Are you a fan of dirty riffs and an overwhelming level of hardcore that sends a crowd into a hysterical frenzy of fists and ferocity? Meet Hacktivist, the Buckinghamshire band who have just blown the roof off Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar in a way never seen before.

Tonight is the final night of the band's tour, a sold out show and their final performance of 2016. As you can expect, the minute doors open tonight, the atmosphere of many wanting to rock out is omnipresent and as first support, Bad Sign, begin, the crowd is offered their first outlet of the evening. The raw vocals, bouncing energy and heavy breakdowns are enough to send many into a blur of head banging vocalist and bassist, Joe Appleford’s ability to play such complex riffs over such powerful vocals is truly admirable. The sound emanating from the South London band is surprisingly fulfilling for an opening act and offers the perfect introduction to the evening. Bad Sign may be up comers, but you can certainly expect far bigger things from these rock powerhouses.

Zoax are up next, and if Bad Sign were energetic, Zoax take things to an entirely new level. In a single line, I would describe Zoax as: demented, but in the best way imaginable. Their actions are incredibly sporadic and vocalist, Adam Carroll, is simply a madman. Within the opening seconds of their set, Adam already finds himself in amongst the crowd, screaming vocals into their faces. A notable number of people have come wearing Zoax shirts and it is apparent that this band have an incredibly special aura surrounding them, the majority of the room know the lyrics and have become incredibly excitable throughout, if someone not sure which band were playing tonight were to walk in, based on the enthusiasm from the audience, Zoax could easily pass off as tonight’s main act.

The stench of body oder and sweat has already filled the tightly compacted room and as it reaches full capacity, unison chants for tonight’s headline act begin. “Hacktivist! Hacktivist! Hacktivist!” they roar. The lights drop and the band emerge. The brutal riffs of ‘No Way Back’ kick in and the crowd unleash a tsunami of built up energy. Before blinking, crowd surfers are clambering over fellow attendees, joining the band in the spotlight for minor seconds before diving back into the abyss they have just emerged from. A circle pit of angst has opened up as a frightening combination of fists and feet fly around the place, it is clear the entire room’s adrenaline is united towards one purpose: to have a kick ass time.

In amongst all the chaos, the band are superbly tight, each note is struck with an equal level of punch and savagery and the rapped lyrics are executed with blindingly fast technique which almost borders on the mechanical. The vocals throughout each number are surprisingly strong too. Vocalist Ben Marvin’s ability to effortlessly switch between rapping, hardcore screaming and powerful longer notes is remarkable, whilst accompanying raps from fellow frontman, J Hurley, overlays each track with fresh and fast rhymes that suit the melody perfectly. The anarchy only continues to grow throughout the set, self titled track ‘Hacktivist’ is particularly ferocious, yet in amongst the violence there is a clear sense of care between fans. If someone falls, they are immediately picked up, reassured they are okay and return to the action should they choose. Even the band make an active effort to keep everyone as safe as possible without dampening the energy, vocalist Ben Marvin announces “We love that, but look after each other out there!”. A reassuring and respectable sentiment.

Outside the Box, the band’s most recent album, is arguably Hacktivist’s best thus far, but if their newest single ‘Over-Throne’ offers an insite of what's yet to come, I for one am incredibly excited for the direction the band are heading. The track features everything that makes this band so great, emphasising on brutality, individuality and hard hitting vocals that fill listeners with angst against the establishment. Some may argue that there is a likeliness to that of old Enter Shikari material, however Hacktivist have managed to brush over this connection and created their own unique style of performing which, judging by the energy this crowd has, clearly pays off.

Hacktivist have openly described their sound as an accident, the mixture of rap, heavy metal, grime and aspects of electronica on its face, feel as though they shouldn't work. Yet these boys have managed to generate a sound which only brings out the best of each genre in an incredibly unique fashion that few would dare attempt, let alone pull off. I feel Hacktivist, along with both supports tonight, are all bands who have an enormous amount to give to the world and are set to become dominators within their respected genres. I can guarantee that this will certainly not be the last time you come across their names over the next few years.
Ben Walker

Website: hacktivist.uk.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Hacktivistband
Twitter: twitter.com/hacktivistuk