It has been a long time since the darkness and destruction of the mighty 1349 came round to Manchester city, since their last visit the band have been very busy, especially with the release of their recent release "Massive Cauldron Of Chaos", but even still the band show that they can bring the chaos.

We start the show off with one hell of a heavy hitter, the UK's own ETHEREAL, now these guys know how to make the show their own by bringing a mixture of new age and old age Black Metal influences together into a grand melting pot that has been stirred to perfection. Through their entire set I found that these guys have this amazing energy that seems to get stronger as the show goes on, this is actually a brilliant thing to see as well as it gives the audience more for their buck as it were. The guys in ETHEREAL are hard-working when it comes to their craft and this can be seen in every minute of their show. All in all I was very happy and also very entertained with their stage and sound presence as well as their incredible performance, this is a band I would suggest to any old school Black Metal fans.
 

Now to every show there is of course going to be that one band that isn't for everyone, unfortunately ATENA was that band in this case. Although the guys have a brilliant stage energy they seemed very out of place at a Black Metal show, their sound is something more you would find at either a Death Core show or a Metalcore show, a series of breakdowns and screams brought together to make what ATENA is as a band. In all honesty with what I've said I also need to say I wasn't too impressed with their set, it felt as if they could have done better, as well I feel that if they focused more on the audience instead of spinning round like ducks they might have been given a chance.
 

So now we come to the big finale ladies and gentlemen, the mighty power force that is 1349. So as many fans will the know the band are known for being a band that can bring intense and extreme sounds both on their records and their stage shows, this time around was no different folks but in a large way the band brought a little more flavour to the crowd and that means bringing in a new range of fans of all ages. Through the band's set we saw a look a tracks both old and new which as well brings something new to the table as it were and it also means that the band have been able to bring something different yet more extreme to the bands live show's all thanks to the new album "Massive Cauldron Of Chaos", which is by far one of their biggest accomplishments to date, with the release of the new record it gives something new to the stage shows and as well brings more speed and destruction onto the stage. The last time I saw these guys perform it was the Bloodstock Festival down in Derbyshire and that was a very vital show for me as it gave me a look at one of the most important bands in Black Metal, to this day I can say the same and that is because as this band has aged they have become something that is more dangerous and more intense live.
 

To conclude folks this show was something that was so important to the Manchester scene because it brought a band that gives this scene life through its own way, the fans loved every second of the show and that includes me ladies and gentlemen. This was a show that in my opinion could not be matched as it was a moment of pure extremely at its finest.