A reasonable turn-out at the Underworld means the venue is already bustling upon arrival and it’s not long before local black metal act ABGOTT take to the stage and bring some extreme volume. Good – you might say? Well, yes and no. The irritating problem with many, many bands that play the Underworld – is they seem to think using a volume level fit for “Wembley Arena” is absolutely fine in a glorified pub basement. Somehow the sound technician seems to think an overly loud wall of noise in a small cramped room with a low ceiling is OK too.

Well what you basically get is 50 minutes of inaudible distortion, only being able to pick out the drums from each song. There might be solos in there somewhere. Possibly some singing too. I can’t really tell you if this band are good or not – the sound is far too loud and the mix generally piss poor. On the plus side ABGOTT seem to have plenty of energy, throwing “Immortal” style shapes and gurning happily like badgers do. It’s such a shame that an awful soundscape makes everything impossible to decipher. With the fast, driving complexities of black metal, a good sound is essential.

After the sonic earbashing of ABGOTT a beer is in order and perhaps some ear-canal surgery, so we sit out for NOCTIFERIA (and thus it would be unfair to pass any sort of accurate judgement). Back into the fray soon after NOCTIFERIA finish, HYPOCRISY take to the stage to rapturous applause and tear into the new album opener “Warpath” - and it is instantly evident that tonight Matthew, we are in for something of a treat.

Their frontman - the multi-talented Peter Tägtgren – oozes charisma. His total boyish enjoyment for the music he plays (and writes) rubs off on the audience as he bounds around the stage, getting the crowd going from the word go, and all the while making those death metal guitar melodies seem as easy to play as buttering your toast. By the middle of second song “Carved Up” the sound is near perfect (both quality and volume wise) which is just in time for the awesome “Scrutinized” – not a single solo or frantic melody is lost in the mix, and it literally knocks the audience off it’s feet. By now both band and crowd are well and truly set for the next 80 minutes of supercharged, melodic death metal carnage. HYPOCRISY are a band with many years of gigging experience behind them – and it most definitely shows. It’s also refreshing to see they have not wavered in their enthusiasm for the live environment.

Tonight’s show features choice cuts from almost every album in the band’s illustrious 14-year career, thus ensuring the set is balanced and offers something for everyone, rather than being overly biased to the newly released “Virus” album (although that would be no bad thing in my book – it’s a cracking return to form). “Turn The Page” and “Let the Knife Do the Talking” are dynamite riff-fests - sending the crowd flying to all four corners of the room, “Impotent God” brings back some old-school death metal and fan favourite “Roswell 47” is renamed to “London 47” just for this evening. The atmosphere is nothing short of electric.

As I head home, the final chords of epic evening closer “The Final Chapter” still ring in my ears, and I’m left satisfied in the knowledge I’ve just witnessed a legendary band back at the top of their game – even after 14 years together.

Setlist:
Warpath
Carved Up
Scrutinized
Until The End
Adjusting The Sun
Fire In The Sky
A Thousand Lies
Turn The Page
Apocalypse
Let The Knife Do The Talking
Fractured Millennium
Inferior Devoties
London 47
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Impotent God
Eraser
Final Chapter