The Smoking Hearts, Abadden, Radiating Eyes, Black Polaris.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 26th March 2010.

Darkness falls and as the band members assemble onstage, their vocalist lets rip "We're THE SMOKING HEARTS and we're f**king back!". My god, they certainly are and a lot has happened to this Shefford five piece since the last time we saw them here. They are the current darlings of the national music press, fuelled by their excellent debut album "Pride of Nowhere". NME described it as "29 minutes of mayhem that kicks more ass than a Steven Seagal highlight reel. 8 out of 10". Kerrang! meanwhile called it "boasting enough power to raise the dead. KKKK"!! Very impressive indeed and on this homecoming show they are ready to rapturously showcase it. Their previous shows have always been laced with a controversial edge, but tonight with an excellent sound package, courtesy of engineer Caz, the boys are simply sensational.

Lethal (vocals), Calvin (bass), Nobba and Barker (guitars) and Matty (drums) seize the chance to rock the foundations of this dear old building. Famously known for the opening loud signature tune of a wailing siren, which this evening seems to go on for an eternity, this truly is armageddon time! The charismatic Lethal has his fist constantly pumping skywards as he shouts out these anthemic songs. The lighting rigging is under severe strain as he grabs hold of it and swings himself across before leaping on to the top of the bar. He mesmerises the crowd while the rest of the band produce a gnarled filthy assault on the senses where the guitars churn like tornadoes and the rhythms are designed solely to destroy. They take a sonic buzzsaw to our heads. The bludgeoning riffs pulsate while each song follows a punk rock brevity. There are no polished opuses for The Smoking Hearts. This is pure Jack Daniels swigging rock 'n' roll. On a performance like this, it's little wonder that they are being heralded as the new jewel in the crown of the UK underground scene. Tonight The Smoking Hearts really are the pride of Bedfordshire.

What combines to make this such a great evening is the high standard of support bands. Also enjoying glowing praise in Kerrang! as well as Terrorizor and Metal Hammer are Dunstable quartet ABADDEN. Indeed, in the latter magazine the band won a contest which helped them secure a contract with Rising Records. The resulting debut album called "Sentenced to Death" is on sale tonight. Abadden play us a good slice of it, with the climactic "Atomic Devastation" acting as the catalyst for maximum audience participation. Vocalist Dan surveys the mosh pit and urgently commands "Now lets see some headbanging!". As always with this talented bunch of youngsters, it's heavy and intense, typified by the final song "Resurrection", which is vehemently barked out in unison.

Classic USA old skool hardcore punk is now RADIATING EYES stock in trade. They may be from Bedford, UK not Washington DC, but with such songs "Running Time" and "Only the Dead", they have that familiar reliance on a stabbing, gut-wrenching vocal assault favoured by every band of that ilk which rose up at the start of the eighties. With 'team-punk' aerobics led by Ben, there are also boot blistering acrobatics to fully complement their frenzied adrenaline fuelled noise. This is a mighty peeved band of teenagers who like to include some 'rudimentary refusenik' politics in their armoury of lyrics. With a general election coming up, it's good to see they have their finger on the pulse of current affairs.

New to me are Biggleswade's BLACK POLARIS who, despite the lack of their vocalist, create a good impression with their eighties thrash metal interpretation. With no vocals, the three guitars seem to literally sing, such is the cohesion of the band. This is more than evident on "Salvation". "Lockdown" raises a few chuckles when one of the Black Polaris members duly announces that "it makes me very orgasmic, hope it does the same to you"! Also of note is the bands spinning whirly windmill hair routine, noted by a friend as being a definite plus!