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Nick, vocalist with The Plagues, by Neil Duncan

IT had to be something special to see me trekking way out west, especially on a night when there was a show in Basingstoke.

The special thing was the debut gig of Basingstoke band The Plagues, consisting of members from several other notorious Basingstoke hard-core and thrash bands coming together for some good old time, old-school punk.

They were on first and took heart from the fact a fair number of hometown supporters had made the pilgrimage to see them for the first time. It was fast and brutal, with frontman Nick on the dance floor rather than on stage. They played a brilliant set and went down a storm.

Too good to be left out in the wild west, I hope some promoter brings them into town real soon.

Next up were Salisbury legends, 1994, proudly proclaiming their 'worst band in the world' status - they were anything but. Thrashy and aggressive, their metalcore mayhem is not for everyone and certainly not for the faint-hearted, but they prompted plenty of crowd reaction. Not their best performance ever but impressive all the same.

The biggest surprise of the night were on next, Sniper from Andover, essentially an old school punk incarnation of the black metal band Chaos Blood. More or less the same guys, but a totally different style, they were able to demonstrate their skill and boost their credibility with an amazing performance. Real tight with some variety in their style, I was smitten.

Headliners were UFHC, a local hard-core outfit who have grown better and better each time I have seen them. By now the crowd was well and truly loosened up, and a number were giving their all in the mosh pit.

With plenty of movement on stage and interaction with the crowd, it was a suitable climax to a fantastic evening.

-Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE

9:59am Thursday 29th May 2008

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