Despite a few recent years of turmoil, the British metal scene has weathered a wild storm in surprisingly rude health. The old gods still roam the Earth (Ozzy, Judas Priest and Deep Purple all have tours lined up for 2022) while acts like Bring Me The Horizon and Architects have stepped up to headline arenas and festivals. Bullet For My Valentine look like they are building some serious momentum again after taking the top spot at Download earlier this year and with a new self-titled album set for release shortly on Spinefarm Records.

Before tonight's main attraction takes to the stage, Scottish quintet Bleed From Within hit hard with a fast and furious six-song set. Mashing together heavy chugging guitars, blast beats and Scott Kennedy's growling delivery, the Glaswegians even manage to instigate a wall of death, leaving the crowd dazed and confused in their wake. Meanwhile, England's TesseracT sound colossal, all big bruising prog metal complete with complex time signatures, violent crescendos and hypnotic rhythms. Daniel Tompkins' vocals effortlessly morph from screaming pain and fury to plaintive melancholia as dictated by the epic scale of their soundscapes.

Once the warm-up acts are done, Welsh warriors Bullet For My Valentine close out the night. It's a gutsy move opening with a new track but the barrage of riffs and strobes that accompany 'Parasite' set the tone and give Padge his first squealing guitar solo. The heads down, foot-on-the-monitor attack of 'Your Betrayal' finds Matt Tuck leading the first gigantic singalong, perfectly encapsulating BFMV's recurring themes of doomed romance and screaming heartbreak. 'Piece Of Me' melds thrash with grandiose melodies while 'Scream Aim Fire' is fast and relentless, and the serrated guitar of 'You Want A Battle? (Here's A War)' kicks hard. The new material is suitably ferocious with stomping 'Shatter' up there alongside their heaviest material. Meanwhile, 'Knives' owes a debt to Deftones, and the brooding 'Rainbow Veins' taps into Slipknot territory.

Great Britain might feel more divided than ever with the continually widening gap between rich and poor, and north and south, while the question of Scottish and Welsh independence is once again on the agenda. But with representatives from Wales, Scotland and England all coming together on this tour to bow down to the power of the riff, this is still very much a United Kingdom under metal.

Bullet For My Valentine are on tour until Tuesday 9 November; review from O2 Academy Edinburgh, Monday 1 November.