Anyone entering the venue unaware of who was on may well have thought they’d wandered into a Wild West brawl by mistake. This was now brawl however, just a manic, tempestuous moshpit as New Yorkers Biohazard whipped up their crowd into a riff fuelled frenzy.
This was their first shows in the UK in quite sometime and what better place to start than in the tight confines of the Trillians sweatbox. With the crowd standing toe to toe with the band this was one tight, intimate affair.
As soon as a head pummelling “Shades of Grey” kicked in, Trillians kicked off. The safety of the peaceful photo pit was gone, replaced by a heaving mass of sweat and muscle. Within minutes, with the encouragement of frontman Billy Graziadei, the band and crowd morphed into one moshing mass and at times there seemed to be more punters on stage than off.
The energy from the stage was totally addictive as the huge hulking riffs of Graziadei and Bobby Hambel hammered home with a deep, heavy groove while Graziadei and an imposing Scott Roberts traded chants with fury and venom.
There was simply no let up throughout the set, no ballads, no interludes just in your face Brooklyn Hardcore with “Tales from the Hardside”, “Vengeance is Mine” from their latest Reborn in Defiance disc and a particularly brutal “Punishment” all hitting home hard.
In many ways music has become somewhat stale and safe as corporate tentacles have pervaded every orifice of the business yet Biohazard provide a totally enthralling antidote to that. With a passion and energy that would create a fortune if bottled, their show is one invigorating ride from start to finish. Their commitment to their music is etched across their faces and borne in their sweat.
The bond between band and crowd was tangible throughout and as “Hold My Own” ended it was the band who was in the crowd, mixing and drinking with their fans without the merest hint of rockstar arrogance. This is what Rock ‘n’ Roll is all about. It’s the band, the music and the fans and nothing else matters.
To sum this up in one word? “Awesome!!”
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