A group of old friends from the Rock will share a special moment tonight as London’s SCALA club hosts a line up of metal and punk bands with a distinctive Gibraltarian flavour.

Topped by Breed 77, the gig will include performances from local band The Return of the Punk Zombies and also Ted Maul, a London-based death metal band that includes two Gibraltarian members. A fourth band called Until I Wake – no llanitos there – will also take to the stage.

 

For the Punk Zombies, tonight will be their first live bash in the UK.

Frontman and rhythm guitarist Adrian Pisarello, a veteran of the Gibraltar music scene, said the idea for the concert came over a Christmas pint with Breed 77 guitarist and long-time friend Danny Felices.

“We mentioned it and he sorted it out right there and then,” Pisarello said.

In a sense, tonight will be like a step into the past. Many of the local musicians who will share the SCALA stage have played together during their formative years.

“This gig is a great opportunity to share the stage with good friends and fellow Gibraltarians and it’s a good mixture of different styles of music,” Felices told the Chronicle.

“It will be a blast and a good chance for all the bands to play in London, especially the Punk Zombies as it’s their first gig in the UK.”

The Punk Zombies are different to the other bands on the line-up. They mix influences that range from Motorhead and Metallica to old school punk bands like The Exploited. There’s even a dash of Pogues-style Irish folk in there. It is loud, often fast and, above all, fun.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Pisarello said. “We’ve done what we’ve wanted and it’s worked.”

Drummer Charlie Moore, another regular face on the Gibraltar live music scene, agreed. The Punk Zombies get together, play music that they like and enjoy themselves. And their gigs in Gibraltar – “we play one or two a month at least” – have proved popular, winning them the Battle of the Bands last year.

“Things seem to come out right with this band,” he said.

Tonight they will be joined onstage by lead guitarist Nicholas Richardson and Guy Palmer on bass.

Asked if the band was apprehensive about its first London gig, Pisarello shrugged.

“We’ve played everywhere, why is this going to be different?” he said. “Ya somo viejo, man.”

Ted Maul’s music is a few steps removed from the Punk Zombies sound. Whereas the latter are loud and upbeat, Ted Maul could not be darker or more intense.

The band mixes extreme death metal with industrial grooves to create a unique sound that is, at times, downright terrifying.

Ted Maul have already released their first album and played at major events including Download.

The band’s line-up includes Gibraltarian musicians Nicholas Hassan and Jeremy Gomez.

Tonight’s gig is to celebrate one year of the metal club Unholy in the SCALA venue in King’s Cross.

Breed 77, a band that needs introduction to Chronicle readers, is off to Germany in February for a mini tour.

“Things are setting up well in the Breed world,” Felices said.