DAMNATION FESTIVAL

Alright, this was the big one. The jewel in the crown of Leeds’ heavy music live scene, a festival currently in it’s fifteenth year of operation, and showing no sign of slowing down.

Alunah
Usually taking the stage first as a band at a festival is an unenviable task due to the fans only beginning to filter into the venue and they haven’t had much time yet to sink a few bevvies or headbang. Effectively, you’re playing to a small crowd and potentially a cold one. Luckily for Alunah, the promoter and venue decided to open doors an hour before they took the stage, so they walked out to a mostly filled room at the Eyesore Merch stage. Further, and this has less to do with luck and more to do with their song-writing, Alunah have a great stoner/doom sound that is riff-heavy and exactly what the crowd needed to kick off a very long day of music. Barely one song in and heads were banging, the crowd was grooving along. The Brummie quartet had a huge sound for a band with only one guitarist, with each instrument providing a sizeable punch to the overall package. Considering the scope of their sound, vocalist Siân’s deep and powerful vocals are an unmistakable and integral component to Alunah, providing catchy hooks throughout each tune. Certainly a great band to kick off the day.

Wheel
Wheel are making huge waves in the progressive metal scene this year with the release of their first full length, Moving Backwards. Combining Tool-like basslines, tasty stoner riffs, and deceptively complex song structures, Wheel will have you hooked and headbanging in no time. They’ve recently announced a headline tour across the UK in February 2020, and they are certainly up to the challenge. Their stage presence at Damnation was commanding and energetic, spurring the crowd into cheers, headbanging, and even some rare sing-alongs from the more die-hard fans. Playing mostly songs from the aforementioned Moving Backwards, Wheel seemed comfortable and assured of their live performance, which is a credit to them considering they’ve taken on a new bassist only recently (you wouldn’t know it). It will be no surprise in a few years when this band is playing to bigger crowds at events like Bloodstock or Download, and I’m sure they’ll absolutely dominate it there, too.

Dawn Ray’d
A stark contrast to the two prior bands, Dawn Ray’d are black metal band with atmospheric elements. Comprising only a drummer, bassist, and vocalist/violinist, their songs filled the room of the Cult Never Dies stage, which was jam-packed. Blasting and punishing tunes were punctuated by more melodic and soothing violin sections, which were in turn quickly broken by a return to a sound that would delight most black metal fans. Simon’s vocals were some of the best on the night, truly sounding like a demon was ascending from hell to condemn all souls in the room. The gig was a special one for the members of Dawn Ray’d, who confessed it had been a dream to play Damnation as they’d been punters for years, and the sentiment was respected amongst the room who all thoroughly enjoyed their set. Proving to be a unique and stand-out band amongst the Scouse/UK music scene, it’s safe to say they picked up many new fans at Damnation and further entrenched existing ones.

Lord Dying
Back to the Eyesore Merch stage to watch another band who have released a fantastic album this year, Mysterium Tremendum. Lord Dying sit on the proggier side of sludge, and have clear stoner influences as well. Unfortunately Lord Dying were struck with a broken strap on Erik’s guitar within seconds of the first song. Despite being unable to find a replacement, Erik and the band powered through their set while he tried to juggle his guitar and sing at the same time. Certainly no small achievement, and they all held up well, barely missing any notes or chords. The guitar strap barely affected the mentality of the band, thoroughly enjoying their gig and getting the crowd amped up.

Mgła
At this point in time, Mgła are a name that transcend all introduction and are intangibly describable. Undoubtedly amongst the forerunners of the modern black metal scene, the Jagermeister main stage was overfilled to see one of the most exciting bands on the bill. Blasting through 40 minutes of just consistent and oppressive obliteration, the crowd was barely given a chance to breathe while Mgła were on stage. Their imposing stage presence required little movement from the band members as they knew their music spoke far more than they would ever need to, and the crowd certainly needed no encouragement either. Copious headbanging and the odd windmilling here and there in the front row, while patrons towards the back had to remain transfixed in an attempt to take it all in. You need to see Mgła if they’re on a lineup near you, even if you’re not into black metal or the band. They’re an impressive sight to behold.

