It was a long time coming, but the ‘launch’ party for the ‘new’ Shapeshifter album left no one in the sold-out Metro in any doubt – these guys are still the shit. On a bitterly cold Sydney night, at the tail-end of a long weekend heavy on festivals, clubs and football, a tired crowd fronted up to see an exhausted band on the final leg of a punishing Australian tour – surely both crowd and musicians wouldn’t be able to go the distance?

Any such thoughts were vaporised by the very first beats of Dutchies, the obvious choice for an opener. Instantly, Shapeshifter had the crowd jumping. Our attention was arrested. This was going to be something special. By the time vocalist PDigsss reached the chorus, the band had a flood of adrenaline and serotonin coursing through our veins – oh no, there was not going to be any rest until the encore was over.

The intro done, the band then rewound to, well, the intro to previous album Soulstice, the gorgeous New Day Come. The sound system had started off a bit muted, but it was coming in now, the bass and volume getting better as the night went on.

Most of the gig was spent playing the big hitters from Soulstice and practically all of The System is a Vampire: unsurprising, of course, but also very welcome. How did they fit them all in? By belting out tune after tune for almost two hours. That’s commitment – but then again, these guys are simply great musicians. Lifetime was an early highlight, a ridiculous sax solo getting an applause as furious as the dancing.

There were two points when the band swerved away from soulful and upbeat territory. Tokyo opened with beautiful shots of the eponymous city’s skyline joining the lighting that was simple but effective all night. But the big chords that open the tune give way to Pendulum-esque metal thrashing, and in the stadium rock strobe lights the set faltered a little bit. The long, operatic, industrial interlude of Warning/System was a lot better-received. The album version is almost 12 minutes long and a departure from the rest of the album before it, but the live performance was absorbing and, well, big.

The thing that struck me at this gig was the way that Shapeshifter’s tunes develop and evolve. Jazzy ambience builds to furious DnB synth stabs. Their composition is a beautiful thing to behold, and the surprises therein levelled the Metro dancefloor.

Shapeshifter chose probably the most epic Vampire track, Twin Galaxies for the encore. When they heard the slow and heartfelt opening, the girls in front of me turned to leave. “Silly girls,” I thought, knowing what was to come. But when the tune made its right turn to toe-curling crescendo three minutes later, they were running back into the fray, losing the plot along with the rest of the crowd.

This was an immensely satisfying gig. Sydney has been treated to some excellent, excellent drum & bass in the last couple of months, but I reckon this topped them all. Lord knows I haven’t sweated like that on a dancefloor for a very long time. Very sexy, I know, but my drenched t-shirt said the same thing that anyone at the gig would: Shapeshifter has still got it. And I can’t wait for our next encounter.