Picking up the metal baton & running hard
This slot was initially filled by Bullet For My Valentine, however when they pulled out due to health issues, I don't think anyone was devastated, not least as the replacement was Machine Head.
This was the final night of the Machine Head European tour, that has seen them play with Metallica on the continent, plus festival dates including Download and Hellfest in France.
It's a good job they had forty minutes to play with, as had their set been any shorter it would have been a case of "Hello Wembley, here's a song, have a good night!' and leave again.
Like Mastodon before them, Machine Head's set would have been best enjoyed at pitch level, for they're another metal band whose music is of the impressively complex variety. Those in the standing area certainly loved what they got from Rob Flynn and co.
Machine Head opened with 'Clenching the Fists of Dissent' from recent, UK top twenty selling album 'The Blackening'. This was followed by 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' opener 'Imperium'.
'Take My Scars' from 'More Things Change' was next, with arguably the biggest reaction coming for 'Blackening' track 'Halo'.
This set of metal epics was brought to a close with 'Davidian' from 'Burn My Eyes'.
It seems odd to call a set of this length a taster, but with only five songs that's essentially what it was. Those seeing Machine Head for the first time would certainly have been impressed with what they got from them as a live act.