FESTIVAL REVIEW: Radar Festival 2019 – Saturday
With legs weary and eyes bleary from a lengthy day of divertessments on Friday, RADAR‘s second and final day needed to conjure up something special to reengage the attendant masses. Thankfully, this was very much the case, with another roster of world-class acts and studded masterclasses comprising the day’s proceedings. Once again, Distorted Sound were there bright and early to soak up the atmosphere. Let’s take a closer look.
Stage 2
BOE
BOE start off our morning on the second stage. Heads were heavy from the night before and it was still only 1:30pm, so the room wasn’t as busy as it could have otherwise been but those that were here for the opening set made BOE feel welcome as the day’s opener. The first band is always a tricky slot to completely own, but both vocalists worked together to keep the crowd as interested and engaged as possible after the inevitable bang-over. Decent start to the day.
Rating: 6/10
CRYPTODIRA
CRYPTODIRA were a great discovery for us here at Distorted Sound – utter filth one moment, ambient choruses with blastbeats the next. It’s a really interesting mix. This is the kind of music that makes you double-take, but in the best possible way. With sections of pure chaos (akin to other bands on the afternoon’s bill) but then math/tech/prog-infused weirdness the next, CRYPTODIRA aren’t to everybody’s tastes, but we’re left marvelling at the songwriting capabilities of the American four-piece. Definitely one to check out if you haven’t already.
Rating: 8/10
FLÜX
FLÜX’s set may have sounded a little familiar to many. The new instrumental project of ex-HACKTIVIST guitarist Timfy James and HEART OF A COWARD bassist Vishal Khetia featured re-imaginings of popular songs including DISCLOSURE’s Latch and Insomnia from FAITHLESS. This said, the djent-y guitar riffs, whilst headbang-inducing, are all that stands between the original vocal samples and a copyright claim. We’re curious to see where this venture takes them but on this occasion at least, the audience was left a little deflated.
Rating: 6/10
KAGUU
KAGUU provided math-influenced instrumental pieces that were just, yknow… nice. There may not even have been a single distorted note in the entire half-hour set. Think intelligent melodic writing that sometimes catches the ear off guard with weird off-beats or time signatures, but overall simply great easy listening music. We found ourselves transfixed for the majority of KAGUU’s appearance on the second stage at Radar Festival, with only slight pauses whilst the bassist Ricardo thanked the crowd for being there on “the other side of the world”.
Rating: 8/10
KADINJA
Yet another up-and-coming French act, tech metal outfit KADINJA took to the Corner House’s basement to offer a 30-minute serving of their ultra-groovy, technical brand of metalcore. Soon brushing aside a series of technical issues, the quintet proceeded to set the packed room alight, delivering a tight, crisp and punchy array of techy riffs, crushing palm mutes, face-melting solos and devastating breakdowns. Lashing through hits from latest effort Super 90’, KADINJA gave a thoroughly professional and authoritative display, simultaneously offering a guitar masterclass and a party atmosphere, with nearly the entire room contributing to a sea of movement by the end. Unfortunately, a weak link presented itself in the form of the band’s vocalist, not quite delivering a level of bite and fury congruent with the instrumental display. However, from both a performance and crowd reaction standpoint, this was a clear Radar Festival highlight.
Rating: 9/10
VALIS ABLAZE
VALIS ABLAZE have long since become a household name in the UK tech-metal scene. Their persistence in releasing music, touring, and marketing their brand online has led them to being established as a particularly familiar face, earning them a second stage headliner slot at this year’s UK Tech-Fest. Unsurprisingly, they showed up on the Radar Festival bill as soon as the festival was announced. This performance represented one of a run of shows to mark the release of brand new album Render, and it’s safe to say that the material translated aptly to the live setting, enabling the band to sound more epic than ever before. Vocalist Phil Owen was thoroughly on form and easily the best we’ve ever seen him, with guitarists Ash Cook and Tom Moore exerting their broad range of playing styles, allowing the band’s expansive sound to flourish and barely putting a foot wrong in doing so. However, with the band’s new, improved and most rich sound to-date, it can be argued that the quintet haven’t quite yet found the right formula to present it flawlessly live, with a few parts coming across a little muddled and lost in the mix. This said, this was still a fun, energetic and entertaining showing from the local act.
