After yesterdays bill full of many debutants, Damnation's second day in this 20th anniversary edition sees the return of many favourites including the headliners Napalm Death.
Ted Maul are one of those returning bands, as they were persuaded to reform for the festival. The phrase 'Ted Maul disturbs' echoes around the arena whilst an ominous beat plays out on repeat before the band starts. I remembered them as being death metal with electronic dance elements but they seem more like modern metal with a hardcore influence today. I can hear Lamb Of God and Stampin' Ground in their sound but they are much more generic than I expected. 'Spherical Lie' has some cascading waves of chugging riffs but the faster parts are just average I'm afraid. There are less hip hop and electronic elements than I expected on the couple of tracks I catch so I decide to go and have a sit down before Conjurer (which doesn't actually happen as I end up buying patches instead).
Having recently released their new album, 'Unself', Conjurer find themselves playing to a large crowd as the first band on the main stage. The opening, plaintive campfire chords of 'Unself' play via a backing track whilst Dan sings along. Feedback continues to grow before bursting into pained sludge which then stops abruptly. 'All Apart' starts with clean post-rock guitars which then becomes incredibly heavy post-metal, and the slow, grinding climax is very satisfying. Their mixture of sludge and post-metal with blackened elements is a masterclass in balance, never overdoing the fast or slow and seamlessly mixing the ingredients into something that is more than the sum of their parts and is uniquely Conjurer. An excellent 'Let Us Live' is dedicated to LGBT+ community. The frenetic blasting of the closing 'Choke' is awesome and the little Maiden-esque flourish towards the end is fun too. An excellent showing from a band on the up.
The opening track from <code> has a two-stepping metal feel reminiscent of Carcass' 'Corporal Jigsore Quandary' although the vocals put it firmly in black metal territory. There is a rolling rhythm to the music which is quite addictive. The cleanly sung part in 'The Rattle Of Black Teeth' is hugely impressive as Wacian possesses a clean voice which wouldn't be out of place in a classic metal band. The guitars sound razor sharp whilst the double kick drumming powers them along in an excellent fashion. There is a progressive nature to much of what they play and some of the cleaner parts remind me of Queensrÿche whilst this is balanced with a classic Emperor style blackened attack. The buzzsaw guitar of 'Possession In The Medicine' is pretty impactful. I still can't get blackened Queensrÿche out of my head though.
I was intending to take an extended break at this point but having seen and really liked Coilgun's merch, I decide to go and check them out which proves to be the best decision I could have made. Frontman Louis Jucker shakes all of the front row's hands before they start, getting the audience clearly on their side. They are part noise rock, part screamo and a large part At The Drive In style art rock. The At The Drive In element comes from Jucker's presence which owes a lot to Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The noise rock element comes from that dense bass guitar sound. The whistling during 'Placeholders' adds a quirkiness that balances the intensity. Their sound is so dynamic whilst their energy brings bands like Birds In Row to mind. The punchy 'Generic Skincare' sees Louis scarily scale the speaker I'm standing underneath. Thankfully, it doesn't collapse on me. The electronics used in 'Bunker Vaults' reverberates through my skull, and it feels amazing. Every song is utterly thrilling and you cannot take your eyes off the band, particularly Louis. The breakneck punk of 'We Missed The Parade' is amazing and sees a pit break out in the crowd. The stage crew have fits every time Louis ventures out into the crowd (which is often) as they struggle to give him enough mic lead to wander, The final few uptempo numbers are just pure chaos. I don't say this lightly but they bring back memories of At The Drive In at the Star & Garter which is the best show I've ever been to. Spoiler: Coilguns were easily the band of the weekend for me.
Primordial's epic pagan metal is an opportunity to calm down a little as they are much more measured in their approach. The slower intro to 'Gods To The Godless' highlights that these tracks could probably be folk songs if they were removed of the distortion, pounding drums and Alan Averill's impassioned vocals. 'To Hell Or The Hangman' is galloping and epic. Alan's vocals have a real authority to them and his lyrics paint a vivid picture. 'The Coffin Ships' rocks and rolls like the seas the titular vessels would have sailed on. A powerful and epic 'Empire Fall' is an excellent way to close the set.
