UK Tech-Fest is a place that many of us have labelled as home, a festivity that holds a special place among the hearts of many to escape the harsh reality of life and usually this would be an event many of us would be joyous over, except this year’s festival is going to be a little more emotional. A weekend that will carry undertones of sadness and loss but, beautiful rekindlements of memories lighting the eyes of musicians and attendees alike as they share this precious moment in time, it makes it all the more special that most of the lineup features bands who have played previous years of UK Tech-Fest.
This festival is held dear to the hearts of many, and is a strong reminder of the beauty held within the underground scene of metal, because the growing knowledge that these bands will be the future of metal brings so much excitement and hope. But none of this would be possible without the legend himself Simon Garrod and the backbones of the operation Helen Tytherleigh and Amanda Follit. So as we take a look back and some of the greatest, and utterly chaotic moments of that weekend we want to say one final thank you to Simon for giving a home to bands who other promoters, festivals or average metal listeners often overlooked, you took a chance on them when no one else did and breathed life into a scene that continues to blossom and flourish every day, you helped them reach new fans they otherwise might not have and judging by all the speeches made throughout that weekend your determination, support and hard work isn’t overlooked in their eyes either.
Thursday – June 29th
GLASS GRAVE – Main Stage
Now it might be a little early in the day for any serious damage but GLASS GRAVE doesn’t let that stop them from bringing a musical assault for our ears to bear the brunt of its impactful punch. They have a vibrant palette of ghostly ambience and attacking guitar tones with lively guitar riffs to match but the vocals are what make this a stand out performance the emotions carried through Adam Connor encapsulated all these feelings of pain, rage and hurt. They pull off emotional, melodic, and intense sections with such ease it’s admirable to watch and we ponder where this band will end up, with a sound so uniquely them you can’t quite place a band they sound exactly like but perhaps that’s the point – there’s no cookie cutters around here. And whilst they may not have had a crowd of spin-kicking fiends or people crashing over barriers or even others two-stepping that didn’t make their performance any less great, there are certain bands out there whom you wish nothing more than to appreciate the talent of and this is one of those bands; at least for us it is!
Rating: 7/10
NETHERHALL – Second Stage
Any band that starts their set off the bat with an Alan Watts quote is about to deliver a ruinous set – emotionally or physically – as they demonstrate some TOOL inspired riffs with intricate time signatures and bold bass lines that lead into these blooming choruses all whilst Matthew Preston lulls us with his soft, melodic trance that lead into these commanding screams. Whilst you aren’t getting a colossal rampage of breakdowns you are getting some beautiful moments of hostility, unsettled nerves and aggressive edge to make up for in its overall tone and delivery; heaviness isn’t solely based on harsh breakdowns and you can count on NETHERHALL to prove that one to you.
Rating: 7/10
STARVED – Main Stage
Now this arguably might have been the most exciting set of the day for us; when a band has a large gathering you know they’re the real deal. STARVED combined what we know to be an old-school style of hardcore with a modern twist thought it had a raw bite to the overall sound that is often missing with all these overproduced bands – not a dig targeted at anyone specifically mind, just a stylistic preference that is often lost in the ether of sounds. The liveliness of the band was contagious you couldn’t help but jump around, or two step-step to the beat however, the ability for any vocalist to command a group of people to come forward towards the barrier and carry him among the crowd is impressive and not a feat easily pulled off by just anyone, you have to build a reputation and connection with your audience to be awarded that medal.
Rating: 7/10
FROM EDEN TO EXILE – Second Stage
Now ladies and gents, let us embark on a headbanging 101 masterclass with FROM EDEN TO EXILE. It became apparent that the audience felt rather stiff and they wanted us to let loose for what is about to be a devastating shock-to-the-brain weekend. FROM EDEN TO EXILE displayed a wonderful set of dark and melodic melodies with thrashy and fast-pace riffs for our pleasing that oddly had some old-school SLIPKNOT influence sprinkled into the mix or at least that’s how we felt between the guitar work and Marcin Durmaj‘s boisterous growls. Now how did the audience react? A full house of headbanging galore! It took a while but we felt as though ourselves and the rest of the barn warmed up to these folk and their fifty pound shirts… oh wait we meant fifteen… This story ends with a humorous message scrawled on a blank sheet of paper that stays between the Tech-Fam alone.