Primordial
Blackened death veterans and perennial Damnation stalwarts, Primordial’s blend of celtic-inspired music was incredibly well received by fans. Moving on from Mgła, Primordial’s music offers far greater opportunity for headbanging, even for the new fan and especially for the seasoned one. Flying into the eponymous track from Where Greater Men Have Fallen, punters were immediately showing Primordial just how much they were enjoying their music. Plagued by sound issues, including a total power cut in the middle of the second song, Primordial soldiered through and brushed this off like the true professionals that they are. Alan Averill (Nemtheanga) had the strongest stage-presence of any frontman on the night; fearsome, intimidating, and authoritative. Most in the crowd were disappointed when Primordial exited the stage, and it goes without saying that they’d do well in a headlining tour in Leeds sometime soon.

Gaahl’s Wyrd
Having a reputation larger than life, Gaahl is now at the stage in his career where he can attempt almost anything and get away with it, musically at least. His sort-of-solo project Gaahl’s Wyrd is an eclectic mix of black metal and arcane folk music leanings, harking to his Norwegian pagan culture. This strange angle to black metal saw the room packed for the Tone MGMT stage, everyone eager to witness something different to which they may have been accustomed. Patrons were treated to Gaahl’s Wyrd‘s blend of musical styles throughout their set, casting a haunting and eerie atmosphere over the crowd. The music doesn’t exactly lend itself to much moshing or headbanging, but there were a few fans in the crowd giving it a go. Overall the mood of the room were perplexed, interested, and confused, which is never a bad thing.

Alcest
Alcest are well entrenched in the heavy music community, and for good reason. A career spanning almost two decades now, Alcest have thoroughly explored their post-metal, blackgaze sound and have pulled in more post-rock elements on their release this year, Spiritual Instinct. Always pensive, sombre, melancholic, and heart-felt, Alcest exude honesty and authenticity. Playing Protection and Sapphire from their latest release, the crowd could not help being uplifted along with these tunes and it was clear that the room was on a positive vibe; a breath of fresh air to break up the onslaught of doom from the preceding bands. However, Protection and Sapphire were peppered between older classics from Alcest’s catalogue, providing just a little solace from the thicker, denser sounds that older fans have come to love.

Mayhem
Another band that needs no introduction is Mayhem. Several sound issues plagued the band for the first half of their set as they thundered through their catalogue. This didn’t stop Mayhem from their performance, however, and the crowd at the Jagermeister stage certainly weren’t bothered either. As they were the penultimate band on the stage and top-tier headliner, the promoters had afforded them an hour-long set, which they used to blister through songs from across their (tumultuous and controversial) history. Die-hard fans and newcomers alike were treated to a demonic and impressive display of theatricality bolstered by intense and iconic sound.

Opeth
Headliners Opeth took the stage right at 11pm, which was a credit to the event’s organisation that everything managed to run on time over such a large day of music. Entering the stage to their intro track on their latest album, Garden of Earthly Delights from In Cauda Venenum, Opeth were met with thunderous applause, cheers, and growls alike from the sea of punters packed like sardines for the Jagermeister stage. As the album opener flows into Dignity, so too did Opeth at Damnation. However, technically front man, Mikael Åkerfeldt, wasn’t singing Dignity but rather the Swedish version Svekets prins. This had a unique effect on the crowd, some punters singing the English version they knew, some choosing not to sing, and the odd fan (or maybe Swede) singing in the same language. Next up was fan favourite Leper Affinity, which certainly had the crowd moving, headbanging, and the occasional bout of moshing. If fans thought that they’d heard the last of New Opeth¹, they would have been shocked as the band glided deftly into Hjärtat vet vad handen gör (Heart in Hand), again met with an array of singing from the crowd. Fans were then treated to Harlequin Forest, which led to far more moshing and attempts to headbang along to its odd syncopation at its close. The remainder of their set comprised Nepenthe, The Lotus Eater, and Sorceress.
At this point Mikael admitted that they’d forgotten that they were playing a festival on this night and that they’d had to cut down their setlist, which was met with many boos from a crowd eager to hear more. He signposted that they were forgoing the encore, which certainly isn’t needed at a festival, and flew right into Deliverance as their closer. Again, fans of strange syncopation and polyrhythms were treated at the end of this song, while headbangers really tried their best to hold onto the beat. Opeth all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves throughout Sorceress and Deliverance, which was refreshing to see a band so relaxed and confident in their on-stage presence. And this enjoyment was more than reflected by the punters who were disappointed to see Opeth exit the stage but thankful to have seen one of the titans of the heavy metal scene.

1. Note: This reviewer has no qualms with Newpeth in general, and In Cauda Venenum is shortlisted for AOTY 2019.