It’s Halloween, and the ghouls are out in force in Manchester this evening. Vampires are propping up every bar, and death is definitely in the air. What better way to spend it than with a bunch of industrial goths from Germany then? Lord Of The Lost are fresh from hosting their own festival in their homeland, and it’s kind of fitting that their brooding demeanour can be enjoyed on this spookiest of evenings.

They are joined tonight first by Julien-K, a 3-piece outfit from LA who turn out to be Ryan and Amir from cult 90s industrial act Orgy, with a drummer and a fair bit of backing track. They have been together for over 20 years in this format, although it seems you are as likely to see them hosting an electro-fused DJ set as playing in the band these days. However, here they are and they proceed to give us a seven-song set of dark electronica infused with harsh guitars and deep, spine-tingling vocals. This is belied by band members who come across as friendly and likeable, and also rather thrilled to be in Manchester as they finish the set with a song from their biggest influence, New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. Ryan dons an extra guitar for this and it’s a riot of big riffs, big synths and big vocals.

Skarlett Riot are back! Around 10 years ago you could barely move without tripping over them in the smallprint at a festival or supporting a bigger name, then they just seemed to fade away. It seems they were always still around behind the scenes, but with a 4-year hiatus and a change of bass player they dropped right down in public consciousness. But all that’s irrelevant, because here they are getting ready to re-conquer the world (or at least a small corner of it). Singer Chloe sparkles in the stage lights as she leads them through some pounding alt.metal and metalcore. Gruff vocals from the bass player and guitarist counterpoint her more melodic sound, giving a blend that has a little for everyone.

Sadly their attempt to get a pit going fell a little flat and they ended up with more of a shallow ditch, but the enthusiasm was there and they did get a decent lightshow of waving phones during the song that was almost a ballad. For fans of Linkin Park and bands of that genre they are a must-see. In general their vim and verve draws the crowd to them and even if the pit was more a couple of blokes bumping bellies and somebody losing a hat they gave it a good go and it was fun.

Headliners Lord Of The Lost finally take to the stage in a blast of haze and darkness, except, except… hidden under singer Chris’s black robe and knee-high boots there is just a hint of sparkle. Kind of sums the band up to be honest – from the outside they are dark, devilish, devoid of humanity. Yet as the set progresses and they peel back the layers of their music the core turns out to be exciting, enticing and just a little bit flash. The number of musicians on stage means the sound is rich and full, veering from full-on power metal to goth/industrial and back with apparent ease. Sometimes there are two drummers, sometimes there are two lots of keyboards, mostly there are two guitars. It all leads to an aural experience that is as pleasurable as it’s sometimes unexpected. This is another band who, despite the dark gloominess of some of their lyrics and the deep baritone of their lead singer, manage to lift the mood with a great deal of crowd participation. Hand clap, feet stomp, voices are raised in tribute, phones are waved in lieu of lighters and every song is greeted with enthusiasm and joy.

There’s a lot of death and despair in songs such as ‘Drag Me To Hell’ or ‘Die Tomorrow’, yet somehow they still manage to smile and dance during the performance and inspire the same flurries of music in the crowd. There are a couple of covers, one you might expect (Iron Maiden’s ‘Children of The Damned’) and one you probably wouldn’t (Bronski Beat’s ‘Small Town Boy’). That contrast in influences sums them up, there is no musical stone unturned in their quest to both shock and entertain. Their songs lull you into complacency with gentle, harmonious intros and then jolt you into life again as they descend into a riot of big riffs and harsh vocals. The beat is relentless, held steady by a bass player who dances like nobody is watching. We jump, we caper with the band, we gasp as Chris rips off his black robe to reveal that at heart he is rhinestones all the way down. This of course leads into their Eurovision banger ‘Blood and Glitter’, a song that didn’t really make much of an impact for them in Liverpool in 2023 but that goes down a storm in Manchester in 2025! We are told that they invented the one-person circle pit at last year’s Bloodstock Festival and indeed the crowd twirls and whirls in their own space to great effect. In amongst all the schlock horror there is also an occasional positive message, and ‘Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness’ plus final song ‘One Of Us Will Be Next’ allow Chris to implore us to live our lives in the moment because once gone it’s never coming back. Altogether this is a band who manage to merge metal with camp horror and just a touch of glam to provide a show that is something to experience rather than just something to watch. Very fitting indeed for a Halloween gig!