When any band used to filling venues with capacities of thousands crams into a tiny room, there’s always going to be more anticipation than usual. But for Enter Shikari’s show upstairs in the O2 Academy, the state of excitement is something beyond feverish. Even before the gig, while the Hertfordshire quartet’s drums are being tested and guitars tuned, the sold-out throng is chanting lyrics and cheering every action on the stage. So, by the time the band come out and frontman Rou Reynolds summons a pulsing keyboard riff that Faithless would gladly steal, the result is absolute mayhem, with many bodies colliding to the sound of opener Solidarity.

This show is a warm-up for the band’s slot at Reading Festival next week and their first in England after a three-month stint on the Warped Tour, the punk mega tour that takes in most of America.

Famed for its relentless schedule, the tour has clearly got the boys in fine shape. Their set is taut and muscular, with every track packing an almighty wallop. Through the smashing together of ravebreaks with hardcore guitar riffs and furious percussion, you get the euphoria from a great dance track with the intensity that only punk rock can bring.

Each song lands like a battle cry, especially Mothership, Juggernauts and Sorry You’re Not a Winner owing to the number of fists they have in the air. Frenzied mosh pits are ceaseless throughout the set with the band constantly diving in themselves, whipping up the crowd and maintaining an insanely high tempo, which, when the gig winds up, leaves the room looking more like a swimming pool with the amount of sweat on the floor and walls.

Though ever more high profile, Enter Shikari still sit alongside Rolo Tomassi as one of Britain’s most innovative punk bands. Their festival appearances are going to be awesome, judging by this set.