Salò / Hunt/Gather / What the Blood Revealed @ Captain's Rest, 3 October

Irvine's What the Blood Revealed open up a ferocious evening of post-hardcore with their moody take on instrumental rock. Borrowing the well-tested loud/quiet blueprint of acts like Mogwai, Isis and Pelican, they're more heavy than intense, creating layers of riffs upon throbbing, rhythmic basslines. They're certainly the loudest band on tonight in terms of sheer volume – the tiny basement throbs as they carefully weave their way through their set with tight precision and admirable focus.

But things really start to kick off when Hunt/Gather take to the stage, keeping all technical elements of their dark, chaotic sound (think Botch, Converge) intact as vocalist Geoff Begg throws himself around the front of the venue just beyond the stage, chipping his tooth and knocking over his mic stand in the process. The other members are just as animated and energetic, adding a real sense of in-your-face ferocity and danger you just wouldn't get on a recording. The crowd are noticeably impressed, voicing their excitement at the opening seconds of Mort le Blanc, a highlight from their new EP Former Rust.

Salò, another local technical hardcore outfit with former members of No Kilter and The Ocean Fracture, headline tonight. All three members share vocal duties, creating a dizzying and unconventional approach to aggressive music. Their songs almost seem designed to catch you out with their disjointed, mathy guitar playing and sudden breaks in rhythm, and they occasionally taunt the crowd with brief periods of foreboding silence in-between songs – before drummer Sam Massey grins knowingly as he smashes into his kit and everything comes back together nicely. Well, as far as their own warped logic is concerned. They deserve to go far.