Rating: 8/10
HARBINGER – Main Stage
This evening’s headliners are HARBINGER; who bring the heat with their own brand of tech-deathcore which became nothing short of a spectacular performance, proving why they’ve earned this spot on the mainstage. Between the raw, ferocity of Dilan Alves’ vocal performance to the incredible musicianship displayed by guitarists Ben Sutherland and Charlie Griffiths who cause belligerent chaos across their fretboards, bassist Kris Aarre and drummer Joel Scott; the latter transforming into a feral beast behind the hit. The ultimate surprise though was ex-vocalist Thom Gardner (PULSE) stepping on the stage to throw it back a little for the OG’s who have stuck with the band this far into their career but, it’s the haunting words of Scott towards the end of the set that remain ingrained in our very skull, ‘I hope UK Tech-Fest inspires you all to start bands, collaborate, get creative, or start a festival of your own, whatever you want’. Overall, this set was a meaty display of disorderly mosh pits from start to finish with a sea of crowd surfers and a packed out barn to go alongside it – if you’re sleeping on them now, you might be sleeping on them forever.
Rating: 9/10
Friday – June 30th
CREAK – Main Stage
Alas, we stumble across to the Main Stage to watch CREAK; a band that people can’t seem to keep their eyes from, even the abundance of camera and video lenses are focused in on them as they tear down the house on the Main Stage at UK Tech-Fest. Already earning a respectable crowd, who were more than eager to be two-stepping their way into the mosh pits to cause some damage with Jack Dunn encouraging such mayhem. The atmosphere was as expected; energetic, and anxiety driven, this feeling of uneasiness as they ripped through tracks like Doomed and Restless Dreams with such ease; sounding chunkier and more daunting than on record. Dare we say CREAK have the same understanding of creating atmospheric soundscapes as LOATHE and HERIOT do, bridging the gap between a comfort blanket of abrupt emotions and walking a tightrope of suspense and anxiety that lies within us all. But the real charm of this band is watching a band of brothers dive head first into the music they love creating, releasing a cacophony of emotions we’ve all felt one time or another and having a blast doing it; they felt our energy and enthusiasm because we felt theirs.
Rating: 8/10
BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS – Second Stage
Entrails ripped from a teddy bear’s fluff is what’s on the menu today as we introduce you to BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS; now this name might be familiar but how many of you have checked them out? Out of sheer curiosity we did and let’s just say we might be more than surprised with this one as we met the eyes of Millie Crampton, who exuberates this level of creepiness on par with the twins from The Shining. We were thoroughly surprised to realise the vocals were coming from a woman; and whilst she may appear dainty on the surface she has growls Lucifer only wishes he could possess. The backing vocals provided by guitarist Paul Foster-Dent’s only made it seem like an eternal war in hell, complimenting the other well, adding layers of voices. Bridging the gap between child-like innocence and hostile brutality, in addition to the serial killer-esque outfits, these guys are the perfect fitting for those who appreciate the macabre in the ugly truth.
Rating: 8/10
DESPITE EXILE – Main Stage
When we think of Italy we’d normally associate it as the home of pasta, fine wine and the roman colosseum however, after this spectacle we’ve witnessed it will gracefully be known as the home of DESPITE EXILE. A band who delivered a raucous, and chaotic sound with moments of bliss in its lead tone that complimented the vocals in carrying the emotions of the stories told whether it lied in a ruin of hopelessness, despair or anger. But it’s Jei Doublerice‘s vocal performance that packs the biggest punch – at times he almost sounds like Josh Middleton; as he carries an untameable scream that’s god-like and vicious all in one. As we’ve neared the end of their set we’re spared a single moment to reflect on the state of the world, as it’s becoming more common for men to be open about their struggles, anxieties and the gnawing vulnerability of their character and what better way to segway into A Pale Glimmer Of Light than for Doublerice to have that moment with us? As he reminds us to look after ourselves, to check in on our friends, our loved ones, and even ourselves it’s important to note that conversations like this need to happen until it’s normal and there’s no shame in it, especially for men, because as Doublerice said, ‘I’ve seen far too many people giving up!‘
Rating: 8/10
IN RETROSPECT – Second Stage
Now when most people sweep, it typically involves their floor and a broom but for IN RETROSPECT it involved bassist Tobias Clark going to town on his fretboard in the most creative of ways – it’s nice to see an underlooked and meme’d instrument get some love and moments to truly shine. This band provided some of the tastiest grooves and hookiest guitar riffs that melded pleasantly alongside Nathan Biddles’ whose cleans were beauty, grace and soul combined whilst his screams were grizzly and mean. It’s nice to see more men are leaning towards cleans and breaking out of this ‘screaming only’ mould; it shakes the bag up a little, you almost become unpredictable in what you can do and what you could do. Though when we reach the end of this short lived journey Biddles wants us all to share a moment as we gather around and embrace the arms of the person next to us, all connected as one for our shared love of music and its universal ways of understanding. We did wonder though how IN RETROSPECT felt about it all as we recall them asking us to ‘make these next thirty minutes count’ because we felt it was justice served.
