Converge, Manchester Academy 2

Converge’s repertoire is beyond reproach - they are a band that span genres, mastering all, and have done so for two decades. It’s difficult not to appreciate their ability to knock out albums and pre-empt the future of metal and hardcore before any of their contemporaries do. These veterans of innovation don’t just give us studio perfection, they still go nuts like a band half their age.

More surprising than a quartet of middle aged men putting on a tight show is the crowd itself – a turnout of long hair and beards instead of fringes and flat peeks. Frontman Jacob Brannon stomps people out stood at floor height to his weighty hoof, repeatedly lashing out at the crowd that grabs at him, occasionally kicking people in the head. He loses his anorak at one point, kicks some more people, then watches it float back onstage.

Any disappointment at the band not playing ‘Saddest Day’ is more than made up for by hits from ‘No Heroes’ and ‘You Fail Me’ a plenty, as the band prove they’re still going strong all these years on.