Hank Wood & The Hammer Heads unleashed at The Barwon Club
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Hank Wood & The Hammer Heads unleashed at The Barwon Club

Truthfully I don’t know a whole lot about Hank Wood & The Hammer Heads but after Tyler from Vintage Crop’s endorsement I knew that I had to check them out. And here I am, publically thanking him, because I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on this one.
Starting off the night was local legends Sex Ed. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances (the footy being much closer than expected) I missed their set, but according to four of the five punters I asked about them, everyone had an unreal time. The fifth punter, who was actually the bands drummer enthusiastically stated, “Sex Ed were shit as,” but considering he wasn’t actually watching his own set we can’t really take his word for it… so just for argument sake lets give Sex ED 4/4 reviews for their set.
Next up where Cereal Killer who have been crafting a reputation for being one of the craziest punk/hardcore bands in Victoria at the moment and they are well and truly deserving of the praise. Perfectly reviving the old-school hardcore sound that acts like Black Flag and Minor Threat made prominent, Cereal Killer blasted through their set with constant ferocity.
Being comprised of members from other current or previous Anti-Fade bands such as The Living Eyes, Vertigo and Orb, it is crazy seeing just how different these dudes perform live from band to band. Case in point, Zane Gardner who if you have gone to enough shows at the BC you’ll know that when performing with other acts has quite a calm demeanor, this is not the case when he front’s CK. Instead you see a completely different side of his performance as he screams with sheer intensity and commandeers the stage. Finishing their set with “Your Punk Scene Can Suck It” I was left wondering why it seems that it’s mainly the Anti-Fade crowds that seem to be following these guys.
Obviously it’s no surprise considering they are on Anti-Fade, but with metal/punk/hardcore having such a prominent fan-base throughout Victoria I can’t help but think how many fans Cereal Killer should have that just may not have heard of them yet. Pretty much, if you like music that’s fast, hard and aggressive you seriously need to check them out, don’t waste any time with it either, check them out as soon as you can because I can really see them moving onto some great things.
Next up was the synth-punk act UV Race who were a really nice change up. Not dropping the intensity for the night their set maintained fast-paced riff’s but the balance added by the synth/keyboard was incredibly noticeable. Giving an underlying melody to their unique brand of punk rock that made their music just as easy to mosh/dance too as it was to just sit back and enjoy. I can definitely see these guys quickly becoming festival favourites in the near future.
New Yorks’ Hank Wood & The Hammer Heads closed up the night. Being their fourth trip to Australia and first time to Geelong it was evident just how keen the punters where. It may not have been a sell out show but out of those in attendance, it seemed as if there wasn’t single people who wasn’t enjoying themselves.
hank
Performing songs such as “You Wanna Die” off their most recent self titled EP fans where in a frenzy, with people moshing around with one hand while simultaneously holding their beer in the other hand. Playing without an encore, Hank Wood’s set was a visceral experience of short, sharp punk performed exactly how it should have been. Although I may not have known enough by them to consider myself a fan at the start of the night, I can guarantee I’ll be there singing along to every song upon their next return. These guys are honestly so bloody good.
The Barwon Club Hotel
Friday August 3
Reviewed by Alex Callan
Photos by Ben Forde