Damnation Festival 2006

United Kingdom | | 12 October 2006

In its second year, the UK's fastest-rising independent metal event Damnation Festival had a real hill to climb - how do you top classic British sets like those of The Inbreds and Gorerotted, the twin headliners Raging Speedhorn and Sikth, and a legendary performance by Entombed? 2005 was a great year for the organisers and topping it proved a headache - but just one look at a lineup including The Haunted, Skindred, Akercocke and Stampin' Ground's first date of a farewell tour showed that they were already on the road to going one better. There are two stages. Bring on the metal!
 
 
Jagermeister Stage
 
Fresh from a journey to Earache's offices to pen a major new deal, up-and-coming thrash boys Evile are first to take to the Jageremeister main stage at this year's Damnation Festival. Theirs is some of the catchiest, cleverest thrash since 'Kill 'Em All' - it's that simple. And if you needed proof that the lads are ready for some fun, guitarist Ol Drake is seen sporting a top hat and monacle in support of a daft message board campaign - it goes over the heads of most, but it typifies their party-hard attitude. Having worked through beastly snippets of their back catalogue to great reception, it's finishing fan-favourite 'Killer From The Deep' that truly sends the crowd into raptures and sets the standard for the rest of the bands.

Faster AND heavier than Evile, Kingsize Blues shock and stun the audience into moshpit madness. Announcer Phil Hull hails them as a "booze fuelled, weed injected, whore stained brand of bastard heavy metal!" and got it spot on. Furious death-ravaged thrashers, they rip through their half-hour slot with all the ferocity of a headliner. Aggressive vocals and blazing riffs from their two lead guitarists - it's hard to resist a good hard headbang and that's exactly what this crowd does best.

Challenging Chuck Norris as the milestone of masculinity, Head-On bring a sound shaped by beards, checkered shirts, and DIY. Swell out your chest, nod your head and soak up the metal - it's a good day to be a man. "I hate VCRs" announces frontman Mark Logan, as he produces a video recorder and smashes it with a mallet during the classic finisher 'Here Comes The Hammer'. Does metal get more awesome than buffed wrestler-types destroying outdated entertainment systems, soundtracked by pummeling riffs and one of the best rock voices in the country? I think not.

So now it's Damnation veteran John Loughlin and his band of merry miscreants Murder One who take a stab at maintaining a standard so high. With a headlining Raging Speedhorn set in 2005 under his belt, Loughlin knows the score; he and fellow vocalist Paul Catten scream their way through the most ridiculously gruesome noise heard all day. It ain't pretty, but if it's heavy you want then it's heavy you get with this lot. Pulled from the depths of darkness and driven on by Jagermeister, it's a performance that leaves you in need of a lie down.

But this is all-day rock and respite there ain't. Before long, Biomechanical are on-stage and the crowd get their second or third wind for, arguably, the most metal band in the whole world, ever. Proggy, thumping guitars, power metal vox and massive drums - the sort of band who can force journalists into hyperbole like "metal's future". Singer John K squeals like he's got a serious knot in his knickers, and this is so fucking enjoyable that the serious frowns of moshers turn to wide eyes and cheesy grins. Biomechanical's chorus line is their 600-strong crowd - "DO YOU DREAM OF EVIL BLOOD AND CRUSHING METAL BOOOOOONES!" Yeah, we do. Rock on.

Party. That's the defining word of what Skindred do. Within minutes of Benji Webbe and co. kicking off 'Babylon', the entire audience is bouncing, drinks are being necked and the whole building is echoing with their gripping ragga-punk choruses. On a day dominated by serious, crushing, grab-the-nearest-stranger-and-beat-them-up type music, this is a refreshing wave of tunes that owe as much to Bob Marley as they do Pantera. You wouldn't have bet on this being a success, but it's exactly this sort of incredible risk that deserves to pay off; throw in a bit of hip-hop, some reggae and a drum-and-bass beat or two and the half-pished crowd are lovin' it. Sheer class.