Rating: 8/10
FORLORN – Second Stage
Dressed as a fair maiden, clad in black, donning a golden thorned crown however, Megan Elliot proves to be anything but with her haunting vocal melodies that slither their way into the crevices of your mind, and growls that cause a few jumpscares where you least expect, there’s a hidden temper within that unleashes in cycles alongside some captivating technical riffs and ethereal choruses that you can lose both your heart and soul in. It’s catchy, groovy and heart-shattering; there’s a certain Midsommar level of creepiness (and beauty) that can be appreciated with this band and we thoroughly found ourselves enjoying this from start to finish.
Rating: 8/10
CONJURER – Main Stage
CONJURER delivered a startling performance! Meaty-tones-meet-gruelling-speed whether they were playing sludgy stoner riffs or high speed technical intricacies – we often wonder how Jan Krause‘s legs are both intact by the end of the set. However what is more so impressive is the variety of range displayed between Dan Nightingale and Brady Deeprose – the lows were unnerving whilst the highs were torturous – and what makes this all the more spectacular is the high quality of playing shown by both. Though we found it hard to take our eyes away from Conor Marshall who, in parallel universe, would have been the vocalist as he donned menacing expressions, mimicking the words of every other song but, it wasn’t until the end of the set where he created his own hurricane of torment with the real possibility of whiplash. Without warning he launches himself into the crowd, standing in the midst of a storm, as everyone went rabid during the doom-fuelled drop of Hadal. And what makes this even more memorable is the way Marshall immediately sprinted off to the merch stand without a second thought – we respect the grind.
Rating: 8/10
HACKTIVIST – Main Stage
Tonight is a special night for a band who is no stranger to UK Tech-Fest; queue British rap-metal band, HACKTIVIST. As all of us are on the edge of our seats awaiting the debut of their new vocalist as the unfortunate departure of Jot Maxi hit the airwaves. As we were squished like a tin of sardines at the mainstage, drinks in hand and a 90s hip hop mix to raise our expectations, but the moment we saw JJ Olifent (ex-BORDERS) we knew we were in for a treat. He proves to be anything but a carbon copy of Maxi; whilst his vocals carried a level of unhinged aggression, Olifent gave pure gnarliness that was proven when they played Armoured Core. The chemistry and flow between Olifent and Jermaine Hurley was almost palpable, spitting bars as if it’s a scene ripped from 8 Mile, the energy in that room was electrifying as they burst into the opening of Paris; James Hewitt hung with the fans at barrier, drinks ended up being more worn than drank, and Olifent encouraged onslaughts of crowd surfers toward the front. The surprises, however, did not stop there as they invited Meyrick De La Fuente (EXIST IMMORTAL) and treated us to a brand new track titled, Crook & Criminals, a message for anyone who doubted the band – they’re back and they’re heavier than ever!
Rating: 10/10
LOATHE – Main Stage
When SUFFOCATION announced they had to unfortunately cancel all their EU tour dates, many of us were anticipating who their replacement would be and does it not seem fitting that a band who are veterans of this festival (appearing on the 2016 and 2018 lineup) deserve this opportunity? A band who have reached significant success since the release of I Let It In And It Took Everything and we’d be blind not to notice the amount of tracks they played from this album alone; it’s become a solidified staple of their sound and it’s captured so beautifully in this setting along with the hundred upon hundred who have gathered as witnesses on this night.
