SCHC Fest: One of the biggest hardcore shows in Birmingham to date

Blood. Beer. A whole lot of sweat. Maybe some tears as Curbstomp and Sentenced played their last ever set, but most definitely there was a barrel of heavy as fuck riffs. Second City Hardcore Fest featured a culmination of hardcore bands from around Birmingham to celebrate the life and soul of the staple venue of the Second City Hardcore scene- The Flapper. A total of ten bands played the sold-out show on Saturday 24th June and it was a day that will stick out in all of our memories as being a badass day for the scene.

Over the past year, the hardcore scene in Birmingham has gone from strength to strength with many new bands being crafted and other bands releasing debut albums and EPs; Second City bands have been making moves up and down the country and beyond- there are no signs of them stopping any time soon. Bands like Stranded and Drawn In are still ever present in the scene whilst Splintered and Balance toured Europe and played alongside bands like Vein earlier this year. Cruelty also supported H2O on their anniversary tour and Force of Neglect supported Grove Street Families at a small show in Stafford. Not forgetting, Suppress, Cauldron, and Beretta are starting to make waves and are definitely bands we all need to be keeping our eye out for in the future. Second City Hardcore Fest brought all of these bands together for one day to highlight what Birmingham has to offer and how the scene is continuing to expand and replenish over time.

Kicking the day off was three of the scenes’ newest bands, all with fresh new takes on the hardcore genre: Suppress, Beretta and Cauldron. Suppress successfully brought the groove to the day with their catchy, rhythmic riffs and old school vocals in their short but sweet songs taken off of their new demo ‘Yahzi’. They proved that the Second City stomp is a prominent feature in this scene and won’t be going away any time soon with their song ‘Fade’ which got bodies stomping across the floor. Vocalist Kieran Murphy is a Birmingham favourite (and almost icon) and fills the role of the vocalist in this band perfectly alongside the rest of the band. However, for the fans of heavier riffs and beatdowns, Beretta are increasingly more brutal and harder hitting, as well as Cauldron who exuded the darker edge to the festival with their melodic riffs and technical grooves that are reminiscent of Realm Of Torment. Beretta’s set was aggressive with violent intent and their chest pounding beatdowns left handfuls of bodies hurling across the room with excitement over the sheer severity and relentless nature of the riffs in their song ‘Agony’ for example. At the start of Cauldron’s set they debuted a new song, but what can't be forgotten is the award of the night for the best quotes go to vocalist Frazer Cassling who pleaded for the crowd to “look someone in the eye and make them bleed” and announced that “everyone at the back is your enemy” which sure as hell got the crowd riled and throwing their fists towards their nearest friends across the room.

As the day went on, veterans of the scene began to take to the stage; crowd members continued to occupy the pit with their swinging limbs and vivacious two steps. Within the last year Force of Neglect have had a lineup change which brought more girl power into the scene as Sascha Knight took on the role of bassist, and with this new lineup they have managed to release a new song earlier this year and are sounding better than ever. They mix together the groove and heaviness into their riffs perfectly and the same can be said for Balance who performed new songs from their debut EP and some older ones from their demo too. Their grunge sound is something new for the scene and continues to impress as they draw crowds of people and movements from all of those entranced by them. The genre they have carefully crafted is accessible to hardcore fans and beyond. Their set was laden with their usual grooves and emitted the almost playful energy that we know these guys for having.

Another successful release this year was the album ‘Death is Progress’ by Metallic Hardcore band Splintered, who exuded massive amounts of energy and strength in their performance which was no surprise as this is what we are used to seeing from them. (For the record, I don’t think I'll ever tire of hearing them perform ‘Stomp’).

Stranded were the next band of the night, who were preparing themselves for the release of their EP ‘The Hammer Falls’. After being a band for a few years, they still get a massive reaction and constantly have people singing along to their lyrics which is always great to see as it can be agreed that they are one of the nicest bands’ in the scene. Since I got to photograph their set, I got to see the crowds reaction from their point of view and it was clear that ‘The Hammer Falls’ will go down a treat just like all of their older tunes that the crowd won’t tire of hearing.

Before Curbstomp and Sentenced took to the stage for the final time, Drawn In debuted a new song during their set. Over the past few months they have been competing in the Metal to the Masses competition in hopes of playing Bloodstock festival later in August and it is obvious that the hard work that they have put into those heats has helped to improve their set- even if we didn’t think that was even possible. I’ve seen them many times but each and every time they deliver the thrashy elements perfectly and playing fan favourite ‘Nuclear War’ always impresses. Once they release new material soon (hopefully), Drawn In are a band that soon will be as big as the final two bands on the SCHC fest lineup and it will be no surprise as it seems they have all worked hard to earn it.

Finally, after not having played a show in what seems like forever, Curbstomp came back from the dead to play their final show and bring beatdown back to the 0121 and finally, Sentenced played a reunion set; people had come from as far as Europe to see them which certainly highlights the impact a beatdown band from Birmingham can have on this music scene across the continent. For both bands, everyone in the room rushed to the front of the stage and remained there for the entire duration whilst screaming the words violently back to them almost as though neither band had ever taken a break from the scene. The sheer brutality of the energy that was brought to The Flapper for their last shows was enough to bring the roof down as people went wild with aggression; all that could be seen from the stage was mounds of pushing, shoving, fists, legs and bodies flying across the room which shows it was a successful send off for both Sentenced and Curbstomp, but not forgetting The Flapper also. Guitarist Jacques of Curbstomp gave a speech at the end of their set stating that “we’ve been through the most homelessness, court cases, the most drama” but also thanked the members for the years of laughs and support. We will all be sad to see these band go but I'm sure they will be coming back soon with different bands and even more new music.

‘Second City Hardcore on top’ were the words which were passed around social media platforms after the day's events and this day definitely proved that the hardcore scene in Birmingham is continuing to thrive after all its years of evolving. Bands and participants have come and gone, but the spirit has always remained the same. It can be guaranteed that it will stay this way as long as members continue supporting the scene like they did at this gig in particular. Long live SCHC.

By Amy Demidow