Beermageddon Festival 2024
Beermageddon Festival 2024
Stoke Prior Sports and Country Club, Bromsgrove
22-25/08/2024
Review and Photography by Beth Morait
Well! We had a very interesting start to the weekend! We learnt that when a caravan goes head to head with a garage door, the van wins! Don’t even ask, but take my word for it… So, our arrival at Beermageddon for the Thursday night Disco with DJ Cheesy Steve was slightly delayed, with maybe some tears, and some words our mothers wouldn’t be proud of! But we got there in the end! Sadly we missed the disco, which was personally devastating, because there’s something magical about watching metalheads dance to classics from the era in history where we were all awkwardly shuffling a two-step and trying to avoid eye-contact with the person we fancied, at the school end-of-term disco! I will be there next year, as there will be no more van/garage face offs!
Friday 23/08/2024
So, our festival properly started with the live music kicking off on Friday evening. We’d spent all day learning how to work a caravan from resident van expert, and head of security, Troggy (this man is an absolute legend, and will help anyone with anything). Fuelled by some of the nicest chips you’ll ever eat, we headed into battle (or just inside a nice warm country club, with proper carpet – but this is our chosen battleground!) to check out what Friday had to offer!
Concussion
This was a great way to kick off the live music. Full stop. A healthy dose of heavy, chunky Hardcore, with more growling than you could shake a salty chip at! Frontman Tommbie was charismatic and drew the crowd straight in. But he soon decided the crowd weren’t quite close enough, so spent the whole rest of the set in the crowd. This was great to see! He really made the crowd join the band throughout. His performance was backed up with solid, tight instrumentation, and backing vocals from both guitarists. They had some really dirty breakdowns too, which brought everything up another level. Great start!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087779199528
Gorgonchrist
Next up we were served a bit of Thrashy, Punky Blackened Crust Death (try saying that one when you’ve downed a few ciders)! Whilst still popular, these guys didn’t quite draw the same crowd as Concussion. Although ‘Dick Pick Graveyard’ (at least I think that’s what it was called) was very fun, and a crowd pleaser – great sing-a-long. They weren’t really my bag, but they obviously had a lot of fans who loved the performance, and I think they made a fair few new fans too.
https://www.facebook.com/gorgonchrist
There was a slight break in the music next, so the annual fancy dress competition could be held. This runs every year, and this year’s theme was sci-fi! There were some weird and wonderful costumes this year, including Dr Who, a Face Hugger, and an X rated Power Ranger. It was a close run event, which ended up with two winners – the crowd vote was evenly split! Both won 2 weekend tickets for next year!!
Healer of Bastards
Next up, we were treated to some good meat and two veg Punk, from Healer of Bastards! They were so much fun!! This type of music shines brightest in a live setting, and they literally had the whole place up and dancing! ‘Die, Die, Die, Nazi Bastards’ could have been an 80s punk classic, and it went down a storm. We had great fun singing along to the chorus ‘Die, die, die, you fucking Nazi bastards’! Ah, my mother would be so proud…!!! They had so much fun with the crowd, and looked like they were having a ball onstage. And their extra edge was that the drummer was also lead singer! Something you don’t see often, but my god was he was good at it! Great performance.
https://www.facebook.com/healerbastards
Thrashatouille
Now… Without any bias here, this is how to do a show! I’ve seen Thrashatouille more times than I can count. Sometimes they’ve been good, sometimes they’ve been bloody awful… But here they fucking nailed it!! And with frontman Rob Sutton being part of the Ever Metal family, I felt like a proud mum! What a way to finish day 1! And they put the fam into family completely – they did a ladies only pit, and a kids pit, which turned into a circle pit; they had kids safely crowd surfing, and everything they did was about making it fun for everyone! Rob even had his little lass up on stage with him, and she absolutely stole the show (sorry boys, but she’s way cuter than all of you)! But apart from that, musically it was the best I’ve ever seen them play. Chef Metal is the way forward! The room even smelled like the best cheesy chips ever! This was either pure coincidence, or an absolute masterstroke from the Thrashatouille guys! (Pumping this smell into all your gigs is the way forward chaps, but if you become millionaires, remember who suggested it to you)!
Storming end to the first day proper!
https://www.facebook.com/Thrashatouille
Little did we know that we were in for an extra treat after Thrashatouille’s set. A bedtime story, read to us by Granny Jim. It was a special Beermageddon re-working of the classic children’s story, ‘Go The Fuck To Sleep!’ It’s become somewhat of a tradition now that, on the first night, Troggy spends half the night wandering round the campsite telling people to “Shut the fuck up you inconsiderate bastards,” so to save him the job this year, Granny Jim paid a visit to prewarn the class 2024 to “JUST FUCKING SLEEEEEEEEEEEP!!” Everyone sat very well on the floor with their legs crossed, school style, but I’m sorely disappointed that we didn’t all get ‘good boy’ and ‘good girl’ stickers at the end for sitting so nicely at story time! Hilarious, although I’ll never be able to unsee, (or unhear) Jim Beerman in a flowery dress talking about his saggy pissflaps!
