You can tell a lot about a band when they’re faced with a paltry turnout and tonight is one of those nights. However, the sparse crowd of forty-fifty get the full Warrior Soul live treatment. Opener ‘American Idol’ is followed by the first of many liquor-fuelled anthems, the no holds barred ‘I Get Fucked Up’. The brand new album is almost played in its entirety with title track ’Back On The Lash’ ’I Got The Rock’ and the blistering new single ’Thrill Seeker’ all dispatched with shotgun timing and Clarke‘s devilish rasp. The band’s heyday is celebrated with a trio of cuts that not only highlighted Clarke’s songwriting prowess but also his twisted prophetic parables. ‘Love Destruction’ remains a Rock giant, thumping drums, incendiary lyrics and a Grunge haunting riff. Warrior Soul always artistically surfed between Nirvana and Guns ‘N’ Roses and although commercially it left them between the proverbial rock/hard place it also spawned the brutal beauty of songs like ‘Punk And Belligerent’. This speeding juggernaut of a track batters the senses with its futile message of fighting, fucking and drinking, it’s a genre melting anti-hero classic. The desperately relevant ‘Salutations From The Ghetto Nation’ rounds the evening off (for me) in style. This is a band who deserve bigger and better venues, crowds and all round respect. Support your local scene, because if and when these venues close they’ll be gone for good and so will the bands.