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A year ago Devin Townsend had barely finished a four-night run of London gigs bringing together his then most recent albums and playing them in full. Without a pause for breath an even grander spectacle was announced in the English capital for a few days before Hallowe'en 2012. Exact details were vague but the poster alone was enough to create a huge buzz of excitement.

Fast forward almost twelve months and the big event was approaching fast. At quite short notice two warm-up shows were booked to try out some of the songs on latest album “Epicloud”, a few as yet never played live to an audience. So far north without quite being in Scotland, knackered from jet-lag and the previous several weeks touring the USA with Paradise Lost, it would be understandable if Townsend and the band were shitting bricks. Talking to some of the fans it seemed some of them were on their behalf!

It was almost Hallowe'en and the dressing up had started already. The rather camp surroundings of Sound Circus were suitably decorated with skeletons hanging off the walls and the punters made up an amusingly costumed mix of good, bad, ugly and hilarious. It was also another special occasion. The first ever British show for American band Huntress led by self-proclaimed witch Jill Janus. Would it turn out to be a trick or a heavy metal treat?

Before that two local female-fronted bands started the night off and it was unfortunate to catch only the last part of Drallion's set. They mix death metal with flourishes of industrial and the occasional melodic keyboard licks. Blonde vocalist Beckie has a thunderous growl and also sings cleanly in the softer moments. Definite potential there.

Next up were Stagnant Breed. A name I had seen on lots of posters locally but never managed to catch. It was a pleasantly brutal surprise. Musically there were sounds of technical death

First up at the Roundhouse were Texans Warbeast, a band signed to Phil Anselmo's label Housecore Records back in 2010. With a new album due out in February the band were keen to air some of the newer tracks and so the set was split between songs from the forthcoming album and their debut. I'd only heard a track or 2 before tonight and, whilst Phil obviously rates them that highly he signed them, I found them to be fairly dull. Don't get me wrong, the pedigree and history of the band members is steeped in metal and they are all very accomplished as musicians. The guitarists were shredding solos, and the drummer's fills and rolls were tight; however it