Down in The Basement, a saxophone and various animal noises were having a face-off as part of Sharp Spark, an eerie soundscape partly devised by hugely influential improviser Steve Beresford and Wire guitarist Matthew Simms.

Post-punks Omi Palone proved more direct during an Audio slot which hit the spot for a crowd whose appetite for merchandise, the band admitted, might decide whether they broke even.

Few would wish to watch their nightmares re-enacted.

But under the direction of legendary Italian film composer Claudio Simonetti, Dario Argento's cult 1977 horror flick, Suspiria, had its grim visions unleashed in widescreen, bathing the magnificent St Bart's in colour and backed by Goblin, the prog-rock band who recorded the film's original soundtrack.

Were there an award for the band best striking equilibrium between sonic and visual arrest at Drill, doom quartet Sea B****** would have won the hot contest by a stretch.

Long hair, grimaced smiles and an apparent tattoo of a bee covering an entire chest caught the eye, matched by their crush of sludgy guitars and uber-heavy rhythms.

Over at Green Door Store, God Damn insinuated their crowd should have chosen Italian experimentalists Zu – for whom a queue lengthened – at the Albert.

Crackling dirges bore the rock lineage of their Black Country roots to vindicate the decision of a crowd unswayed by the trio’s self-deprecation.

Kagoule, three intensely focused-looking 18-year-olds from Nottingham, had a perhaps dissuasive slot, playing the Albert contemporaneously to headline acts closing the festival’s larger stages.

Intriguing a growing swell of fans, they looked utterly unperturbed: singer Cai Burns’ vocals carried the droll disinterestedness of a young Brian Molko, while bassist Lucy Hatter affected punk brashness next to the fierce, punchy drumming of Lawrence English.