Opening bands TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED and MALEFICE would have been delighted to see a number of fans in the venue nice and early, with doors at 6:30pm sharp. TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED may have shown a little more aggression, but MALEFICE had better quality material, and for me, were the more impressive of the two bands. Still, I would say both bands have a bright future and did well to impress with the restriction of such short set lengths.

Next up were American Deathcore band SUICIDE SILENCE who seemed to do a great job stirring up the crowd into quite a frenzy. The younger kids in the audience seemed to enjoy the uncomplicated extremity of the band as they churned out track after track of utter brutality. With some more catchy riffing, this band could be something special in the genre, but although a competent live act, SUICIDE SILENCE fail to really stand out in an increasingly overcrowded scene.

One band that certainly stand out are BEHEMOTH. The Polish blackened death metal outfit were taking no prisoners tonight. The face paint and spiked boots look gave the fans something else to remember, alongside the power and extreme nature of their relentless musical attack. Frontman Nergal has been known to rip up bibles on stage, but with no such antics tonight, BEHEMOTH seemed glad of the chance to play in front of such a big crowd, and were ultimately happy to play 2nd fiddle to DEVILDRIVER.

DEVILDRIVER are now well renowned for their powerful live performances, and tonight, they didn’t let anyone down. Entering the stage to a sea of devil horns, the blistering 65 minute set was instantly set alight by the awesome ‘End of The Line’. With fierce moshpits boiling up everywhere you looked, the ferocity of the set continued with pummeling numbers such as ‘Pray for Villians’ and the anthemic ‘I Could Care Less’. Frontman Dez Farfara really knows how to fire up the crowd, and he managed to sap every last ounce of energy from the metal legions. DEVILDRIVER are an awesome live band, and along with their comrades in the other 4 bands tonight, they played their asses off and topped off a memorable night of extreme heavy metal.

Review by James Allman

DEVILDRIVER 4.6/5.0
BEHEMOTH: 4.2/5.0
SUICIDE SILENCE: 3.6/5.0
TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED: 3.5/5.0
MALEFICE: 3.8/5.0