Damnation Festival Review

Damnation Festival encompasses a great deal of underground bands, with a variety of acts from around the world playing crust, grind, doom, thrash, extreme metal, to even, this year with Shining, (not the extreme, grotesque, blood everywhere on stage, black metal band) but the band that involves black jazz into their mix. Damnation has also been a home to stage the pioneers of the sub-genres within metal we know now; Kreator, My Dying Bride, Entombed, Napalm Death, Electric Wizard, Onslaught and many more. The festival has had a raging nine years, with this year’s line-up being top-quality, with a return from the legendary Carcass and their new album ‘Surgical steel.’

There was never a dull moment of waiting for the bands; there were a total of four stages that were packed full, with no possibility of seeing every single act. However the layout of the festival was all over the place, making it impossible to get to the start of a bands performance as the previous finished.

The Terrorizer stage and Eyesore Merch stage go head to head for the opening slot; Diamanthian for Terrorizer and Dirge  for Eyesore Merch. Diamanthian give the ferocious beginning to any extreme metal festival, and give everyone a rude awakening for an early Saturday afternoon. Dirge, with a background of industrial metal, takes a turn to a progressive touch and ambient feel, giving the UK a chance to witness their evolution. Iron Witch start the Electric Amphetamine stage, as well as being the first of many Liverpool bands to be present at this years Damnation Festival. They take off with their crust sound and demolishing doom tones, setting the standard for the bands to come.

During the wait for main stage to open with their first act, we had the appearances of instrumentalists Tides From Nebula and the Northern head splitters Afternoon Gents. There was so much variety catered for by the festival; a lot of extreme metal fans enjoying the likes of a post-rock/metal bands such as Tides From Nebula and more tranquil, experimental, ambient music enthusiasts enjoying extreme bands like Dsycarnate.

The opener on the main stage was the black metal super-group, Twilight Of The Gods. With a line up consisting of Alan Averill (Primordial), Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (Aura Noir, ex- Mayhem), Patrik Lindgren (Thyrfing), Frode Glesnes (Einherjer) and Nick Barker (the drummer who has drummed for nearly every black metal band you can think of… but mostly known for Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth). It was an absolute stunner of a performance. The band were incredibly tight and super entertaining, with grabbing hooks and wailing vocals, they grasped every ounce of your attention, leaving it very difficult for the next act to compete with such a performance.

Black Magician are a band to cast their music back to the origins of the doom genre, exposing their ghostly haunting sound, through dark and gripping tones from bass player Robert Berry and organist Jonathan Fletcher. From the dread and impending doom we move on to the emotional and sexually disturbing death/black metal surrealists – Voices. Front-man Peter Benjamin takes away his semblance with a black mask , disguising any persona.  The energy was high and captivating to watch, however the sound was atrocious, there was no guitar, no vocals and no drums in the mix. There was a low bass hum that took away any dynamics the band had, making it really hard to listen, despite the bands the performance.

Over on the other stage – Eyesore Merch – Year of No Light carries on with the annihilating melancholy theme, with a somber atmosphere. Their performance was bewitching to watch, as their two drummers steal the show. Shining gives everyone what they have been deprived of. The band delivers an excellent  blend of groove metal and black jazz. Joren Munkeby is the talented individual that plays the saxophone, flute, clarinet, guitar and lead vocals. Their avant-garde song structures and exploration of genres make this band the talk of Damnation. Slabdragger bring forward the pure riffage in their doom-sludge-stoner metal, with influences from High on Fire, Electric Wizard and Rush.

We are given a privileged performance from Rosetta, as the band had traveled all the way from Philadelphia to enable Damnation to be part of their post-metal world. Their respectable musical world is on the rise, especially from the good reception their latest release got – ‘The Anaesthete’. At the same time we have thrust upon us Dyscarnate. The three piece death metal band with the “Always outnumbered never outgunned” mentality. This band have been likened to some of the most respectable old school death metal bands in the world, as these guys carry on their journey in making their own modern death metal stance in the new era.

SSS shatter the stage with their old school punk, crust, and grind collaboration. Front-man Foxy has a similar resemblance to Barney from Napalm Death, in terms of movement and style, however this is where the similarity ends. The performance came across as defiant, adolescent and the DIY ethic came across strong.  Palehorse bring their fury with their two bass guitarists John Atkins and James Bryant, drummer Ben Dawson and two vocalists Mark Dicker and Nikolai Grune, to the Electric Amphetamine stage. If you like it loud and sweaty, Palehorse is the band for you.

The Romanian spiritualists and one of the most compelling black metal bands; Negura Bunget surround the Terrorizer stage with their atmospheric instrumentals and their excellent musical collection. The Ocean… the only expression given can be… wow. This is a band that literally stops your heart from beating. Their exhilarating music takes you away to a different place, a place where clashing emotions consume you, giving your imagination colour then creating darkness. During their performance, a film (which Robin had produced himself) played, combining the protagonist woman that he speaks of in their new album ‘Pelagial’ with imagery from him filming deep sea life whilst scuba-diving. He combines the two, which then slowly spiral into a nightmare, which plays through his performance. ‘Pelagial’ is a one-track marvel, lasting in total 53 minutes. The album is to be played in it’s entirety. Yes, you’re right – at Damnation this was not possible, although The Ocean cleverly played a smooth, shorter version which did not lose any quality or any meaning to be portrayed.

