Metal is and always will be the greatest music community, and Wales in particular has always benefited from a strong metal heritage. It was no surprise to me that even on a drab Monday night, these two classic jacket patches would draw out legions of grinning headbangers. As the oldest metalheads from Saxon and Diamond Head’s early days move from denim-clad older folk to denim-clad older folk with canes, a theatre like St David’s Hall becomes ideal for those that want to step down off their seats and use it to rest a sore hip. Fair enough, even if it smarted not to be rubbing shoulders with them all down the front.

Slightly more obscure than the headliner, though namechecked by both Metallica and Megadeth back in the day, Diamond Head are still a mainstay at festivals – ensuring generations of new metal fans will eventually wind up at the door of their seminal early albums (1982’s Borrowed Time, in particular, is as groundbreaking as any of them). Only founding guitarist Brian Tatler remains from that era and received by far the biggest applause. The rest of the band represent a plethora of ages and decades logged under the band name, and I felt that was why they perhaps didn’t receive the enthusiasm they were due from this seasoned crowd – who’ve maybe seen the same deal one too many times. Younger, newish vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen was fantastic at hitting founding vocalist Sean Harris’ nightmarish range, and the crowd were receptive, albeit difficult to move.

Saxon, in contrast, have remained largely unchanged since the 1980s, and scarcely need introduction. These titans of the genre emerged with all the swagger of their position to wild uproar, and played an ear-ringing set of powerful, truly heavy metal that seemed to ignite something wonderful in the dormant crowd. The band announced they were recording the set for a live album, and from then on never missed a note – giving a performance that would have matched any from the NWOBHM heyday.

The crowd were wonderful – cheering, shouting, chanting – and, in the dark, could have been 40 years younger. When the lights did illuminate their faces, everyone was beaming.

Saxon + Diamond Head, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Mon 14 Nov

words JASON MACHLAB photos JONATHAN HERRON