Saturday 23/08/2024
The day started with a lovely occasion – a special Beermageddon handfasting for our esteemed Head of Security, Tasha, and her lovely other half, Pete! Sadly, I missed this because I was too busy running around after 4 kids, purchasing stuff for the van, and trying to find time to go for a piss before the music started! I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.
Thankfully, I made it back for the first band.
Invicta
Well bloody hell! What a blistering start to the day from a very, VERY young band – I spoke to them afterwards and discovered the oldest member of the band was 16, and the drummer was only 14!!! These guys are insanely talented, and absolutely ones to watch! The future of metal is bright indeed when this is the talent that’s coming through. They play Heavy Metal with a modern twist, and really well thought out and cohesive songs (two of which I discovered they’d only written the day before the gig – talented little buggers!!!!). The bass player was really animated, and by God does the drummer smash the shit out of the kit! He’s ridiculously good! The front man looked nervous as hell before they started, but he absolutely didn’t need to be, because he, and the rest of the band, tore Stoke Prior a new one! And the decent-sized crowd adored it. A way of telling how good they were is how fast the room started to fill when they started playing, and how it continued to fill throughout their set. For the first band of the day, on the second day proper, when everyone’s nursing a hangover, this is an achievement indeed! The passion these youngsters brought to their entire performance was commendable, and they really played with a strength of experience way beyond their years. My only critical note was their intro was too long, and it made the front man look a bit uncomfortable while he waited for it to finish – but I have every confidence that this will come good as they hone their craft. Absolutely brilliant show boys, well done! If you haven’t heard of these guys yet, then check them out because they are absolutely ones to watch for the future.
https://www.facebook.com/officialinvictaband
Blasfeme
A running theme so far for the weekend was that the first band on each day made it very difficult for the next band to top their performances. This was also true with Blasfeme. They’re Black Metallers, complete with the obligatory corpse paint. As a band, they were ok musically, but the vocals were just too much for me. I’m not really a fan of Classic Black Metal though, so who am I to judge?! The crowd that had regathered in the venue thoroughly enjoyed them though, judging by the amount of people adorned in freshly purchased merch coming out at the end of the set.
https://www.facebook.com/blasfemeband
Under Blackened Skies
I may not be a fan of straight up Black Metal, but I am partial to some Blackened Death. And Under Blackened Skies is definitely the way I think Blackened Death should sound. Well thought out songs, and vocals that, whilst screamy, were understandable and fit perfectly with the music. They had bags of exuberance that comes with experience. And they’re all very experienced guys, so this was always going to be a well-rounded set. The vocalist was animated and took the crowd on a journey with him. And it was awesome to see all round decent chap (and one of the people in the scene who I really respect), Dan Carter, on bass! The singer is a fan of dramatic air-grabs, and it was at this point that I realised this sort of Metal, and boy bands, are the only two genres who use this signature move! Funny how the brain works on a Saturday afternoon at a festival, when it’s been sleep deprived and exposed to unhealthy amounts of alcohol, isn’t it!
https://www.facebook.com/underblackenedskies
Embodiment
Yet another good hit of Death Metal, but this time it was Technical Death. Very tight, and lots of hair, which is always epic for a good hair flick pic (way more acceptable than a dick pic too – my free top tip of the day)! They used some epic synth bass drops which vibrated the whole room, and the crowd were lapping it up! I was flagging by this point, so I took some time out to get a bit of food – it was Pizza Night at Little Al’s Kitchen, and he had a gluten free pizza option available. Now, there was no way I was going to miss that opportunity, and it was absolutely mega!
https://www.facebook.com/EmbodimentOfficial
Catalysis
Another good solid performance. Groove/ Thrash Metal this time. It was again rock solid and punchy, and they worked the crowd and the camera; it’s always useful in the photo pit when the band acknowledges that you’re taking pictures and strikes a pose for you! The room filled up pretty quickly when they started playing, and the crowd loved what they were hearing. For me, the vocals were a bit much, but I think that was just me getting the Festival Dreads after almost putting myself in a food coma with pizza!
