It is hard to believe the New York hardcore punk band Agnostic Front have been going for 45 years, but they show no signs of slowing down on their Last Warning tour of Europe and the UK. In the sweaty depths of the famous Camden venue The Underworld, on an otherwise unassuming Wednesday night, they are perfectly matched by supporting English bands Clobber and Crown Court.
Agnostic Front – Crown Court – Clobber
The Underworld, Camden – 7 May 2025
Words: James De Guerre
Photography: Ash Nash
Formed in New York City in 1980, Agnostic Front would be seen as hardcore punk royalty, were that not an oxymoron for a genre which eschews elitism. 
Agnostic Front
As is their tradition, Agnostic Front joined the stage to the Ennio Morricone theme from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, the greatest cheers being shared between guitarist Vinnie Stigma, who is the one remaining founding member, and lead singer Roger Miret, who joined two years later.
With Mike Gallo on bass and backing vocals since the turn of the century, this is a well-tenured five-piece despite other lineup changes over time (Danny Lamagna adds guitar, and Craig Silverman plays drums).
It is clear that Stigma, clad in an England football shirt, thrives on doing this – a natural showman with a twinkle in his eye who moves easily around the stage and enjoys teasing and engaging directly with fans throughout their 19-song set.
As though he has not noticed the previous exertions of the throng, Vocalist Miret wastes no time in exhorting the assembly to “Circle pit, let’s go” before the unit blasts into Peace, the contradictory first song of the evening.
Nevertheless, the troops immediately rally, and a whirlpool of limbs forms, swollen with new bodies, swirling around the infamous and badly positioned Underworld pillar.
It seems that the choir has likewise multiplied, and sing-along opportunities abound, with fan favourites My Life, My Way and For My Family eliciting gang vocals stretching beyond the pit into the mass of people behind.
Vinnie Stigma leaves the platform to join the maelstrom of bodies for Friend Or Foe. As he leans against the pillar, he is soon surrounded by a mass of men bound by hands gripping wrists to keep him playing undisrupted while the chaos of the flailing congregation whirls around him.
The tiring crowd get to catch a breath in the slower sections of their thirteenth piece of the evening, Crucified, and then Pauly The Dog, the short acoustic piece about a beer-drinking dog, is belted out by Stigma to much applause.
It does not last long before the pace quickens again with the 1 minute 45 seconds hardcore classic Power, before a sea of fists and hands raise along with the mob’s voices for Agnostic Front’s most-played Gotta Go.
It was at this point the reviewer was lured into the pit with what he is sure was some mention of this being the last song [it was not], and the thought he was already as hot as he could get anyway [turns out he was not].
After Police State and Addiction, a more thrashy song from their crossover period, Agnostic Front concluded their last UK date on this tour, with their famous cover of the Ramones’ Blitzkreig Bob.
They now proceed to ten more venues across Europe, accompanied by LA melodic hardcore punk legends Bad Religion for seven such shows.
Doubtless these audiences will likewise prove that thrashing about with a sweaty group of perfect strangers from different backgrounds, united with a palpable sense of camaraderie, is truly good for the soul.
Clobber
London hardcore punk outfit Clobber kicked off proceedings, and despite being the first of the two support acts, the 500-capacity venue was already becoming crowded. Once his bandmates were assembled, frontman Charlie Longman exploded onto the stage, like the beer he liberally sprayed from his mouth over the mosh pit, which did not wait to get started.
The fast, short songs that make up the band’s repertoire were just what was needed to set the evening off at 100%. Crunchy riffs following gang vocals form an intoxicating mix from this relatively young band founded in 2021. 
The volatile force of Longman’s stage presence carried the sense of someone struggling to hold back an unstoppable motor, and the energy did not relent for the whole set. The bassist and guitarist stayed out of his way on either side of the stage, as Longman stalked around and covered topics from hating the Old Bill in Bully Boys, to the Hardcore Hive Mind, all held together by impeccable drumming.
Clobber clearly have a following, with members of the crowd in this intimate venue joining to shout lyrics back into Longman’s snarling face, at multiple opportunities.
Not much later, a man in a Clobber T-shirt and Mexican wrestling mask stormed across the boards to sing with Longman before joining the tangle of bodies at the front. 
Thankfully, the fast-paced songs gave way to some moments to catch our breath as Longman shared a few words throughout the evening. The crowd seemed to agree as he attacked the police, Nigel Farage, and people who struggle to deal with pronouns.
They also appreciated his vulnerability when sharing about a difficult previous year: “Mental health is not a joke”.
Crown Court
Before Crown Court even joined the stage, the audience had already shown appreciation for this esteemed five-piece band from North London when Clobber paid respects to them. Formed in 2013 by experienced musicians, they are considered leaders in the Oi! scene and the pit grew accordingly as they launched into their catchy set.
Neither guitarist relied on any pedals but plugged directly into Orange amplifiers, augmenting the raw, streetwise sound produced by the tight and competent act.
After a soundcheck to get the levels right, Crown Court ignored whichever official told them to wait until their start time, and let rip perhaps before the sound engineer was ready.
But it did not seem to matter to the assembly that the vocals were almost inaudible for the first two tunes, Rich Boy and Left For Dead, as they knew these openers from their 2023 LP well and created enough volume to compensate.
Lead singer Trevor Taylor’s dark, intense eyes captivated the crowd throughout, breaking contact only to draw attention to his comrade’s various solos, which were satisfyingly frequent.
The live experience drew new attention to the 2015 EP closer Ain’t Your Paradise, the fast chugging of the guitars satisfyingly building towards the chorus, and the boom of the toms adding weight which simply cannot be conveyed in a recording.
For Sammy Skyves, vocalist Taylor got out into the excited push pit, delivering his lyrics aided by the pack surrounding him. The venue was by now both figuratively and literally warmed up for the main act, even if you were not dancing.
