Considering that the next gig for Cambridge’s Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats after the four-piece's Brighton visit was to be at the O2 Arena supporting Black Sabbath, the impression that this was a band better suited to small venues and their own dedicated, throbbing fans never lifted tonight.

Trouble was, their sound veered too close to the 1980s British heavy metal they seemed to want to leapfrog in favour of the proto-metal legends they’ll support in London.

Admittedly, this gig was always billed as a heavy night (support act Sea B*****d played only two slow, then even slower, sludgy, if excellent, songs), but the headliners strayed into rock cliche.

The three guitarists moved in parallel in a visual formation that aped Iron Maiden, and clumsy footage of infamous serial killers, drug-taking and relentless naked dancing girls on the screen behind was at best retro, at worst moronically sexist.

When they locked into a riff and pummelled it into the ground, The Deadbeats were hard to ignore. But the somewhat dodgy trimmings of their live show left a sour taste that their truly great albums – Blood Lust especially – never hint at.