniting a wave of fist-pumping shred fanatics. Amid the lyrical animosity and groovy riffs of F.P.C. and Ingsoc, the set comes framed with doomsayings of strong anti-political rhetoric. less ‘underlying message’ and more ‘boot to the face’, the Colorado quartet are most definitely on a warpath.