JULY 16th 2026
BIOHAZARD
Review by:Dmitry Sukhinin
Photos By: Polina Kulikovskikh
Full Gallery:
http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/biohazard/
Unexpectedly fabulous hardcore night. Biohazard are coming to town with two support bands from the US. Striking 13 is the first act. But first: hardcore in the black metal country, the place where beardy cross-armed vikings stand squinting towards the stage counting notes. How will it go in the nerdiest capital of Europe?
I stand right in front of the vocalist, first row. It is a very energetic act, but I am trying to figure out why I hear almost no guitars. Gotcha: the left guy who looks like Lord Worm uses Tonex straight into the venue's sound system - so the band hears everything from monitors that are directed towards them, and the sound system blasts in the audience above the first row. That’s why I get mostly drums and vocals. A small power amp is a good idea for small venues, I wish the settings would do the guys justice. The drummer does backing vocals (and the microphone stand tries to run away) and speaks. Cool to have band members that really engage with the audience.
It gets a bit better over time. Well, - a great act, I definitely do not regret catching them.
Things get dangerous when Sworn Enemy is on. A familiar band name, been around from 1999. 3 guitars live and straight aggression. Very cool live and sending Oslo to a circle pit - an event you can count on one hand in any given year.
Sworn Enemy have a much better sound, I hear everything, and it is smashing. I have bumped into sad reviews on Metal-Archives, which left me scratching my head… I can guarantee this is a power act live. Interesting to see Precision (or rather PJ) bass that is so crisp. Mike Pucciarelli on bass flashes bandana which is almost a mandatory accessory for a hardcore bassist. Two backing vocalists, cool solos and in general all is very tightly played. This is a good gig even before the main act has started, hardcore half an hour.
Sworn Enemy do the sound checking for Biohazard. I see Quad Cortex used for guitar end tube Engle cranked from my side.
So, Biohazard. I have honestly tried to check the recordings multiple times and it is the sound quality that always pushes me to press stop. But live is a completely different experience. Not sure if it is some insider joke, but Evan Seinfeld (vocals & bass) wears that bandana of Sworn Enemy’s Mike. Mike did not have it while running onstage during the sound check, so I am pretty sure it is the one that is passed to the next act. Was it a miscalculation for a hardcore tour or some sinister misfortune that resulted into the bandana shortage? Discuss!
The energy is here! What a great act!
Duke Nukem (sorry, I mean Billy Graziadei) jumps over us and stands (literally stands on the shoulders) in the audience while playing. Saw (sorry, I mean Bobby Hambel) is also everywhere and delivers solos. It is the most vile circle pit I have seen in Oslo so far. Ever. People are flying over me. When Billy demands the pit once again, I understand, I am about to die. What is quite new is to have phone lights used at a hardcore show - there are precisely zero ballads, yet, it has a nice effect of lights from the audience shaking with headbangers speed. Evan is on fire too and with Danny Schuler delivering the beats, it the act sounds so much better than their recordings.