Then there was one. The Haunted, Swedish gods in their first UK festival appearance. The anticipation doesn't get any higher, and by the time Peter Dolving and the remaining members of legendary At The Gates are on-stage, we're ready for one last hour-long blast of ball-crushing metal. '99', 'Sabotage', 'Bury Your Dead', 'DOA', it's almost too tantalising as they roll out a greatest hits set with all the arrogance of a heavy metal Eric Cantona; collars turned up and heads held high, this lot know they're of a different class and have no problem with raising the bar. Even new unreleased efforts like 'The Medication' have us pissing our pants and, bizarrely, singing along to a chorus that we don't really know but pick up as we go. On a day of killer, stone-cold classic performances, The Haunted make everyone else look like amateurs - a fitting end to a Damnation Festival that truly proved its value to the scene.

Terrorizer Stage

Somewhat of a different tonic to the band they replaced, Speed Theory supply exactly what their name implies. Some breakneck riffs and slamming beats guiding their set to the large crowd gathered downstairs in the music box. Playing a sound that is quite a thrashy form of metalcore, the guys prove to be an excellent warm-up, and whether or not people believed they were suited to the downstairs bill, sheer determination alone makes them earn a place.

Up next are a bunch of crazy scots in the form of Madman Is Absolute, playing a much heavier and hardcore sound, the band prove themselves to the gathered horde. Scottish pride on show via a flag over the bass cab and a genuine sense of 'anything can happen next' certainly adds atmosphere to the event. One senses that it is only a matter of time that bands such as this will get the break they deserve. When you destroy an event like Damnation, that goal can only come closer.

Having replaced the superb Axis Of Perdition, Mistress simply set about trying to ruin everyone's day. Their aggressive sludge proves a dynamite addition to a stage already bursting at the seams with talent. Mistress provide a much different sound than expected during their set, sounding more like Anaal Nathrakh than the classic iron monkey sludge of old. For the crowd, this is a great tonic and extremely well recieved. As they close and announce an upcoming tour in November, the crowd scream for more, evidently the old adage of knocking them dead works once again.

If Mistress had lowered the tone, then Send More Paramedics remind us just how crazy the world of the dead can be. Lead singer B'Hellmouth staggering from the wings like he is performing a motion capture shot for the game 'Resident Evil' before crawling onto the stage and leading his band through a set of punk influence hardcore. Somehow bridging a sound between classic acts like Sick Of It All and DRI to classic undead punk The Misfits, SMP provide a balanced set between comedy and classic hardcore. As they dominate the stage, the crowd go nuts at the undead references and songs like 'Zombie Crew' truly carve their name upon the event as a whole.

As far as curveballs go, there are few that can possibly top the madness of Ephel Duath. Having a sound that is obsessively jazz, while at the same time as off the hook as Fantomas or The Melvins, truly catches the audience out. Everywhere one looks there is the sight of jaws agape at the wonderous musicianship of Davide Tiso and company. At the same time there is a real sense of 'what the hell is going?' hanging over the atmosphere. The band go down well, with songs like 'Vector third movement' it'd be hard not to, but one senses that festival crowds are not entirely suited to the offerings of such a mad bunch.

As they line-check the crowd already begin chanting their name but before they are announced and let loose on the stage everything goes off as Stampin' Ground say farewell to Manchester. As one of the few chances left to see the band, the crowd come out in force for a lesson in classic hardcore. Songs like 'Everybody Owes A Death' and 'Bear The Scars' result in absolute chaos, a room length 'Wall Of Death' being one of the obvious highs. But the band save the best bits for last, first launching through a cover of classic hardcore band Biohazard before ordering the crowd to invade the stage during their swansong 'Officer Down'. The sight of a small stage rammed full of fans and band members alike is one that will stick in the minds of all forever. A true moment of fan induced chaos and a thrillride enjoyed by all.

With an atmosphere one could never purchase in advance, Akercocke have a bit to live up to as the stage's headliner. The british quintet blaze through a set of their beautifully balanced black/death, songs like 'Verdelete' epitomising their hard-to-pin-down sound. Attired in white suits with ties and everything else, the band bring a sense of regal style to the gathered horde watching them. Despite the long changeover, the band go down a storm and prove a very fitting end to this day called Damnation.