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They’ve been here before, of course. Voodoo Six have packed this venue and seemingly been on the verge of big things, yet each time previously, they’ve contrived to blow it. This could be their last chance to achieve something special, and what Voodoo Six do tonight suggests they’ll grab this opportunity and make it work.

Whereas in the past, bassist Tony Newton has appeared to be the band’s focal point onstage, now the combination of guitarist Matt Pearce and vocalist Nik Taylor-Stoakes is very much the fulcrum of it all. The former is a virtuoso who is clearly a team player, while the latter’s a singer who has an Eddie Vedder edge with the power of Ricky Warwick.

All this means there’s a renewed vitality about the five. The show is an album launch celebration, so inevitably they showcase a significant chunk of Make Way For The King, and nobody complains. These songs have a contemporary groove, yet also a timeless sense of tune. And the band are clearly in the mood to give these tracks their full attention, while not forgetting about past glories. This makes the performance nicely balanced.

“We can play all night,” exclaims Taylor-Stoakes. Sadly, he’s thwarted by a dreaded curfew. However, Voodoo Six pack their 80 minutes in the limelight with an exciting sense of destiny.

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.