A trio of Australian metalcore bands have descended on Glasgow’s Garage tonight. The subzero temperatures probably aren’t doing much to make them feel at home, so it’s left up to the audience to do the honours.

Void of Vision are first on. There’s a real nu-metal bounce to their sound which could see them being separated from the over-saturated scene they find themselves in. They have a good presence on stage but based on the crowd’s reaction, they still have a way to go to cement their own identity.

Next up is Polaris, a band getting a reputation for being a fantastic live act. The hype is entirely justified. They get a massive reaction. You are either a part of the chaos, or looking on and wondering why you’ve not been paying attention to this band far sooner. Huge mosh pits are a staple of the whole set. The audience sing along with a passion that most headline bands would be flattered by. Musically it’s nothing revolutionary – a metalcore sound with tech-metal influences and big melodic choruses – but they make it work, and then some. Make no mistake, Northlane have their work cut out for them here.

In support of their new album, Alien, Northlane take to the stage as mere silhouettes to their own club-like light show which operates in tandem with the band’s huge electronic influences. Playing a whopping nine songs off their latest effort, they quickly put their headlining stamp on the evening. However, it is the older songs that get the biggest reaction. Citizen and Quantum Flux in particular have people going wild. That’s not to say the new songs don’t go down well; they do for the most part. But you can’t help but feel that swapping one or two out for more familiar ones may have been of benefit. The love in the room is still palpable though.

The quantity of electronics on the most recent material was always going to be an interesting one tonight. Could they pull it off live? It may be a sound thing, or it could be question marks over whether or not those electronics are actually being performed live, but the flavour they give the album seems missing in a live environment. It’s still an excellent showing from the Aussie five-piece, a band that have always seemed to have a special connection with their fans in this country, and long may it continue.