Venue: Churchills, June 26.

Review: Steve Rudd

Back playing in their hometown just a few days after their first gig in Leeds, Divine Sinn managed to attract the metal-loving masses in their droves, despite the biblical deluge pounding the streets outside.

Mixing and matching material from both their debut album, Redemption, and their forthcoming follow-up, The Seven Deadly Sinns, they energetically roared through a truly mesmerising set.

Thus, upper cuts such as Stories Untold and Sinsation throbbed between brand new, never-before-heard tunes. Since enlarging their ranks to include a full-time keyboardist and live drummer, Divine Sinn – now performing as a sextet – produce a smouldering wall of sound by default, with guitarist Ben Gladstone’s riffs anchoring Lee Sherwin’s stunning solos.

Livewire frontman Tom Chadwick is never backward in coming forward to encourage audience participation. No sooner had he sung the first note of Bow Down and he’d lunged into the crowd, provoking a moshpit to erupt within seconds as intended. Meanwhile, bassist Aaron Thurlow, keyboardist David Gurr and drummer Nick Dixon fortified every tune, their bass-lines, atmospheric melodies and steady beats providing a formidable framework upon which the raucous guitar riffs were hinged with acerbic aplomb.

Refusing to let the pace or intensity relent for a moment, Angels Eyes – dedicated to Tom’s girlfriend – was just as heavy as anything that came before or after it, though it was Murder One that really sent both the band and crowd into a frenzy.

The most explosive song of the set, the riffs pounded eardrums into submission, while Tom urged all those in attendance to mosh like there was no tomorrow. Which they did.