If you like your Metal, bold, bombastic, choral and smothered in strings then the late inclusion of Epica would have had you in fits of ecstasy. These Dutch masters don't do subtlety, they are Epic(a) by name and epic by name, producing massive melodic anthems that are operatic in design and ambition. Simone Simon's possesses the voice of a leather clad angel and is a majestic storyteller weaving tales of lost civilisations and interstellar quests for enlightenment. Stripped back and insular, this is not. But if you like your Metal big and brazen coupled with sumptuous beauty then believe me you will enjoy every minute of this on the Encore Stage on Saturday.

By Stewart Lucas