LIVE REVIEW: UK Tech-Metal Fest: Techabilitation 2022 @ The Hairy Dog, Derby
It’s been five months since the discerning hordes (also known within the tight-knit community as the Tech Fam) flocked back to Newark for the ninth, post-Covid edition of UK Tech-Fest. It’s safe to say that the thirst for all things live and loud is real; but fear not – for there’s an aural panacea for our collective ills. And it comes in the bounteous form of Techabilitation 2022. Swapping the sun-drenched Showground for Derby’s premier live venue-cum-dive bar The Hairy Dog, this supercharged two-dayer is just what the doctor ordered. So whether you’re a prog aficionado who worships at the altar of eye-popping fret gymnastics, a sucker for electro-spliced, grime-metal grooves or you just want to snap your neck to some blastbeat-ridden deathcore, this is the kind of rehab you’ll never say “no, no, no” to. And as ever, team Distorted Sound were on hand to witness the sonic chaos.
Saturday – November 19th
Punters sat on the grimey floor and clapping hands in sync with barmy polyrhythms. Tops being whipped off in the pit. A vocalist enjoying a cuppa between songs. It could only be a MILK & TWO SHUGGAHS (8) set. You’re witnessing the strength of street knowledge – in the guise of the UK’s ultimate (and only) MESHUGGAH tribute act – as the five-piece put their stamp on syncopated face-melters like Bleed and Born In Dissonance. FFO: The fast and the fucking furious. Jens would be proud.
Searing cleans and melodic interludes are more the order du jour for AZURE (7) whose intense blend of rhythmic complexities and dazzling solos will satisfy the technically astute cravings of most prog aficionado. There’s even some keytar action chucked in for good measure mid-set. The eagle-eyed amongst you might have clocked UKTF’s second (first place will always belong to NOVENA’s Harrison White) most flamboyantly attired attendee Daniel Singleton doing his bit, holding the mic wire for prog-metallers TIBERIUS (7). Which in turn, allows frontman Grant Barclay to go bulldozing into the beaming crowd. Cue face-to-face singalongs, anthemic riffs and line dancing courtesy of the band’s self-coined Goblin Army.
Shrouded in dry ice on an already dimly lit stage, HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN’s (8) penchant for brooding atmosphere is a hair-raising joy to experience live. With the tragic and untimely passing of founding guitarist Owen Pegg initially putting the band’s longevity into question, it’s genuinely wonderful to see the post-metal sextet back, doing what they do best, as they marry raw, cathartic screams and crushing guitars with lush, ambient passages. Anglo-French ragers CAGE FIGHT (9) come out swinging from the off, their abrasive mix of pummelling riffs, pugilistic grooves and visceral screams being the sonic fuel to incite rumbling pits. Dropping a succession of vicious cuts that would appeal as much to hardcore kids as grizzled thrash veterans, this is the kind of primal noise you’d happily spin kick your gran out the window to.
Headliners BORDERS (9) are becoming something of a UK Tech-Fest staple at this point – and for bloody good reason. With third album Bloom Season having just dropped a day earlier, Jordan “JJ” Olifent and his band of genre-splicing brothers are on coruscating form. War and Bad Blood both explode like hirsute grenades, the pits start swirling and Jordan’s instruction of “Wake the fuck up. I need you to split this room in half!” is followed to the letter by this rabid crowd. Grime-inflected bars are tightly spat, screams unleashed with caustic aplomb and there’s an obscene exuberance to Godless and NWWM – the latter of which is the cue for a venue-wide singalong. Best believe, there’s everything right on point about these Lincoln lads tonight. It’s an explosive end to day one.
Sunday – November 20th
When it comes to filth purveyors CAVEKILLER (8), category is: blunt force trauma, as seething riffs, maniacal gutturals and stomping hooks intertwine to mercilessly drag onlookers by the scruff of their collective necks. AKKADIAN (7) appear entirely nonplussed by the somewhat static crowd, relentlessly bashing – what look to be – tambourines during thrash-soaked grooveathon Serpentine but ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS’ (7) agitation is palpable; their well-executed display of hardcore-infused guitars meets metalcore failing to get the (possibly hungover) bodies moving.
These seem to be lingering by the time tech-death quartet FROM EDEN TO EXILE (7) hit the stage which is a crying shame; as what follows is a double-kick battery of face-warping proportion, underpinned by galloping riffs, brooding atmosphere and huge breakdowns. PULSE. (7) certainly know how to dial up the low-end ferocity as they veer seamlessly between sheer aggression, filthy chugging and near-euphoric choruses but it’s PRAVITAS (8) fevered maelstrom of head-bobbing syncopation and high-end shredding that ups the tech death ante. We’re talking blistering tapping, mind-bending leads and bowel-shaking gutturals.
Serving fifty shades of LOATHE, Newcastle’s CREAK (8) are putting the nu back in nu-metalcore via a positively cinematic slew of cold, industrial soundscapes, spine-juddering guitars and two-step grooves whilst GODEATER (8) have never sounded so visceral; confidently unloading jarring riffs, throat-splitting outbursts and relentless drum blasts at hyper speed.
Headliners SEETHING AKIRA (9) were one of Team DS’ top picks at this year’s UK Tech-Fest and tonight their dysfunctional wonderland of noise continues to tick every eclectic box. Serving up more bounce for your proverbial ounce, both vocalists head swiftly for the pits and proceed to chuck themselves about just as hard as the delighted hordes. Thundering leads and throbbing, electronica-laced beats clatter together in deliciously jarring fashion; for whether you’re a sucker for thumping dnb, soaring guitar solos or that classic nu-metal swerve of yesteryear, it’s all here to bop or bang your head to. It’s utter fucking chaos – and a suitably batshit conclusion to an utterly brilliant weekend of live music. Tech Fam – we’ll see you next year.
Check out our photo gallery of this year’s Techabilitation from Serena Hill Photography here:
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