Setting the tone for this evening as they dive into their repertoire with tracks like Aggressive Evolution, Heavy Is The Head and Gored, all of which sound utterly ruthless in their delivery as Kadeem France lets off a manic performance as he screams effortlessly through them. Though the precipice for tonight lean towards the more emotionally driven tracks that pierce straight through your heart with Two-Way Mirror and Is It Really You?; the latter creating a room full of stars as flashlights appeared with everyone singing those familiar chorus lyrics alongside the silky notes of Erik Bickerstaffe, a litter of emotions felt for a variety of reasons differing from the other. But the night wasn’t all sappy, rather the opposite as we saw crow surfers, mosh pits going off the walls and even a wall of death with France even appearing by the barrier to sing with fans. Though we wonder how many – ourselves included – even noticed that Sean Radcliffe was nowhere in sight instead it was ‘Louis the Great!’ UK Tech-Fest and LOATHE became one that night and it was magical in every sense of the word.
Rating: 10/10
Saturday – July 1st
DRACONIAN REIGN – Second Stage
DRACONIAN RAGE? DRAGONS RAIN? Oh wait, it’s actually DRACONIAN REIGN that are among the early afternoon warm ups on a dreary Saturday, which arguably seems fitting for a deathcore band. On the surface it appears smart-casual was the dress code, and we might have been convinced some of the members could be a jazz band if not for both the name and the tattoos on display, however the quality of playing suggests otherwise with note perfect solos, soul-destroying breakdowns sending you into the ether and technical riff madness bouncing back and forth and despite James Hibberd‘s IEM’s not working and his voice being shot he delivers a animalistic performance and we know by now it’s always going to go down when you see the vocalist look up to the sky, entranced in a state, as if a deity appears to only them. The audience loved them, though a bit too much, soaking in all the fury as someone ended up being pushed into the spiralling madness. We think it’s only right that Hibberd gets that Elf Bar he’s been craving!
Rating: 9/10
ROSEN BRIDGE – Second Stage
Metalcore often leaves people divided because of how generic and overly saturated it becomes, but where ROSEN BRIDGE are concerned it becomes more than just your typical run-of-the-mill sound. Every track sounds different than the previous and what really captures our attention is how diverse of a range Alex Woodall delivers whether it be his soulful, rich cleans, or his promising highs and unearthly lows that blend with the softer, melodic driven parts and the heavier, experimentalism of other parts. As we watch this unfold they appear to hold a lot of enthusiasm, groove and the most energetic throwdowns and that’s why we found them an absolute joy to party with – we notice Woodall brings out the dance moves and it’s clear he’s fully immersed in the music. Whilst we’re handing out praise we can’t help but notice Samuel Benson’s complexities within his bass lines, something that might be overlooked by others but not by our beady eyes. Of course, the surprise appearance of Alexandra Angelini was warranted since their recent collaboration and it’s only right she get’s her moment to shine on Rituals; Angelini delivers a haunting, bubblegum sweet voice that packs a bite in contrast to Woodhall but both fit nicely alongside the other.
Rating: 8/10
AZURE – Second Stage
80s prog meets… Sega? There’s a lot to unpack with this band between the harmonised solos of the keytarist Shaz and guitarist Galen Stapley who played off one another exceptionally, and the infectious smiles that were on display made it all the more mesmerising and the RUSH-esque riffs they launched into held a semblance of nostalgia and dreaminess; this is music that lulls you into a cocoon of peacefulness and comfort despite it’s high octane nature. If that wasn’t enough the enigmatic Christopher Sampson’s must have made a deal with the devil to have a voice that would make even Axl Rose and Vince Neil green with envy. Overall this high quality performance was nothing short of electrifying and memorable and dare we say one of our personal favourites over the weekend.
