Review by Chop and photos by Alexx Peace

There's always a keen sense of anticipation at your first gig of the year, and with a triple header such as this the potential to set the benchmark high for 2012 was considerable. Switched to the smaller, but packed, O2 3, it was time for the fireworks to begin...

Fleshgod Apocalypse received such a bad sound on the previous occasions I'd witnessed them that everything was crossed as the intro heralded their arrival. Lady luck wasn't smiling on them again sonically I'm afraid, with tinny triggered bass shells dominating the overall mix. The bizarre contrast between the two vocal techniques didn't help either, gutturals and falsetto clashing alarmingly. Perhaps I was in the wrong part of the venue as several fans I spoke to shortly after their stint were sporting Cheshire Cat grins and waxing lyrical about how good a set they'd just witnessed. To these ears their expansive, symphonic, songs deserved a fair crisper and more clinical mix. Shame really, because clearly they're gifted musicians, and their studio output is always reliable. Surely the two highlights of the set shouldn't have been the band's Regency outfits, and the synchronised windmilling of Dakesis' Gemma and Amie though?

Skeletonwitch had a much better sound for starters (although curiously the bass drums were tantamount to inaudible) and got the crowd pitting energetically practically from the off. Fusing a base of old school thrash with death and black metal influences, this was a satisfying forty minutes of modern day brutality. Whilst perhaps not hitting the heights of their explosive set at last year's Bloodstock festival, their set was still hugely entertaining and well balanced. Song introduction of the night? "This one's about Satan". Odd that... Joking aside, Skeletonwitch blended old and new thoughtfully, promoting new album Forever Abomination whilst still featuring favourites from their first two works. 'This Horrifying Force' with its steamroller of an opening riff, 'The Infernal Resurrection' with its punishing slower section, and 'Repulsive Salvation' were particularly enjoyable moments, although penultimate track 'Choke Upon Betrayal' was the standout moment for me. Another fine performance from Athens, Ohio's favourite metal outfit!

With 2011's Ritual, The Black Dahlia Murder changed direction somewhat, still fast and heavy as they come but with way more hooks and melody lines added. Live the new material certainly held its own, albeit that the loudest cheers, and most frenzied crowd reaction, were saved for songs from 2009's Deflorate opus. Frontman Trevor Strnad orchestrated the pit masterfully, leading the crowd into fist-pumping adulation. Considering the band were only a week into a three week UK tour they were admirably tight; one can only speculate about the carnage they are about to unleash as the tour unfolds. Disappointingly the crowd had thinned somewhat by the time their set was complete, although I suspect this was mainly due to the limitations of public transport during the week rather than the band's shortcomings. They acquitted themselves well enough and it will be interesting to see how they adapt their set for Bloodstock later in the year, although with their US tour with Nile before then you would suspect that their live performances will be honed to perfection. All in all a satisfying finale to an entertaining evening of extreme metal savagery!

Click play to hear Chop's interview with frontman Trevor Strnad while you view Alexx's photos from the gig here: