Gotham 10 @ Islington Academy, London

Another year and another Gotham saw the annual all day meeting of all that is dark and sometimes delicious return to the Islington Academy after a year at Dingwalls. This event in the recent past has seen some fine performances from bands such as NFD, Star Industry, Gothminister and Killing Miranda.

Having arrived after first band Dead Heaven had finished it was up to Cryogenica (6.5/10) to open the day for us. The anglo/swedish trio have supported the likes of The Last Dance in the past and put that experience to good use on stage today. Frontwoman Carina makes good use of the small space they occupy while Chris and Jon seem excited just by being at Gotham. Their Curve-meets-Birthday Massacre electro/goth approach makes for a good start to the day. The fact that their backing tracks are muffled by the bad sound makes this performance even more impressive.

Next up were Lilygun (7). Although not strictly goth, Lilyguns dark alternative music presented the crowd with one of the most interesting sets of the day. Influences from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Skunk Anansie can be heard throughout the set, with dark versus giving way to unobtrusive choruses, backed up by understated gothly bass lines. Frontwoman/guitarist Anna-Christina is the main focal point, with her vocals helping create an atmospheric sheen around the music - music for a understated generation.

In complete contrast sinister four-piece Maleficent (7) were in the faces of every blackened soul! With vocals shared by Maleficent Martini and the imposing Mortimer Cain the band's industrialised attack stroked the crowd like a sleazy one night stand with darkness itself. This was emphasised on their cover of Nick Cave classic 'Where the wild roses grow'. It was the unhinged wailings of Martini which brought the most attention, along with being strung up at the end of the set.

After any bout of showmanship it is always nice to get back to basics and All Living Fear (7.5) do just that. By releasing their lovingly constructed 'Fifteen Year After' album in 2007 All Living Fear laid down their experience and professionalism in cold hard plastic, and tonight they serve up an excellent set of traditional guitar-driven goth which a large portion of the crowd were waiting for.

In the past cynics have suggested Italian duo Helalyn Flowers (7) are style over substance, mainly down to having an attractive female vocalist. Where these things obviously help with marketing, bands such as fellow countrymen Lacuna Coil and Helalyn Flowers themselves wouldn't last as long as they have if they didn't have the material to back it up. Tonight their brand of gothic synth pop is something of a joy to behold at times. The catchyness of some tracks puts some of the current chart botherers to shame, although a full band would deliver that extra punch the songs really deserve.

Vendemmian (7) were up next and didn't disappoint, bringing some old school post punk/goth to proceedings. The set was one of the most listenable of the night and when 'Masquerade' was aired during the encore it sent a few hundred goths back to the 90s.

Seemingly going for a record of most appearances at the Gotham festival Gothminister (8) was back on the bill for the third time in four years. Fortunately the industrial arsenal that the minister has built up over the years has now come to fruition and he is able to put together a set which has as many people dancing as banging their heads. The likes of 'Angel' and 'The holy one' were always set highlights in the past but it's the stomping 'Dusk til dawn' which steals the show today. The vocals are spot on and help make 'Darkside' sound even more evil than it is on CD. Gothminister is no 'sideshow' today, rather the main event!

There may only be two of German electro/industrial outfit Das Ich (6) but their outlandish characteristics help fill the stage. Stefan Ackermann shouts at anyone near the front like a madman while Bruno Kramm looks equally mad hammering the hell out the laptop. Das Ich bring Gotham 10 to an end and with it another year of dark musical cravings - until next week of course....