FESTIVAL REVIEW: Damnation Festival 2021
Damnation Festival is the festival most metal fans await for the most as each year passes. The mixture of different genres is at its most diverse here. From tech-death to black metal to doom, its guaranteed that there will be someone on the bill for everyone. Last year, the chance to see everyone together once more was snatched away by COVID-19, and whilst the virus still lingers, thankfully it was safe enough to go ahead once more. After a night of chaos with pre-show A Night Of Salvation, the main event returns to Leeds for one last time before the big move to Manchester, Distorted Sound got to venture for possibly the most special event of the year to see some of the finest bands in metal.
CRYPTIC SHIFT – Tone MGMT Stage
Having dwelled in the underground for many a year, for CRYPTIC SHIFT, last year’s Visitations From Enceladus was their proverbial battering ram to kick down the door and proudly announce themselves to the wider metal world. Being tasked with opening Damnation Festival‘s second stage is no easy task, but having the audacity to dedicate the vast majority of their time on stage to the 25 minute Moonbelt Immolator is quite simply ludicrous. But my word, do the band pull it off with some style.
Mind-bending guitar-work? Check. Thumping passages that just incite the head to bang? Check. A slick chemistry and willingness to lap up the crowd’s attention? Check. CRYPTIC SHIFT ticked all the right boxes and ensured the festival kicked off with a bang, and although there were some heavy heads in the crowd (likely due to last night’s revelries), the band can consider their performance at Damnation Festival a job well done.
Rating: 8/10
Words: James Weaver
EVILE – Jagermeister Stage
Long time attendees of the festival will have no doubt seen EVILE playing Damnation Festival before, but this time around they seem just that little bit tighter and even more aggressive than usual. Even their older material, which is, in its own right quite ferocious and sharp, seems to be reinvigorated with the same degree of energy as the new tracks from Hell Unleashed, with Ol Drake providing a caustic, harsher edge to proceedings, proving that he’s a more than capable of filling his brother’s shoes as both frontman and lead guitarist. Between this fiercer sound, excellent performances on all fronts and the as always rabid near-hometown crowd, they inject a healthy dose of adrenaline into the early hours of the festival.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Danny Sanderson
URNE – Cult Never Dies Stage
There’s a lot of hype surrounding URNE and rightly so. The London-based trio have been riding the wave of momentum since the release of their stellar debut album, Serpent & Spirit, and with a triumphant outing at Bloodstock under their collective belts, there was great anticipation to see how the trio would fair in the much more intimate confines of the Cult Never Dies Stage. Well, as it turns out, URNE in an intimate environment is a match made in heaven.
Up close and personnel with the packed crowd, the band – led by Joe Nally – are gripping from the first thumping riff to the last. With the grooves of their riffing, particularly in Serpent & Spirit, offering accessibility for the uninitiated alongside Nally‘s confident vocal deliveries, URNE are a treat to experience live in the flesh and based off their rapturous reception upon their conclusion, we can only imagine that even greater things await the band in the near future.
Rating: 9/10
BOSSK – Jagermeister Stage
Moving from savage, death-tinged thrash of EVILE to haunting, groove-laden sludge, BOSSK take to the Jagermeister Stage, and prove to extremely atmospheric and beguiling, and not just from a musical and stage presence perspective. The band’s huge stage show is so immersive and hypnotic, almost as if they’re being backed by a swirling sea of stars, a complimentary set of visuals for their impressive dense, yet engrossing, music that makes sure that their time on stage is an exceptionally memorable for all the right reasons, standing head and shoulders above many of the other bands performing today.
Rating: 9/10
VIDEO NASTIES – Cult Never Dies Stage
If there wasn’t enough energy at the Cult Never Dies stage, Merseyside-based black ‘n’ roll metal band VIDEO NASTIES certainly make sure the maximum gauge for chaos is off the scale. As hard-hitting and horror film-esque riffs are thrown out at full volume to accompany the raw vocals of Damian Von Talbot, pits open up and crowd surfers fly across the room on inflatable sharks. With fan-favourites such as Stay Gold, Hanging Tree and Viva Death being played by the band, there is absolutely no doubt that they are highlight of the festival for many people. With spirited performances like this one, they are the band to watch out for. The only main issue of their set is the conflict of knowing they could be on a much bigger stage but wanting to keep them in a small, sticky, dark room all to yourself.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Jessica Howkins
WODE – Cult Never Dies Stage
Mancunian black metal band WODE have a unique tone to their sound and as they belt out songs such as Lunar Madness, Fire In The Hills and Sulphuric Glow it’s easy to understand why they are so cherished within the UK scene. Fast-paced riffs, demanding vocals and thick blast beats make for an atmosphere filled with immense dread, and yet, there is still that level that encourages the crowd that they can still have a wild party. If anything, WODE prove that black metal can be accessible and fun without losing the atmosphere and all-round perception of what comes with the genre. Damnation was made for bands like these.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Jessica Howkins
CONJURER – Tone MGMT Stage
Judging from the very fact the room of the Tone MGMT Stage at Damnation Festival is packed to the brim with punters, all vying for a spot to watch CONJURER, it’s clear that the band have been marked as one of must watch acts of the day. It’s been three years since Mire’s release and it seems that the hype and excitement surrounding the band is showing no signs of slowing down. For the band themselves, Damnation Festival is just another day at the office and the band unleash an aural barrage of bombastic proportions.
