The proceedings kicked off with a commendable set from Dutch grindcore merchants Inhume. The twin vocal assault worked fairly well, as did the bludgeoning riffs. Despite the circular gulf at the front of the crowd for the most part, the response was favourable and Inhume gained some new fans.

After seeing Exhumed in Germany a couple of years back, I felt sure that no one would be disappointed tonight. It seemed however that the deck was stacked against them. The fans roared their appreciation, and the band themselves played their hearts out on to the operating table, but when so heavily burdened with sound problems, it was difficult to appreciate Exhumed for the gore metal beasts that they are. The greatness of "Under the Knife," "Necromaniac" and "Open the Abscess" was nevertheless a memorable delight of the evening, although I lamented the lack of stage blood and cued vomiting.

Cephalic Carnage were the officially slated headliners, but mere minutes after Exhumed left the cheering masses, England's cherished satanic gentry marched onstage and promptly stole the show. I could have honestly watched Akercocke play all night. The songs, the sound, their very presence, all shockingly close to perfection. "Of Menstrual Blood and Semen" opened a set that was positively enchanting. The new material left me itching to get my hands on the Choronzon album, and such was the variation throughout that I found myself either headbanging furiously or gazing in wonder. "Zuleika" was the only taste of the first album, but every moment was worth every mile I'd travelled, and it was what the small handful of black metal t-shirts had come to see. The air was alive with mezmerising devilish majesty, magnified by the attitude of the band. It would have been nice to hear "A Skin For Dancing In," but the sheer might issuing forth from the speakers would have allowed me to tolerate S Club 7 as a support act.