FESTIVAL REVIEW: Damnation Festival 2023
Although the nights are drawing in and the temperatures plummeting with festival season a distant memory, Damnation Festival brings some heavy metal cheer in the colder nights. Year on year, the annual event showcases some of the best and established names across the metal spectrum, alongside catapulting exciting emerging talent to bigger stages. After making the big jump to Manchester’s BEC Arena last year, for 2023, Damnation Festival (and pre-show A Night Of Salvation) boasts arguably one of the strongest bills in the festival’s history, with a diverse roster and plenty of special album performance sets. Team DS were on the ground for this year’s blockbuster event, here’s what went down.
A Night Of Salvation – Friday – November 3rd
CELESTIAL SANCTUARY – Church Road Records Stage
Death metal, especially British death metal, has enjoyed a resurgence in recent times – spearheaded by Cambridge’s CELESTIAL SANCTUARY. And at Damnation Festival, the band kickstart A Night Of Salvation in the finest possible way; with a bucketload of buzzsaw riffs. Riding high on the momentum of this year’s Insatiable Thirst For Torment, the band are on scorching form with Matt Adnett and Thomas Cronin deploy riff after sick riff, whilst the latter’s guttural snarls cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter. Backed with visuals depicting vintage footage of DOOM, it’s a gory and aurally violent barrage – a perfect opening to this year’s Damnation.
Rating: 8/10
INHUMAN NATURE – Church Road Records Stage
Crossover thrash is born for the live stage and in INHUMAN NATURE, the London thrashers serve up an early dose of adrenaline to keep momentum at an all time high. Following the bruising of CELESTIAL SANCTUARY is no easy feat, but the band’s potency for head-banging riffs makes it look easy. They blister through their set in what feels like a blink of an eye, with the snappy Ride The Apocalypse encouraging a sea of heads to bang along in rhythm whilst set closer Under The Boot sees fists raised in the sky as frontman Christopher Barling rides the wave. Crossover thrash might be commonly associated with our friends across the Atlantic, but INHUMAN NATURE proudly fly the flag for home-grown talent.
Rating: 9/10
BOSSK – Pins & Knuckles Stage
Named after a minor alien character in Star Wars and dwelling in the depths of Kent, the Ashford quintet brought their spacey brand of sludgy, post-metal to the Pins & Knuckles Stage with an incredible array of celestial and cosmic visuals. BOSSK certainly are masters of atmosphere, their set offered up a moment of relative calm after chaotic sets on the other stages. Slow, hypnotic and celestial, the room was drenched in purple haze and twinkling stars as BOSSK worked their way through a mixture of ambient and riff filled songs. Deeply meditative and thought provoking, BOSSK took you on a journey to the far reaches of the cosmos and beyond. Despite the enormity of their sound, they didn’t grab your attention in the same way as the other bands in the genre, with a steady stream of people moving in and out between songs disrupted the immersion. Despite this, BOSSK still put on an enjoyable show, with a perfectly balanced setlist, the Damnation crowd were treated to luscious, atmospheric layers augmented by wonderfully heavy and fuzzy riffs. While it didn’t blow people away, they definitely gave you enough to want to seek them out for when they’re on tour next.
Rating: 7/10
THE INFERNAL SEA – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
No strangers to Damnation Festival, and the wider UK extreme metal scene at large, anonymous collective THE INFERNAL SEA have been one of UK black metal’s most prolific names. And at Damnation 2023, the band continue to prove why they are such a terrific force for our scene. A cacophony of razor sharp riffs, blastbeats and howling vocals leave the crowd stunned as the band’s intensity rarely threatens to dip. For those that have experienced the band in previous years, it feels very much business as usual, and at this point, THE INFERNAL SEA resemble a well-oiled machine for aural destruction. And with new album Hellfenlic on the horizon, momentum is very much on their side.
