She's not wearing shoes, but it may be the last thing on your mind as G Tsui Nga-tsz tears across the stage, throwing up her arms and staring at the audience.
She's intimidating - and this is refreshing at a time when female-fronted hardcore and metal bands have become less of a novelty and more of a not-so-minor threat to the tough-guy mentality of old.
Tsui's band, Engrave Thy Heart, have set up camp at a crossroads, with a piercing metal sound and a no-nonsense message that screams hardcore. Although half of the members are barely 18, the Hong Kong locals' sound is far from naive.
Two years in the scene and lacking a full album, Engrave Thy Heart still stand out. Tin- can recording aside, Tsui's brutal voice comes through loud and clear in their show- case song Predicament.
From guttural growling that has people double-checking her gender to high screaming that's right on, her voice has a range sorely lacking in many of the genre's bands.
The group's message aligns with that of some other local underground bands concerned about social issues. Their lyrics take on subjects from pollution to world trade, with room for personal philosophy promoting old-school necessities such as respect and unity.
'Relating our songs with social issues is a way of acting out, and we liberate ourselves by acting on our beliefs,' says Tsui, 18. 'What society faces is what we face. We can't possibly ignore it - if we do, then we're escaping, and we chose the positive way, which is to speak out and deal with it.'