I wasn’t at all prepared for what faced me tonight. Of course, the buzz preceding this tour, featuring two of hardcore metal’s most invigorating and challenging acts has been near to deafening in certain circles so the excitement working it’s way up amongst the intrigued currently cluttering up the tiny bar corner in the sweltering temperatures of the Little Civic must be reaching similar levels.

Even midlands-based Emotive Exposed vocalist exclaims, with almost disbelief, “Every Time I Die are on next! How cool is that??” Very cool. His band however, not so. While they tackle some impressively technical math-rhythms their flaws lie not in their musical ability but in the way it is delivered, drawing out songs with a ridiculous maze of triple choruses and countless bridges that just result more in confusion than amazement. But, they’re young so we’ll give them a chance.

By the time Every Time I Die come onstage they look absolutely knackered. Not just because they’d just travelled all the way from London but their show with The Hope Conspiracy, Sick of it All and Nora at the Underworld the night before, by the sounds of it, must surely go down as an absolute classic hardcore show. But despite their tour van being broken into with what appears to be thousands of dollars worth of items stolen, nothing can stop their excitement at showing the UK just what they can do.

Once they detonate, they catapult themselves into a mesmerising display of molten hardcore aggression and sharp, head-butting precision. Vocalist Keith takes time out from throwing himself around off each twisting riff by doubling as a comedian inbetween songs, even commenting on the nearby Bon Jovi concert at the Molineaux stadium, “I’m so glad you’ve all come tonight, because I hear this guy Bon Jarvi’s having a party and a lot of people have gone to that. And if there’s any middle aged women left in this city that’re here tonight I thank you also.”

The crowd seems to have thinned somewhat after they come offstage, presumably due to the unbearable heat of the venue or to avoid the thousands of drunk Mums and Dads that’ll no doubt clutter the local trains and buses, badly attempting endless renditions of ‘Livin On A Prayer’. Those with cars however stay for the Nora machine who musically untangle a much more chaotic beast that, visually, is just jaw-dropping. Those who’ve heard their split with The Dillinger Escape Plan will be privy to such stylings but live, they just explode, frontman Carl Severson staring at you with the murderous eyes of a hungry rottwieler before pouncing and ripping apart each song with a forthright brutality, competing equally with the now unbearable humidity engulfing the venue.

With both Every Time I Die and Nora with albums either released or due for release on the super cool Ferret Music Corp label the future of metal-core appears to be blindingly bright.