Live Review: Haggard Cat | The Black Heart, London | 28.05.26

Nottingham’s favourite noise rock duo, Haggard Cat, bring two bands bred from only the most addictive corners of the chaos realm, Chaos Reigns and Every Hell, to headline The Black Heart.

Chaos Reigns

“You have officially entered a state of utter disorder and confusion,” says Google when you enthusiastically search up Chaos Reigns without including the word “band”. Google may as well have been at their warm-up set tonight, because its advice to combat this spinning state of chaos, a.k.a. the feral hardcore spat out by Chaos Reigns, is to regain a little bit of footing, a.k.a. get two-stepping. It’s a full-throttle assault of mathcore grooves, flying kung-fu kicks, and five musicians so fired up they look like they might combust if they stand (or sit) still for even a second. When frontman Jason isn’t winding his way through the crowd or looking for something to climb on, he’s teasing out menacing lines of, “Camdennn, come out and playyy.” And Billy Padmore is a furious sight and sound to behold: one minute he’s playing his bass at inhuman angles and the next he’s down on his knees having a religious experience. Chaos Reigns will incite chaos, or go up in flames trying, and make some damn good music while they’re at it.

Photo Credit:
Julia Stark

Every Hell

The inventors of the “doom pop” flavour, Every Hell, are the next set of Haggard Cat pals to take to the stage. The Brighton and Bristol-based doom poplords (move over popstars, poplords are taking over) are a loopy gaggle of intrigue, nipping between staggering Muse-esque melodies and riotous riff-frenzies that have more in common with The Dillinger Escape Plan than any band that has the word ‘pop’ in their genre blend has a right to. There’s a saxophone. There’s laughter so terrifying it sounds like a cackling witch has joined them on stage. And Will Gardner’s vocals take the crowd on a journey more varied than the seven wonders of the world. When he suggests it’s time for some crowd participation, The Black Heart responds to his “When I say ‘Every’, you say…” with a lively shout of, “HELL!” Every Hell is immersed in its own deranged world while simultaneously sucking every breathing body in to join them and are as magnificent as they are unpredictable.

Photo Credit:
Julia Stark

Haggard Cat

Last (but obviously not least) to take up the chaos baton is Haggard Cat. The duo fill the stage with oodles of swaggering charisma and energy – as well as a hefty stack of vintage-presenting amps – that explodes (the energy, not the amps; panic not) into the crowd from the second the synths begin tinkling in ‘I HATE IT HERE’. Vocalist/guitarist Matt Reynolds roars with all the unfettered emotion of an overly caffeinated lion having an existential meltdown, and Tom Marsh blasts his drum kit with equal fervour, at times threatening to launch himself from his stool into the surrounding equipment. The unkempt, anticipatory buildup midway through song number two, ‘SOAR’, means some of the crowd feel the same need to launch themselves into something and break open a mosh pit.

“I promise not to do that to you again. I just get so excited,” jokes Matt after morphing the moshing into a wall of death. It’s the most people they’ve had at a London headliner, and they’re touring their third album, The Pain That Orbits Life – an album chockablock with dizzying, throat-shredding bangers – so no wonder he’s got so excited. Whilst it’s almost a complete celebration of new tracks, live staples such as scuzzed-up, blues rock belter ‘American Graffiti’ see Matt take his turn to jump off the stage and dance with the sweat-dripping lunatics.

They get a little emotional when reminiscing about their time as Baby Godzilla, touring with Limp Bizkit, and how they wouldn’t be in the position they are today without The Black Heart and thank everyone for being here. “Since it’s so special, I will actually tune my guitar,” says Matt, before accidentally asking Paula, the sound wizard, for a little more “vodka” rather than “vocals”. A Haggard Cat show is like joining a beautifully chaotic family for the night, overflowing with bonkersness and siblings with the best music taste ever. Haggard Cat take the reputation that two-man bands do it best and carve it into the sprawling alt-rock, noise punk, and post-hardcore spectrum that they exist in, with a promise to never stop. They love it. The crowds love it. And the only option is more Haggard Cat, please.

Photo Credit:
Dan Landsburgh

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