Ordo Ad Chao: RADAR Festival - Victoria Warehouse, Manchester (4/7/25)

Poor old RADAR has had a pretty rough time of it this week. Saturday's headliners Bob Vylan's performance at Glastonbury prompted pressure on the festival to remove them from the line up which they eventually did and this in turn resulted in abuse and death threats.

RADAR is a bit of a curious festival. I can't quite work out what they actually cater to. They have progressive, djent, emo, synthwave and metalcore bands but there doesn't seem to be one style more than the other and some of the genres don't really overlap with others meaning that it is difficult to say who their target audience is. Safe to say, it probably isn't me although I did enjoy myself last year and this year I'm drawn by just two bands this evening, Zeal & Ardor and Carpenter Brut.

As December Falls are the first band I manage to catch and they open with a slick slice of pop rock. I don't really see much difference between them and when the likes of Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo or Kelly Clarkson incorporate guitars into their music. The second track 'Angry Cry' is more bass heavy and has a dancier vibe but is still following that pop rock template. There's something a little contrived about them whether it's the calls for dancing in the pit or the between song patter. It all seems a bit lightweight. The crowd clearly don't agree and they go down pretty well although the crowd seems a bit sparse. They have a knack for writing pretty catchy choruses but that isn't enough, I'm afraid.

Future Palace are an altogether heavier proposition. The opener 'Malphas' mixes synth pop verses with a Disturbed style stomp on the chorus. 'Uncontrolled' has a similar quiet-loud dynamic and still has a Disturbed influence. The singer isn't David Draiman though so that's a major advantage. The singer Maria Lessing is pretty good with a decent range which shifts between carrying poppy choruses and screaming savagely. The bouncy 'Defeating Gravity' is pretty decent in a Linkin Park way. There are a number of metalcore influences, from the singer's screams and growls to the heavy breakdowns. One track has a terrible rapped verse but a great screamed chorus. They are joined by Charlie Rolfe from As Everything Unfolds for 'The Echoes Of Disparity' and the chemistry between the two singers is fantastic. As good as they are, I decide to leave about fifteen minutes from the end so I can get a good spot for Zeal & Ardor.

Zeal & Ardor open with 'The Bird, The Lion And The Wildkin'. It's hard to distinguish the vocals but the bass drops are incredible. 'Wake Of A Nation' sees the sound improved and the vocal interplay is excellent. 'Götterdämmerung's blackened attack is fantastic. 'Ship On Fire' sees the mixure of what they call 'slave spirituals' (think 1800s American farm workers singing in the fields) with a pulsating metal assault. The arpeggiated opening of 'Erase' gives way to a heavy, rhythmic blitz like Radiohead gone post-metal. They are a unique band and it feels visceral and exciting in a live setting. 'Gravedigger's Chant' is spine-tingling. 'Kilonova' has a Rage Against The Machine guitar riff but the vocal harmonies really elevate it. The epic 'Fend You Off' is both doomy and progressive. 'Blood In The River's mix of soul spirituals with black metal is staggering. All three vocalists are amazing individually but together they are a force, like vocal Power Rangers. 'Run' is reminiscent of Ihsahn's post-Emperor work, and is particularly intense. 'Row Row' is like a black metal 'Iko Iko' and is phenomenal. 'Sugarcoat's Queens Of The Stone Age style alt rock is a welcome change of pace and intensity but is still deceptively heavy. The stuttering riffs of 'Death To The Holy' are incredible. I feel like I've exhausted my thesaurus of superlatives so I decide to stop trying but it's hard when every song is mindblowing. The electronic enhancements to the closing 'Clawing Out' sound incredible. An utter triumph.

Carpenter Brut open with a super heavy combination of synths, guitars and drums along with a light show so intense it could destroy retinas. The second track is catchy synthwave with what sounds like Kristoffer Rygg's vocals added on top. This is the soundtrack to a hundred John Carpenter movies amplified in volume and heaviness and made super danceable. 'Beware The Beast' is extremely catchy and features a neat guitar solo too. The light show is phenomenal and often gives a dystopian sci fi feel, like how the future is depicted in The Terminator movies. When the guitar takes a backseat, they verge a little too close to '80 synth pop. They are better with crushing guitars. They are better when it's heavy. Their cover of 'Maniac' predictably sends the crowd wild. It is a joyous sight watching so many metallers singing along and 'dancing like they've never danced before'. The guitarist absolutely nails the guitar solo too.