DEATH OR GLORY AT 1720: HONORING 35 YEARS OF HARDCORE
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY RICHARD VELAZQUEZ
Through the pores, sweat poured out. Blood sat thick on the tongue, dripping down as anger surged through the bodies of everyone who showed out. The lights centered. Amps cranked to maximum volume. 1720 wasn’t getting a normal pit tonight. This was one you had to adapt to. A pit where only the fittest survived.
Desmadre took the stage. Brutal guitar riffs ripped straight through the ears, drums pounding like a living heartbeat, locking rhythm and violence together. “FUCK ICE,” the vocalist screamed, fueling the rage coursing through the crowd. Spin kicks, elbows, and haymakers filled the pit. If you weren’t ready for the brutality, you weren’t in the right place.
A drum hit straight into the crash. An explosion of energy tearing at the seams of 1720.
SCALP made it clear who owned the stage. Blood red lights washed over the stage, flooding the space in color and heat. Their guitar tone vibrated through the walls, colliding with the punishing drums to form a dark, suffocating atmosphere of brutal death metal. Spin kicks met stage divers midair. Vocals rang out with raw vulgarity, echoing into the darkest corners of the venue. Heavy breathing. Sweat dripping. Lights shifting from orange to red. Hands clenched into fists. The darkness of 1720 transformed into a full blown war zone.
Reverberations rolled through the room like a roar. The energy inside 1720 wasn’t just peaking. It was overflowing in pure hardcore chaos. Strife left nothing but unfiltered aggression. Guitar and bass interlocked tightly with the relentless pounding of the drums, sending wave after wave of energy crashing into the crowd. Their set left nothing to be desired.As the lights finally simmered down, the room stood ready.
The stage glistened under the heat. Fans weren’t just fired up. The adrenaline for the final band was settling deep. And as the name promised, Death Or Glory.
Cold As Life took the stage. Fists shot into the air. The crowd, once still, erupted into total disarray. The pit came alive from every direction. Kids launched themselves from the stage into the mass below. Fists connected with faces. Shoes scuffed the floor. Bodies collided and bruised.Cold As Life left 1720 on a high note, battered, breathless, and alive.
