Adelaide was treated to its third instalment of one of the world’s finest curated music festivals as Unsound came to the tired city. The three-day sonic arts deluge rounded out an otherwise underwhelming three weeks of art and parties as every experimental music lover came out of the bedroom for some aural abrasion and beauty. Despite the risky roll of last minute cancellations, Unsound delivered once more in its new home at the Freemasons Hall.

Thursday began with an almost-immediately full house. Brisbane’s Lawrence English was a fitting opening act, bringing an ethereal air to the festival’s one and only seated performance. Gazelle Twin followed as the night’s unexpected highlight. While it’s not always easy for a single vocalist to create a stimulating live show, Elizabeth Bernholz was mesmerising in her trademark face mask and blue tracksuit. There was no hint of the formerly ambient act, only the faster industrial-pop of 2014’s critically acclaimed album, Unflesh.

Container gave a playful, fast-paced set, much to the delight of the industrial techno fans in the room, even if it was a confusing precursor to the most experimental act on the bill, Fushitsusha. Having led the way in their native Japan since the 90s, the band gave Adelaide an assortment of noise, psychedelia, minimalism and aggression. Feeling both sick and satiated, it’s always nice to realise the physical influence that sound can have on the body.

Friday night was sold out to an audience clearly ready to unleash their bodies. Forest Swords, though less experimental than a lot of this year’s bill, played a pleasant and relatively uneventful set before a quick changeover saw the room switch to pitch black as the screen flickered with the title of the festival’s sole new commission: Atom TM and Robin Fox’s collaboration, Double Vision.

As the darling of Australia’s light and sound art scene, Fox and his German collaborator brought an hour-long set of perfectly programmed lasers, visuals and digital sound. Glitch-pop gave way to a potent static piece, every laser working with precision to the noise. Colour weaved subtly into the work and the room became a growing cacophony of static, light, smoke and happiness.

Inexplicably, the night managed to get even better as British dub king The Bug brought his irrepressible bass to the dark hall. Vocal collaborators Manga and Miss Red took the chaos to another level, the room unrecognisable from two hours earlier. Finally, some sweat: Berlin’s Shackleton played a long set of spritely minimal techno rhythms (far from his own past) to a heartwarmingly full house of dancing Adelaide festival goers.

Saturday saw a completely changed lineup, with HTRK rushed in from Sydney and The Bug’s side project King Midas Sound. With plenty of agitated punters to please, Berlin’s Mika Vainio provided a complete assault on the body, with tinnitus the winner in a shattering Unsound-typical set. Dopplereffekt played a tight, playful and straightforward hour. So why the indecent house lights on the stroke of the clock, clearly confusing and annoying the two artists about to play a closing track?

HTRK followed with a short and hesitant show, a missing suitcase of gear perhaps to blame, but King Midas Sound, who had hinted at new material on Twitter during the day, could not have been a more perfect closer. Amid thick smoke and ambient red light, the sound shifted between luscious drone and sultry female RnB vocals as a meditative quiet took over. The room felt heavy, the audience content.

Despite the flack it copped for cancellations, Unsound 2015 moved swiftly to replace acts and maintained a high level of talent and diversity. And aside from that “kicking-of”’ of Dopplereffekt, one of the world’s most important techno producers, Unsound came through with a decidedly more upbeat line-up.

Proof, if it were needed, that even an esoteric festival such as this has mass appeal when world-class programming is linked with a good venue and the gift of discounted tickets. Not to bring it back for another year of the Adelaide festival would be like taking candy from a happy, already spoiled kid.

• Adelaide festival 2015 runs from 27 February to 15 March at venues citywide. Find all Guardian Australia’s coverage here