Cancer Bats, Johnny Truant and Hexes At Camden Barfly
June 2nd, 2008 by Adam
Considering its size and position – no bigger than your average school classroom and a good bus ride from central London – the Barfly is arguably undeserving of the ‘must-see, sold out’ status that often accompanies its gigs. But like that hardly-publicised cult film everyone talks about certain shows generate a powerful buzz around them, and tonight is another one to add to the list. The Cancer Bats are back in town, and every man and his dog wants to get in.Opening the evening’s festivities are relative newcomers Hexes, fronted by UK rock omnipresent Daniel P Carter. Compared with the chart-friendly rock of his previous band ‘A’ Hexes present a much more abrasive, agro-punk sound – the songs are raw and untamed with a laid back (well, pissed) on-stage presence. It masks a genuine talent which given time could produce some real gems, tracks like Kiss The Guns showing an easy-going ethic to throwing some electro sounds into the mix.Â
Brighton boys Johnny Truant return to the stage after a lengthy absence and it’s a mark of their standing in the scene that the crowd are frenetic from the word go. JT are often mistakenly parked along the spazzy, technical metal branch of the musical family tree but they churn out a much more brutal, ferocious, stomper of an aural assault. The break from performing has obviously given them time to tighten up as both the old (The Bloodening) and the new (Last Arms Of The Apocalypse) whip the crowd into a frenzy. Whether they’ve matured is another question as it’s all delivered with a cheeky grin and a swagger, but you don’t come to see Truant for deep philosophical introspection.Â
It might be a cliché to describe any kind of “buzz in the air†but as the lights go down the room is rammed and all eyes are firmly fixed on the stage. Latest album opener Hail Destroyer kicks off a whirlwind set – French Immersion and Pneumonia Hawk sit alongside new favourite Regret to drive an intense, rolling pit, whilst Lucifer’s Rocking Chair is like an anthem for swilling a flagon of whiskey in the air. The pack is presided over throughout by frontman Liam Cormier, one foot permanently planted on the monitors to loom above, and often into, the crowd. The appeal of Cancer Bats is no doubt partly down to their sheer energy and drive, but also because they represent a natural evolution of modern rock. It’s not laid out as ‘genre A plus genre B’ like many modern bands – elements of punk, metal and hardcore fold into each other for a stunning result. This is by no means their largest-venue London gig, but with second album syndrome blown out the water it could go down as a landmark point of their career. Time will tell.
