Considering both the number of metal fans that are in Manchester, and the fact that tonight's show was a mere £10 a ticket, Club Academy is inexplicably quiet tonight. This becomes depressingly apparent as opening act Apparitions of the End blast through an impressively tight 20-odd minutes of death-infused thrash to a practically empty room. It's a real shame that those present seem so reluctant to get to the front and show a bit of support, as the guys in Apparitions deserved more for their efforts tonight.

Next up is Manchester-based death metal outfit Lacerate the Skies, who inexplicably take an age to get through their sound check, and take to the stage about five minutes before the end of their allotted time. Nevertheless, the guys press on and manage to squeeze in their set, which although suitably heavy, still fails to ignite the crowd.

Ingested, another local death metal band, fare slightly better than the previous two bands, inasmuch as by the time they come on, the venue has filled up significantly, and, as a more established band, have more of a following in the crowd. Complete with a wholly-unplanned-yet-rather-good-for-effect nosebleed, the band's lead singer Jay screams and growls his way through a tight half-hour set, while the rest of the band comfortably prove their metal credentials with a solid performance. If you'll excuse the digression, kudos must also go to guitarist Sam for pulling some of the best unintentionally funny metal faces I've ever seen...

Anyway... despite the other bands on display this evening, tonight's show was only ever about one thing. Without trying to sound overly clichéd, Napalm Death are surely one of the hardest working bands out there. After 22 years, 14 studio albums and a seemingly never-ending touring cycle, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the guys in the band might have lost some of their earlier aggression and energy, however, tonight's performance just goes to show that they're most definitely as lively and as angry as ever.

The band quickly throw themselves in to their set (especially front-man Barney – his on-stage antics really do need to be seen to be believed), and promptly proceed to whip the crowd in to a frenzy with a set that traverses their entire back catalogue, from newer material like 'Time Waits for no Slave', 'Life and Limb' and 'Persona Non Grata', through to tracks from back in the day, such as 'Suffer the Children', 'Scum', and everyone's favourite two-second song, 'You Suffer'.

I've seen Napalm Death twice before, but both of those times have been at festivals, which means a) it was less intense and b) the band had a reduced set time. Considering the notoriously short length of some of ND's songs, the latter point doesn't really come in to it, as the band could still happily squeeze in 15 songs in a half hour set. However, the atmosphere in a cavernous tent at Donington doesn't even compare to the intensity of tonight's gig. There were bloody noses and bruises aplenty, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone's elbow protruding from the skin after a miscalculated stage dive, but even so, as he made his way to A&E, I'd like to think our invalid was still thinking about the awesome show he just witnessed.

8/10

Mike Perry