Monday is understandably a difficult night to hold a gig- people are working, "school-night", or tired out from a heavy weekend. So while this does mean that attendance might not be as high as Friday and Saturdays, it is the hardcore following and true enthusiasts who really make the effort.

 

Opening proceedings at Brighton's Victorian-era Concorde2 venue were the city's own KING GOAT. These guys are arguably near the top of the food chain in a city known in the UK for its heavier music scene, melding heavy, doom-laden riffs with progressive ambience and heavy metal melodicism to get their home-crowd going. Incense rising up from bassist Reza's instrument added to the atmosphere of a dark mass. They have an album that is (finally) on its way which will be one to check out for the doomier amongst you.
 

Starting off the Norse element of the night were the heavy-hitting power trio GRAND MAGUS. These three heavy metallers put on an energy-fuelled set which, at times, seemed to go over the heads of a fairly tame audience who took a moment or two to get the hints of where the "hey" s went in several tracks. They performed tracks spanning much of their back catalogue, including "Iron Will", and "When the Oar Strikes the Water", which got a rousing response, as well as tracks from their latest "Triumph and Power" album, leading to calls for an encore which had, of course to be a rousing version of their classic "Hammer of the North", an extended bridge of "Woooahhs" has left my vocal chords in tatters today. While their songs all follow a fairly similar pattern, well and truly stamping on every cliché of what is "metal" more-or-less from the MANOWAR handbook, they were still a great band, full of energy, passion and power, combined with a melodic heaviness that made them fantastic to watch.
 

Headliners ENSLAVED then brought the whole night up another notch, ranging from extreme metal to a more melodic, progressive sound, their fast-paced set was brutal and largely comprised of the heavier end of the spectrum of what these five modern metal Vikings write. The way that they moved from this heavier aspect, straight to their mellower sides is testament to the musicianship of the band- "Building with Fire" is not only a highlight of their latest album, "In Times", but was a highlight of the live show too.
 

The sole issue with the show was that it was on a Monday, and there are obviously far too many sensible people in Brighton who decided against coming down. But for those there, it was a great night of metal, with a distinctly Norse flavour. SKOLL!!