AT the Drive-In (ATDI) disappeared for so many years that most people thought they would never see them again.

The American art punks’ 2000 album, Relationship of Command, became the soundtrack of the alternative scene and an instant cult classic. Then at their peak – before many fans had the chance to see them live – they split up in 2001.

There was a brief reunion in 2009 but the release of Interalia – their first record in some 17 years – and their subsequent tours has marked their fully fledged return.

So was it worth the near two decade wait to see ATDI at Manchester Academy?

In a word, yes. The band and crowd were all a bit older (apart from a sprinkling of younger fans who must have discovered them in the intervening years) but the energy in the room was palpable as soon as the choppy riffs of Arcarsenal kicked in.

The gig mostly revisited songs from Relationship of Command but the band tore up the stage as if no time had passed at all.

Rarely staying still and seemingly at war with his mic stand, volatile frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala was just a bundle of energy.

And the crowd were just as much part of the show – dancing, jumping, chanting and throwing their hands in the air in the heaving venue. What was also welcome was that the new songs like No Wolf Like the Present and Governed by Contagions worked so well alongside the classics.

It made for a seamless if chaotic night that was massively worth the wait.