Rating: 8/10
NO CONSEQUENCE
NO CONSEQUENCE made the inaugural Radar Festival particularly special. Emerging from their hiatus for one night only, the technical metalcore returnees filled the room out for a set that emanated nostalgia for everyone. Many had waited for this show for a long time now and it was evident how much it meant to those in the crowd seeing their favourite tracks from Vimana and IO live and on stage for the first time since 2017. Vocalist Kaan (now of HEART OF A COWARD) was given his second packed out set of the festival and delivered on every base. For the first time listener it was the kind of set that’d make you go home and listen to as much of their material as you can possibly get your hands on. We only hope it brings them back out and making music again soon!
Rating: 9/10
MODERN DAY BABYLON
Among music’s bustling cosmos of instrumental djent, polish act MODERN DAY BABYLON are surely one of the true protagonists. Their journey began back in 2011, and today they still stand as one of the scene’s fiercest competitors, deservedly earning themselves Saturday night’s second stage headline slot. Taking to the stage with confidence and authority, the trio made haste in giving the festival organisers their money’s worth, inciting bedlam amongst the crowd with a vast array of djenty breakdowns, techy riffs, dazzling solos and ambient soundscapes. Though a formidable group effort, the staunch, imperious presence of guitarist and songwriter Tomas Raclavsky soon struck as the outfit’s centrepiece, his deftness and technicality perplexing the onlooking audience. A series of bitingly compressed tones and a rich front-of-house mix helped to add the finishing touches, as this outfit proceeded to cement themselves as one of the weekend’s surprise favourites.
Rating: 9/10
Stage 1
ARCAEON
ARCAEON joined the main stage to a heavily expectant crowd – again, Radar Festival was proving to be one of those complete mates-fests. With new material in the works, the band have been quiet of late but still know how to pack a punch; the set was full of hard hitting riffs and crazy technical writing from guitarists Sam and Rhys. Vocalist Stuart met with the crowd at the front of the stage, commanding both the highest and lowest notes of his register. A few cheerful glances between members made the set feel really well polished, they really enjoyed being on stage and didn’t put a foot wrong. Big things to come from these guys.
Rating: 9/10
SITHU AYE
Back on the main stage, SITHU AYE melted faces, shredded strings and asked, quite politely, that no-one outed their track The Woven Weeab with its namesake headlining later that evening. Artists such as SITHU AYE are the reason half of guitarists will pick up the instrument in the first place – ridiculous talent in the form of blistering solos and memorable songwriting that made nearly everyone in the room at Radar Festival think “Damn, I wanna do that”.
Rating: 8/10
VOLA
Fast becoming one of the scene’s most beloved acts, VOLA are almost the BOYZONE of the prog world. Singer and guitarist Asgar Mygind epitomises this with his boyish charm, sharp attire and infectiously smooth, baritone singing voice, giving the quartet an allure that few of their contemporaries possess. All of this was abundantly clear once more as the Danish act strode onto Radar Festival‘s main stage, commenced in delivering their eerily nostalgic brand of 70s-esq, synth-laden prog, and were met with warm, hearty admiration from the audience. They proceeded to treat the audience to a cherry-picked selection of fan favourites from each critically acclaimed album, cajoling the audience into passionate singalongs for every song. Predictably, the performance was water tight, with Mygind’s amalgam of smooth clean vocals and djenty riffing proving to be particularly captivating. This was another accomplished performance from VOLA, and one that acted as a neat preview for the band’s upcoming European headline tour.
