Opening band De’Mask Thyself offered a strangely heavy opening to a night of punky rock, with their explosive brand of brutal death metal, but were well received by the (albeit minimal) crowd at the Wheatsheaf. Taking technical difficulties in their stride, the band played a powerful set while frontman Tom Smith stomped energetically around the small stage, glaring at his bass with an inimitable fury as he roared at the crowd. It would have been good to see as much energy from guitarist Christian Bourne, who appeared a little wooden at the start of the set, but to his credit, began to loosen up as time went on. Vocals too could use a little improvement, with cleans sounding a little flat at times, but on the other hand, these newcomers to the Oxford metal scene engaged in casual banter with the crowd in a way that many take years to master, and their obvious passion, joy and enthusiasm for their music shone through the imperfections in their set, making for an extremely enjoyable half hour!

The next band, Nuclear Skyline, share very little in the way of influences with De’Mask Thyself, but oddly, they do share a drummer in Jamie Phipps. Playing with a guest bassist, they bashed through a set of catchy, melodic, grungy rock, highlighting their impressive song writing ability, and utilizing the whole stage very effectively to put on a visually entertaining show. They were let down at times, especially in the quieter moments of their set, by their weak vocals, although it was hard for me to discern if this was a recurring problem, or simply a one off issue on the night. In the words of Kial Churcher, frontman of local metal titans Crysis, “If Kurt Cobain came back to life, he’d probably enjoy this… then go shoot himself again”. Wise words, as always…

I don’t feel I can give Shattered Dreams a fair review, as they took to the stage for their headline slot singerless, with vocalist Marnie Wood indisposed due to a family emergency. To their credit, they played all the same, offering the crowd a fun – if short – set, including a few classic punk covers with members of the other bands filling in on vocals, and one or two instrumental versions of their own songs. All in all, this made for a relaxed and fun end to an enjoyable night, but sadly not one in which Shattered Dreams could perform to their full potential.