Live Review: Bailer w/Negative Measures, Confronted, Dead Hands & Sharkteeth Grinder @ The Unicorn, London

The Unicorn in Camden may not be the biggest of venues, but what it misses in size, it makes up in heart. We’re greeted by an Italian barmaid who announces herself to be 36 years old and more than a bit crazy and we couldn’t be more at home!

Negative Measures can’t really be rated as they don’t turn up and while we’d love to slate them for not showing their collective faces, it’s actually a crying shame. The Brighton Hardcore Punks are pencilled in to play Upsurge Festival this summer.

Instead, Confronted [8/10] start the show with new material from their fresh as it gets EP “If Life Gives You Lemons… Have A Drumstick” featuring in a blistering set that sees frontman Rags abandon the stage for the floor and deliver the sort of blistering performance that turns heads. The Chichester quartet wear their hearts on their sleeves and their influences of Slayer, Terror and Black Flag loom large in their set of material that includes new song “Clusterf**k”.

Birmingham quartet Dead Hands [9/10] are preparing for another run to Germany this summer and having donated her guitar, tuned in drop C to Confronted for their set, Debbie Gough tears London a new void through which monsters cross from other dimensions as with Pacific Rim. We have the fortune to speak to frontman Richard Conroy Philips post set and can confirm that while he wears the shortest of shorts on set for comfort, he had skillfully avoided a wardrobe malfunction. They include in their set a never before aired song and on this evidence their future looks pretty damn good!

Sharkteeth Grinder [7/10] hail from Corby Northamptonshire, the home of Raging Speedhorn and bring Mathcore infused Hardcore to the table with a high energy rip roaring set of complete madness. Each member of the band steps off the stage into the pit at various points, losing clothes and shoes in the process. We get to hear material from both of their EPs and while they sound great, the chaos means you never know what’s going to happen!

Cork City Metallic Hardcore crew Bailer [8/10] are a fine example of a DIY band that make things happen for themselves. They batter the hell out of their gear while playing the likes of new song “Crawl Back” as things get rowdy. Their sound is big and Guitarist Chris Harte lays down slab after mortuary slab of riffage in fine form. We catch them talking to Dead Hands about wanting to get over to Germany, so watch this space….