Rating: 8/10
ENSLAVED – Pins & Knuckles Stage
The main stage is kitted out in light-projecting pillars, awaiting the arrival of Norway’s pre-eminent progressive black metallers ENSLAVED. The first of their two sets over the weekend celebrates the 20th anniversary of their seventh studio work Below The Lights, a record which sees them delve further into the psychedelic and progressive spectrum of extreme music. Opener As Fire Swept Clean The Earth has a hypnotic quality, with the Scandinavian men bathed in purple light. The Dead Stare is equally majestic, its extended breakdown feeling like a mix between krautrock, 70s DEEP PURPLE and IMMORTAL. Elsewhere the Viking chant of Havenless – itself a regular concert staple for them – is ridiculously fun to clap along to, with its Imperial Death March-like second movement only adding to the fun. The sound for the performance is pristine, with the dense wall-of-sound guitars and the entrancing synthesisers rendered crystal clear. Hearing the album in its entirety lands just how varied ENSLAVED can be – Ridicule Swarm is ferocious black metal, whilst the second half of A Darker Place feels like a precursor to future MASTODON masterpieces. The latter rounds off an excellent showcase for an even better album by one of the most consistent bands in the genre.
Rating: 9/10
HERIOT – Church Road Records Stage
You’re part of a rare group if you haven’t heard of HERIOT by now. For the benefit of the five people that have lived under a rock in the Outer Herberdies, they are easily one of the most promising bands in the country right now. The Swindon/Brimingham quartet smashed skulls and battered bodies with their bruising set on the Church Road Records Stage at Damnation Festival. Despite some technical difficulties with the bass, a slight rush before stage time, and getting off to a cold start, HERIOT managed to cruise through their performance with devastating efficiency. Their experimental brand of metallic hardcore/sludge never fails to exude a raw and abrasive energy in the live environment. It seems impossible for HERIOT to turn in a bad show, once the riffs start hammering down, the low synth drones rumble through your chest and the haunting shrieks of Debbie Gough pierce your ears, you are completely enraptured by their performance. HERIOT closed out their year with one last swing of the hammer and they didn’t disappoint, bringing 2023 to a thunderous close and setting themselves up for what will no doubt be another bumper year in 2024.
Rating: 9/10
LEPROUS – Pins & Knuckles Stage
The epic alarm-like opening to Foe opens another special album set, one that marks the 10th anniversary of Coal by Norwegian prog maestros LEPROUS. In their words, Coal is the first album in which they feel they fully found their own voice, and one can really hear that. Whether it’s the acapella outro of Foe or the heavy piano-rock of Chronic’s verse, the songs ooze a unique atmosphere and approach that no-one else quite manages to emulate. Both LEPROUS’ playing and the sound engineering are a work of atomic clockwork-like precision, but the note-perfect rendering is not at the expense of feeling. On stage, the Norwegians are a whirlwind force. Frontman Einar Solberg stomps his feet around the stage and belts out powerful falsettos, whilst behind him drummer Baard Kolstad looks at risk of tearing his arms off his shoulder joints. Echo delivers an absolute highpoint of the set, as it drones over another choir-like chorus that feels close to a religious experience. Closing the set is Contaminate Me, where Solberg delivers a respectable impression of the harsh vocals of his brother-in-law IHSAHN who guests on the original recording. On the basis of the strength and impact that they bring to every show they have done in the UK over the last few years, LEPROUS have to be in the conversation for being the most consistent live band at the moment.
Rating: 10/10
KATATONIA – Pins & Knuckles Stage
For over three decades, Sweden’s KATATONIA have been the masters of melancholic metal. Their sound is multi-faceted and has evolved considerably since their death-doom beginnings and they are an incredibly respected name in heavy music circles. As such, A Night Of Salvation sees the band rewind clocks to 2012 for a rare and special celebration of Dead End Kings.
The more sombre nature of Dead End Kings‘ full album playthrough might lack the urgency and explosive nature of earlier sets in the day, which leads to some calling time and heading for the doors, but for those front and centre, they marvel in a masterclass of emotion-driven metal. The Parting opens set as Jonas Renkse‘s sublime vocals cut through the sound with the utmost ease, whilst The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here shimmers with fragile tranquillity, reinforced by the welcome addition of album guest Silje Wergeland who has flown over especially for the performance. As the band masterfully execute the likes of This Racing Heart, Buildings and Leech, all whilst bathed in ethereal purple glow from the stage lights, it brings the curtain down on a magnificent first day at Damnation Festival.
