The Astoria is packed tonight. Since even before the acrimonious advent of Soulfly a decade ago, they have always demanded such ceremony. Now, touring their recent Dark Ages album, the quartet return to London with a renewed sense of urgency and vengeance. Max Cavalera knew, after two disappointing albums in III and Prophecy, that his band may have started to run out of ideas and so decided that the next album would just be a bludgeoning slab of ultra-heaviness. It almost worked. Tonight, Soulfly plough through their set with a gritty self-confidence and composure, but like Sepultura of late, struggle to redeem themselves completely.

It is no secret that Cavalera is getting on a bit now yet his stage presence is still admirable. The crowd needs no extra incitement for the riot they perform in front of him. Yet, while the dreadlocked frontman captivates and enthrals those in front of him throughout, guitarist Mark Rizzo really only has one stab at the limelight tonight as he expertly handles a double-neck guitar for a virtuoso Spanish guitar attack. This makes the show seem slightly one-dimensional and even with Cavalera frequently letting his guitar drop to show his famous claw hands to the crowd, the set tends to stagnate. That is, until Richie Cavalera makes his cameo appearance on ‘Bleed’ bursting through, taking over the stage, before leaping off it into the crowd. However, The vignette that really injects some vitality into proceedings is the introduction of Skindred’s Benji. With his energetic, staccato growls and reggae-tinged vocals, watching him in tandem with Cavalera was refreshing.

The innovation and Brazilian roots-influenced facets to their sound still sound fresh and invigorating but as is the curse of true pioneers, so many have followed in their footsteps making their original novelties such as the fond period of custom percussion sound almost tired and slightly dated. It would be unfair to say that Soulfly are now relying on their reputation and some gimmicks to liven up their shows but after such a long time at the top of the heavy metal tree, sometimes it really is just too difficult to keep pace.