Fifty years on from Heavy Metal’s inception it is heartening that bands are still obsessed with how far they can push its boundaries. All three of tonight’s acts are deconstructing and subverting the templates of our genre and experimenting with its confides. The only cloud in the (winter) sky is only about fifty or so people have wandered up on this cold winter’s evening (made even more maddening by the fact that a mere stone’s throw away at the Ritz a sold out crowd is watching the insipid goth metal by numbers of Motionless in White). 

Ba’al open up and these Sheffield lads are even more impressive than last time they passed in front of my eyes. Yes there is a foundation of Black Metal here, but they have slowed it down and concentrate on each and every note. There is minimalism here as every riff is given space to breath and to bloom. They are fascinating to behold as these pristine chords emerge from the fog of distortion. Experimental, ground breaking and utterly compelling. I just really wish there were more buggers here to witness it.

This is Swiss cosmic explorers E-L-R first visit to this country and their delicate atmospheric take on post metal is treated with utter reverence. You can hear a pin drop during the quieter moments of the set and I indeed get shot a number of dirty looks when I try and ask our photographer if he wants a drink. They are utterly mesmeric, producing layers of intricate haunting sound. It has the power of metal, but it is stripped down and dialled back. At its core is its ethereal beauty. The music they create is soft, subtle and creeps across the venue. It is stunning watching the three of them construct the tracks in front of us. The guitar builds and builds but it never crescendos, instead it hypnotically loops over and over entrancing the rapturous audience. I can’t stress enough how astonishing E-L-R are. This is music as a emotive force that drills straight down into your soul. Amazing, just amazing.

 Hundred Year Old Man (HYOM) stunned me with their brilliance at last year’s Bloodstock and Damnation Festivals. They mixed sprawling post-metal with a raw hardcore like immediacy. It been twelve months since I last clapped eyes on them and whilst the hardcore influences are still there the rawness has been replaced with a confident professionalism. They utterly own the stage tonight and look comfortable in doing so. Their material sprawls so in a forty minute set we get just three tracks. Each raises and falls in numerous places. We get thrashing heaviness that then morphs into slow just audible sections of delicate beauty. Cult of Luna are brought to mind in several places but there is also a uniqueness to HYOM style. There are six musicians on stage each weaving their aural magic, yet the music is still sparing and minimal. Post-Metal can sometimes over pack itself with soaring beautiful notes. HYOM ensure that its chords don’t over stay their welcome, there is sumptuous melody here but it sparse and fleeting. I.R. and S.M. of E-L-R join them midway through the third track and add their evocative and melancholy vocals to the tracks concluding section. And then they are gone. I have heard of leaving an audience wanting more but this is frankly ridiculous. It’s twenty five past nine and the whooping audience could have gone at least a couple more tracks. But moans about length aside, tonight was a masterclass in how to create evocative and thought provoking metal. I just hope that next time more people choose it over populous bland synthetic stuff.