Once in a blue moon, you get a tour with the most perfect of line-ups. And that’s exactly what the UK got, when renowned post hardcore outfit Devil Sold His Soul chose to take themselves across the country to promote their acclaimed new EP, alongside Dead Harts from Sheffield and When We Were Wolves from Bridgend, another two heavy bands who had been making the rounds in the last few years. The tour brought the trio of bands to Glasgow to play the Classic Grand, and the buzz was at an all-time high.

Local progressive rock band Atlas:Empire were first to take the stage, and as expected, the bearded five-piece got things warmed up in style, performing a mix of newer material while slipping in a classic in the form of Mitchy Valentino. With a combination of quality riffs, drumming and vocals, they provided the early birds of the gig with a highly entertaining opener that set the standard for the rest of the show.

Now it was time for When We Were Wolves to step up, playing in Glasgow for the first time with their new line-up. and boy did they deliver. While a little frozen on stage at first, they got well into it quickly as they played a really tight set of metalcore tunes, with the highlights undoubtedly being Dying On The Inside and Blind. The guitar and drum work was impressive, and frontman Mitch was a beast both on the mic and in his presence. They captured the attention of all those in attendance, as they further cemented themselves as one of the best bands Wales has to offer.

Dead Harts were up next, and simply put, they were bloody insane. Their sheer presence hooked the crowd, getting them headbanging and, in the case of one dedicated fan, constantly snatching the mic and screaming back the lyrics. Vocalist Bax marked his territory as he paced the stage, jumped down to the floor and regularly fired globs of spit about, one of them narrowly missing me by mere centimetres.

Every one of their songs hit their mark, especially the ones off Cult For The Haggard Youth, including the record’s title track, Stripptease and the ridiculously catchy Suicide Cocktail. Capping off the wild set with Concrete Walls, they lived up to the hype as one of the country’s most immense rising hardcore bands.

And now it was time for the main attraction, Devil Sold His Soul, and hot damn were they mind-blowing. They took the venue by storm with an incredible performance that had the crowd in the palm of their hands, as they soaked in the musical juggernaut they were witnessing right in front of them. In the midst of smoke and strobes, the band dished out a blend of both vintage material as well as tracks from their most recent release, with the audience singing, bopping their heads and clapping along all the way, a breath taking sight to say the least.

And it only got better with every passing moment, as it all built up to an epic climax in the encore, with fans enveloping vocalist Paul as they all fought for the mic, got themselves surfing and unleashed a mighty pit, it was absolutely bananas. I think it’s safe to say the band killed it, as they provided all in attendance with nothing short of the ultimate live experience.