FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Damnation Festival 2023
Having taken a massive leap of faith by moving to the 6,000 capacity BEC Arena in Manchester, last year’s Damnation Festival was very much make or break. But, after a resounding success with last year’s gamble, the festival has further cemented itself as a vital event in the heavy metal calendar. Now, with 2023’s edition on the horizon and boasting a bolstered A Night Of Salvation Friday pre-show alongside the main day’s action, Damnation Festival 2023 is the biggest and best in their history, bolding stating that they are Europe’s biggest indoor metal festival. Ahead of the action next week, we break down the lineup to give you the insight on who you should see at this year’s festival!
Damnation‘s pre-show, A Night Of Salvation, has existed almost as long as the festival itself but for 2023, simply calling it a pre-show would be a great disservice. 2023’s A Night Of Salvation is not only populated with numerous quality bands, but many of them bringing exclusive full-album sets to Manchester. Friday headliners, and masters of melancholic metal, KATATONIA arrive to perform 2012’s Dead End Kings in its entirety whilst a double hitter of Norway’s ENSLAVED and LEPROUS performing Below The Lights and Coal will be highlights of the day.
Elsewhere, there’s respected extreme metallers AKERCOCKE performing Chorozon in its entirety, masked black metal ensemble THE INFERNAL SEA further cementing their status as one of the UK’s finest black metal bands whilst UK post-metallers BOSSK will leave jaws on the floors as they run through 2016’s Audio Noir. And with Japanese cult black metallers SIGH performing 1993’s Scorn Defeat to celebrate its 30 year anniversary, A Night Of Salvation intends to have many moments that will go down in the history books.
With the highly respected Church Road Records sponsoring a stage, the label will be bringing some of their flagship names to warm up the Damnation Festival crowd. From death metal savagery CELESTIAL SANCTUARY, thrashing mayhem from INHUMAN NATURE, TUSKAR‘s album set of Matriarch, or the incendiary HERIOT; to see a snapshot of the future of British metal, look no further than the Church Road Records Stage at A Night Of Salvation.
On its own merits, A Night Of Salvation has more than enough on offer to leave fans satisfied but for the main event, Damnation Festival have curated a line-up covering every nook and cranny of the heavy music ecosystem. Doom connoisseurs ELECTRIC WIZARD headline the day in their only UK show of the year, whilst KATATONIA will perform their second set running a victory lap across their extensive discography, as do ENSLAVED who will revisit 1994’s debut, Vikingligr Veldi, in a full album set.
If high-octane action is more your bag, then metalcore veterans UNEARTH will conjure a storm as they blister through 2004’s The Oncoming Storm, crossover thrashers HIGH COMMAND will make their long-awaited UK debut whilst UNDEATH, CREPITATION and COFFIN MULCH will pulverise the Holy Goat Brewing Stage with their brand of death metal.
Elsewhere, AMENRA will conjure an enormous wall of sound and leave those present feeling like they have had a religious experience, KHEMMIS‘ doom-tinged heavy metal will have fists pumping the sky, whilst the colossal doom of AHAB or KUROKUMA will have a sea of heads banging. Throw in post-rock bliss from MAYBESHEWILL or NORDIC GIANTS, and it’s clear that there is something for everyone at this year’s Damnation Festival.
Year after year, Damnation Festival delivers a snapshot of the best in heavy music and with 2023’s festival, they have done it once again. We’ll see you down the front.
Damnation Festival 2023 takes place at BEC Arena, Manchester on November 3rd-4th 2023. Tickets are available now and can be purchased here.
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