大象传媒

The queue outside the Students' Union tonight is a lot more fresh faced than usual, but what they lack in years they make up for in sheer excitement. Tonight literally smells like teen spirit - i.e. Lynx and sweat. It's such a successful lineup that kids are actually being turned away as the venue is already full to bursting, and the first band aren't even onstage yet.

And what a first band it is! Red Enemy, hailing from Dublin, are one to watch if you like your hardcore. They start the night off with a blistering set, lead screamer Kev delivering powerful vocals. It's not all just anger and noise though, with great harmonies and driving rhythm completing their sound. They're a band that know how to put on a show, and even with the early start (it's still daylight outside but thankfully they blacked out the windows) things are already as chaotic as you'd expect from a metal gig.

Then it's the turn of local lads Gacy's Threads. Not only are the crowd loving every minute of their energetic set, but as Aaron holds the mic out to the crowd, they chant back the chorus of 'Wolf Brigade' as if rehearsed before-hand. It's great to see a local act with such a big following, and a rare opportunity for their younger fans to actually see them live, a privilege usually reserved for the over 18s.

Parkway Drive have come all the way from Australia tonight, and apologise for having taken so long to get here. It's clear the wait has been eager, and many of the fans here are so young that it's obviously their first gig. But what a way to start! There's a full on circle pit within 2 songs, full of guys in orange morphsuits jumping around in what can only be described as a mosh conga line. The band look genuinely amazed at such a warm reception so far from home, and the fun they're having onstage bleeds through to everyone in the audience.

With new bodies being sacrificed to the moshpit with every tune, the bedraggled security guards at the front try to fend off the waves of crowdsurfers. People leap from speaker stacks, and random shoes and hats fly across the crowd. By this point it's so warm even the walls are sweating, and vocalist Winston nearly succumbs several times to the slippery stage. Honestly its the best gig I've been to all year - and after a weekend at Download, that's no small compliment.

Carrie Davenport