In May 2021, Dead Harts drummer and Skull & Bones Boys Club founder Ant Allen passed away following a history of mental illness and addiction. Due to pandemic-related restrictions in place at the time, his funeral attendance had to be limited, and as Ant was a popular lad, this didnât sit well with a few of his friends. Fast forward to September, and 900ish people have gathered at Sheffieldâs iconic Leadmill venue to see a slew of great bands, raise money for a couple of charities and, most importantly, celebrate the life of a man who was clearly loved by many.
Hull-based newcomers Newmeds may have been billed for one of the earliest slots of the day, but that doesnât stop them from pummelling the crowd with their eclectic brand of rockânâroll-infused hardcore. Imagine a blend of Every Time I Die, Queens of the Stone Age and Daughters and youâll be somewhere close to imagining what the early punters experienced as their intimidating vocalist clambered over their heads for 30 minutes, backed by swaggering riffs and effortless groove. âNothing Is Heavier Than The Mindâ is the highlight of the set, so if you fancy checking this band out you should start there.
Next up itâs melodic hardcore veterans Demoraliser, one of the many bands to come out of mosh retirement just for today. Demoraliser, or âDemozzaâ to the initiated, were a huge part of the UKHC scene in the early 2010s, but disbanded in 2015 and havenât been seen since, until today. Judging by the crowd reaction, theyâve been very much missed. From the second the lights go down, before the opening swell of âPretenderâ has really even started, The Leadmill is a flurry of arms, legs and inflatables. What follows is 30 minutes of pure chaos. At one point a man crowd-surfs on a blow-up unicorn. Thereâs a cheeky Terror cover. Everyone is having the absolute best time. Are Demoraliser the most original, interesting band on the lineup? No, not by some stretch. However, are they the most fun? Very possibly.
With the bar set extremely high after the above acts, can Feed The Rhino make their set count? Of course they fucking can. They may not have been absent for as long as Demoraliser, but their return has a lot of people extremely excited, none more so than vocalist Lee Tobin who spends the whole set with the biggest grin on his face, eyes wide and wild, clearly thrilled to be back doing what he loves. Raucous, groove-laden tracks like âFeatherweightâ and âThe Burning Sonsâ sound absolutely huge, and the band play with a vibrancy that bands half their age would struggle to muster. Their set is so perfectly executed, so full of life and energy, that it seems like a crime for this to be a one-off. Thereâs been precisely zero talk of the band doing anything else after this show, but maybe if we all wish for it hard enough, something will happen.
Expansive post-hardcore heroes Palm Reader are next to take the stage. Last year Palm Reader released the incredible âSleeplessâ, and the people at this event are lucky enough to be among the first people to hear stunning tracks like âHold/Releaseâ, âWillowâ and âA Bird and its Feathersâ in a live environment. As always, the band play to perfection, their sound a perfect mix of shimmering beauty and emotional devastation. Josh McKeown is a mesmerising frontman, one of the UKâs best in fact. Every movement he and his bandmates make feel so organic; thereâs never any sense of choreography when watching Palm Reader, and yet theyâre always impossibly tight and this set is no exception. Older tracks like the chaotic âSwarmâ and the relentless âInternal Winterâ also help solidify why Palm Reader are one of the best, if not the best band in the UK underground. Their set felt disappointingly short, but it was still an absolute pleasure to behold.
Thereâs a palpable tension in the air before Dead Harts begin their performance, with good reason given the circumstances, but whatever emotions people were feeling before it started, Dead Harts changed those feelings into joy. Their set is absolutely wild, every beer-soaked riff punctuated by crowd-surfers and mic grabbers, not to mention some very ill-advised circle pits on what had become The Worldâs Slippiest Floor⢠over the course of the day. This may be the first Dead Harts show since 2016, but tonight it feels like they never really left, and they can walk off the stage safe in the knowledge that they more than did Ant proud.
After an emotional set from Dead Harts, the event doubles down on the sadness with an incredible set from Landscapes, another band to come out of retirement for one last bittersweet show. Landscapes just sort of disappeared without any formal breakup announcement in 2017, so it feels right for them to get a proper farewell show whilst also being able to pay tribute to a departed friend. With their sound sitting in the Modern Life Is War / Defeater realm of emotional melodic hardcore, theyâre easily the most raw sounding band on the lineup, but that doesnât stop them from giving a high-energy performance that has the crowd absolutely enraptured.
There couldnât have been a better headliner for this event than the reinvigorated, dual-mouthed, post-metal behemoth that is Devil Sold His Soul. Whilst Landscapesâ music is emotionally heavy, itâs coated in a bleak sense of despair that wouldnât have been the right endnote to this celebration. Devil Sold His Soul are emotionally heavy, but their sound is one of hope and triumph. Awash in blue light, the band fill the room with feedback before devastating the sold-out crowd with âThe Narcissistâ from their stellar new album âLossâ. Duelling vocalists Ed Gibbs and Paul Green are a force of nature, tearing up the stage whilst the impossibly tight band plays behind them. Alongside a couple more new songs, weâre treated to a handful of tracks from across the bandâs discography. âAn Ocean of Lightsâ from 2010âs âBlessed & Cursedâ feels particularly cathartic, but itâs set closer âHopeâ that truly provides the perfect message to end the day. As the closing line of âI know that weâll be just fineâ rings out, itâs clear to everyone in the room that Ant Allen has had the send-off he deserved, and that music can bring people together better than anything else in the world.
If you missed the show but want to contribute to Antâs incredible legacy, please make a donation to Music Minds Matter and / or Project 6 Sheffield.
LONG LIVE ANT ALLEN
LIAM KNOWLES
