RIVERS OF NIHIL BLACK CROWN INITIATE/MØL

THE DOME, LONDON

Winter’s cold grip is starting to clench upon London, so, tonight, MØL’S icy blackgaze is all too appropriate. More succinct than genre heroes like Deafheaven, the Danes pummel with songs from their lauded full-length, Jord. Closing bruiser Bruma is the highlight of this visceral display, as frontman Kim Song leaps into the surprisingly hefty crowd to scream his lungs out. After that emotive battering, BLACK CROWN Initiate can’t hold up. Although James Dorton is a charismatic singer clearly giving his all, his band’s technical death metal jams feel clinical after tonight’s opener. If Møl appealed to the heart, BCI appeal to the head, and the latter will never excel as much in the heat of the extreme metal moment. Death metallers

rivers Of NIHIL stun with an hour of avant-garde aggression, performing 2018’s Where Owls Know My Name in full. Even in the unfortunate absence of guitarist Jon Topore, they fire on all cylinders as they barrel through their magnum opus. It’s almost a battle to see who can enjoy themselves more: those onstage, or the ever-moshing audience before them.

The jury’s out, but both are destined to have aching necks in the morning.

MATT MILLS