Manchester saw the last night of Divine Heresy’s first UK tour and, from what I can gather, the whole tour has been a real corker for the new band featuring ex Fear Factory and current Asesino axeman Dino Cazeres, the world’s fastest drummer 2006 and ex Hate Eternal sticks man Tim Yeung and virtual unknown Tommy Vext on vocals, they also had former Nile bassist Joe Payne on this European stint, and from the band’s on stage chemistry I can see him remaining in the bands rhythm section for the foreseeable future. On the downside this particualr gig had been down graded from the larger Academy 2, to the smaller Academy 3, though I can’t complain as it made for a much better show, especially as I was right at the front for the whole evening.

Opening proceedings were French progressive, technical death metallers Hacride, who I must say were a pleasant surprise. Sounding like German metalcore merchants Caliban mixed with blast beats and some ambient noise, they are definitely a very hot prospect for the future. Next up were the brutal Nordic death metal troupe Blood Red Throne, featuring ex Emperor bassist Tchort, on guitar. They were a straight up, no nonsense, head banging death metal band, though a few songs did sound fairly similar, but final song "Taste Of God" was an impressive metal injection.

Finally, the time came for the metal maelstrom that is Divine Heresy to take to the stage. Opening with the title track from their debut album “Bleed The Fifth”, the atmosphere in the venue totally changed. Headbanging galore, a circle pit opening up and the fans at the front singing the words back at the band, as soon as the song ended, the chants of “Heresy! Heresy!” began, leaving the band amazed by their reception.

Playing most of the debut album tracks such as “This Threat Is Real” and “Rise Of The Scorned” got the crowd going, before the band slowed things down with the melodic,  but still metal, “Closure”. When singer Tommy Vext asked the crowd, “Do you remember a band called Fear Factory?” the response was phenomenal and Dino, not ashamed of the work he did with Fear Factory, tore straight into “Self Bias Resistor” which, to be honest, sounded far better when ‘covered’ by this lot. Ending the night on a high with “Failed Creation” and “Royal Blood Heresy”, which saw Tommy Vext jump into a pit that was pretty much the width of the venue by that time, the band simply tore the place up even more.

Divine Heresy aren’t an outfit prone to the airs and graces given to rock stars, rather they seem to be a band that truly appreciate their fans. Indeed imediately after they had finished on stage they headed straight to the merch stand to meet everyone who came to see them and to sign everything and anything thrust their way. And that's how it should be. Fear Factory may have been one of the most influential metal bands of the 1990’s however, where Divine Heresy is concerned and for most of the people in Manchester, this is a rebirth for Dino Cazeres and to be honest it really does put Fear Factory AD (After Dino), to shame.

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