Sweat. Sweat and beer. That’s the powerful stench emanating from the top room of Camden’s hallowed home of metalheads and boozehounds – and it’s no wonder, as you couldn’t fit another body in here.
The reason? It’s hometown riff-mongerers Krokodil’s first-ever headline show. They’ve played festivals and recently supported Mastodon, but tonight is their debut bill-topper.
BLACK PEAKS [8] are on the lips of every metalhead with their ear to the ground and tonight they prove they’re more than just hype. Blistering speed and ear-killing screams merge into one frenetic half-hour of power, with menacing frontman Will Gardner screaming into you like his throat is full of broken glass.
Closing this night of guitar-twatting and bloody voiceboxes is KROKODIL [8], who’ve had a slight lineup change as Alessandro Venturella now has ‘other commitments’, although he’s in the crowd watching. The volume for these sludgemeisters has been cranked further up as the crushing riffs from Lags Barnard and Daniel P Carter envelop the room in a cocoon of venom, as vocalist Simon Wright barks like a rabid helldog.
Steamrolling through the likes of Sun Riders, Shatter and The Collapse, it’s a masterclass in shredding to the ngghth degree that leaves North London’s ears in tatters on the sweat-drenched floor./o:p