Rating: 9/10
Damnation Festival – Saturday – November 4th
COFFIN MULCH – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Having released their brutal debut album, Spectral Intercession, back in June, Scotland’s COFFIN MULCH are riding a wave of momentum and cementing their place in the UK’s booming death metal revival. And despite being slapped on first on the day, with many nursing a heavy head from the day prior, the Glaswegians waste no time in blowing off the cobwebs with their brutal death metal. The likes of Into The Blood and Eternal Enslavement hit like a ten ton hammer as the band explosively announce themselves as yet another wicked band in the UK’s bountiful metal scene.
Rating: 8/10
NORDIC GIANTS – Pins & Knuckles Stage
Opening up the second day of Damnation Festival at twelve o’clock in the afternoon, was the enigmatic and thought provoking duo, NORDIC GIANTS. Known for displaying emotive, harrowing and evocative short films to accompany their ambient, instrumental post-rock, the pair known only as Loki and Rôka played a varied set list that captivated the audience from start to finish. Waves of luscious synth layers, mesmeric piano melodies and thunderous drums washed over you as the visual messages within the videos stunned you into silence. Whenever you watch NORDIC GIANTS you feel a variety of intense emotions build up inside you, no doubt a few tears were shed as the inhumane brutality of The Last Breath – a short film that sees human fighting for air in a world without oxygen – and the savage conditioning we are all experiencing through our devices. Despite this, their performance was as tight as ever, seamlessly transition into songs with sublime musicianship. With a varied setlist across all of their albums fans who were experiencing them for the first time got a good idea of what they were about. Even so, the emotional intensity of their set stayed with you for the rest of the day.
Rating: 8/10
KHEMMIS – Pins & Knuckles Stage
The UK has long awaited a KHEMMIS show on the shores, going back to way before COVID. Now with their first UK appearance on Damnation’s Pins & Knuckles Stage, the Denver quartet had their time to shine and unfortunately, it was a tad dull. Even though KHEMMIS seemed grateful to be here, the energy in the room was sadly quite flat. With the majority of the band being static throughout the performance, it took a long time for any injection of tangible energy. Despite the dual guitar wizardry of Phil Pendergast and Ben Hutcherson, it seemed to fall into the empty darkness of the BEC’s main stage area. While there is no doubt a significant appetite for KHEMMIS in the UK, many would have been checking them out for the first time and with no prior touring their performance on the main stage felt like a bit of a misfire. No doubt there will be an appetite for the band to tour the UK in the years to come, however their debut performance in the UK was a disappointingly lack lustre experience. So while you can chalk this one up as a miss, KHEMMIS should crack the UK.
Rating: 6/10
HIGH COMMAND – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Massachusetts’ HIGH COMMAND have been a long-time coming for Damnation Festival. Originally booked for 2021’s festival, before COVID-related complications forced their withdrawal, the crossover thrashers UK debut has been eagerly awaited and at Damnation 2023, the band do not disappoint. Wielding swords and a sound that many a POWER TRIP aficionado would be proud of, the band put pedal to the metal and leave jaws firmly planted on the floor. With enough hardcore bite in the swing of of Inexorable Darkness or the sheer thrash bliss of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation, HIGH COMMAND incite sheer chaos and cement themselves as a firm favourite amongst the Damnation faithful. The UK is very much their second home.
Rating: 10/10
UNEARTH – Pins & Knuckles Stage
It’s criminal that Massachusetts wrecking crew UNEARTH aren’t as celebrated as they rightfully deserve. The band were a focal point in metalcore’s heyday in the early 2000s, and now, decades later the Boston shredders are poised to tear it up on the main stage to celebrate 2004’s The Oncoming Storm in its entirety. And it is utterly exhilarating. The blistering pace of Black Hearts No Reign or the riff-laden Bloodlust Of The Human Condition rolls back the years and ignites the pits and bodies collide and the band ride the wave. Zombie Autopilot is still an absolute anthem in metal and although their set is over in the blink of an eye, for those present, they lap up every moment celebrating a band that played such a vital role in the development of heavy music at the start of the 21st Century.
