Tonight, serves as a cheeky aperitif to the impending metalageddon that is the Bloodstock festival. However, the one question that it does raise is why the hell our Vicki didn't manage to snare either of these bands for her jamboree of noise. You see both Panzafaust and Uada are part of a new generation of Black Metal bands that are determined to leave the genre’s constricting templates behind. Rather than embroil themselves in decades-old conventions and constructs, they use Black Metal as a launchpad to explore other sonic landscapes.

Admittedly Panzerfaust begin their stint on stage in traditional waters and it is only as their set progresses that their sound and style widens and deepens. Initially, the most intriguing thing about them is their setup, as their frontperson Goliath (Goliath by name and, my God, Goliath by stature) is nowhere near the front and instead is hidden at the very back in swathes of smoke using an upturned speaker as a lectin. For the first couple of tracks, the only clue you really get that he is there are the strangled yelps that you know are not coming from the other members of the band. Black Metal since its inception has been all about theatrics and stage presence, so whilst captivating and absorbing this is still rather standard. Where Panzerfaust really begin to stand out from the crowd though is when they glide into material from the “Suns of Perdition” trilogy.

This is a more atmospheric and Gothic take on Black Metal. Still full of malicious portent but gilded with ethereal and transcendental flavours. Rather than feel harsh and impenetrable there is a textured and nuanced air to the proceedings, giving the impression that there is much more to Panzerfaust than just evil for evil's sake. Yes, it is still intense and all-consuming, but this is Black Metal with a mesmerising and even meditative depth. 

What makes the show so enjoyable is that potent mix of sinister and celestial. Goliath makes sparing excursions to the lip of the stage and instead spends most of the time skulking at the back like some malevolent entity. He comes across as detached and foreboding, providing a heady juxtaposition to the swirling eerie sound surrounding him. The set ends with Brock and Thomas on their knees with their instruments held aloft behind their heads. Yes, it's melodramatics of the first degree but it works incredibly well, coupling with the dark ghostly sounds coming out of the speaker. This is black metal acutely aware of its hammy roots but determined to seek new sonic pastures. Simply quite stunning.

Uada are also all about the performance but in a much more stripped-down and organic way. The staging is sparse going on minimalistic with the drum kit and single amp sharing the space with three white bulbs spread across the stage. All unnecessary distractions have been removed and this is all about the band and the intensity they create. From the off, it is obvious that they have already moved well beyond the confines of what we consider Black Metal. Rather than being harsh and jagged, the riffs that they heft into the air are smooth, warm and melodic. The only thing that anchors it back to traditional Black Metal is Jake Superchi’s pained howls and screeches, the rest is a whirling maelstrom of melodious refrains that would not feel out of place in the lexicon of a much more commercial metal unit.

What is so entrancing about Uada is the pace and the ferocity at which they unleash their tuneful wares. This is black Metal at its most accessible, but they still manage to retain that power and that savagery that is the cornerstone of the genre. Watching them is like being sucked into a churning vortex of sound. It's hypnotic, it's overwhelming and it’s utterly incredible. This is a veteran extreme metal audience (I recognise many faces from many previous shows) but for the first couple of tracks, we all just stand in venerated silence forgetting what we are meant to do at a metal show. It takes one plucky lad to shove the geezer standing next to him and suddenly our entrancement is broken, and the pit emerges.

There is such a velocity to what they're doing and such a feeling of exhilarating intensity that any ending is always going to be anticlimactic. However, tonight feels even more of an abrupt and undeserving termination. Forty-five minutes in, Jake without any obvious provocation suddenly snaps his microphone stand, hurls it to the ground and with shoulders slouched leaves the stage. The others bring the track to a halt and follow him. There is a stunned confused silence in the venue as we try to process what is actually happening, and more importantly, are they coming back? However, the house lights go on and the after-show music kicks in and that seems very much to be that.

The ending may well have been jittery and unceremonious that shouldn't overshadow just how spectacularly fantastic Uada were tonight. Before my very eyes, Black Metal was reinvented as something much more luxurious, approachable and accessible, but (and this is the important part) without jettisoning or sacrificing any of the reasons why I fell in love with it in the first place. They have realised that at its heart Black Metal is not about corrosive riffs and ugly musical landscapes, it's about attitude and intensity and both of those are securely encased in what Uada are doing. Wonderful, I just really wish it hadn't finished so abruptly.