LIVE REVIEW: Superheaven, Pest Control, Bodyweb, Arts Club, Liverpool, 07/07/2026
Photo Credit: Tom Forrester
A decade ago it would be inconceivable to see a nu-metal, crossover and grunge band share a high profile bill, let alone that the bill would be showcasing some of the most exciting acts in alternative. However, due to the ongoing Outbreakification of alternative music, that’s precisely what we’re handed tonight. The nu-metal tinged hardcore of Bodyweb gets proceedings underway. Live, the sampling and programming of Pete “PQ” Jones and rhythm section of Ben Jones, Tom Hobson and Naomi Macleod deliver right from the bat. Brought together by the swagger, showmanship and talent of frontman Louis Hardy, this is an in-your-face assault on the senses bringing waves of angst, rage and youthful bravado.
While their vocals and riffing are firmly hardcore, their Righteous politics are very much in the Rage Against the Machine mould. Nevertheless, they have the whole crowd two stepping by the end of deadwire.
Pest Control are going to be huge. If they’re not already, which is very, very debatable. The venue is packed to the rafters for this support act. They could be headlining Download, let alone being the main support act. Given the energy they’ve brought to this show, and the cult-like following they have within the crowd, they must be thinking the same thing. From Masquerade Party to The Great Deceiver the sound, the pace and the energy is simply unrelenting.
Leah Massey-Hay’s vocals are never anything less than a battle cry, whether it’s the growled verse of P.M.C. or the shrieked chorus of Masquerade Party the volume dial only has a level of 11. It’s not loud for the sake of it – this sounds exactly as it does on the record. In the world of hardcore, that’s no mean feat, and high praise indeed. The duelling guitars of Joseph Kerry and Joe Sam Williams bring Pest Control firmly into the thrash territory of crossover, but there’s definitely an insurgent quality to Pest Control that make them very much a hardcore band. They go from strength and will be a huge name in hardcore, crossover and metal and alt in general.
When Superheaven enter the stage, the sound system is already awash with reverb. If the air is thick with sweat, it’s about to become solidified by the wall of sound produced by the twin guitars of Taylor Madison and Jake Clarke . Right from the off, the thick guitar and percussion from the rhythm section sound perfect. Co-lead singer Madison’s mic is a problem for opening track Sponge, but is quickly sorted.
With ten years between releases, it’d be easy to imagine that there’d be a clear divide between the old and new material. However, that’s not the case for Superheaven, and the tracks from 2025’s self-titled effort slot in seamlessly with tracks from Jar and Ours is Chrome.
It’s easy to see why the new crop of grungy-alt bands cite Superheaven as an influence. Grunge-gaze adjacent without being completely a shoegaze band – the vocals do their heavy lifting and more live as they do on the record. This show could only feel more 90’s if it had taken place on a rainy evening in Seattle, rather than a scorching night in Liverpool. The reverb, the quiet swagger and the lack of pretension is as quintessentially 90’s alternative, as it is Superheaven.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the crowd had exhausted themselves during Pest Control’s raucous set. You’d be badly mistaken for doing so however, the crowd surfers are an ever present, especially during Crawl.
The energy doesn’t let up from Leach to show-closer Poor Aileen. You wouldn’t know that Superheaven had taken a ten year break – indeed – they seem like a band ready to take on the world. Maybe Outbreak are onto something!
Words and Photos: Tom Forrester
