Openers Psycroptic hit the stage running, sounding a little like legends Suffocation in the way they are trying to mix Hardcore and death metal. While the transition is not as smooth as Mike and co from NY, this band seem like they have something and prove a feral warm up for the night to come. A flower of potential that may turn a few heads with more albums and experience.

Following this Sweden's Visceral Bleeding simply want to tear the crowd a new one, a pummeling assault that is both fast and furious. Mixing new tracks and old classics alike, they simply go all out and crush all in their path. It might not be technical death metal, nor does it have modern twinges, this is an ugly, body churning juggernaut and is precisely why they remain so essential for any death metal fan.

The thought of witness headliner's Deicide minus bassist and vocalist Glen Benton is alike envisioning a Motorhead gig sans Lemmy Kilmister, or to be more accurate a Slayer gig minus Tom Araya. Despite this, drummer Steve Asheim pumps the crowd up for some classic death metal regardless and in Benton's place steps Garbaty of Polish band 'Dysenter'.

Bearing a Benton-esque look and a gravel twinged growl seems to do the trick and from a distance the band look no different, slamming through newer tracks like 'scars of the crucifix', the controversial 'kill the christians' and new stormer 'stench of redemption', alongside such feral beasts as 'when satan rules his world'.

For the most part the band act like they are the guardians of hell welcoming the souls of the damned into a sonically nauseating but thoroughly validating experience. That is until Garbaty steps off, having been serenaded by Ralph Santolla as a guy who'd 'never practised with us before so give it up', what follows is something the crowd refer to as Deicide karaoke, and they are not wrong. A wasted reveller jumps on stage to absolutely butcher classics such as 'dead by dawn' and 'sacrificial suicide', the band plays on regardless and it doubtless a blast. But it is not until the vocalists from both support bands come on to finish the set with blasting songs such as 'Serpants of the light' that the atmosphere begins to return.

For a band to continue without their main talisman is always a difficult thing, just ask Metallica about Download 2004 if you want further evidence, but despite the draw backs all does seem well in hell these days, and the promises of them coming back does get the crowd back on their feet, though one feels that something is boiling beneath the surface of this legendary band...