The evening was eased in on a mellow note by Junius, an atmospheric progressive rock band from the US. Their music has an airy ethereal feel to it. As soon as they started playing the silky atmosphere spread, wrapping around everyone and drawing them in whether they liked it or not. Managing to withdraw from their spell I looked around to see a truly enthralled audience.
Having risen from the French post-black metal scene like a shining beacon, Alcest recently recorded a BBC session, now that's a first for any band associated with the genre. Unlike the usual black metal bands their music has a light and ethereal feel. Though presented in an entirely different way, it's easy for the trained ear to hear how their music is derived from the genre. Their music filled the room with light drawing everybody in. They do their stuff excellently live, so much so that they quite possibly out-shined the headline act.
Now for Katatonia. Their setlist was well varied with old and new songs, though older songs were much better received. Instrumentally they played competently and produced a good sound. There is one burning issue, the vocals. Jonas is reputed to be less than impressive live, so much so that I overhead several people saying they hoped he was miming otherwise it would sound terrible. Throughout the whole show he had his hair over his face, so it was hard to see. However it generally didn't sound live, and at one point he started speaking while the vocals continued in the background. Suspicion confirmed. Overall a good act, if you aren't too pissed off by the miming.