FESTIVAL REVIEW: UK Tech-Fest 2019 – Thursday

Now something of a Mecca for tech fans across the world, the handsomely acclaimed UK Tech-Fest finally made its grand return to Nottinghamshire earlier this month. As expected, a mouthwatering lineup and a pulsing ambience were the key themes of the week, appeasing the eyes, ears and minds of all ages and persuasions. From death metal legends and instrumental shredsters, right the way through to pop-core up-and-comers, this year truly had a pinch of everything. Combined with the beating sunshine and general adornment of jollity, UK Tech-Fest 2019 was, needless to say, very much an event to savour, with Simon Garrod and his entourage pulling it well and truly out of the bag once again. However, the music itself was of course the main spectacle of the week, so let’s take a look at how Thursday panned out.

THE HUMAN VEIL – Fireball Stage 

One of the UK underground scene’s latest prodigies, Manchester’s THE HUMAN VEIL clearly came with a master-plan to shake off the rust among the early-bird crowds, executing it perfectly as riffs and unbridled heaviness rained upon UK Tech-Fest‘s second stage. Confidence and energy oozed from the stage as the quintet rifled through a series of breakdowns, metalcore riffs, hook-laden choruses and ambient/orchestral sections, ultimately laying claim to some of the weekend’s first mosh pits. Unfortunately, being virtually a brand new band, their performance was tainted by a few standout factors. Perhaps due to a lack of live experience, frontman Matt Wall struggled to pull off the entire, eclectic range of vocals enveloped in the songs, appearing to strain and tire his voice at time. Secondly, the orchestral and synth elements unfortunately came across as somewhat benign, being poorly balanced and drowned out by the live instrumentation. Despite this, the up-and-comer outfit did well to maintain their energy and project it onto the crowd for the duration of their set, ultimately doing themselves proud on their UK Tech-Fest debut.

Rating: 7/10

THE MECHANIST – Fireball Stage

By pure coincidence, the next band on our Thursday radar shared a number of qualities with the former: again, Leeds-based, metalcore-inspired, and currently emerging from the woodwork. THE MECHANIST followed in their Lancashire counterparts’ footsteps effortlessly, this time bringing the pace and energy with their brand of technical, melodic metalcore. Despite the fast, complex nature of the sound, the outfit did relatively well to present their craft with coherence and competency. A varied mix of vocals topped things off nicely, very much adding to the expansive nature of the sound, but unfortunately falling slightly short in the end, with the delivery of the clean singing often cowering in the shadow of the devilish screaming. Moreover it must be said that, being a fresh act, it seems as though this band are yet to hit a calibre of tightness that adequately compliments the erratic, technical nature of the sound. However, with plenty of musicianship clearly on display, it seems as though THE MECHANIST are just a stones throw away from achieving that.

Rating: 7/10

VOICES FROM THE FUSELAGE – LINE 6 Stage

An act that were beginning to feel like a long lost gem in the UK tech metal scene, VOICES FROM THE FUSELAGE made their long-awaited UK Tech-Fest return this year – and boy was it worth the wait. In short, this outfit succeeded in taking their often, slow, progressive and ambient record sound, and translating it into something utterly explosive for a live setting. Bass and drums provided a crisp, robust backdrop, as ambient tremolo riffing screamed relentlessly over the mix, compelling jaws to drop throughout the crowd. Of course, the familiar face of former TESSERACT frontman Ashe O’Hara was present to complete the picture, proving to be on sparkling form as ever. As expected, he was absolutely pitch perfect, executing a wide spectrum of vocals to complement each section, and doing so immaculately. Heavier, breakdown-esq sections appeared sporadically, but sparked little movement purely due to the band’s awe-inspiring, shoegaze-esq sound and presence, leaving each member of the crowd with their feet glued to the floor and their eyes glued to the stage. One comes to expect professionalism from VOICES FROM THE FUSELAGE, but particularly for a band returning from hiatus, this was a simply stunning performance.

Rating: 10/10

POLARIS – LINE 6 Stage 

POLARIS have made a real splash since the release of The Mortal Coil late last year. Having already garnered enough respect and influence to land a slot on a stadium tour with ARCHITECTS, the expectations were high among the punters ahead of their performance at UK Tech-Fest, and they certainly did not disappoint. Aggression and energy radiated from the stage throughout, as the Aussie quintet rattled through the vast majority of their material, sending the main stage swathes into delirium in the process. Their sound was crisp, balanced and watertight, with esteemed frontman Jamie Hails topping things off with his wraith-like range of screams and arresting stage presence, and bassist Jake Steinhauser belting out every clean chorus with gusto and professionalism. This was a performance that represented everything POLARIS stand for – fun, energy and musicianship in equal measure – and one that made a colossal impact on the UK Tech Fest faithful.

Rating: 9/10

JON GOMM – LINE 6 Stage

Bringing a significant change of tempo to wrap up Thursday’s lineup, Blackpool’s JON GOMM graced the main stage for a 90-minute feast of techy, acoustic entertainment. Despite at first striking as a bizarre headliner choice almost, Gomm made his point clear almost immediately, more than justifying the prestigious slot and mesmerising all in attendance. With the security barrier removed and a large portion of the room seated on the stone floor, a strong sense of serenity and peace coursed throughout the crowd as Jon proceeded to rifle through song after song of tapping, soloing, harmonising and drumming, all with just an acoustic guitar. Each song provoked a range of emotions, ranging from awe, to euphoria, to solemnity, going round in circles and keeping everyone on their toes throughout. And music aside, Jon‘s sheer whimsy, joie de vivre and excellent rapport with the crowd went a long way in embellishing his set and establishing his headliner status. In other words, this performance felt like it truly had a little bit of everything, providing endless entertainment and forcing a smile onto the faces of everyone in the room – exactly what a headliner should be able to achieve. Despite our prospectus, this was the performance of the day.

Rating: 10/10

And that concludes our coverage of Thursday’s action of this year’s UK Tech-Fest! Keep posted to Distorted Sound as we bring you our review round of Friday, Saturday and Sunday soon!