Rating: 9/10
OHHMS – Eyesore Merch Stage
After abruptly announcing on November 1st that Damnation Festival was to be the band’s last ever show after a solid 10 year run supplying riffs and catchy hooks, their set was a poignant one. With the word END lighting up the digital screen behind them, the Canterbury quintet ripped into a blockbuster set, providing a plethora of riffs, melodies and four part, harmonies that were greatly appreciated by the audience at the Eyesore Merch Stage. As vocalist Paul Waller stated to the crowd “we had a good run”, their set felt like a punch in the guts and left you thinking “how could a band as brilliant as this want to call it quits?”, even so OHHMS’ set was a celebration of their tenure as heavyweights in the sludgy post-rock scene. With bodies and beer flying in the pit and the band pouring every ounce of sweat and tears into the performance, the seismic energy of the riffs were tangible. With the last crushing phases of The Anchor fading out, it was the perfect send off for a band that has been one of the pillars of the UK post-metal scene for over a decade.
Rating: 8/10
UNDEATH – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
UNDEATH are undoubtedly one of the shining lights among modern day old-school death metal bands, and their live show demonstrates why even more convincingly than their excellent studio output. Opener Rise From The Grave unleashes moshpits that won’t cease until the very last note the New Yorkers play, while Necrobionics ramps up the sense of aerobic fun that it is to dance to those deeply groovy riffs. Towering above this storm of bodies is frontman Alex Jones, looking like he’s won the lottery because he gets to do this. His infectious smile and energy are accompanied by winnable stage banter, such as his declaration that “death metal is a contact sport”, and encouraging moshers to form not a circle pit, but a square one. Make no mistake though – UNDEATH are not having any laughs when it comes to bonecrushing death metal riffage. Their riffs come with variety in style, tempo and groove, with the only common denominator being how consistently catchy they are. UNDEATH’s forty-five minutes of relentlessly fun, high-quality death metal end up being one of the absolute highlights of Damnation Festival 2023.
Rating: 10/10
AMENRA – Pins & Knuckles Stage
Enigmatic and darkly ethereal, Belgium’s AMENRA served up an intensely spiritual experience on the Pins & Knuckles Stage. Following on from their highly rated De Doorn album, this was a set not to be missed. With an eclectic style of metal that revolves around earth shattering riffs, haunting, ethereal atmospherics and the agonising shrieks of Colin H. van Eeckhout, for those who hadn’t seen AMENRA before, they were in for something out of this world. With religious imagery a key part of their aesthetic, ominous visuals were played on the screen behind them displaying decaying churches and dark ceremonial processions. Masters of building atmosphere, most tracks would start off with a long synth drone before gradually building to a point where the heaviness of the riffs when they came in would knock the soul out of your body. AMENRA spellbound their audience with their music and visuals, not once stopping to address the audience their air of mystery only accentuated the experience. It felt like your should was ascending throughout their entire set, looking to see what lies beyond the veil. AMENRA put on a truly impassioned and emphatic performance that left the audience stunned, making them a hard act to follow.
Rating: 9/10
KATATONIA – Pins & Knuckles Stage
After a triumphant set closing the main stage the previous night, what KATATONIA bring on the main day feels like somewhat of a downgrade. Back down to a four-piece (and the significant reliance on backing tracks that brings with it), the Swedes come on stage to a joyous reception but their performance is delayed by 15 minutes due to a technical fault with the musicians left to stand awkwardly on stage. When they do eventually start, they treat us to the worldwide live debut of No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall – a great song off 2023’s Sky Void Of Stars, but somewhat lacking in energy as a set opener. Things pick up pace with the familiar territory of Deliberation and Teargas, as well as a rare outing of Nephilim – a song combining crushing doom and ethereal beauty in equal measure. Despite the delay at the start, KATATONIA’s set finishes 10 minutes before its scheduled time, making this a rare off-day for an otherwise excellent live band.