Rating: 9/10
VEXED – Main Stage
‘After all we’re just another female fronted band’ spat Megan Targett, a term that has certainly done more harm than good but, VEXED are more than that term, they are raw spite in musical form with Targett’s screams aiming for the inner depths of your soul and shattering it into tiny pieces, whilst guitarists Jay Bacon and Callan Hughes deliver riffs that are unnerving and skull-crushing all at once, with flowing ominous lead parts and Willem Mason-Geraghty’s drums that become the spine and final puzzle piece to this omnipresent force. Targett’s engaging presence earns a solid mosh pit that we hope showed all the bands that day who travelled far and wide to celebrate metal how the Brits do it and what better way than to end this set than with a mic drop? Alpha move if we ever saw one.
Rating: 8/10
HERIOT – Main Stage
‘HERIOT, HERIOT wherefore art thou HERIOT?‘ Understandably the hottest band around the scene at the moment, we would argue that we haven’t seen this many HERIOT shirts on display as we did this weekend, the atmosphere is buzzing as we await their presence on the desolate and empty stage and the cheers that erupted from the crowd signalled that we were in for a whirlwind of a performance. It should be common knowledge at this point that Debbie Gough is a force of nature with an alluring presence, almost hypnotic, a shriek that matches that of a mediaeval witch and clean vocals that sound otherworldly, often singing with a glazed look in her eyes – it’s entrancing. Alongside the dual vocals with Jake Packer adding grizzly layers to this feeling of impending doom, with an unsettling atmosphere to accompany it all, with some intricate, and often unpredictable solo’s offered by Gough. However, as Gough let’s out a blood curdling shriek into the mic ‘split this room, side to side, let’s fucking go UK Tech-Fest’, the final act left more to be desired and arguably we’ve seen better wall of death’s for this band. It’s no secret that at Distorted Sound we are huge fans of HERIOT and it must be said that every time we see them step onto a stage they never falter in quality and seeing them grow this early into their career is so satisfying. HERIOT is the future of metal and you best believe it.
Rating: 9/10
CHELSEA GRIN – Main Stage
‘You guys need to chill out! Look after yourselves out there,’ echoes Tom Barber right after the show had abruptly come to a halt not even twenty seconds into Recreant, it appears there’s been an injury in the pit, though it appears once again after a second attempt the injury is far worse than we first thought. Though it’s not every day that you have to hear Barber instruct the crowd to move out the way for the paramedics to do their job; arguably a bad play on the audience’s behalf and a reminder that a good time for you, might not end well for another if you aren’t self aware. Aside from that though, this set might have been the best set thus far at UK Tech-Fest, as the band dispatch material spanning across their career from Desolation Of Eden to Suffer In Heaven giving something to the old and new fans alike. Barber proves why he is one of, if not the, best in the game; he’s mastered the art of devastatingly demonic pig squeals, and gutturals whilst his high range remains cruel and daring, almost punishing in essence. Though they were not kind to us on this night as they demanded more energy, more chaos and more crowd surfing though we did find it amusing when Mario and Luigi showed up in the pits and Barber’s face mirrored that of a child in a toy store, the gleaming happiness ceased to disappear every time Mario went over that barrier. Though we counter argue that it might not have been as satisfying as hearing a song you wrote being sung back to you as the crowd eloped into a choir all battling demons of their own, shouting, ‘I see my demons staring at me now…’
Rating: 10/10
Sunday – July 2nd
PULSE – Main Stage
Opening up the Main Stage on a Sunday morning comes with its challenges, and if the previous days are a telltale sign you may be in for disappointment if you were looking for carnage as Thom Gardner reminds us, ‘it’s the last day. Let’s give it our all’. Best believe we’re putting our dancing shoes on as we start two stepping cause if we weren’t awakened from our slumber before we sure were then with the level of energy that Gardner displays, encouraging us all to get involved – consider this the warm up for today because they certainly set the bar high for those who followed soon after. Sonically PULSE delivers a whirlwind of haunting sounds and pounding riffs to get your hearts racing at a full throttle pace and it only gets more serious when their bassist launches himself over the barrier without a second thought to get involved with the mosh pit in question. It’s aggressive, brash and energetic. It’s us and them because theirpulseisours or is it ourpulseisyours?
