Damnation Festival 2021.

TH! are back and there is no better way to sharpen our teeth than tucking in to the tasty treat that was Damnation 2021! Without further ado...

Cryptic Shift.

Cryptic Shift- These guys came out with a ‘The Sound of Perseverance’ era Death and Cynic-infused vibe, everything about their performance was tight and commanding. The singer was on fire and clearly loved it, recalling the Florida scene in its heyday, right down to the 90s apparel. Unfortunately the sound on the Tone Stage seemed to be against them, otherwise a brilliant start to our day!

Abduction.

Orchestrated like a Black Metal sermon in a Crust Punk club. Abduction were furious and battering in delivery with a chilly undertone that felt dangerous. The vocalist pulled a skull out in the mid-set and held it aloft; it was absolutely class! The buzzing twin guitar attack felt unrelenting and torturous, very cvlt. The rhythm section was tight and unyielding, Abduction makes you realise how grateful you are to be living at the end! A truly impressive vision carried by one man.

Boss Keloid.

Clutch/ Big Business style power underpinned by rattling bass and sledge drums. Boss Keloid came on like a desert groove if that desert was mars. Prog in spades like a science fiction novel set as a Sergio Leone Western. We were particularly taken with the singer dishing out wry humour between the songs and becoming electrified on the mic, really head spinning stuff, a truly new discovery for us (isn’t that the perfect surprise from an all day event?).

Bossk.

Bossk came to project slabs of riff, hewn from moon rock all over the Jaegermeister stage. With the mother of all digital backdrops, Bossk’s set felt like an event, a ritual with massive drums and huge guitar breaks. The sound was sublime as it towered over the crowd as a sheer monolith; the vocals added a streak of colour through the thick strands of cosmic debris. Brilliantly done and a real highlight for us

Wode.

If we didn’t know any better, Wode seemed to have been grown in a lab and fed a steady diet of 90’s Scandi Black Metal & thrash then released to the wild. They possessed an intensity and style that was faultless, the guitar attack was brutal as was the vocal delivery. Wode seemed to be daring the assembled crowd to yield with every song, an ice cold cyclone nuanced with melodeath breaks.

Conjurer.

Fine purveyors of post/sludge metal with a pungent whiff of death, very bleak, very grim. Conjurer were selling windmills aplenty and boy, were we buying. Downtuned riffage executed well, these lot held the assembled masses in the palm of their hands, commanding the audience with a tight backing of drums & guitars.

Conan.

Imagine being abandoned on a windswept mountain with just a spear. Then realising you are being hunted by the lunatic from your local. Conan just crushed relentlessly. The sheer power on display from three individuals with not one riff spared melted faces in the front row. At one point we turned to each other, trying to keep our sanity in check. Conan also had possibly our favourite backdrop (Fire and Ice nerd out). We came with expectations and they were exceeded; absolute class!

Year Of No Light.

An astonishing discovery for us, YONL was almost a religious experience in construction, every riff and drum fill carefully yet forcefully cast over the crowd like ancient magic. They absolutely nailed the three guitars and keyboard sound, such simple yet rich post-metal textures. The dual drums served to highlight and expand the already cavernous sound on display. Bloody epic is what it was. More please.

Carcass.

Well, Carcass certainly knew its audience, starting with fan favourites and then some new tracks from 'Torn Arteries'. Bill Steer's guitar was crystal clear and tight, (well done to the techs and sound engineer!) his solos soaring in all their gain laden glory. Props to the wind machine for making Jeff Walker look epic. He was a true master of ceremonies, strutting the stage and clearly loving every minute of it. The new guitarist and drummer ably fleshed out a fantastic experience: the only Carcass gig of 2021?! We are lucky boys!