Of Metal’s many traits, the one I adore the most is its ability to continually evolve. Most other musical genres have a fixed shelf life. As soon as they surface in the mainstream, they are made instantly obsolete by whatever scene is bubbling up in the underground behind them. Metal’s secret for survival has been simple, but highly effective. Namely, it assimilates what is set up to replace it and absorbs that into its own collected being. 

For over fifty years it has thrived in its predatory behaviour, meaning that what was once a very linear blues-based style of music is now a boiling pot of varied and vastly different influences. Tonight is a case in point of metal’s innate ability to capture other genres in its gravitational pull and fold them into its collective. Both acts are intrinsically metal but both acts are doing something intrinsically different by reaching out far beyond metal’s sturdy borders.

Zeal & Ardor have taken a very simple "what if" and managed to build a magnificent and sprawling concept from it. Their musical world is based on the idea that the victims of slavery turned to the devil as opposed to God for salvation. They have reimagined the Afro spirituals that were so central to the survival of millions as hymns to Satan. At the heart of Zeal & Ardor’s sound are repetitive vocal chants and that is why they feel so different. You see in our world everything revolves around the guitar. Vocals are important but they don't drive the songs and in many places they're relegated to nothing but a bit player. However here they are front and centre, pulling everything forward. What Zeal & Ardor have realised is that the vocals are far more than just portrayers of words, they provide the beat and rhythmic drive.

The enthralling simplicity of what they are doing is what makes it so powerful. Everything has been stripped back to its bare essential essence. The riffs are there but they are used sparingly, this means that they are even more effective when they come soaring in. The whole setup glistens with intensity. Even the way the band is set up (stood in a line facing the audience) enhances the perspective that this music is creating power and strength. This is still metal but is metal taken back to its base instincts. It rewinds everything back to the primal hub of music being an instrument of protest. This is what is so beautiful and enchanting about what Zeal & Ardor are doing. They have reimagined our music as a tool of change, and they have created a connection straight back to its roots. Evocative, swelling in passion and full of raw primal power Zeal & Ardor have created a strident future by delving back into our past.

Whilst they play in vastly different sandboxes, what Zeal & Ardor and Meshuggah share is a core understanding that the searing potency of music is about simplicity as opposed to complexity. The latter’s sound is based around repetitive and hypnotic guitar loops that bore into one's consciousness. It may be heavy and pounding, but where it diverts from metal's usual trajectory is its lack of brutality. It is almost meditative in its intensity. What Meshuggah create are waves of adulterated noise that engulf the listener, simultaneously all-encompassing and starkly minimalistic. They have removed all of metal's ornate trappings and instead have concentrated on the core essence that makes it so special.

There is no fat here and no showboating. None of the band feel the need to parade their abilities. Instead, they operate as a tight taut unit, instinctively and in perfect unison building these vast cathedrals of sound. I keep going on about simplicity but that is exactly what is in play here. Meshuggah have rejected all the pomp and circumstance that metal clings to and instead they solely concentrate on the singular power of repetitive refrains. Beautifully rendered and delivered with utter precision, the riffs here are all slight and sparing as opposed to sprawling and gluttonous.

The intensity of what is happening on stage creates a pressure cooker like environment in the Academy. The pit becomes a seething mass of bodies moving as if they were one. It is hot, humid and it is utterly intoxicating. The cessation of the show after ‘Straws Pulled at Random’ comes as almost a blessed release. There may be no ‘Bleed’ (sad face emoji) but ‘Demiurge’ and ‘Future Breed Machine’ still manage to provide a fitting finale. As the music fades and a heartfelt thanks are made, my overarching impression is how far Meshuggah are managing to push metals envelope by quite simply jettisoning its excessive baggage. No solos, no padding and no posing, just unadulterated heaviness. Crisp, concise and utterly absorbing, this is very much the future.