Another one – thank you.
JOHN FRUM CARGO CULT
I was pretty nervous about this one after I realised they are described at “Sludgecore” and had no clue WHAT to expect, and not being the biggest fan of hardcore, but I was pleasantly surprised! Two stepping and pits going from the first note which is always really good see. Super heavy, and the drummer goes bloody hard! Definitely worth checking out a gig of theirs, it was so much fun!
DISLYCAN
This set was just ethereal as hell to start out, dark, just some blue lighting and smoke, with some silhouettes on stage. It was kinda beautiful in a creepy way (which is RIGHT up my alley) and then got heavier as the vocalist gave us a jump scare arriving right in the crowd with us! I do joke about this, but it’s a recurring thing – I haven’t seen a single blackmetal (or adjacent) band where the members actually stay on stage. Ever. And I frickin LOVE it! The movements of the vocalist with the low lighting and smoke was just so damn captivating.
(Unfortunately my chronic hell meant I couldn’t handle more than one song due to the lighting and migraine triggers, but I listened from the back and just outside the door for the rest and enjoyed every second!)
ENTROPIC ROT
Well now these guys took to a whole new level of heavy riffs! Absolutely insane! I was a touch late getting in and got stuck behind the sound booth for a fair while – I had to follow some eager pit-goers fight through the crowd to see the stage! It was PACKED, the crowd was mental, a wall of death happened without even being asked, which is the first time I’ve seen that happen to my knowledge. The band had the same chaotic matched energy as well on stage, just insane all round in the best of ways!
MARTYRS SAINT
Having seen and met these lovely young lads play the basement stage back in November I knew what to expect, and STILL was so impressed. They kick ass, they have that fun energy with eachother on stage, the perfect crowd interaction, and many many pits. Which I may or may not have ended up in at some point. They just have this incredible energy that DEMANDS pitting! So worth it.
WORLD//ERROR
(photo coming soon)
We know I love me some industrial, so any kind of metal that adds a bit of that mixing stuff is good for me! I love how heavy the bassist was. I’m gutted that by this point I did end up having to sit down but it was still incredible even from the little corner in the back! Absolutely LOVED the vocals, both the mellow cleans and the screamy parts were perfect to me!
WINNERS
This heat had even me nervous, everyone was SO good I couldn’t have predicted it in the slightest, but those going through are ENTROPIC ROT, WORLD//ERROR and MARTYRS SAINT! Massive huge shout out to DISLYCAN and JOHN FRUM CARGO CULT for kicking ass and making it a perfect night all round!
It’s been a great time so far, and driving home I actually got a little pang of sadness – how can we cope until May for the next one?? It’s been a pleasure so far reviewing all the bands, meeting them, meeting some of the regular attendees, and generally having a feckin great time! Very much looking forward to the semi finals which are on the 10th of May and 7th of June. Bring it on \m/
Some shows are live, some pre-recorded. All times are GMT
