Soundshock has built up a painfully high level of excitement heading into this particular gig. Not only is it the debut headlining concert that Stone Gods have played in the nation’s capital, but with so little of their own material available at present, it’ll be a treat to see what these boys are all about. Before the rocking-out can truly commence though, support act Serpico take to the stage, and in all fairness they give serious meaning to the notion that one should never judge a book by its cover. When frontman Mikey Serpico (what a name!) grabs the microphone and introduces his crew, things look set to go just a tad emotional, but luckily what emerges is a highly enjoyable set. Occasionally recalling pre-2000 AFI and more often than not grinding out the kind of catchy, groove-laden riffs that Rob Flynn would be proud of, Serpico clearly know their stuff, and their confidence onstage suggests that the Glaswegian youngsters are perfectly aware of how promising they are. To top it all off, they’re thoroughly nice chaps, and it is difficult to imagine that Mikey and co. won’t be headlining bigger venues than this by 2009.

    But enough of that, we’re here to see one band and one band only, and as the lights dim down and Dan and the boys walk out onstage, the huge greeting they receive leaves no one in doubt that Stone Gods are already a much-loved band – pretty impressive when you consider that the few titbits of music that they have allowed the public to hear won’t attract many casual Darkness fans. Even the few minutes of intro-exaggeration that the band are left to conjure up thanks to Richie Edwards’ malfunctioning guitar seems to go down well, and by the time they kick into the awesome ‘Burn The Witch’, the Underworld is awash with banging heads and raised fists. What follows is a fantastic menagerie of heavy metal, rock n’ roll, and the occasional ballad, and it all goes down a treat in London tonight.

    Stone Gods’ two key advantages is that they have a huge depth of song styles that they are able to pull off, and that Edwards is just as much a likeable frontman as Justin Hawkins ever was. In fact, his confidence and natural likeableness is so prevalent that it becomes difficult to imagine him in any other role, and as he bellows, screams and screeches his way through a highly energetic set, it soon becomes clear that he is a natural at crowd banter. There are four men onstage tonight though, and they all play their parts perfectly, with lead guitarist Dan Hawkins and bassist Toby MacFarlaine allowing their own confidence to shine through in their tight playing; something that it only echoed by drummer Ed Graham. The band’s history does shine through at some points, in particular the lovable ballad ‘Funnybones’ strongly recalls 2005’s Darkness effort ‘Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time’. This, however, is an inevitable formality, as the gig is Stone Gods’ through and through, and the many happy faces exiting the venue tonight suggest that no one has left disappointed. If Stone Gods play near you soon, go see them. With a few more shows under their belt, they may well emerge as the greatest party band that the UK has produced in a long time.