Taste Of Anarchy Tour – 12.03.2015 @Warszawa, Hydrozagadka, PL

The Warsaw stop on the Taste Of Anarchy tour was an event that I had marked in my calendar as soon as the first information about it appeared. I was very pleased with the selection of bands on this tour, and since I hadn’t had the opportunity to ride the trains and go to a concert with good mates in a long time, yesterday’s pilgrimage to Hydrozagadka was a no-brainer.

The journey to the capital was very pleasant, filled with digging berets and singing along to the king of Albania’s lyrics, as well as waving to various krastuchs driving by in their cinquecentos. We then visited a place called Falafel Beirut, which I can confidently recommend to fans of all types of plant-based food – it was a very tasty meal. What made it even better was that in March, people named Marcin get 50% off, so my mate and I enjoyed our meal for half the price. Patryk resented his parents for not giving him a name like ours, but he had no choice but to swallow the bitterness of defeat and carry on.

We arrived at the club as Havenside was finishing their set, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see them perform live. The same went for Coldburn. Chatting and banter outside the venue took precedence. Oh well, that’s life.

The first band we got up close to the stage for was the British band Desolated. I really wanted to see them as I enjoy their music from their albums, especially their sound. The key to their simple yet powerful and heavy sound is the incredibly loud bass, which was very noticeable during the concert. Overall, their performance didn’t fully satisfy me. It started off great – slow, heavy, and threatening. There was also some moshing going on near the stage, with the speakers blaring out the biggest square hits. Towards the end, however, the guys started to slow down a bit, which left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. But it was fun to headbang along to songs like „Blasphemy,” „Suffering,” and „Death By My Side.”

Cruel Hand unfortunately stopped playing outside again, which was a shame, but hopefully there will be another opportunity to see them. According to eyewitness accounts, their set was quite impressive. Moving on to Lionheart. I really appreciate this band, although I don’t agree with their decision to completely ignore their first album „The Will To Survive”, which in my opinion is the best in their discography. Their set consisted of songs from their last two releases, including hits like „Pure Anger,” „Built On Struggle,” „Lifer,” and „Hail Mary.” It was great to listen to their pure, energetic hardcore sound. The crowd really got into it, at times it felt like being in a gymnasium. Limbs were flying in the air. But that was just the beginning of the chaos that Nasty would bring a few minutes later. Nasty live destroys venues. There is probably no better band in beatdown that nails it so perfectly. Heavy punches of brutal sonic meat, with some arrangements lightly touching upon slam during slower parts, and touching on death metal during the fastest sections. They even throw in some blast beats occasionally, which adds a nice flavor to the overall sound. Their song execution was flawless, and the frontman’s stage presence was excellent. He exuded energy, encouraged the crowd to make a mess, and playfully went wild during the catchiest parts. And vocally, he was also very strong. They mostly played songs from „Love,” but it was nice that they also included some tracks from „Aggression” and „Declaring War” („Rockets With A Message,” „One Voice,” „Chaos”). The songs that stood out to me the most yesterday were „Just Kind,” „Look at Me and Fuck You,” „My Brain Went Terribly Wrong,” „Slaves to the Rich,” „Fire On The People,” and their anthem against fascism „Zero Tolerance,” which closed the show. There was a war zone near the stage, with waving arms and legs, but all in good fun. The crowd also eagerly participated in singalongs, although there was definitely not enough stagediving :). But all in all, it was a solid 11/10 and the best gig of the year so far.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, it was great to catch up with old friends, make jokes, and have conversations about a gypsy paradise under Vilnius Station. Looking forward to the next one, oi!