It’s been a while since we had the joy of an Impericon tour of any shape on our shores, what with that pandemic and what not, so this bill of modern heaviness is a true treat. First up are Boundaries who hit us with brilliant lashings of energy. Think of Hatebreed, Biohazard or Malevolence but with occasional Korn-esque high discordant guitar rings. There's definitely something more experimental about these guys than most deathcore or hardcore metal acts, and that’s especially true with the guitars going grindcore at times. That unrelenting modern sound from Emmure is captured here, and the double-kick drum is doing overtime. For the first of a seven band bill they are unbelievably good.

Next up are Danish crew Cabal. They bring on loads of electronic backing, to go with vicious, evil, abrasive death vocals all making for some very spikey tech-deathcore. They’re almost like a primitive version of Ten56 jamming with Thy Art is Murder. There’s just something very visceral and primal about them, with that experimental edge to it all once again. There’s an exciting and sinister raw passion to their performance on-stage (nice as pie off-stage I gotta say though!) and it matches with the music perfectly. Guitar mercilessly rips and gnaw away with the drums blasting away. There’s a swing and groove to it all too and that makes it so much more interesting and accessible, and the crowd is going wild at every chance they get. It’s fair to say this band are as unique and fresh as you could hope for, and totally what the Impericon tours are about. They’ve exceeded my expectations and I’ll be keeping an eye on them for sure.

Invent Animate feel like an homage to early Northlane. There are constantly moving guitar riffs, and that almost pleading post-hardcore strained harsh vocal, with some more brutal metalcore vocals too thrown-in too. The music is expansive and affords the listener open segments that suddenly switch to jagged structured stabs. That experimental theme running through the bands is there once again, and I half get the feeling we’re at a Tech-Fest: Techabilitation rather than an Impericon Never Say Die! Tour gig. Whilst IA keep at it, it does unfortunately start to feel a bit like they’ve run out of gas after a few songs - with the energy level dropping, vocals fading off and the songs melding into each other.

It's only early in the evening and we're onto band four of seven already. Spite bring some old-school heavy and double-kick drum heaven. There’s definitely something here for fans of Malevolence, Terror, etc. but also mixed with plenty of Fit For An Autopsy tech-metal. I’d even go as far to say they deliver some nu-metal akin to American Head Charge. There’s an element of higher register to the vocals, but they are undeniably heavily hardcore vocals, and brilliant live. Sat alongside those are great guitar tones with that delicious techy sound. It remains unrelentingly engaging throughout and it’s simply pure joy from start to finish.

American metalcore band Currents immediately hit us with that signature processed and gated tech guitar. If we had the early Northlane inspired band then you can say this is for those who like the more modern offering from that act. There’s plenty for those into Devil Sold His Soul & InVisions. Nearly every track starts with an intriguing atmospheric start that gives way to a bouncing, pounding, driving set of beatdowns and intricate guitar runs. Oh, did I forget to mention the anthemic choruses too? Well they’ve got them too. And in Brian Wille they have a vocalist who can pull-off all the styles needed live, with his deathcore growling and shredding, almost spoken rap, hardcore to metalcore cleans. It’s especially the cleans which are nailed spot on that are notable. The band have clearly distilled exactly what makes metalcore accessible to the mainstream whilst still retaining the brutal underbelly. The songs are big and bombastic with precise guitars, crunching catchy riffs, dynamic drums and those engaging vocals. These guys are definitely ready to finally breakthrough to the bigtime.

Suicide Silence are a name everyone knows in the metal scene, whether they’ve seen them, like them or can even name a song…they know their name. You see their merch on at least one person at nearly every gig or festival, and that just serves to show how established and appreciated they are. Tonight they unleash their classic take on deathcore with vengeance. Opening with ‘Revelations’ and ‘Unanswered’, they move through the catalogue showcasing the technical elements that they’ve made their name from – tempo changes when you least expect, guttural growls to high-tone screams, incessant high-paced, blast-beat drums. The influences from Meshuggah and Nile in particular are evident, and frontman Eddie Hermida, like many of us, obviously holds Mike Patton high in his list of inspirations. They close with ‘No Pity for a Coward’ and leave behind a very sweaty but satisfied moshpit.

Headliners After the Burial are always fantastic live, and tonight they don’t waste any time getting into both their groove and technicality as they open with the intricate ‘In Flux’. I’ve previously described them as hardcore-tech-death-thrash and I still think that is too much of a mouthful! However, how else do you describe a band that seem to effortlessly stitfch together so many sub-genres and styles in a unique way…and make it work so well. Anthony Notarmaso’s vocals are still as brutal as ever, forever in that delightfully sharp and jagged manner rather than like a blunt primitive instrument. The sound and style from the guitars, bass and drums follows suit, with everything purposeful and precise. It allows them to deliver a violently staccato sound that affords a hardcore vibe to sit perfectly alongside the tech-deathcore of their music. It does indicate how many sub-genres and varied aspects they put into their sound though. Meshuggah-esque djent segments drift into fist-pumping hardcore, before back to techy interweaving guitars and then beating out with bouncing driving thrash. They close with ‘A Wolf Amongst Ravens’, which has possibly the most delicious bass kick-in ever following the atmospheric start, and the crowd are left reflecting on what a great set, gig, tour they’ve just witnessed.