Scuzz UK Throwdown Tour: Max Raptor, Allusondrugs and Press to MECO Live @ The Borderline 09/03/2016

The concept of a rotating headline act at gig, firstly brings about images of a band just turning on the spot in front of a crowd and secondly is something I'm am not familiar with except maybe co-headliners at a festival. So when Scuzz announced that they would be taking not two but three bands on a tour around the UK with the idea to rotate the set times, with whoever takes the top of the bill changing on each night, I couldn't help but be slightly curious.

With every show at The Borderline in London, you can't help by feel the average age is six years old, with their fourteen plus shows, however this evening I am seeing everyone from all backgrounds. You look around the room and it is a combination of Loose Women and nineties Seattle, there are middle aged women shouting at the full volume of their lungs to Kurt Cobain influenced teenagers with long wavy hair starting circle pits. It is shows like this you can't help but feel a sense of family, which fully explains the rotating headliner, like as if these bands are like brothers in arms, equals in a battlefield.

And you can get a huge sense of that tonight.

Press to Meco @ The Borderline

The room fills up quickly, with Press to MECO to do the honours of opening the show, with a huge sound for a three piece fuelled by a fast paced performance these guys remind me of Biffy in their early days. Blood, sweat and pure energy pours off them! (Lead vocalist Luke Caley at one point did land some sweat on my camera lens....A bonding moment if you can call it that...) They encourage people to bond with their music, forming monkey dancing circle pits and getting you to embrace friendship at gigs.

Press to Meco @The Borderline

With the room at a now unreasonable temperature, Allusondrugs hit us with a mixture of hard rock and rough-around-the-edges shoe gaze, and it doesn't take them too long to get half naked on stage.

Allusondrugs @ The Borderline

You can hear all sorts of influences in their music, tracks like 'Nervous' you can hear hints of Beach Boys and early harmonic rock, and then you have songs like 'Handicapped' that give off Josh Homme vibes. Their sound is hard to pin down to one genre, but feels sexual, with the way they play and Jason Moules' vocal carries itself throughout the room as it seduces everyone there.

Allusondrugs @ The Borderline

By this point everyone is well and truly aroused, and it is down to Max Raptor to bring us to a close, and as soon as they step foot on that stage they tear it apart, taking no prisoners. They beat you pound for pound with their British infused rock music, the energy they bring to their performance is a reflection on society. Thrusting into 'England Breathes' the room breaks out into a full blown riot, which Max Raptor have full control over.