When infamous Texan grind-merchants, Insect Warfare, announced they were to play the opening night of their UK tour in the heart of hipster Hoxton, who better for us to send than moody bastard Hugh Platt? He hates everything.

So when we reach the top of the stiars that lead to the gig space above the Old Blue Last, we’re faced with stepping over a pair of dogs in order to get into the room where Insect Warfare are due to take the stage. Surely there’s some serious animal welfare laws being broken when someone brings dogs to a flipping grindcore show?

The dogs’ owner is typical of half the crowd – a crust punk where we’re not sure what’s thicker, the crust or the punk underneath. Insect Warfare are unshamedly at the From Enslavement to Obliteration end of the grindcore spectrum. As the band gather on stage and start checking their instruments, those in the crowd sporting slowly-rotting leather jackets and questionable facial hair start nudging each other and cracking knuckles in anticipation.

The other 50% is made up of the kind of hipster tossers you expect live in the cracks of the walls of Hipster shitpits like the OBL. One minute we’re at the bar, buying a round of over-priced watered-down lager, then next minute we have half our drinks split on the floor when a pair of granny-dress clad indie girls dancing ironically to Slayer bash into us. Instead of buying us another drink and apologising profusely for their crime (and existence?) they just roll their eyes and ‘tut’ , as if this entire incident had been our fault. Fucking hell, we hate this city.

But the hate is good. The hate is well-placed. Can you imagine grindcore without the hate? The destitute howl of rage at politics, the world, people, everything? Fuck talking about the crowd – this is supposed to be an Insect Warfare gig review. Without ceremony, without barely even a signal, the four men on stage start to make noise – howling, spit-flecked hateful grind. They’re on twenty minutes early, someone’s forgotten to turn the lights down at first, and no-one has any fucking clue what’s going on.

The beer spillers stop prancing about and start to look terrified. A huge, grizzly-bear of a man collides into them and sends them sprawling. One of the grindfreaks standing beside us starts cackling almost manically. We’re half-tempted to join in with him – the night had just gotten ace.

Watch a very loud video of Insect Warfare live @ The Old Blue Last

Due to reasons unknown (we were disinclined to investigate at the time, in part due to the immense noise blasts tearing at our lugholes apart, and partly because we were vaguely afraid this Insect Warfare reformation might pop like a soap bubble if we questioned it too vigourously), original vocalist Rahi is not taking part in this tour. Tonight he is replaced by the giant figure of Chris Grenfell,  from Thrash Hits-approved grinders,  The Ergon Carousel. Grenfell’s towering frame, hellbeast vocals and willingness to lay in amongst the seething pile of bodies slamming into each other at the foot of the modest stage makes him seem a natural fit for the role. Those dickheads at the back moaning about how it’s not the “real” Insect Warfare? They can go do one – grindcore is more than just who a band currently counts on the members’ roster.

When we stagger out into the night, we’re fairly sure we’ve can feel a black eye brewing from receiving an errant elbow to the face. One of our legs aches from what we hope isn’t an emerging hairline fracture. And even with the benefit of modern ear plugs, we might have just suffered yet another dose of permanent ear damage.

We don’t care a jot. We just saw Insect Warfare. Fuck the crust punks, fuck the scenesters, fuck healthy living, and quite frankly fuck you – we just saw Insect-fucking-Warfare.

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We didn’t have a photographer at the gig because we were being a bit rubbish that night, but plenty of other people did. Why not check out Alex de Mora’s pictures on the Vice site? Or the one’s on his blog? Yeah, you do that. That’s one of his shots we’ve used up the top. Go check out his website for more photographic goodness.