On the opening night of their UK tour, Godflesh rattled The Haunt to its very foundations.

Supporting this year’s excellent comeback record, A World Lit Only By Fire, the industrial metal pioneers were typically relentless.

The band’s fusion of pummelling electronic beats, monumental riffs and unapologetic misanthropy has proven influential over the years, building upon the blueprints of Swans’ early material and metal’s avant-garde.

Birmingham’s Khost set the scene with an obscure, if intriguing set, utilizing samples and oppressive slabs of guitar.

Yet Godflesh were never set to be upstaged, their bass tones shaking the walls. It was fortunate that The Haunt didn’t have any windows to shatter.

Backed by some evocative video projections, Justin Broadrick (also of Jesu and Final, among others) and G.C. Green ran through a mix of groundbreaking older material and new songs, running from Christbait Rising to Towers Of Emptiness.

It was a treat for fans, given the relative rarity of their live performances.

Justin’s vocals were occasionally swamped amongst the waves of noise, and they could have easily added another half hour to their set time – around an hour, due to an early curfew – but otherwise it went down as an occasion to remember.