Sun, 7pm, Backstage Live
Those who think 'melodic hardcore' is an oxymoron should check out Spanish trio Berri Txarrak at Backstage Live on Sunday night. The bearded Basque Country rockers deliver ferocious riffs with a knack for catchy tunes.
Formed in the wake of the early 1990s grunge movement, the band cite Nirvana, Weezer and Rage Against the Machine as primary influences, and even reference 1970s heavy rock act Black Sabbath.
They have six albums under their belt, with the latest, Payola, recorded by famed producer Steve Albini, who also worked with Nirvana and the Pixies. Tours to places as far flung as India and Nicaragua have put modern Basque music - once equated with populist flamenco pop rockers the Gypsy Kings - on the global map.
'We're just a rock trio who try to write good melodies and give it all at the live shows,' the band told spinner.com before playing South by Southwest festival in the US earlier this year. 'We play a mixture of rock and punk and hardcore music.'
The group's line-up has changed since it was founded in 1994 by four school friends in the small town of Lekunberri, Navarre. The group, whose name means 'bad news' in the Basque language, is still fronted by singer and guitarist Gorka Urbizu. Drummer Galder Izagirre and bassist David Gonzalez now round out the trio, who make a ferocious din for kids who were brought up on local folk music.
