FESTIVAL REVIEW: Hordes Of Belial – Nine Lives

It’s a common complaint that this mysterious land north of the border is grossly under represented when it comes to metal shows. All too often, Scotland is overlooked when it comes to tours, and if there is a date, it will be Glasgow, or perhaps, at a push, Edinburgh. Occasionally a band of notable stature will wander to Aberdeen, though this is the exception rather than the rule. However, every year a platoon of metal-heads descend upon the east coast city of Dundee for a celebration of metal from across the UK – though the line-up does favour the woefully under-represented Scottish portion the country. 2018 saw Hordes Of Belial return for its ninth incarnation, with arguably its strongest line-up to date.

Opening up the main stage, Inverness groovers SLIOCH [7/10] kick-started 2018’s Hordes Of Belial. With a DEVILDRIVER-esque blend of melodic death metal and New Wave Of American Heavy Metal groove, the quintet blistered through a solid set. Exploring the interesting and seldom-touched subjects of Scottish history and the pre-Christian mythologies of Scotland, vocalist Mata Druim darted around as much as the tiny stage would allow, venturing into the crowd and onto the barrier with the energy of a dreadlocked, woad-painted Duracell bunny. Some of the intricacies and little nuances of SLIOCH‘s writing were unfortunately buried in the muddy sound, though set closer Ancestors Beyond The Sky was truly excellent. Starting off the second stage, young drum and bass two piece RED CALF [6/10] offered an interesting blend of black metal, death metal and doom. With very little experience under their belt, RED CALF proved to be a little sloppy, but there’s potential for a really interesting addition to the Scottish metal scene there, with a bit of refinement.

Edinburgh’s ANAXOR [9/10] proved to be one of the best surprises of this year’s Hordes Of Belial. Delivering a set of top quality, doomy traditional heavy metal, ANAXOR brought the heavy. Though a few thrashy Kill ‘Em All-styled moments were scattered throughout the set, the bulk of their arsenal relied on neck-snapping, oppressively heavy grooves and huge hooks. In a brilliant moment of self-awareness, charismatic front man Luke James hoisted a cardboard, Stonehenge monolith over the crowd – an act that, depressingly, went over the heads of some of the younger members of the crowd. As ANAXOR storming set comes to a close on the main stage, an ominous intro track heralds the beginning of the set on the second stage. NECROCRACY [7/10] harness a mix of black and death metal that could best be described as filthy. For the entirety of their set, the crowd is assaulted by a wall of rotten, blackened aggression. With no respite offered, their brand of raw, abrasive brutality certainly makes NECROCRACY one to watch for those whose tastes lie on the more extreme end of the metal spectrum.

Back to the main stage, one of the UK’s strongest technical death metal offerings begin their set. Despite only having a tally of shows still in single digits, Glasgow’s GODEATER [9/10] storm through one of the tightest sets of the day. The quartet, joined by session drummer Owen Hughes of FRONTERIER, have been on the rise since the release of their debut EP, Outerstellar, last year with shows in London, Manchester and a set at 2017’s UK Tech-Fest accompanying the short series of hometown shows. The atmospheric, space-bound tracks from Outerstellar blended brilliantly with the thought-provoking, environmentalist edge that the new material focuses on, against all odds, and their most recent single, Exsanguinated, hits with all the kinetic energy of a nuclear warhead. Though Hughes can handle the complexity of GODEATER‘s material, it’s clear the band are beginning to weary of lacking a full-time drummer behind them, and though their set was as tight as they come that lack of unity did show in places. However, it would be impossible to argue that GODEATER are anything but one of the most exciting bands in the UK scene at the moment.

Glasgow’s SPLINTERED HALO [7/10] brought the weird to Hordes Of Belial. Masked and costumed, the five-piece would probably best fit into the SLIPKNOT end of the nu-metal spectrum, blending frantic chaos with groovy stomps and mixing a variety of vocal styles including operatic singing and CRADLE OF FILTH or DIMMU BORGIR inspired black metal shrieks. Though definitely the odd-ball of the day, SPLINTERED HALO seemed to go down a storm with the Dundee crowd. Hailing from the capital, KING WITCH [8/10] have been making waves for some time with their brand of oppressively heavy doom metal. Their set is tight and hard hitting, mixing the crushing and catchy riff-work with an excellent operatic vocal performance. Set closer Approaching The End was one of the highlights, with a funeral doom slowness, and simplistic riffing coupled with the soaring vocals that established an ethereal, haunting atmosphere.

Continuing the down tempo, doom ridden proceedings, THE STARRY WISDOM CULT [7/10] blaze onto the second stage as special guests. Armed with catchy, traditional riff work they bring a selection of culty, Lovecraft worshipping doom. Though their brand of doom metal is certainly solid, following KING WITCH leaves them open for easy comparison, with with the preceding band’s bursts of restrained speed and hook-heavy nature, they come out on time. However, for fans of the genre, THE STARRY WISDOM CULT have a lot to offer. One of the few bands on the line-up from south of the border, Northampton bruisers KRYSTHLA [8/10] are the special guests of the main stage. It’s easy to see why KRYSTHLA are one of the hottest bands in the UK underground scene – their DECAPITATED-esque brand of groove heavy, utterly crushing metal creates an impenetrable atmosphere. It’s near impossible to resist banging your head whenever KRYSTHLA grace the stage, and they prove to be one of the better sets of the night.

Hordes Of Belial proved to be a bittersweet occasion for fans of the misery drenched KING LEVIATHAN [9/10]. Headlining the second stage, Hordes Of Belial was the first time the worshippers of the Old Gods brought their sermon to Scotland – and, tragically, it will be their last for the foreseeable future as their funeral march came to an end at MammothFest in October (read our review of MammothFest here). Bright strobe lights blinded the crowd, while the silhouettes of the quartet thundered their way through easily one of the best sets of the night. Their brand of extreme metal that blends death, black, thrash and hints of doom proved to be a hit with the Dundee crowd, with one of the only circle pits of the night being summoned and barely a neck left still. Old songs that have been absent from the set for far too long like Madness Made Divine brought a slightly more fun brand of extremity to the show, allowing front man Adam Sedgewick to showcase his masterful, Matt Heafy-esque singing, while Paean Heritica hits Coffin Swallower and Like Wolves To The Throat Of The Lion kept the grim bleakness of KING LEVIATHAN‘s show ever-present in the atmosphere. All things must end, even temporarily, but this incredible set proved that KING LEVIATHAN‘s hiatus is a devastating loss to the UK metal scene.

Headlining the ninth incarnation of Hordes Of Belial, Preston-based thrashers SOLITARY [8/10] take the stage and burst into an extended set of high-octane aggression. British thrash is often overlooked in favour of the genre’s American and German counterparts, but by no means take that to mean there’s nothing worth finding in the UK thrash scene. SOLITARY stand as ample proof of that. Though their set was a touch anti-climatic after KING LEVIATHAN‘s cathartic blast of excellence, the Preston thrashers delivered a ferocious set that would rival any of the Bay Area’s better known acts. Still hungry from the release of their third LP The Diseased Heart Of Society in 2017, and the re-release of their debut album earlier this year, the four-piece delivered aggressive, shredding fun in spades.

And so Hordes Of Belial drew to a close. One of the longest running celebrations of metal in Scotland, the day-festival delivered yet another solid day of riffs, beers and fun, showcasing a selection of Scotland’s finest underground offerings, and a few big hitters from south of the wall. We wait with baited breath to see what 2019’s incarnation holds.

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