The Junction, Plymouth
Saturday March 28th, 2026

Review and Photos – Rob Wilkins

Having spent winter in warmer climes, it is great to get back to a sweaty rock pub in the home town of Plymouth for some great music on a Saturday night. Where else fits the bill but the rather awesome Junction for a bit of theatre (well, actually a LOT of theatre), with the amazing Ward XVI?

A commitment to fitness, courtesy of the festival 50 challenge by RockFit (many of whom, including my wife, make up the audience), to not drink temporarily goes by the wayside thanks to the bar line up and before I have a chance to finish the first pint, Death Assault from Plymouth rip into a set of the kind of metal that I wouldn’t sit at home to listen to but absolutely love to watch live.

It is visceral, loud, in-your-face music that doesn’t let you settle or get comfortable as they career from “Falling Down” through “We Will Remain” and “Forgotten” to the highlight of the set for me, “My Insanity”.

The stage is full of a cage for Ward XVI’s drummer, but somehow it feels appropriate for Death Assault with their intimidating masks and face paint, especially vocalist Darrell Baker. It is a short, brutal set, and as the last notes of the self-titled “Death Assault” shake the building, one that certainly gets the heart pumping and adrenaline flowing.

The tour buddies for the whole ID3NTITY tour are Pulverise from Bradford, and I absolutely loved their blend of Skindred-influenced rap metal and humour. Vocalist Jojo Millward is an absolute star. Her banter with the crowd is engaging and warm, and coupled with a genuine stage presence that wins over the crowd with ease. I can’t think of too many bands that can introduce an “over-dramatic slo-mo wall of death” (which deserved much better participation) with the ridiculously catchy “Slam Time” and keep an (almost) straight face.

“Deadstock”, which opened the set, certainly laid down a marker for what was to come and had me moving from the off. “Bitchin”, “Sulk”, and the incredibly relevant “Bollotics” all made a mark and had me thinking just how good a collab with Benji Webbe could sound. A dedication to the RockFit members present in the audience reflected the mutual support given (drummer Vicky Reader sporting a RockFit T-shirt) and ensured even more energy from the crowd for the rest of the set. My first time experiencing Pulverise, but absolutely a band that I would catch anytime they played nearby.

Finally, on a tiny stage, with half a cage taking up three-quarters of the limited space, it is time for Ward XVI. This is a band I have heard a lot about, so I was seriously looking forward to seeing if the reality matched the hype. For me, if a band is “theatrical,” there need to be three things present to support the visuals:

Genuine musicianship. Songs that remain in your head after the props and make-up are just a memory. And a wry, gentle sense of humour that underlies the whole show.

You only have to watch an Alice Cooper show to see how those three things come together and make it an experience to be savoured. It didn’t take long to show that all this and more were delivered in a set that somehow seemed to feature more props than would fit in the venue, let alone on the stage!

We got to witness beheading, exsanguination, a train, a sadistic nurse, restraints, more costume changes than I could count, and so much more. This was all played out on a stage so small that fitting six band members, a cage, and some fairly massive props seemed impossible, but somehow worked (with the assistance of members of Pulverise manhandling various pieces of kit on and off stage).

Opening with the gloriously deranged duo of Psychoberrie and Rico Rameres peering from behind the bars in front of new drummer Marshall Kadavers (watching him play and perform, a man finding his true home) and “Regeneration” the set follows the album with “Cry of the Siren” and “Ward XVI” (from “The Art of Manipulation”) and “Shadows” (“Metamorphosis”) working perfectly at the end of the flow of the storyline, before ending with “We Are Legion”.

Each of the three needs mentioned above are filled.

Psychoberrie is charismatic and grabs attention with ease. Joining her at the front, Rico Rameres glowers and snarls, as well as adding a layer of depth and gravel to the vocals. Wolfy Huntsman’s bass shakes the room along with most of the student flats in the vicinity, and Doktor Von Stottenstein rarely takes the limelight, but when he does, it is to throw out a searing solo before returning to the side of the diminutive space. Marshall Kadavers cuts a gloriously deranged figure at the back and controls the ambient sound as well as some thundering drum work, and Nurse Betty somehow leaves you more than a little chilled!

The songs flow superbly, and playing them as intended, in order, means that rather than be left with the odd earworm, you leave with a musical story that you need to listen to again and again. As for the sense of humour, well, it’s hard to know whether the glint in Psychoberrie’s eye is wry enjoyment of the absurdity of it all, or simply pure evil and depravity. I decided that I would believe the former simply so that I could go home and sleep that night!

In a few months, I will get the chance to relive the whole experience at Firevolt Festival in Manchester, but on a much bigger stage, and I am looking forward to it immensely, whilst hoping there is safety in a bigger crowd, and that it really was wry amusement in those eyes…

Ward XV1

105 photos