This is only the second year for this new all day (pre and post parties also) metal festival and the signs are that this could well build into something rather special. If you love metal then there will be something here for you. OK, well maybe not hair metal but you can't have it all I guess.
All bases are covered from thrash to doom, stoner, death, grunge and anything else you care to think of. Set in the beautiful DMH venue and across three stages (main stage, bar stage and outdoor acoustic stage), if you see one great band you've probably missed another. In addition the festival also plays host to the Metal 2 the Masses comp with the winner going forward to Bloodstock. This year that honour went to Blood Oath and deservedly so but they were pushed all the way by the other bands. A special mention to Ubiquitous for their professionalism and theatricality.
A couple of highlights came quite early for me on the bar stage which had a nice intimacy and good sound throughout it would seem. A band called The DarkHorse turned out to be just that. They pretty much tore it up and proved a hard act to follow. Giant riffs, heavy vocals, massive beards and great crowd interaction. If you are going to play this type of music then it needs to be tight and the drummer of this band nails it.
Nothing flashy just a groove machine. Not necessarily in terms of sound but certainly in terms of tightness they brought to mind The Sword's first album and also "Swansong" by Carcass. They don't take themselves too seriously but maybe they should? Pure neck snappage.
I was also impressed with Witchsorrow who stood up to the test really well. Only a three piece they still made enough noise to compete with the aforementioned band and I personally liked their longer tracks and lead guitar solos. There is a nice blend of influences within their sound and the rhythm section hold it down really well. The bassist is awesome. They are more than just a doom band I think and hopefully there will be new material coming from them soon.
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Time and space does not allow for details on every band I saw but Boss Keloid have pipes (vocals) and riffs to die for. Pelugion played their first ever acoustic set and there were a lot of nice moments on that stage, providing a welcome respite from the electric sets. I saw hobbits(?) on the main stage although that may have been death metal by Haerken?
Lawnmower Deth were a massive highlight, as they probably were for many people. Such a wonderful live act who really draw the crowd in, no easy feat in such a big venue. Worth the entrance fee just to see legends like them perform and then on top of that bands like Kill II This, Divine Chaos, Onslaught and Primordial all stepped up to the mark and delivered.
The main thing I would say about this festival is that there was a real good vibe about the place all day and it was brilliant to see metal heads there from all walks of life and from the very young to the very old simply enjoying the music. This is testament to the immense amount of hard work put in by the organisers but it will only continue with the support of metal fans everywhere. We are legion, we are metal! I will be there next year and hopefully you will be too.
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