LIVE: A Night of Salvation
A Night Of Salvation (Damnation Weekend Part One)
Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester
01/11/2024
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
We go again! It’s that time of year. Halloween, Diwali, and Samhain have come and gone. Though for Extreme Metal fans across the globe, there’s yet another reason to celebrate as Damnation weekend descends upon Manchester and the Bowlers Exhibition Centre (BEC). With UK exclusives, debuts, and final appearances, you knew it was going to be something special. Despite losing Sick Of It All and Hippotraktor in the run up to the event, there was still more than enough talent spread across the Lou’s Brews Main Stage, Black Metal themed Cult Never Dies (CND) stage, and Pelagic Records stage.
Some festivals offer a small splattering of bands to whet the appetite for festival attendees the day before the main event in the form of a pre-show. Damnation, however, doesn’t do things by half and offers a blockbuster event, headlined by Decapitated who were set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their hit record “The Negation” (and another surprise). Offering those who had bought tickets the chance to bring a plus one for no additional charge was a real touch of class and sentiment from the organisers!
How would things compare to last year’s event? What were the highlights of this night’s festivities?
First thoughts on the arena; slight changes this year. Less portaloos, more food vendors, a separate area for outdoor seating now (but less seats overall). The merch tent was fully stocked and the queue for Dragged Into Sunlight’s merch stand was literally about 100 people deep. Wow! “Get into the second stage early tomorrow for their set” I thought to myself. After maybe a few too many two pinters, time for the first band…
Underdark
The first clash for me as Damnation favourites Underdark were opening the CND stage with Norna opening their stage next door. I had seen Underdark at Arctangent but to be honest I wasn’t totally impressed that day due to some sound issues. Still, I loved their latest album and wanted to give them another shot. They sounded so much better tonight! Thirty minutes breezed past and this was a solid opener and testament to the UK’s underground Black Metal scene. What could make this better? Perhaps a little more movement from the band to match vocalist Abi’s relentless energy on that stage. Though they have the fundamentals in place so they’ll only grow stronger.
https://www.facebook.com/Underdarkuk
Fen
Fen-tastic, fen-nomenal. Yes I can hear you groan at this dad joke! Though Fen were no joke on that stage tonight. They could have easily commanded a main stage slot but they burst through their CND stage slot with a pummelling Post-Black Metal assault. As melodic and aesthetic as it was fierce and uncompromising, Fen are yet another triumph and ode to the UK’s stacked underground Black Metal scene.
https://www.facebook.com/fenofficial
Morne
My plan had been to catch Post-Rock maestros A Burial At Sea over on the Pelagic Stage. However, I was fully in the flow of Black Metal at this point. Morne were a change of pace and style on the CND stage, having been made homeless and taken from their main stage slot to accommodate other bands. They demonstrated why they were worthy of that main stage with a thunderous riff fest of a performance, the only exclusive album set this evening on this stage (“Engraved With Pain”). No fancy gimmicks or pandering, just good old fashioned distorted Doom-infused Stoner delight.
https://www.facebook.com/mornecrust
The Ocean
Billed as “an offer we couldn’t refuse”, the German Progressive Metal maestros were set to play their record “Pelagial” for the final time in full, and this night would also see members of the band depart afterwards. They were unmissable for me anyway but this added additional weight! My first trip to the main stage this evening, it’s easy to see why Gavin and his crew could not turn this down. Atmospheric, tighter than a mechanics wrench, aesthetically pure with every note in perfect synergy, and a production standard that was unmatched this evening so far. I still maintain that The Ocean are amongst the finest live bands on the planet.
https://www.facebook.com/theoceancollective
Cult Of Fire
With arguably the most painful clash of the day as Denmark’s LLNN were poised to headline/obliterate the Pelagic stage, I had to choose Czechia’s black metal force Cult Of Fire. Even though I had seen them 6 days previously in The Netherlands, I needed to revisit this magic. Especially considering the murmuration’s of the kabuki drop adding to their already expansive live performance. Well, they were fierce. Again! Despite some early mic problems from the vocalist, once this was restored it was easy to see why so much hype had been built around the band. The live performance was everything I expected it to be, and more! A perfect ritual to close the black metal themed CND stage. If you get chance to see Cult Of Fire, just do it.
https://www.facebook.com/cultoffireofficial
Decapitated
Last but certainly not least, Poland’s Decapitated closed the evening on the main stage with a world exclusive “The Negation” album set. The crowd interaction was everything you expected, with bodies flying aimlessly into one another like car crash test dummies and crowd surfers charging towards the main stage like homing missiles.
Why did the vocalists keep swapping? Well it became clearer why; it was their new vocalist’s debut gig and also his 30th birthday! This also saw an appearance from original vocalist Sauron. My milestone birthday consisted of going for a meal with family so he easily wins the game of most impressive 30th birthdays! A sentimental moment indeed. They burned through all tracks from “The Negation” as fast as a blink of an eye, before closing their set with more contemporary classics.
https://www.facebook.com/decapitated
What a way to start Damnation weekend and to get yourself fully in the groove for the main event the next day!
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