Yesterday evening was one where things did appear to go very right. The Gotherham gig was great, for all of the time that we could stay – apologies to Ryk and people for not being able to stick around, I had other commitments too!

First band on was Nekrodrako, which until now has been John from 3ulogy’s studio-based side project. Live, he is joined by Nik (also from 3ulogy), and their studio/stage experience shows in spades.

As does his influences – the music is a searing mix of pounding industrial noise and black metal, the mere 20 minutes or so of the 4-track set being a somewhat draining experience. Highlight was closer Hand Of God, which for a while brought down the relentless tempo a little. A promising live debut that should be repeated!

The long-awaited live debut of Red20 was certainly being watched with interest by a large proportion of the good turnout, and the delivered the goods in some style. The set was somewhat changed from what had been billed previously, consisting in the main of tracks from The Red Album, along with a few surprises.

Opener (and indeed TRA opener) Inferno set the scene perfectly, with it’s swirl of electronics and samples easing us in, before the beats and then riffs rain down. Gunners, followed no less powerfully, either, before a brake was put on by The Mirror, which sounded far better than it’s CD-based cousin, in my opinion. First surprise of the evening was the inclusion of old track Whore, in a new and vicious retooling of it, which really added some extra bite to what was a somewhat dull track previously.

The only “new” track played was forthcoming single Carnivore, which sounds about three steps ahead of anything the band have done previously, with an amazing feel of the track coiling ever tighter as the chorus builds and builds, and then stops and does it all again. Unknown sounded a little weaker than expected (probably due to it following Carnivore, to be honest), while Killing For Jesus v2.0 was notable mainly for the superb guitar work by Mister HeX, as he got the chance to truly cut loose.

The biggest surprise was saved to the end, though, with a fascinating choice of cover – Paint It Red [sic]. And a good job they did too.

So, overall, how did they do? Obvious technical niggles aside – which can be forgiven for a first gig – there is obvious promise for future live work. All the band seem to have natural stage presence (as does Al’s frankly hideous hawaiian shirt) and they can only get stronger.