Over on the second stage Hellripper are ripping out their razor sharp speed metal. At their heart, they are playing AC/DC riffs infused with a punk rock attitude and thrash metal speed but it is played with such a vicious energy that it hardly matters because it fucking slays. This is metal so quick, so precise and so sharp that it rips, tears, maims and kills. The new single 'Kinchyle (Goatkraft And Granite) has a Mötörhead feel live (on record I'd say it has more of a Judas Priest influence), only faster. This type of metal is just made to bang your head, pump your fist, jump about and just generally have a big shit eating grin on your face. The drumming is great and just drives the whole thing forward at a breakneck pace. The final track sees an insane number of crowdsurfers go over the barrier (at mainman James' request). Absolutely fantastic.
Incisive guitars, drumming so fast it could be a drum machine and Dave Hunt's throat shredding screams along with his more operatic voice all make Anaal Nathrakh a unique proposition and one that has real impact. It's incredibly heavy, intense and feels almost overwhelming. I haven't been able to say this about many bands in the main arena but they sound great wherever you stand, even at the back, which is just as well because the main stage is absolutely packed, probably the most full it's been all weekend. A tribute to Tomas 'Tompa' Lindberg who passed away a few weeks ago, gets a big cheer from the crowd. 'When The Lion Devours Both Dragon And Child' is more conventional death metal and has much more of a groove but is no less effective or intense. Punishing.
Nordic Giants' music and visuals are inextricably linked in their live performance. The opening film 'In Shadow' is an animated, Jamie Hewlett style commentary on consumerism, the pharmaceutical industry and government control. The music is epic post-rock with some lovely piano melodies that build and build. 'The Gift' is set in an aristocratic Russia where a man gives a gift to a rich family in a world populated by robots. A robot ends up taking the gift following a murder and it then becomes an I Robot style thriller with the climax beautifully soundtracked by a piece that has real emotion. The third track is much more urgent which then becomes elegant and elegiac. The accompanying film, 'The Walk Home', is another animated piece showing how terrifying urban life can be. The Radiohead style fourth track is beautiful and absolutely soars, with the recorded vocals adding an extra dimension. The fifth film, 'Pencilhead', is as amazing as ever, cribbing from Miyazaki, Tank Girl and Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. It's hard to separate the visuals from the music, as they are symbiotic. 'Sundays' is terrifying, as are most of these films.
An eerie backing track with plucked strings and a howling wind plays before Spectral Wound start their set. They play powerful black metal with lots of tremolo guitar but their sound still has a bit of beef to it. Their windswept, icy blasting is great but when they slow it down a touch it becomes undeniable. They can thunder along at a terrific pace though, often taking you along with them. The singer Jonah sounds great with his harsh, tortured screams. There's a buoyant energy to Spectral Wound, and their brand of black metal could almost be described as uplifting, especially when they hit those galloping rhythms.
Warning are headlining the third stage tonight, playing their 'Watching From A Distance' album in full. They are slow and weighty with mournful guitars and that's before Patrick Walker even opens his mouth for the title track. He has a voice which can make grown men cry, and a few are even though we are only a few moments into their set. The guitars almost act as a separate voice making it a haunted, mournful duet and there is such beauty to it. It's elegant and classy, crawling along at a snail's pace with plenty space between each note. Imagine Michael Stipe fronting Candlemass and you're somewhere close. 'Footprints' starts off even heavier with a cavernous guitar tone but it has more of a groove to it as we reach the verse. 'Bridges' slows it down further but Patrick's voice is such that you hang on every word, every single note. It's utterly mesmerising. When he hits the 'aah aah aah' part at the the end, he soars and it sounds like the greatest thing you've ever heard. 'Faces' sounds colossal. More and more people are crying at this point. Patrick seems a bit overwhelmed by the crowd reaction at the end of the track. The bass tone during 'Echoes' is bowel shaking but Patrick soars above the despair whilst also adding to it. A moving, masterful performance.
Over on the second stage, Wiegedood have been playing their 'De Doden Hebben Het Goed' trilogy in full (spanning a staggering 100 minutes). I intended to watch the second half of the set but I'm physically and emotionally spent. I watch a few minutes and it sounds fantastic but my screaming body can't take any more so that brings an end to my Damnation. It was probably the best one I've been to, although yesterday was probably the better day.
Warning *****
Spectral Wound ****
Nordic Giants ****
Anaal Nathrakh ****
Hellripper *****
Primordial ****
Coilguns *****
<code> ****
Conjurer ****
Ted Maul **
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