Cassyette
Underworld, London

 LONDON’S UNDERWORLD is known as a home to metal and a fitting stage for up and coming rocker Cassyette who’s playing a sold-out show the very day after she was named as having BBC Radio 1’s hottest record in the world.
 
Tipped as one to watch, and playing her first ever headline tour without having even released an album, her mix of metal, punk and rock rap is well received.
 
Rattling through a dozen tracks it is noticeable how into the songs the audience is, so much so that by track two, Dear Goth – admittedly Cassyette’s signature tune – there’s a mass singalong that would not go amiss at a festival.

Petrichor follows and ups the electronica while maintaining the hard guitar and focus on Cassyette’s voice. Rock rap crossover Boyfriend is another standout tune.

New single Mayhem – the one listed as the hottest record – melds pop, punk and beats into an interesting combination that brings to mind a mixture of Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, some Machine Gun Kelly and oddly maybe even a harder and darker Avril Lavigne.

The lyrics touch on anomie and alienation but come with a good dose of hope and coming through trauma. The mix of hard and fast metal and a drop to a slower spoken interlude can be a bit repetitive, but it is her voice that drives the tunes and if the mood in the moshpit is anything to go by the audience is lapping it up.

In fact the audience atmosphere and camaraderie adds to the mix, making the event more of a collective appreciation of metal, music and Cassyette who is very much the star of the show.

Judging by the response to this performance, she may soon be ready to break out into the wider world playing to many more than the 500 or so that thoroughly enjoyed this short yet sharp set.

Cassyette plays Leeds, The Key Club on February 24 and Bristol, The Louisiana) on February 28 2022, and cassyette.co.uk/tour.