Tonight is an evening when two of the stalwarts of the British metal scene show their class. After a hugely enjoyable set from the youthful PRESS TO MECO [7], filled with melody just the right side of lightweight and impressive harmonies from Luke Caley and Adam Roffey, a rejuvenated DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL [8] remind everyone of just how bracing their expansive post-metal is. In returning original vocalist Ed Gibbs and Paul Green, DSHS also have two superb frontmen who trade screams over a sound that ranges from brutal to beautiful over the course of their all-too-short set.
When SIKTH [8] returned in 2014 after a five-year hiatus there was an inevitable boom of interest, but that they can still sell out this venue after losing an original vocalist is testament to their continued brilliance. Even though the band run through 2006’s Death Of A Dead Day album in its entirety, with classics like Bland Street Bloom still as wild, weird and ahead of the curve of all the tech metal bands that were spawned in Sikth’s wake, it’s new songs like Golden Cufflinks that show just how vital the Watford warriors still are. Obviously the dizzying twists and turns of their music still set them apart, but it’s the mind of Mikee Goodman, who uses all manner of vocal tics and voices to bring his many personas to life, ably assisted by new vocalist Joe Rosser, that really give Sikth the edge over their peers. It’ll be some time before they descend into the nostalgia circuit.
