Against the incessant cavalcade of grey sludge that folks call nu-metal stand a few brave heroes of true noise. They know that Metallica will always be the gods of sonic warfare, and that Judas Priest will always be better than Korn. Now is their time.

Mook used to be a right bunch of misfits, looking and sounding for all the world like a typical 5th form band from around 1982. Tonight they are the sound of whiplashing power cables and grinding tank tracks, the sound of true metal.

Tonight there are no funk interludes, no embarrassing attempts at rapping and no concessions to impressing the Fred Durst massive. Instead there is singer Mike Gilpin coming on like a cross between Tony Christie and Mike Pattern, fronting a wall of solid iron noise. There are songs here too, though. ‘Flipside’ takes Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ out for a joyride and a spot of good old-fashioned headbanging - led by the unfashionably hirsute and therefore immeasurably cool guitarist - while ‘Too Far Gone’ is trippy, almost gothic, stoner rock and provokes an outbreak of thumbs-in-belt-loops boogying from the gaggle of fans gathered bravely in front of the PA.

Even when they finish their set with a cover of Minder’s ‘I Could Be So Good For You’ they surpass any sense of kitsch. There’s nothing retro about Mook. There simply can’t be anything retro about such magnificently executed noise. Tonight is all about relentless, monstrous riffage and whatever the year that is the only kind that matters. Old is obviously the new nu.

Sue Foreman