After a long night revelling in the best punk rock and hardcore music at Adelaide’s live music hotspots, Sacrificial Larynx frontman Xavier Wadsworth picks up CityMag’s mid-afternoon  phone call.

It’s a live music scene Xavier has been embedded in since he was a youngster, with the lead singer and guitarist, alongside bassist April Strevens and drummer Freddy Ramly-Peck, forming Sacrificial Larynx when they were just 15 years old.

Now, six months after releasing their debut album Model Citizen, the teen trio, now all aged 19, has quickly cemented itself as one of Adelaide’s rising star live acts. Known for high-energy performances, fan-favourite tracks including ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘Modern’ regularly send audiences into a moshing frenzy.

“Hardcore music and almost that nu-metal era is a big influence on a lot of our riffs, a lot of our songs and the whole vibe of our performances,” Xavier says.

“The biggest drive for our energy is the back and forth between ourselves and the audience.”

Despite their young age, the band’s music and stage presence carry the ferocity of thrash and punk like they are hardcore veterans.

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Drawing inspiration from Adelaide hardcore icons The Mark of Cain, as well as American genre pioneers Helmet and Melvins, Sacrificial Larynx is carving out itsown place in the city’s high-octane live music scene.

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For Xavier, Adelaide’s bubbling local hardcore and punk community is fuelled by a healthy dose of competition.

“Adelaide’s got a chip on its shoulder about live music, because I think we all know that Melbourne shit rags on Adelaide,” he says.

“It creates a competitive drive in a lot of the bands over here to just make super tight, intricate, interesting music.

“There is a competitive drive to get popularity around here and get people out to the live shows because Adelaide’s so small, and the venues are infrequent.”

And when it comes to preparing for a night on stage, Xavier has a distinctly South Australian ritual: a pint of “liquid gold” Coopers Pale Ale to warm up the vocal cords.

That adoration for South Australia’s icons extends to the city’s live music venues, which Xavier says are fostering a space for local alternative musicians to thrive. Sitting on his podium is Jive Bar on Hindley Street, The Grace Emily in the west end and The Metro in Grote Street.

“Jive has been my favourite for the last year or so. They’ve got such a great setup with the balcony and it’s perfect for any genre or any kind of band,” he says.

“The Metro is also always fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad time going to a gig or playing a gig there.”

While making a career out of music remains the ultimate goal, the band is embracing the DIY ethos at the heart of hardcore.

“We’re pretty content with being independent. Obviously, it’d be awesome if a label was looking to help us out, but for the time being, it’s really fun doing everything ourselves,” Xavier says.

“We love self-managing and making all the album artwork ourselves. We love the challenge of it.”

The trio is currently “in the trenches” of the songwriting process, with new releases on the horizon.

For now, Sacrificial Larynx is continuing to make its mark on Adelaide’s live music scene, including opening for pioneering Adelaide punk band Where’s the Pope? at their final-ever gig later this year.

And if the band gets its way, Adelaide will only be the beginning.

“Hopefully our upcoming gigs will give us a bit of a trajectory to send us over to tour the east coast. That’s the next step for us.”

This article first appeared in CityMag‘s Golden Edition, which is free and available at city bars, cafes or at our newsstand out the front of 165 Grenfell Street, Adelaide.