Originally set to feature a very different line-up, the Faces of Death Tour was forced to undergo an almost complete overhaul a few months ago when, for a variety of reasons, Archspire, Black Crown Initiate and To The Grave were all forced to withdraw. With their replacements announced in August, the show was back on with the three new supports eager to prove their worth.

London act Harbinger are up first followed by Tennessee melodeath merchants Inferi. Technical, melodic death metal is what people have come for and these two acts deliver in spades. It’s when Colorado’s Allegaeon take the stage that the crowd really start getting warmed up though, animated frontman Ezra Haynes. setting off a number of boisterous circle pits. Haynes, key to the early years success of Allegaeon, has returned to the band for this tour only (Editor’s note, so far) after the sudden departure of Riley McShane, over the summer. Arguably the band of the night, the band tear through an all too brief set including the likes of ‘Gray Matter Mechanics’, ‘Vermin’ and ‘Behold (God I Am)’. Californian Tech/Prog masters Falljuah have the unenviable task of following such a blinding set but do themselves proud as they blast through monstrous versions of ‘Amber Gaze’, ‘Eden’s Lament’ and a particularly vicious ‘Mindless Omnipotent Master’.

So now to the main reason people have converged on the coldest, darkest recesses of Birmingham this bitterly cold evening. Rivers of Nihil. When the band announced they had parted company with vocalist and founder member Jake Dieffenbach back in October, many wondered for a moment if this meant that they too would be pulling out of the tour. All rumours were quelled within the same press release, however, as the band revealed that bassist Adam Biggs would be handling the vocals as well as fulfilling his usual bass guitar duties, and that friend and Black Crown Initiate guitarist Andy Thomas would be joining them.

Minus Dieffenbach’s personality, fearsome roars and ninja slippers, this is a band with a different energy tonight, and although the four-piece sound absolutely electric on cuts like ‘The Void From Which No Sound Escapes’, ‘A Home’, and ‘Sand Baptism’, it’s clear that something crucial is missing. An otherwise sublime version of ‘The Silent Life’ loses some of its spark when the saxophone is piped in via backing tape rather than played live and although acquitting himself admirably, it’s hard to imagine Biggs as the long term answer to the band’s current frontman issue.

Still, even with these temporary complications, RON are still on top form. The stupidly talented guitar duo of Thomas and Brody Uttley duel with each other at the side of the stage while Jared Klein does his regular impression of an octopus with drumsticks. The crowd show their support with joyous enthusiasm and with the merch area filled with musicians stood chatting to satisfied fans after the show, it’s clear for anyone to see that, despite every conceivable hurdle thrown at the tour, the evening has been a resounding success.

GARY ALCOCK