We opted to skip this tangle of fashion styles and wait it out in Luther’s. £1.79 pints felt a much safer option to kill two hours. Due to our friend’s unfortunate time management, the first support, BRAT from New Orleans, had been and gone before we could get down to the Venue. We only knew this because the floor was shaking and creaking beneath our feet as we sank pints.
When we arrived downstairs with our whole group finally in tow, Full of Hell were just beginning. As we pushed through the double doors, I could already tell this was going to be a stacked evening. Carrying on with the American support acts, they were understandably my friend's favourite set of the night. The crowd was riled up with surfers already crashing down. The audience couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a hardcore pit or a push pit - I got both kicked in the head and shoved over in the same breath - but the energy was so strong it was hard to even care.
In what felt like minutes the straight edge rockers had rattled through their greatest hits and we were left waiting for the third band of the night. It was barely half past 8 and the atmosphere was electric.
Crowbar started strong, every bit the look of an aging metal band. We retreated towards what we thought must be the end of their set for the bar, exhausted from carrying crowd surfers and grabbing fallen moshers. But the four-piece kept playing, and playing, and playing. They never lost energy or focus for a second... but we sadly did. This was no fault of Crowbar - we realised we’d gotten so used to 15-minute hardcore sets with Newcastle’s own Conviction Records, that anything over 30 minutes and we became exhausted.
After a final pint before the main attraction caused us to once again miss the beginning of the set, we shoved back through the crowd and watched in awe. The supports had been so hard I thought I knew what we were getting ourselves in for but they somehow stepped it up even further. Napalm Death played a crazed, high impact setlist. They never lost the crowd - stopping for breath and the occasional political preach to the choir - before continuing with a perfect set from their 16-album-strong back catalogue.
The crowd was still brilliant, over three hours since the first band. The orientation of the Venue is a visibility problem at more conventional gigs but here it provided the perfect battleground for kicks punches and shoves. I earnt some gnarly bruises, and I returned home minus my necklace, seemingly ripped off in the chaos. It was a small price to pay for the chance to experience such an unforgettable night.