There was a curious moment inside Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach on a warm Sunday evening in May when three Uber Rock writers struggled to remember just what band they had watched at the third Hard Rock Hell festival instead of the Black Spiders. A decision that, approximately thirty seconds into the band's set, they quietly decided to never mention ever again. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.....

Japanese Voyeurs, the young alternative outfit for whom grunge is oxygen, are the special guests on Part Deux of the headliner's 'Sons Of The North' tour and, having reviewed their double A side single last year, I was certainly interested in seeing them live. The main focus of attention, unsurprisingly, is frontwoman Romily Alice who, when being talked about as a future role model (and, admittedly, I have done this myself), may well be doing her bandmates a disservice for, while she is the band's focal point she may also be its weak link. Don't get me wrong, she has been showered in more magic star quality dust than your average up and coming musician has any right to, and the teenage girls here tonight visibly mouthing every word to the band's songs are proof of a potential explosion above and beyond cult status, but she fails to take command of the stage as she leaves the awkward between-song moments to wither and die, bereft of any kind of attitude.

Her star shines brightest on the quieter moments of the band's set, her voice echoing the subtler tones of Veruca Salt's Nina Gordon (around the time of 'American Thighs') but her vocals are totally absent as soon as the band hit full volume, so much so that members of the crowd approach both her and the sound guy between songs to tell them to turn it up. They could, of course, have asked the band to turn down a little but, with a bass player hammering away at a good ol' Thunderbird that hangs happily nearer knee than breast, who can deny these guys the chance to let go?

The now-customary cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic 'Closer' in the band's set is interesting, and not just because of the emotions it ultimately stirs in the minds of the gentlemen in the audience watching a beautiful young woman around two decades their junior telling them that she wants to fuck them like an animal. While some might be thinking "Ooof!", others are surely feeling like the latter part of the band's name.

Japanese Voyeurs have plenty to offer music fans but on this night, courtesy of a stunted mix, they fall a little short.

The first thirty seconds of 'Si, El Diablo', the song from this year's fantastic 'Sons Of The North' album that Black Spiders choose to open their set with, not only embarrasses a trio of Uber Rockers but also rams home the massive gulf in class between support act and headliner.

With a near-full venue thankfully restoring my faith in humanity and proving that not every rock fan in the country stays indoors posting video clips of their favourite power ballads to their fat arsed friends, Black Spiders prove that they are not only one of the hardest working bands in the UK, but also one of the very best. They sound massive, their three guitar assault shaking every head and raising every horn in the building. Add every middle finger to that list too as, during the anthem 'Stay Down', every hand in the venue has its middle digit raised in the direction of the Spider, the Fox, the Owl, the Tiger and the Dark Shark.

And it is this sense of fun, combined with a faultless set of future classics, that pushes the Black Spiders live show into the 'essential' category. "This was number one in Aberystwyth" has everybody chuckling while the introduction to the air guitar-demanding 'KISS Tried To Kill Me', with its "Ooh-ooh, Black Spiders" homage and Vinnie Vincent shout out, is almost as entertaining as the song - very, for those not in the know.

The majority of the album destined to be nailed onto the upper reaches of many an album of the year list come December makes an appearance, the epic 'Blood Of The Kings' and the awesome 'Just Like A Woman' being particularly alluring, with 'D&B' from the 'No Goats In The Omen' EP and the stunning 'Meadow' from 2009's 'Cinco Hombres (Diez Cojones)' EP, added to a watertight setlist. 'What Good's A Rock Without A Roll?' has everyone in attendance chanting the "Eat Thunder, Shit Lightning" refrain, an attendance incidentally that has the band commenting on how many more people there are compared with the last time they played Cardiff.

The last band who offered both an incendiary debut and an incredibly entertaining live show such as this were The Wildhearts and if I manage to see Black Spiders live half as many times as I saw Ginger and his revolving cast of wild-hearted band members then the future, my friends, will be a most accommodating of allies.

This band are so good that anyone saying any different needs some sense fucked into them.

"Lord knows all the trouble I'm in...."