The riffs are gargantuan in size and impact, Brady Deeprose and Dan Nightingale‘s dual vocal deliveries still pack an almighty punch and Conor Marshall‘s neck muscles receive yet another workout. At this point, there’s not enough superlatives to describe the heaviness of CONJURER live and with Damnation seemingly closing the book on the Mire chapter; the band are in pole position to truly make the metal world their own.
Rating: 8/10
Words: James Weaver
GODFLESH – Jagermeister Stage
It seems odd seeing a band as groundbreaking and influential as GODFLESH playing so early on, and considering that the band has eight albums worth of incredibly impressive material to draw from, much of it lengthy, crafting a setlist that provides something for everyone was always going to be tricky. Much like BOSSK before them, they manage to not only use strong visuals and an ominous command of the stage to blow revellers away, but also deliver some of their best tracks, drawing heavily from not only early albums like Streetcleaner and Pure, but also later releases like Post-Self and A World Lit Only By Fire, making sure than old and new fans alike get to go away happy.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Danny Sanderson
REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER – Eyesore Merch Stage
As of late, France seems to be one of those countries that is delivering some of the best black metal to date. Amongst those names is REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER. Filling the Eyesore Merch stage with an eerie atmosphere, fans of the band are captivated in an almost trance-like state. That is, until some of the band’s heavier moments in which heads bang in unison, pits open up and a wall of death consumes most of the floor. With everything that is going on with bands from outside of the UK being hit and miss with making it to perform, when you’re graced with a performance that is as delicate yet volatile as this one, you know that the risks were worth it. It is a shame that the UK hasn’t seen more of REGARDE over the past years, but after this performance, we might be up for more of the treats they delivered tonight.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Jessica Howkins
HELLRIPPER – Cult Never Dies Stage
Damnation Festival has always had a strong curation of the best of British, but given the complications still surrounding international travel, this year’s billing is a feast of quality. For HELLRIPPER, the blackened thrashers are riding high on the back of 2020’s stupendously good The Affair Of The Poisons. What awaits James McBain and company is a throng of people, packing the Cult Never Dies Stage to capacity and what follows is utter bedlam.
Keeping the adrenaline-surging forward at 100mph, HELLRIPPER‘s blend of black thrash is just made for a stage like this. From The Affair Of The Poison‘s title track’s grooves and blackened blasts, Total Mayhem doing exactly what it says on the tin or a fantastic cover of VENOM‘s Black Metal, HELLRIPPER not only ensure that a fresh bout of adrenaline is injected into any stragglers, but also that they have made their mark on the goodwill gathered from last year. Watch this space, you get the feeling this something greater lies in wait.
Rating: 9/10
Words: James Weaver
PARADISE LOST – Jagermeister Stage
Next up at the Jagermeister Stage, PARADISE LOST take the stage to perform Gothic, the first of many of the band’s truly classic records, in its entirety. It really is a testament to the quality of this album that, even over 30 years since its initially release, it still stands up and gets a great reaction from a crowd, with the addition of Darker Thoughts and Ghost from Obsidian showcasing just how great they remain on the songwriting front. It’s a powerful and suitably, well, gothic experience it’s very hard not to get fully immersed in.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Danny Sanderson
CARCASS – Jagermeister Stage
It’s hard to believe that it’s been eight long years since CARCASS made their triumphant return with Surgical Steel but here we are. Armed with a new record and making their first live appearance since lockdown, CARCASS‘ headlining slot at Damnation Festival is nothing short of a celebration as Jeff Walker and company provide a set more than worthy of its headlining status.
Across an expansive set that touches upon every era of the iconic band, the band are on incendiary form. Incarnated Solvent Abuse kicks the set off in fine fashion, Unfit For Human Consumption‘s slick melodic-led riffing ensures that heads are banging aplenty and the inclusion of both Genital Grinder and Exhume To Consume from their gore-laden early days sees utter bedlam erupt in the packed crowd. With material from this year’s solid Torn Arteries sounding mightily impressive, with Dance of Ixtab in particular sounding even heftier in a live setting, CARCASS ensured that Damnation Festival‘s final year in Leeds ends on a triumph.
Rating: 9/10
Words: James Weaver