Rating: 9/10
CAR BOMB
Undoubtedly the lineup’s heaviest act, CAR BOMB injected a welcome sense of balance into Saturday’s proceedings. Nestled in between VOLA and ROLO TOMASSI but barely out of place for a second, the New York-based quartet proceeded to turn heads, boggle minds and drop jaws with their bizarre, ultra-downtuned, ultra-heavy approach to mathcore. The lightshow and the instrumentation worked gloriously in tandem as each ultra-tight blast beat, double kick or tremolo riff was complimented by a series of strobes, lasers and LEDs, making for a 40-minute episode of sensory disorientation. Moreover, the band’s jovial, playful stage presence contrasted amusingly from the nature of the music, making for a thoroughly entertaining display. It must be said, however, that the stylistic departure from day’s acts so far was certainly stark, with some of the faster, more chaotic sections feeling as though they were getting lost in the mix. Perhaps this says more about the abruptness than anything else.
Rating: 8/10
ROLO TOMASSI
Despite not quite being the global sensation that they perhaps should be, ROLO TOMASSI are practically an institution on UK shores. Even with an impressive, 13-year career already under their belts, latest full-length effort Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It has propelled them into acclaim like never before, leading them to clinch one of Radar Festival’s most prized slots. With a full hour to play with, the quintet proceeded to unleash what felt like a rock opera-esq performance, bleeding light into dark, and overjoyed into tortured as if the two dimensions were destined to marry. Almost physically embodying this effect, eclectic vocalist Eva Spence relentlessly flitted across the stage, her figure often obscured by the pulsating strobes and onslaught of artificial haze, delivering an array of delicate, clean singing that metamorphosed into harrowing fry screams whenever called upon. Each member, stern faced and mentally composed, leaned into the theatrics of the occasion as if they were born to do so, delivering a note-perfect display, and inspiring awe among the spectators. As if ROLO TOMASSI were capable of delivering anything less, this was a special performance, and one with the potential to single-handedly characterise Radar Festival 2019.
Rating: 10/10
AGENT FRESCO
Despite unveiling their debut effort just five years ago, Icelandic outfit AGENT FRESCO have risen to acclaim with remarkable haste. Returning just a year later, the quartet made a monolithic impact with 2015’s Destrier: an album that, despite still being the band’s most recent work, still earns them prestigious overseas slots, appearing directly below scene leaders ANIMALS AS LEADERS on this occasion. Unsurprisingly, the quartet wasted no time in justifying this, delivering their simple but passionate brand of theatrical progressive rock, presenting ballads, hooks and infectiously catchy choruses in absolute abundance. As expected, vibrant frontman Arnór Dan Arnarson quickly established himself as the band’s main attraction, jiving and contorting his way across as he delivered an array of unbelievably controlled falsetto singing. His bright, Hawaiian shirt persisted in flickering in and out of focus beneath the stage strobe lighting, and this presented a poignant summary of the band’s entire philosophy; fun, quirky and eclectic. This was a performance laden with enjoyment and musical aptitude, the two presented in delicately equal measure, and made a significant contribution to rounding off Radar Festival 2019 in style.
Rating: 9/10
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
ANIMALS AS LEADERS brought Radar Festival to the perfect close; epitomising progressive metal with ridiculous playing, incredible musicianship and frankly a stupid amount of talent. The set saw the most crowd surfers of the entire weekend and all of the most popular tracks from the three-piece. Matt Garstka’s insanely tight drumming was matched by Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes’ unfathomable picking, tapping, slapping and every other abuse of a guitar under the sun. Each with their own signature models of guitar, they’re true virtuosos and display it unapologetically. Their encores brings our Saturday night to a maelstrom of moving bodies, sheer incomprehension at how someone can play that many notes that quickly during CAFO (as well as getting the audience clap polyrhythms over 13/4 phrases) and what feels like the entire crowd singing the lead guitar line to Physical Education. Smiles, smiles everywhere.
Rating: 10/10
Words: Sam Alberti & Rhys Haberfield
Photos: Jorden Mclaughlin
And that rounds off our coverage of the first ever Radar Festival! We had an absolute blast at the festival’s inaugural outing and we are already counting down the days until the festival returns for another year!