Rating: 7/10
AKKADIAN – Second Stage
‘A tambourine in metal? Absurd!’ and somehow this is supposed to be the part where we all visibly gasp in bewilderment, not the fact they wrote a song about snakes in a desert taking acid? However, neither is shocking given that metal has always had some wacky lyrical takes though we’d say we were intrigued as they transported us to an old ancient Arabic desert with desolate civilisation throughout Serpentine. We couldn’t help but groove along to the beat – rest assured it ran through our heads the entire day. Depraver though furthered it and sent us straight into the vacuum of space, amongst the stars of the galaxy to Ancient Egypt and the ferocity in which Danny Thurston delivers with his unruly growls were powerful. Throughout the set it felt as though they were telling stories through the instrumentals as much as they were through the lyrics with spells of psychedelic undertones woven in little details – whether this be through the impeccable drums patterns or specific chords and structures – and it almost gives off GOJIRA vibes without losing their identity in the caves they’ve carved themselves from in ruins of ancient history itself.
Rating: 8/10
KARMANJAKAH – Second Stage
Let us take a trip to the land of dreams with KARMANJAKAH who soar their way to a heavenly soundscape, whilst there isn’t much happening in terms of pits and crowd surfers and perhaps the audience is divided between newcomers who are intrigued and fans who are eager but everyone collectively focuses in on the band, watching in curiosity and awe and perhaps they didn’t win everyone over as some stood and stared but there were plenty of heads banging along. It was unfortunate that Viggo Örsan‘s vocals were a little pitchy in places but he saved himself whenever those glorious harmonies with Jonas Lundquist graced our ears. The contrast between the driving force of the synths and the punchy metal riffs tucked underneath turned the atmosphere one-eighty; a nice way to mellow the mood after the carnage candy we’ve witnessed this weekend.
Rating: 7/10
ON HOLLOW GROUND – Second Stage
Headbanging is the least that Jack Flynn wants to see from this crowd of misfits as he barks, ‘Bang. Your. Fucking. Heads!‘ whilst he surfs across the stage, squats his way to victory and reminds us why we should never skip arm day. Stylistically this band infuses trap beats, djent and what appears to be the more grime side of hip hop to create this extravagant concept and it hits the bullseye, and there is a very unhinged, heavier aspect to their overall sound that is better experienced than put into words. It’s not often a band writes a song about being a wasteman (WMD ‘Wasteman Down’) that’s full of dissonant guitars, teetering on the edge of uncertainty. What comes off as a complete surprise is their cover of SKEPTA‘s Shutdown; this grime-metal version comes off more aggressive than the original with Flynn showcasing more versatility with his harsh vocals blurring into a more demonic state as he spits the ever familiar bars towards the finishing line. ON HOLLOW GROUND gave us an unforgettable experience and reminded us why rap metal has its place at the table.
Rating: 8/10
SHELL BEACH – Second Stage
If ever there was a vocalist who sounded like the love child of Eddie Vedder and Chino Moreno it would be Zoltán Bodóczy ‘Undosz’; it’s an odd combination on paper, but on record it’s spellbinding with a diverse range of sounds ranging from the ambient noise driving these tracks to the luscious guitar solos hidden underneath verses that encapsulate a blues-y feel and the fire-smacking GOJIRA-esque drones of their heavier riffs. But the highlight of this set might have been guitarists Pál Solmó‘s spotlight moment where he sang a beautiful Hungarian rendition of Olyan Szépek Voltunk; a song not only written by his father but dedicated to him and we’re positive that wherever he is in the sky he’s smiling with pride down at him. The only fault we can find with this band is that we couldn’t have more time with them; a set that was a burst of kaleidoscopic emotions, an impressive feat for a band who graced UK soil for their second time.
Rating: 9/10
PALEDUSK – Main Stage
In the distance we hear the very familiar riff of EMINEM‘s Lose Yourself as everyone, old and young, begin to rap the words of this cult classic among metalheads before hightailing into Area PD where Daisuke Ehara was spin kicking his way across the stage as if performing his own version of Swan Lake, we were quite impressed that just watching him almost made us a little dizzy for a second though we had little time to recover before the room was swallowed by the biggest mosh pit we’ve seen this weekend that was being dominated by dinosaurs and a wild Luigi as crowd surfers came through like gushing waves. The excitement and thrill could be felt throughout the barn as the familiar notes of I’m Ready To Die For My Friend (‘At UK Tech-Fest‘) rang and the crowd broke out into a colourful array of echoed voices alongside Kaito Nagai. It’s quite jarring that this song could very easily be that of a Nickelodeon cartoon theme song with the reality of its lyrics but that’s PALEDUSK for you. They showed up and showed out with this anthemic set and their enchanting presence and hold of the crowd; not giving us a moment of breathing space.