https://www.facebook.com/catalysismetal
Ramage Inc
This is the set I had been waiting for, and what can I say… Ramage Inc are just superb in every way! They raised the bar, and were by far the band of the weekend at that point. The only Prog Metal band on the line-up, and fuck me sideways with a ten foot barge pole, did they bring it!!! Heaviness, professionalism, talent, musicality, charisma, stage presence, vocal range, this list could go on and on, but it was literally the full package. About 5 years ago they did an online live stream gig, which we tuned into at home. Our then 6-year-old son went bonkers moshing and throwing the horns around in our lounge. Well, that little chap is now 11, and he got to see them live for the first time, with a VIP seat in the photo pit thanks to Will Tudor! And he had an absolute ball! Afterwards, he had a quick chat to Bryan and shook his hand, which had him beaming from ear to ear! Thanks Ramage for making a young boy’s night, and my night too if I’m honest. They set the bar high for the rest of the weekend!
https://www.facebook.com/RamageInc
Sanity’s Rage
Ramage Inc had delivered a show that was worthy of a headline spot. So, yet again, it was a hard act for the headliners to follow. Sanity’s Rage play Technical Thrash. The lead singer was very into it, and they were, as a band, very tight and polished. They drew in a good crowd, and everyone was rocking out. But sadly, they just weren’t my thing. That said, they do what they do extremely well, and there were lots of riffs and rhythms that reminded me of early Metallica, but heavier. A good headliner, and the people enjoyed it, which really is all that matters.
https://www.facebook.com/SanitysRage
By this point, us old codgers had well and truly hit the wall. It’s kind of a Saturday night festival custom when you’re as old and broken as us – a bit like downing your own body weight in shots and partying until the sun comes back up, like in our younger days! So, we retired to bed fairly swiftly after the last band, to catch up on sleep!
Sunday 25/08/2024
Every year at Beermageddon, we have the ‘Family Photo,’ where the entire of the crew, and festival get together all in one big photo. In typical us fashion, this year we missed it by two minutes – nothing like being fashionably late to a photo opportunity moment that’ll never be the same ever again. Goddamn!!
Anyway, we did arrive in time for the music, and I was actually early to the pit for once – as the first band are local to us, and ones I’d had on my ‘MUST NOT MISS’ list since they were announced.
GR/EF
They were on my list to watch, because they’re local to us! We first saw these guys back at North Wales M2TM a couple of years ago and they were superb musically, but they needed a vocalist. Fast forward to now, and they have a vocalist, and have now hit the sweet spot. Because they’re still as tight as a nun’s chuff musically, and the vocals have added the extra zing they needed. And they really brought it to a large but very hungover Beermageddon crowd, and woke everyone the fuck up!!! It really was a great set, with lots of power, lots of chucky riffs, and lots of tight, Modern Metal, which was what everyone needed. They throw every ounce of everything they have into their performances, and this is testament to the people they are and the experience they want to give the crowd. Lads, keep this shit up, cos this shit is superb!
https://www.facebook.com/griefinhell
Beyond Grace
We’d now reached that point in the festival where every single person had realised that they are no longer 20, and two solid days of drinking and punching people in the name of Metal fun takes its toll, and requires more than 3 hours sleep to recover from. Jim was losing his voice, my feet were losing the will to live, and everyone was looking forward to a shower and a good sit down! But, we had music to do first. And next up was a healthy dose of Death! Beyond Grace make a surprising amount of noise, considering there are only 3 of them! If you want guttural growls, they have it by the bucket load. If you want thundering, pounding bass, that’s in there too. And if you want rock solid drums, look no further! They pounded the living shit out of Stoke Prior Sports and Country club. And that’s all I really need to say about them! Another great addition to the line-up.
https://www.facebook.com/wearebeyondgrace
Desecrator
This was a first for the weekend – a band without a drummer! They’re growly Scottish melodic Death Metal (from Worcester – yeah work that one out!) And what might have lacked depth without live drums, didn’t, because they had some monster drum tracks laid down to swing their pants too, in the most growly metal sense possible! And, yet again, the room was bouncing to their sweet, sweet Melodic Deathness! There’s something very tribal about Death Metal growling with a Scottish accent. And as if to reaffirm this, the room was filled with inflatable clubs towards the end of the set! I’d had to bail and sit down by that point, but every other person coming out of the room at the end was wielding a club, and growling at people menacingly! Again, the style of music isn’t really my cup of tea, but yet again, I can’t criticize them for anything because they do this shit well.
https://www.facebook.com/DesecratorMusic
It’s at this point in a festival that I start getting reflective and totes emosh. The combination of beer, little sleep, and pushing my fucking decrepit body to it’s max makes me all philosophical. And I may or may not have shed a little tear whilst ensconced in my favourite bog cubicle in this sleepy village country club. Live music is amazing. The buzz of watching people showcasing their skills and loving it will never not be great. Festivals are brilliant fun. But there’s something about this little festival that makes it stand out from the rest. It’s magical, and full of so much love, that every time I come, I never want it to end. It feels like a family reunion every year, where everyone is happy to see everyone else, and everyone pulls together to help and support everyone. It feels safe. And to be able to feel 100% safe, and relaxed for a whole weekend is just beautiful. This place feels like home.