Mourning Beloveth unfortunately could not make Damnation Festival this year, so to take their spot on the Electric Amphetamine stage were psychedelic, misery, horror, doom metal band Serpent Venom.  Gaahl is the fury that makes God Seed, his deeming presence stuns the audience, shaming his peers. God Seed are known for their stage performance, but the lack of characterization from the rest of the band brought loss to the life of the band.

Crippled Black Phoenix bring forth their multi-layered, macabre style rock using atypical instruments with an unorthodox composition, making their performance unforgettable.

They had come to “Bludgeon people with their sound’ – they are the super group entailing old-school death, crust and doom. They are the group people have been waiting to see, and in the mist of their busy lifestyle, Vallenfyre make their appearance at this year’s Damnation. Was it the show people expected? Did it live up to the standards they are known for throughout their other bands? Well, there had been problems with the sound all day on this stage, and unfortunately, there was no improvement for Vallenfyre, making it extremely hard to hear Gregor’s vocals, Hamish’s guitar and Adrian Erlandsson’s drum kit, which, you would have thought, would have stood out amongst them all. Thus leaving these questions to be answered on another performance.

Moss are the doom band without a bass… (odd is the word you’re looking for) but they use tone and technique to bring you a weighty somber gloom, whilst Katatonia are on the main stage presenting the full ‘Viva Emptiness’ in it’s entirety, celebrating it’s 10th year anniversary. Katatonia were the premium band  for the line up so far. Their underlying themes of depression within ‘Vivia Empitness’ were carried through into their live performance. Jonas Renkse’s vocals captured every essence of the emotion unleashed in the album and through the band backing it every minute with grand musicianship.

The transition from Katatonia to Cult Of Luna (who finished the Eyesore merch stage) was incredible. Cult Of Luna are a true advocates of post-metal. The venue was full to the brim, the stage was so low most people couldn’t actually see the band, and there was no room down below the stage, so the fans were fighting to get a peek. There are stories to be told from this band; not only do they have a lot behind their music, they are alluring to watch as their music provides escapism into a totally different dimension – pure entertainment. Cult Of Luna are certainly an innovative live band, there is a lot more to be said about it.

What a way to finish off a stage full of brutality than with Rotting Christ. Their fierce melody and colossal extremism was the climax of the Terrorizer stage.  There was an itch and Rotting Christ were the scratch.

Unfortunately for Conan, they were competing with the headline act on the Jagermeister stage. However Conan are a different kettle of fish, attracting the doom followers, but if you’re a fan of myths, legends and cavemen battles, then Conan were a great alternative to Carcass.

After a day full of post-metal, doom and extreme music there is a need for melodic grooves, twin-guitar harmonies and Jeff’s very ‘British’ attitude. The band we had all been waiting for  – Carcass. The wait for Carcass was unbearable, the piercing sounds from the fans below and the high spirits created a never ending build-up (only to get louder) of anticipation that seemed to last a lifetime. ‘Heartwork’ and ‘Necroticism’ were legendary albums and those two blended together created ‘Surgical Steel’. What better way to open than with ‘Buried Dreams’, thus turning civilized people into complete savages. To carry on the annihilation ‘Incarnate Solvent Abuse’ followed. There was nothing but slaughter and bloodshed, as the audience generated monumental circle pits to Carcass’ best tunes from their back catalogue and from their new release ‘Surgical Steel’. Songs like; ‘Unfit for Human Consumption’ and ‘Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System’. The projectors showed disturbing images on stage only to fuel the carnage more as ‘Genital Grinder’ was introduced, leading through with ‘Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)’ which then resulted in ‘Exhume to Consume’. Jeff held the audience well, as he was displeased in the pathetic shouts and screams back from their fans below. The crowd eventually got to the required level of noise as Jeff took control. ‘Ruptured in Purulence’ came in like a boot to the face and everyone was gagging for more, to then be hit by ‘Heartwork’. As the butchering came to an end, the pioneering member Ken Owen stepped up for the final blow; a short drum solo went ahead from the man that helped conceive grindcore, and there wasn’t a strong enough word to describe it, or the finale ‘Keep on Rotting in the Free World’. There has been an outbreak of positivity on how good the album sounded with Carcass’ new line up, and this is nothing compared to the epidemic that has come from their live performance at Damnation. Carcass is most certainly Carcass, and more.

To end the day, the remaining hordes were invited to an after-show party hosted by Ben Carter from Evile, performing a marvelous DJ set, with a mix of classics old and new – oh, and a large amount of alcohol consumption.

Carcass Set List

Buried Dreams
Incarnated Solvent Abuse
Carnal Forge/No Love Lost
Unfit for Human Consumption
Edge of Darkness/This Mortal Coil/Reek of Putrefaction
Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
Genital Grinder/Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)/Exhume to Consume
Captive Bolt Pistol
Corporal Jigsore Quandary/The Sanguine Article
Ruptured in Purulence/Heartwork
A Congealed Clot of Blood
Drum Solo (by Ken Owen)
Blackstar/Keep On Rotting In The Free World