We at From the Pit absolutely love the King Arthur!  This gem of a music pub has everything you could ever wish for; great stage, a good selection of drinks, incredible food, a courtyard with a fire pit, and… roll on the drums… a recording studio!  Obviously, this is what music heaven must be like and if I lived in Glastonbury, you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming from the building every night at closing time.  On this night though it was strictly business with four bands on the bill so, much as we wanted to just sit by the fire and eat mega-burgers all night, we decided we’d better go and check them out.  A massive thankyou to Gemma and her team at the pub and also to everyone at Youth Decay for a great night.

“Ten more songs!” rings out into the Glastonbury night as Fight the Champ hit The King Arthur

Fight the Champ isn’t just another nu-hardcore outfit, this band is a phenomenon!  With one Bloodstock appearance already under their belt, these guys play every gig as though it’s a matter of life or death, and tonight was no exception.  They exploded on to the stage at full throttle, hitting the crowd like a wrecking ball and shifting the King Arthur about five feet down the road.

Alex is a without doubt, every metal band’s dream frontman.  A consummate performer with a stare like a serial killer and the physique to back it up, he completely dominates the stage and had this crowd totally transfixed from the very first note.  His voice has the power to knock down buildings and for a big bloke, he’s incredibly dynamic.  When Alex freaks out, stand well clear!  

It goes without saying that FTC is loud, aggressive, and exciting to watch, but there’s so much more than that going on here.  The level of musicianship is outstanding across the board, and together, these guys deliver nu-hardcore in a manner that many other bands must surely wish they could.  Rather than simply beating you over the head with a sonic brick, they serve up the goods with a degree of finesse that allows you to pick out the individual parts – a rare quality amongst bands in this genre.  Sure, you can choose to just slam your head against the wall in time with the kick drum, but then you might also want to stand back for a moment and revel in the guitar or soak up some bass...  and then of course… there’s that voice!

The response from the crowd said it all – they knew they were witnessing a masterclass in metal mayhem, and they loved every moment of it.  The 45-minute set flew by in what seemed like seconds and ended with chants of “FTC!” and “Ten more songs!” ringing out into the Glastonbury night.  

Glastonbury becomes ground zero as storm force Grove Warden touch down

Within seconds, Alex leapt into the pit to apply some much-needed encouragement to an initially tentative (more likely terrified) crowd.  As our ribs vibrated and the floor shook, he rampaged around the room like a crazed bull, grabbing bodies and dragging them into the fast-developing melee.  Hair and sweat flew as the freshly invigorated moshers took up the challenge and within seconds, the pit ignited, rocking the King Arthur to its foundations.  Out in the street, the tarmac was peeling back, and streetlights were flickering under the onslaught.  The intensity never dipped and by the end of the 45minute set, both frontman and crowd looked as though they had just completed a week at SAS bootcamp

There’s a big difference between a warm-up band and a band that burns the venue down - Grove Warden is definitely the latter!

Is it melodic, is it 80's we're not sure...but it is Rosa Mortis!

Death by Gimp bring the noise...and an inflatable pink willy!

Bored with conventional guitar-based metal?  Tired of spine-tingling riffs and palm-muted chugging?  Longing for someone to throw a large inflatable penis at you?  Well, if so, Death by Gimp may be just what you're looking for! 

Bravely stepping in to perform at extremely short notice, our screaming, growling hero hit the stage sporting a Spandex gimp mask, a leather jacket draped in chains, and a large inflatable "male appendage" poking out from under one arm.  As he raised the mic to his zip, an ear-shattering wall of distorted white noise, with embedded film and radio clips, burst from the PA, pinning the crowd to the walls and knocking the air clean out of their lungs.  The bulging pink lethal weapon was quickly released from its silo, straight into the face of the nearest unsuspecting two-stepper, who obliged us with a series of suggestive gyrations, probably best left to the imagination.

To borrow a line from Death by Gimp’s Bandcamp page, we were treated to a mind-boggling 30 minutes of "Disturbingly offensive and grossly erotic Gorenoise" - a fairly comprehensive summary right there!  This is not your average act by any stretch of the imagination, but lovers of the noise rock genre need look no further.