Sitting on the near deserted Northern Line on the way home from this evening's show observing one of Camden's abundant supply of drunks talking to themselves about saucepans, it suddenly dawns on RM that we've temporarily lost all sense of hearing in one ear. That gives you, dear reader, only a slight idea of the kind of severe punishment our poor, neglected eardrums have suffered over the preceding hours.

Rewind a couple of hours though and first up to permanently damage our cochlea's are Circle Of Rage, who's passionately delivered metallic hardcore goes a long way to compensating for our inevitable deafness in old age. Mixing together mightily pissed off hardcore the recalls Orange County's Ignite and a healthy dosage of 80's Megadeth-esque lead guitars for good measure, their crunching, politically-charged offerings leave many in the crowd mightily impressed.

Completely changing the pace of the evening, Rise of the Simians hit the stage with the sludgy riffs of 'Black Vein'. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to perish by being slowly pulled under by a tar pit, then this Hastings-based four-piece give you the nearest experience you'll ever have without risking your life. The hypnotic doom grooves of 'Deadweight' sound like the end of days thanks to vocalist Luke's demonic shrieks, while the treacle-thick Sabbath-worshipping riffs that rain out during the climax of excellent set closer '3 Days' sees that band fully stretch their wings into glorious Neurosis-like territory. They may not be set to trouble the chart compilers anytime soon, but after such a compelling display, let's hope our hearing has recovered in time for another battering when they roll back into town next month.

Rating: 4/5 by Dan Jones

Further links

Rise Of The simians on Myspace

Official page of the Hastings-based metallers

Circle Of Rage on Myspace (circleofrageuk)

Official page of the Kent-based hardcore act