One of the most interesting, and sometimes surprising, aspects of live music is how context and listener experience can change the perception of a band and their performance. A band or artist touring with other artists from a similar genre will most likely be perceived by their audience as being broadly similar in terms of, for example, how heavy/prog/djent/etc they are. Three metalcore bands on the same bill will always be three metalcore bands, and the differences between them will be less apparent. Throw a metalcore band in with two bands from other genres and the chances are that audience perceptions of their music will shift.

Sometimes a band that’s been consistently described as dark/heavy/metalcore in album reviews or touring with similar bands can be seen in a different light if they’re on the bill with indie or alt-rock artists. This happens a lot at festivals where discovering new bands “outside my normal genre” is one of the never-ending joys of that format. It’s less usual for a band to tour “outside genre” but, when they do, it often results in standout performances.

Brighton 4-piece Knife Bride were due to tour in September with Dream State and newshapes. Their brand of “nu-gothika” melodic metalcore might perhaps have sat more conventionally with those bands rather than the alt-rock of tonight’s headliners, but despite their heavier, more aggressive sound, there’s more than enough melody and pop-metal in their set to get this crowd moving. Their set is a riotous mix of high-energy synth-infused verses and heavy, metalcore breakdowns: Bassist Craig Glynn providing the screamo growls to contrast with lead singer Mollie Clack’s clean, pop-like vocals.

There’s danceability in bucketloads here, but overlaying it all are the darker, more disturbing images and lyrical themes from their recent EP, sorry about the plague, released in April. This juxtaposition is one of the features that sets them apart from their peers, but there’s also a danger that the concept just won’t fit with the music. That they prove more than capable of pulling it off is largely down to their talent and confidence on stage. Mollie is a blur of constant movement, while the other members of the band deliver the heavy riffs and monster breakdowns that the darkness in their songs needs. Now two EPs into their career, it must be time for a first album – and what better way could there be to build on their “nu-gothika” concept?

Proving that Brighton is one of the hottest places in the country for emerging alternative music talent, Snayx are not here to take prisoners. With the kind of in-your-face energy that makes it seem as if they’ve barged through security on their way to the stage, they launch into Work, one of their first single releases. The band are unusual in not having a guitarist; bassist Ollie Horner and drummer Lainey Loops providing a heavy, fuzz-laden bass and punk drum track for singer Charlie Herridge to snarl his no-holds lyrics over. And it’s those lyrics that are one of the standout features of their music. They’re full of sharp observations on the frustrations of navigating, and pushing back against, the endless obstacles society throws up and bad decisions made in the name of escaping those roadblocks.

There are clear similarities with the music of modern Brit-punk bands like IDLES, Soft Play and Bob Vylan, but their live performance seems closer to the classic Essex electro-rave-punk of The Prodigy. Brain Cellz in particular brings an energy and attitude that rivals anything on Fat of the Land. It’s infectious, unavoidable and made for moshing – a fact which Charlie seems intent on proving as he insists on forming the central part of a massive wall of death. And even though they’re sonically miles apart, the headliners could not have asked for a better support act to warm the crowd up for them.

Fans of Yonaka had to wait a long time for their most recent album. Released three years after Welcome To My House, Until You’re Satisfied signified the arrival of the band as a more mature and confident entity. They were always brave and defiant, but their latest offering demonstrated a clear sense of self-assurance which was perhaps lacking from their earlier work.

Nowhere is this more evident than in their live performance tonight. Charismatic lead singer Theresa Jarvis is the perfect front for the band as they run through a balanced mix of tracks from Until You’re Satisfied and their earlier back catalogue. With the crowd already raring to go after the support acts, they open with three consecutive crowd rousers – Problems, Predator and Punch Bag – taken from different eras in their history. While they’re not as heavy as Knife Bride, or as punk as Snayx, there’s no shortage of candidates in the audience ready to let loose for Yonaka in the pit.

They follow these with a series of seven tracks from the recent album, split by the defiant and deeply personal fan favourite Call Me A Saint. It’s a song that all their “Creatures” know, and it’s sung back to them at full volume by more than 2,000 voices.

The tempo drops midway through the set with three acoustic tracks in a row, but the calm is only temporary. The bangers kick in again with Hands Off My Money and Bite The Bullet. From there on, there’s no let up until the set ends. They finish with Theresa in the crowd, where she seems happiest, for an epic version of Seize The Power.

If there’s a feature that’s common to all three of these artists, it’s a spirit of defiance and refusal to take shit from anyone. Maybe it’s a product of the creative powerhouse that is Brighton – a community famous for its refusal to conform or take a backwards step. Wherever it comes from, and however different these bands may be, the crowd tonight has experienced some of the best live alternative music the country has to offer at the moment.