WHO: The Devil's Blood
WHERE: MoHo Live, Manchester
HOW'S THE HEAD/NECK/VOICE: throbbing/tender/husky
MOOD: Thrilled

The Napalm Death/Iron Maiden ratio (fury of pits vs people singing along, each part out of 5): 1:4

A band like The Devil's Blood are not really a pitting band, being generally more song-oriented (as opposed to aggression), it was clear though that for this ritual, the High Priestess was preaching to wicked sinners who knew the words to every single track of "The Thousandfold Epicentre" as well as much of the band's earlier recordings.

The Frets-On-Fire Factor: 3/5 Karl Sanders + 1 extra point for the Gretsch

With three guitarists plus bass, there were tight harmonies, syncopated instrumentals and widdly solos aplenty, The Devil's Blood showed us what three guitars harmonising together should sound like, Iron Maiden take note. It was pleasing as well to see musicians avoid the SG/Orange amp cliche: the sound of the two strats (one a Tokai, I believe) cut through a slightly muddy mix very nicely, and the third guitarist deserves a commendation for using a Gretsch Billy-Jo Jupiter Thunderbird for his tasty lead and rhythm parts.

The Superstar Quotient: 
75% Watain

With her shock of hair and elegant, tasteful black dress standing in front of her satanic altar, Farida Lemouchi presided over the ceremony and delivered a fine vocal performance that bettered her work on the album, this show should have been recorded to have captured this.

The Grim Face/Smiley Face divide (AKA The Immortal/KISS Axis - out of 5): more like 5 Grace Slicks

The band just got on with it and delivered a stunning, five-star quality set. And the crowd were beaming.

The Lasting Impression

In spite of difficult sound and a set that was, arguably, overlong with meandering instrumental work (especially given the strength of their tunes) this was a cracking show that had people leaving with smiling faces.