You have to hand it to them, Nuclear Family Records put on some of the sickest shows in Cardiff and tonight is no different. The cosy surroundings of Fuel Rock Club is the scene as straight edge’s newest heroes Year Of The Knife have travelled all the way from Delaware to lay waste to the Welsh capital. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the stellar supporting cast of Chamber, Cauldron and Watch Me Die, but the already sweaty masses, told a story of its own.
The 5 piece hit the stage nice and early, to ensure we can all get home tonight, which is very thoughtful and immediately the crowd erupt as bodies vie with each other for some mic time on “Y.O.T.K.” On record the band are heavy, but live is a different beast altogether, verging on the frightening. As they barrel through a ferocious setlist mostly consisting of tracks from their new album “Ultimate Aggression”- an apt name indeed. Watching the band do their thing, you realize that they offer so much more than your average hardcore band with death metal and hell, dare I say it, nu-metal interludes. Special attention is paid to crowd favorites “Fatal” and “Your Lucky Day” with vocalist Tyler Mullen displaying a genuine focused anger that’s been missing from hardcore in recent years, as he jumps and spin kicks his way around the stage, which the Cardiff crowd are more than happy to join in with. It’s an exhausted but happy crowd that leaves Fuel tonight as everybody involved brought their A-game.
The cream really is rising to the top for hardcore in 2019 with the emergence of bands like Code Orange, Knocked Loose and Jesus Piece emerging as contenders and joining them very soon will be Year Of The Knife. Cardiff will never be quite the same after tonight.