Eversio
After contemplating in the bog for a while, I dragged myself out of the wallows ready for the next band! Heading in the more Modern direction, Eversio where fucking heavy!!! The vocalist growled and howled his way through a blistering set, which was like getting a machine gun stuck in a bike chain (random metaphor I know, but fuck that’s the only way I can describe it!) seriously ferocious and seriously good. By this point the room was packed again, and everyone was having a jolly good time! Honestly the whole line-up this far had been faultless!
https://www.facebook.com/eversioband
Ofnus
Wales is the land of song. And us Taffs also know how to sing a bit of Melodic Black Metal it turns out – this was perfectly illustrated when Ofnus took the stage! More double bass kicks than you could shake a sweaty drumstick at, furious guitars, thumping bass, and Black Metal screams that would silence any banshee with shame! As is obvious from the rest of this review, I don’t often choose to listen to Black Metal, but if it’s done like these guys do it, with melody and song, I’m there! Fuck me sideways I’m running out of ways to describe good things!
https://www.facebook.com/Ofnus
Master’s Call
A few paragraphs ago, I told you all how safe and loved I felt at this festival. Sadly, Master’s Call, put that thought on pause, for a few minutes at least. The band started off ok, and the sound was good. But the singer made some potentially career-ending decisions, which saw stage and photography equipment (not mine I should add) being damaged, and a photographer getting injured. It was not only disrespectful to Jim, the festival, and the venue, but was dangerous, and frightening for me, and the many young children who were in the room. This sort of behaviour is something that’s never been seen before in the history of Beermageddon, and will not be tolerated. The band had their set cut short, and the vocalist was escorted from the site. Thanks to Troggy and Jim for dealing with it so professionally, and to Will Tudor for making sure I was ok, and not too shaken up by what had just happened. Luckily I only got slightly barged by him, but it was enough to make me freeze up. I don’t handle situations like this well. Slamming about in a mosh pit is one thing. There’s an unwritten rule of respect and mindfulness in them, and if someone gets knocked over, they get picked up and checked over to make sure they’re ok. What happened here, in the photo pit, felt totally different. It was scary and unpredictable. I feel sorry for the rest of the band, but the vocalist behaved like an A1 twunt, and it was the right decision for them to be pulled before any more equipment, or indeed people, sustained any further damage. I won’t be publishing any photographs of them, or linking the band here, as I’d rather just forget the whole incident.
Lawnmower Deth
After the whole twunty shenanigans, everyone needed picking back up and pummelling with love. And, as luck would have it, the headliners were the loveable Deathpunk Thrashers, Lawnmower Deth! Bloody hell, the force was strong here! They had a false start cos Steve was still draining the main vein in the bog, which was hilarious, and there was an unhealthy amount of blow up unicorns on stage with them at one point. For a minute I wondered if it had turned into a Guinness world record attempt for how many inflatable unicorns could be held by one man for more than a minute! But, this is of course a review about the music (hahahahahaha this is Lawnmower Deth, who the fuck am I trying to kid?!) These guys are ridiculously seasoned professionals, and as always they brought a show. They know how to command a stage and an audience, and it is impossible not to jig along to their jaunts (which when you’re taking photos isn’t the best idea!). And much as they will tell you they’re not, these guys are damn fine musicians, too. I love these guys, because they’re silly, and they know they are. In a world that takes life so seriously, everyone should be more Lawnmower Deth. In fact, from this day on, I shall refer to them as LSD – Lawnmower Silly Deth!
https://www.facebook.com/lawnmowerdethofficial
And just like that, the weekend was done. This festival is magic. Jim, you smashed it out of the park again, and I am so grateful to have been a tiny part of it. J W Catering and Little Al’s Kitchen smashed the food out of the park again! And the bar people were cheery as ever, and the beer tasted good. Security was handled superbly, but that was never in any doubt with the team that this festival has. The sound all weekend was brilliant.For me, the set of the weekend was Ramage Inc, by a country mile. But Thrashaouille were also amazing, and Invicta are definitely ones to watch, as they’re already the real deal, even at their young age!
With a tiny exception, everything was just perfect, right down to my favourite bog cubicle and the hand dryers that make a Typhoon jet stream seem like a light breeze. Saying goodbye to the fam until next year is the hardest thing. I might be Welsh born and bred, but my heart now lives here, in Stoke Prior Sports and Country Club, on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Xx
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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Morait and Ever Metal. Photography the property of PhotograBee (Beth Morait). It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
