Like the tense, electricity-charged calm before the storm, the O2 is already abuzz with anticipation by the time US angst merchants Junius emerge for an early icebreaker of wistful but satisfyingly ferocious hard rock. Revolving around a carefully restrained balance of smouldering aggression and atmosphere, the influential debt they owe to the Deftones fast becomes apparent, along with an altogether more understated smattering of Scandinavian gloom.

In a delicate but no less dynamic outpouring of shoegaze-drenched atmospherics, it’s with warmth and instinctive ease that we’re immersed in the untouchably spectral otherworld of Alcest. Submerged in dusky layer upon layer of distortion, the visionary Parisians instantly enchant the crowd with a fluid wealth of feathery riffs and lush acoustics led by Neige’s tender vocal talents. Despite hardly being the most ferocious of players, the subtle, irresistibly haunting audio magic they deal in is a rare, spellbinding spectacle to behold.  

But it’s not long before the entrancing spell is broken as the stage lights fade and Katatonia raise hell with a bewitching, whiplash-inducing assault drawn from all corners of their illustrious back catalogue. Indeed, from the very moment they first explode onto the stage in a blaze of crushing blasts and orchestral flourishes, the mood among fans is nothing short of ecstatic. And however bewitching these Swedish doom legends may sound on record, rest assured that they’re an entirely more dynamic live entity rooted as much in intricate detail as they are in monstrously explosive aggression. Ignited by frontman Jonas Renkse’s richly intoxicating verses, the chilling strains of new cut ‘The Parting’ loom like restless spirits over the PA, while ‘Ghost Of The Sun’s’ frantic, seesawing hooks find the Swedes at their most venomously brutal. Rounding off their extended encore on relentless wave after wave of applause and frenzied screams, it’s truly one of the most electrifying shows the UK metal scene has ever been fortunate enough to witness.