Live Review: Vein/Higher Power/Narrow Head at The Joiners, Southampton

Photo by Ryan Manning (@ryanxmphoto)

Grungey Texans Narrow Head (6.5/10) are the openers for Vein’s first ever UK tour, and at first glance they might seem out of place on the bill. From the moment they set foot on stage, though, it’s clear that this is a band borne of the same fuck-you-if-you-don’t-like-us attitude as the others playing later on. Sonically, they combine Basement-style grunge and alt-rock with elements of shoegaze and early melodic hardcore. This particular amalgam isn’t my bag, personally, especially the monotonous, droning vocals which at times seem to almost ape the style of delivery of the Gallagher brothers. Still, Narrow Head put on a decent showing and occasionally pull out a riff which kicks everyone in the audience up the arse a little.

Up next, Higher Power (8/10) do us proud as the only British band on the lineup. It’s bratty, energetic hardcore with industrial-strength riffage in the vein (no pun intended) of bands like Turnstile, and it is brilliant. Limbs are flying in the audience from the get-go, and frontman Jimmy eggs on the two-stepping and spin-kicking with a youthful glee, shouting “Where the freaks at?” at any opportunity for a mosh call. The pummelling rhythm of every one of Higher Power’s songs almost forces you to headbang, and there’s an infectious sense of reckless abandon that overtakes the crowd every time a new riff kicks in. It’s an adrenaline-fueled, exciting set from one of UK hardcore’s hottest names.

As soon as Progenitor’s initial “Please remember – you are dealing with the human form” hits the P.A. system, Vein (9/10) open up Pandora’s Box inside the Joiners. The set is simply half an hour of utter carnage soundtracked by the most blistering, ferocious metallic hardcore anyone anywhere has to offer. Throughout the show, the band primarily stick to cuts from their 2018 debut, Errorzone,  and songs like Old Data In A Dead Machine and Demise Automation take on a whole new meaning in a live environment; impressively, impossibly, wielding even more power and brutality than on record. Not a single member of Vein lets up for one second, and it’s exhausting to just watch them in constant motion.

The real highlights, though, are moments like Doomtech and Virus//Vibrance, where the front of the stage is swamped by people screaming the lyrics and trying to get as close to the mic as they can. All the buzz that Vein have amounted in recent years is palpable, and when everyone in the pit starts to clamber over one another in a frenzy during the chorus of Doomtech, the raw energy and passion from the band and fans alike is something to truly behold. This feels like the dawn of an important moment in the history of hardcore, and a tour which people will still be talking about a long way down the line.

You can watch the entire set from Vein here, courtesy of Old Dog Music Collective. I recommend you do.