Tuskar are an utter force of nature. For a duo they make one hell of a lot of noise. Everything revolves around drummer and vocalist Tyler Hodges. His pulsating beats are high up in the mix and Tuskar’s scuzzy doom is predominantly drum driven. In fact the presence of guitarist Tom Dimmock seems primarily to ensure Tyler doesn't get lonely up there by himself. Over the years doom has become refined and sanitised. Not Tuskar, their's is adorned with jagged edges and a wonderfully evocative harshness. We get just four tracks but closer ‘Grave’ rumbles on for a good 12 minutes. It's one of those wonderful songs that is self-assured enough to know that is not outstayed its welcome and therefore happily sticks around ringing every last morsel of goodness out of its reverberating sonics. Tuskar are akin to being bathed in sound, you can fill your senses tingling and your toes curdling. Utterly astonishing but far too short.

I'm all for leaving them begging for more but to wander off after no more than about 25 minutes does really stretch the point. The lack of parity around sets lengths is made even more poignant by the fact that we wait almost an hour for Black Label Society. However what the prolonged intermission does allow is for the atmosphere to amp up significantly. In terms of building anticipation they have pulled out all the stops and a large curtain adorned with their logo covers the stage. For a band that are no strangers to these shores, tonight is unfathomably absolutely heaving. It's like every bearded metal head has decided that Black Label Society will soundtrack their pre-Download drinks.

When they finally do arrive at 9:15 they are obviously in no mood to take prisoners. This is primal metal at its best, driven by country and the blues but very much unmistakably metal. Black Label Society will always be about Zakk Wylde. It is his band and to be honest it is him the crowd had come to see. In many ways he is one of metal's forgotten guitar gods overshadowed, by those who go in for more clinical technicality. At the heart of Zakk's technique is pure and utter soul. From his face you can see that he lives every riff and every note that he painstakingly rings out of his fretboard. There is an utter beauty in imperfection and that is why every solo (and there are lots of them) is greeted with utter euphoria by the assembled masses. However Mr Wylde is not just about the guitar and his piano playing brings Billy Joel to mind in his ability to tell a story through his music.

He may well have been pupiled by Ozzy but it takes a very different direction in terms of frontman. His approach is almost laid-back, letting the music via his guitar do the talking. The set list is a comprehensive jaunt through nearly 24 years of Black Label Society. The Black Sabbath material that Zakk used to use as a crutch have long since departed (or are now reserved for Zack Sabbath shows) and tracks such as ‘Fire It Up’ and ‘Stillborn’ now seem eminently able to hold up the set. Big, bold and bluesy this is pure unadulterated metal. Zakk has become a grizzled road hog relentlessly plying his trade, and you know what? He is bloody good at it. Thoroughly entertaining (hats off to the over the head guitar duel) and sprinkled with enough humility to make you desperate to share a beer with him after the show. He has long long emerged from Ozzy shadow to become his own man and it is for him and not his legacy that people flocked here this evening.