At the hardest, most metallic extremity of the UK Hardcore scene are Your Demise, at the Underworld tonight to celebrate notching-up their 500th live show in only five years together. That they started at the age of 16 suggests a lot of missed homework assignments. They don’t look or sound like anybody’s ideal students.

Musically and lyrically the band have built for themselves a nihilistic carapace, a black shell that never allows a moment’s optimism or even irony to enter their bleak world view. It must be tough to pull-off such unrelieved ennui when you’re from St Albans, I thought, and so it proved, because from the moment they took the stage it is obvious that Your Demise are - whisper it gently - having fun.

And not just them: their fans are fully engaged from the off and highlights of the set, such as the searing ‘Blood Ran Cold’, are met with frenzied appreciation - our photographer was joyfully moshed-upon to within an inch of his life. And this is because Your Demise really mean it.

They are authentic in that they live the life, walk the walk, have bought the t-shirt and are proud to wear it. They are hardcore, and good on ‘em.

Richard Hodkinson