Rating: 10/10
OCEANS ATE ALASKA – Main Stage
OCEANS ATE ALASKA tore the room apart, revisiting their older material and showing off their incredible musicianship with their new, more refined progressive take – think brighter, bouncy riffs with anthemic, melancholic choruses. By the time they’re playing Blood Brothers they’ve already earned a circle pit with the odd few crowd surfers popping up in between. It becomes apparent this whole set is a magnificent light show featuring circa-2008 crabcore moves we thought were buried and hidden away, it brings back the nostalgic days of metalcore that time has forgotten. Though Chris Turner‘s rimshots certainly elevate the breakdowns in their set making them more brutal along with James Harrison’s harsh gutturals that appear to be even more of a reckoning force than we remember! Though we won’t forget the part where Harrison beckons the crowd to start circle pitting to the sound of silence – and we aren’t referring to the song but rather there was nothing playing – as they closed us out as we geared up for what will be a show stopping performance from our headliners, BORN OF OSIRIS.
Rating: 8/10
SHE MUST BURN – Second Stage
Now who best to bring us the brutal, rib cracking nature of deathcore intertwined with the dark beauty of black metal than SHE MUST BURN. Taking us through the tunnels of darkness and it’s ratchet thoughts is Kyle Lamb and his deadly growls of fury whilst we find Valis Volkova leading us towards the light with her operatic highs and theatrical melodies, there were moments though where her voice held the grit and shine of a young Janis Joplin. But, this band weren’t able to catch as break as their lead guitarists guitar cut out, which soon became an issue, though what we assume to be a fault lead is soon sorted and we can continue onwards with this symphonic aural masterpiece with blast beats and catastrophic riffs that compliment this feeling of a looming downfall. We found Lamb to be spending majority of the set over by the barriers even as crowd surfing ensued and we noticed a very wholesome moment of a young child with ear defenders being crowd surfed over the barrier with Lamb reminding everyone to get that kid over safely and it must have been a rather surreal experience to be ten and experiencing one of your first metal bands as I’m sure many of us as DS wish we could relive our first metal concert over again.
Rating: 7/10
BORN OF OSIRIS – Main Stage
The moment we’ve all been waiting for, the grand finale, the piece de resistance, let us take a moment to bow down to the machine that is BORN OF OSIRIS. A setlist spanning across their career they made sure not to hold back in animating these tracks to life, welcoming their existing fans whilst making way for the new timers. We were delighted whenever Lee McKinney went hightailing into a guitar solo, the impeccable motifs of certain notes creating beautiful storytelling of emotions particularly in Angel Or Alien and Under The Gun. But we cannot leave out the difficult job Joe Buras had between keys and vocals and like a champ he pulled it off, the quality in either proving not to falter for even a moment.
However, it was the crowd that carried the energy for tonight, a band of such calibre don’t need to ask anything of the crowd when you already have a pit that steadily makes its way to the barrier, inflatables that are in constant back and forth between us and Ronnie Canizaro, a ripple effect of crowd surfers that soon turned into uncontrollable chaos as those at the barrier were on constant high alert – they became savages. But, by the time we reach the end of the set as that familiar cinematic intro belonging to Machine begins we are sent straight to a warzone as it becomes a deadly game of ‘how many crowd surfers can we get over the barrier?’ we counted at least twelve, and as they take their final bow to the stage with We Are The Champions playing in the background, bubbles now filling the air, Canizaro hands out setlists at the barrier, joined by Cameron Losch who throws his sticks towards the crowd and hands out fist bumps to those standing at the barrier. The room starts to feel like a sauna but was it worth it to see BORN OF ORISIS crush the Main Stage at UK Tech-Fest? Abso-freakin-lutely!
Rating: 10/10
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