Rating: 6/10
ENSLAVED – Pins & Knuckles Stage
After performing their seminal 2003 album Below The Lights in full on Friday’s A Night Of Salvation, Norwegian progressive black metal veterans ENSLAVED hit the stage again, this time to play seminal 1994 debut Vikingligr Veldi in its entirety. Bathed in the light of three giant runes; Algiz, Mannaz and Laguz, ENSLAVED stormed the stage sounding vastly better than they had the night before. Twenty years on and Vikingligr Veldi still sounds as raw and furious as ever, yet it also sounded fresh and new in this context. ENSLAVED’s albums have always been a eclectic mix of folk, metal and prog. Ultimately their set was a true celebration of the album. The magic of Ivar Bjørnson’s guitar playing alongside Grutle Kjellson’s humour and frontman credentials, ENSLAVED’s second set was a magical experience to behold. Emotive and spiritual, hearing songs that might not have seen the light of day for two decades is a special thing to experience. Its safe to say that those in attendance felt privileged to have not only seen the ENSLAVED perform twice but to hear two of their albums in full is incredibly special.
Rating: 8/10
ANAAL NATHRAKH – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Few bands embody the words ‘extreme metal’ as accurately as Birmingham’s ANAAL NATHRAKH. Their brand of all-guns-blazing death-black-grindcore constitutes an uncompromising sonic beating – a feeling the Manchester crowd is obviously craving, judging by the packed out second stage. A quick one-two punch of Acheronta Movebimus and Unleash sees Mike Hunt and gang stir up a huge moshpit from the onset. A special guest spot behind the drums is occupied by AKERCOCKE’s David Gray who expertly handles the machine-gun blastbeats and thunderous double-bass drums that the songs demand. For all their unhinged extremism, ANAAL NATHRAKH are also full of melody and catchiness, as shown by the majestic The Age of Starlight Ends which receives its live debut. Frontman Mike Hunt is on blistering form, juggling raspy shrieks and deep growls with epic, almost operatic cleans. Around him, frenzied live show and visuals on the video wall contribute to the overall sense of relentless sensory overload. The evening’s setlist presents a comprehensive walk over ANAAL NATHRAKH’s discography, before the anthemic Endarkenment rounds of a hurricane of a set by one of Britain’s finest extreme metal bands.
Rating: 9/10
MAYBESHEWILL – Eyesore Merch Stage
With ANAAL NATHRAKH conjuring the apocalypse over on the Holy Goat Brewing Stage, post-rock ensemble MAYBESHEWILL invoke a more serene atmosphere, but it is one that is as gripping as it is gorgeous. We’ve Arrived At The Burning Building and Zarah get the set off to a perfect start as the gorgeous keys intertwine with the post-rock riffs and from there, the band run a victory lap through their celebrated discography. Emotions run high and those present are utterly transfixed towards the stage and the sounds conjured by the band. It’s a stunning flourish and whilst there are certainly heavier bands on the bill, in a band like MAYBESHEWILL, post-rock is certainly welcome at Damnation Festival.
Rating: 9/10
ELECTRIC WIZARD – Pins & Knuckles Stage
With Damnation Festival being their only UK show of 2023, there was a palpable anticipation in the air before Dorset’s finest purveyors of doom ELECTRIC WIZARD hit the stage. As the double stacked amps and twin bass cabinet were rolled on to the stage the BEC main stage area began to swell with enthusiastic fans. ELECTRIC WIZARD are semi-reclusive, so fans weren’t going to miss a chance to catch them it the coveted headline slot at this year’s festival. Their late starting time meant there was a strange haze shrouding the room which gave it an ethereal vibe. What followed was a display of ruthless heaviness unlike any other, with a setlist full of classics augmented by the cinematic 1970s sexploitation film visuals, the quartet of Jus Oborn, Liz Buckingham, Simon Poole and Haz Wheaton put on a doom masterclass. Jamming through a set which included classic WIZARD songs such as; Supercoven, Witchcult Today, Return Trip and closing with the humongous Funeralopolis. ELECTRIC WIZARD were on form and ruthless, dispatching their demonic brand of morbid doom, as imaged highly sexualised cult activity flashed on the giant screen, it felt like you were in a satanic fever dream. You’re going out of your mind while Oborn screams down the mike, just how WIZARD likes it to be. Their performance was not for the feint of heart, and as ever they were uncompromisingly loud, easily shaking the foundations of the BEC. It was the perfect way to wrap up a monstrous weekend.
Rating: 10/10
Words: James Weaver, Tom Fordham, Pavel Kondov
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