Fresh off the back of a hugely successful Metal 2 The Masses campaign, No Play Festival offered a chance to capitalise on the revival of the Liverpool Metal Scene. Situated in the shadow of Evertons new Bramley Moore Dock stadium, the Invisible Wind Factory provided a setting for bands from all over the country and beyond to prove their worth across 2 rather contrasting stages.
Read MoreWe wake up early, roll out of the tents and make our way to the press area to grab a coffee and prepare for a full day of live bands and interviews. We start the day with Cavekiller, complete with Hawaiian shirts, and Glower offering us some hardcore tinged metal.
Read MoreThe level of respect and admiration within our world for cellist Jo Quail is frankly quite astonishing. Her midday appearance on main stage attracts a larger audience than any of the three headliners. The atmosphere is one of silent reverence, interspersed by an almost fanatical outburst of appreciation when she reaches the end of each of her three pieces.
Read MoreDamnation Festival is at the end of the day a labour of love by a couple of fan boys who felt their distinct tastes in Metal were not be catered for elsewhere. Over the last sixteen years it has morphed, moved and grown, but it has never ever lost its deep-seeded independence. It is that independent spirit that has so connected it with its immensely loyal fanbase, to the point that the festival sold out in March this year, over nine months before the actual show. Damnation is not a corporate money-making exercise, it may now have a capacity of three thousand (soon to be nearer six) and command a headliner of Carcass’s stature, but it is still very much that labour of love for the organisers.
Read MoreWell it’s day 4 of the festival that never ends. I am already becoming delusional that my permeant home is in fact a canvas shelter in a field and that my adopted family are those people surrounding me. I am struggling to imagine what life was like before I entered the gates on Wednesday. My day beginning with the sludge-tastic Horse called War. With distorted guitars and murky melodies, they manage to blow away the most stubborn of hangovers. Netherhall are progtastic and sound like Marillion fronted by Francis Dunnery (formally of It Bites). Back in the New Blood stage Black Atlas are deftly combining grunge and stoner rock. The result is remarkably danceable, laced with filthy riffs and scuzzy beats. My first visit to the main stage is next for the much lauded Conjurer.
Read MoreDo you want to go darker? Download every now and again excels in finding the cream of the crop of emerging Extreme Metal acts and shoves them onto the bill primarily to scare the living shit out of the pop punk kids. This year, it is British dark overlords in waiting, Conjurer who peddle a rich and nihilistic blend of Black, Doom and Post Metals.
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