ANOTHER clear chilly night saw me zooming up the M3 to Kingston and a show for which I have had a ticket for ages.

Moderate crowd and a bit of warmth greeted me as I arrived just in time for Artemis from Basingstoke. I have seen the boys dozens of times before, but I believe this is the first time I have seen them outside their home town.

They had a stand-in drummer too, so a bit of pressure there, though you wouldn't have known it to hear them play. They have a massive sound, a good old hard-core tsunami with a very powerful vocal delivery. Went down well too, so that's another feather in the cap for Basingstoke.

Next up were Let's Talk Daggers from Eastbourne, who I have seen a fair few times, but not for a while.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Really fast, techy hard-core is what they have on offer and it was delivered via an insanely energetic performance. As a (sort of) musician myself, I can only stare in wonder at how they are able to play their instruments, sing and leap around like the protagonists in a Kung Fu movie.

They really do get better each time I see them and some of the newer tracks they played from their forthcoming album sounded amazing. Can't wait to hear the finished item.

Main support was provided by Zoax from London, who boast a pretty cosmopolitan membership, with an Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotsman and a Frenchman.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Now whilst that sounds like an opening line to a joke, these guys are definitely no joke, for whilst they are undoubtedly hard-core in general terms, they very much have their own twist and delivery on things.

The banter with the crowd was fantastic and the atmosphere was getting decidedly more rowdy, and hot!

Then it was time for the headline band. Now every band that had been on thus far were headliners in their own rights, but Baby Godzilla down from Nottingham have taken hard-core and live music to a whole new level.

Basingstoke Gazette:

I had carefully selected a vantage point which gave me a good view with minimum exposure to shrapnel and blast damage. There is no gradual build-up with these guys - they explode into action and it remains unremitting for the next 30-40 minutes, I loose track of time.

Everybody who claims to enjoy music with attitude needs to see Baby Godzilla live at least once, before they hang up their ear-plugs and retire to the sofa in front of The X Factor.

All the bands - you were amazing, the promoter fantastic (and very brave) and the management and staff of the venue - good sports for hosting such an incredible show.

I would note that no doormen were present and there were no injuries, beyond one broken guitar - but it had had a good life.

Neil Duncan, ISSUEPUNKZINE