Tonight marks the release of Metallica’s 10th studio album since Kill ‘Em All way back in 1983. The band have chosen to play a exclusive launch show in the sort of venue they might well have started out in - cramped, packed, sweaty and crumbling in places. But this is no Los Angeles dive bar. This is The House Of Vans, the skate shoe brand’s custom built skatepark/music venue in the Old Vic Railway Tunnels near Waterloo.

Around 850 lucky fans from what appears to be all across Europe have won tickets through a competition on the band’s website to see the founding fathers of thrash showcase new tracks from Hardwired..... To Self Destruct, blow the cobwebs of the classics and try to convince the world that four grey about the temple metalheads still have a place in modern rock.

And convince us they do, although it’s hard not to be won over by the hype of the moment tonight - seeing one of rock’s most experienced stadium acts just feet in front of you is something these fans will treasure along with their faded ‘Ride The Lightning’ tour t-shirts for years to come.

This press the flesh kind of event is perhaps what the band really need after eight years in the shadows of the limelight. And yes the gig comes with the full gamut of big stage production you’d expect from a band that’s been playing arenas for nearly four decades - a full camera crew, towel wielding roadies and an extensive merch stall - but Metallica remain an utterly ferocious live act.

James Hetfield, the strutting bearded man-dragon, still possesses one of rock’s greatest vocals and his commanding presence at the helm of the band is captivating. Despite their advancing years the band are a slick machine tonight, fresh from the studio and clearly eager to let loose on a mob of their most devout followers.

There are still signs that the demons that raised their heads in the rockumentary ‘Some Kind of Monster’ may not quite have been laid to rest. Hetfield seems to enjoy taunting the impish Lars Ulrich between songs with playful barbs, but when the road crew emerge from behind the stage as the last chord rings out and plaster birth day boy Kirk Hammett with creampies it looks like the band are more at ease than ever.

While it’s affirming to see a classic act return to the stage after a lengthy break, the most encouraging takeaway from tonight’s gig - aside from the free Vans tote bag - is that the new material really holds up. It’s a little safer and less neck-breakingly thrash than past work, but it’s lapped up warmly and suggests Metallica are far from ready to fade into the black.