Words by Lizzie Cooley, photos by Jonathan Yip.
As one of the top 20 hottest bands in the world at the moment, Baby Godzilla took to the stage of the Forum Hertfordshire and delivered their (now infamous) blend of “extreme noise” and explosive entertainment. With support from the likes of Zoax and Hooligan Collective, it was certainly a night I wasn’t prepared to miss!
Starting out relatively tame, Hooligan Collective kicked things off. All students of Hertfordshire University, they went down a storm and connecting with the largely student crowd with their songs about Pizza and Beer. An energetic performance saw bassist Greg Burns break his strap and concluded with the trio collapsed on the floor and their last notes still ringing out feedback. A fantastic way to open an evening of hardcore metal and for building an audience that were here for the bedlam of Baby Godzilla.
Whilst the audience were raring and ready to go for the headliners, they had to wait just a little longer for Zoax to perform their set – and watching them was well worth waiting for Baby Godzilla. Spending most of the performance directly interacting with the audience, Zoax delivered an amazing experience for all those in attendance with main man Adam Carroll squaring up to and intimidating the crowd in the best way imaginable; stealing hats and accosting audience members with mic leads, taking a hardcore rock to an appropriate level for a BG gig.
Having already had an full on evening it was then finally time for Baby Godzilla to start their set. As the band kicked into gear If you were not joining in with the mosh pit, or head banging, you were just stunned by the sheer energy and adrenaline in the room. Baby Godzilla made the most of the Forum’s Attic bar, climbing guitar amps, drum kits, a random set of ladder (a prop of the band), tables and the bar. There was no escape. No matter where you looked, someone from Baby Godzilla was there thrashing, shredding, screaming or sweating. The reception was phenomenal, they had everyone in the palm of their hand and the atmosphere went through the roof! Aside from an insane performance, this band have genuine talent: their music is tight and rehearsed, high octane and totally off the hook. An amazing, crazy and wild night.
To sum up the evening in word: extreme. The music was extreme, the performances were extreme and the atmosphere… extreme. If you need further evidence, there’s a couple of photos below which capture the atmosphere almost perfectly:
