Mangata Festival
Mangata Festival, Nottingham City Centre
12/07/2025
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
The East Midlands can be considered a hotbed for Metal, with thousands flocking to the region every summer for Bloodstock Open Air and Download Festival. As such, it’s easy for the smaller independent festivals to be forgotten about, likes of Mangata Festival. Taking place in Nottingham city centre – a city with a solid Metal scene – the festival showcased a vast array of bands across multiple genres. Whether it be Doom, Stoner, Metalcore, Black Metal, or even classic Metal in the shape of headliners The Raven Age, there was something for everyone. These were hardly start up or beginner bands, NO. Many of which were established in their own rights with some having played the main stages of Bloodstock or the smaller stages of Download, and other major festivals. So it was clear there was going to be no shortage of talent.
Logistics and Venues
Upon arriving in Nottingham, the thermometer had sailed north of 20 degrees celsius, and it wasn’t even midday! Fortunately, there were adequate shaded areas throughout the day, as well bars offering free drinking water stations to ensure we all stayed hydrated. I did wonder how the multi venue set up would work, but after quickly learning that most of the venues were within 1 minute walk of each other (the Red Rooms and Rescue Rooms were actually in the same building too), this made the logistics so much easier! I could be a bit more ambitious with my band schedule, while factoring in some much needed food and other breaks.
Once passes were collected, it was time for the bands…
The Bands
The band have built a solid reputation having played Download Festival and opened the main stage at Trees only a few days prior. My anticipation was but it took a song or two for me to really get into it. But once I had, I was involuntarily headbanging and tapping my feet along to some of those meaty and gnarly grooves. I was getting a Tesseract djenty style rythmic quality, which is always a good thing. Also a good thing is the band’s lighting display which added to visual spectacle. Fronting the band, Jessica worked hard to engage the crowd who had still not woke up yet. We’d have seen way more movement if this was later in the day. A surprise guest vocal appearance from Will from Defences added a bit of energy though. It seems like the band are still cooking and maturing but you know they have all the ingredients to go even further in the industry.
https://www.facebook.com/mallavora
“They’re absolute Doom legends” was how a friend of mine described the band. How could I say no? Rather than the skull crushing funeral doom I usually consume, there was more of a melodic element and psychedelic qualities permeating through the densely layered and textured mix. Vocalist Allanah was the spearhead of the band’s sound, offering a more aesthetic and clean singing style, different from what the genre usually dictates. Different is good though, and Alunnah were good on this day!
https://www.facebook.com/alunah.doom
Ladles and jellyspoons, be ye ready for the foinest poirate Metal barnd in arll the seven seas?
(This works better if you read it in a pirate voice …honest ). The best band to be named after a race horse were next up on the Rescue Rooms main stage. This really was as cheesy as it could possibly get; middle aged men dressed as pirates singing sea shanties and songs about glug, sailing, and rum in a Power Metal style. It was silly, entertaining and just fun overall, injecting a welcome boost of energy to the early stages of the festival.
https://www.facebook.com/redrummetal
Over to the Liquid Library stage now for one of the band’s I had been most excited about. Part of the Black Metal offering today, they played to a packed out room which speaks to their popularity. A solid Black Metal performance with the traditional elements you’d expect in such a band – tremolo picked guitars, blast beats, and KVLT shrieks – though the band’s live keyboard player added some atmospheric seasoning and an air of authenticity to the band’s sound. A sound which they had some technical difficulties with but played through them liked champs. It felt the venue wasn’t really suited to them given that it was pretty much a night club temporarily converted into a live music venue for the day. Even a bit of smoke would have added more intrigue and interest to the overall presence. I definitely would like to check Wolvencrown out again though.
https://www.facebook.com/wolvencrown
Back to the Rescue Rooms for hometown heroes Phoenix Lake. I had seen them a few months prior here in Manchester when vocalist Lana sadly had a throat infection and couldn’t showcase the best of her ability. Tonight though, she was the full package vocally, whether it was wonderful cleans or some effortless harsher screams! The whole room was bouncing at one point and the band couldn’t hide their delight at this sight. They have a wonderful versatile sound; heavy enough to be on the lineup of heavier Metalcore bands, but radio friendly and melodic enough to be at home on a classic Rock/Heavy Metal line up. We even got a sneak preview of their upcoming album with a live play through of the song ‘Serenity’. I’ll be keeping my eye out on that release!
https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixLakeOfficial
My first visit to the Ghost Nightclub stage for a band I had been keen on checking out. This is melodic Metalcore, but delivered in a way that breaks many conventions and feels like something fresh and innovative. Cherry was a powerhouse on lead vocals, with her supreme technique and soaring voice shining bright, though Will’s solid growls from behind the keys was a wonderful juxtaposition. After all, light shines brightest in the dark. I spied a few singing along near the front of the crowd, hinting at how the music has resonated with some.
It felt like the venue was far too small for them though, and wasn’t really designed for a band like Defences. It was fricking warm up there too, but that’s not really something the festival could help with. They could have easily commanded a main stage position, and should have been on a stage that could showcase their talents better.
https://www.facebook.com/Defences
At this point, I needed to reassess my plans for the day. So while I had been pretty keen on seeing Abduction and Desert Storm again, I thought I’d take a punt on some newer bands. I honestly thought I had had a much better experience in the Rescue Rooms at this point, a venue designed for live music, and not temporary ‘pop-up’ stages for the day, which was driving my decision too.
After a quick break and some sustenance in the form of a Goth Burger (if they come to a festival, check it out. It’s awesome: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575516792978).
Would this gamble pay off? I would soon find out with my first and only visit to the Red Room today.
Isn’t it wonderful when you discover a new band live and in the flesh without any prior knowledge of them even existing? I got this with Black Orchid Empire. They were so polished and technical with just the right amount of venom to make you wanna headbang to some of those crushingly tight rhythms. Yet there was still plenty of melody, provided largely by vocalist/guitarist Paul’s insanely strong and soaring lead vocals. It’s even more incredible knowing that they were only a three piece, with each smaller part forming way more than the individual components in this sum. Their frontman oozed charisma and engaged the crowd admirably well in a way that felt authentic and sincere. What a discovery!
https://www.facebook.com/blackorchidempire
The Swiss band are in high demand, having made Mangata Festival their second in as many days here in the UK. It’s easy to see why. See, honestly I thought they sounded okay on record. But see them in the flesh and they’re a completely different animal! They move around the stage with frightening ease and with enough energy to power a small village! I’d love to know what frontman Louis had had for breakfast as he had the highest energy of the lot, oozing charisma and supreme confidence, as he jumped the rail to join the crowd and whipping a frenzied pit later in the set! It seemed like he and the rest of the band were trying their very best to win the crowd over, and they did so successfully, and couldn’t hide their gratitude in the process. Their style is… alternative, punky Hardcore …I really don’t know. You try to categorize them! UK folk, you still have a chance to see them at both Arctangent and Damnation. Make sure you do.
https://www.facebook.com/coilguns
So, my decision to try out two new bands had paid off massively! After all, isn’t that where the magic of festivals truly is? From new bands though to something more established and of the bands I considered to be truly unmissable for the day…
“Nottingham, it’s been too long“
Damn right! It was just over two years since I had seen the band perform a wonderful headline set at Techfest before they seemingly vanished off the face of the earth! I was pleased to see them come back though, as I’m sure many others where as the Rescue Rooms was suitably packed. A 10 minute delay due to technical issues raised some pulses. Though pulses were being raised for other reasons; namely due to the sheer movement and energy in the pits that had emerged! Walls of death, circle pits, crowd surfers; the lot! It seems as though this energy was greatest for the bands older songs; ‘Bleed Red’, and ‘The Rising Tide’ suggesting that more time is needed for people to become familiar with their newer material. Maybe that’s just my perception though. Alls I know is that I had the best time singing my blackened heart out along to ‘The Rising Tide’ was healing and much needed, making that alone worth the journey to Nottingham.
https://www.facebook.com/thefivehundredband
The main stage headliner and thus overall headline fact for the festival, it was time for some modern Heavy Metal! I had spied multiple shirts for the band throughout the day. They would be a tough act to follow given the carnage that Coilguns and The Five Hundred had caused prior to them. Maybe it was the fatigue that got to me, but I just didn’t feel a connection to the music this evening, sadly. It felt like the energy from the crowd had been sapped too. Some attempts of crowd engagement from vocalist Matt had been successful, whereas there were too many occasions where he pointed the mic to the crowd expecting a call and response, but instead being met with seeming silence. Perhaps I need to give The Raven Age another chance on their own headline or a smaller show, preferably not at the end of a festival on the hottest day of the year!
https://www.facebook.com/TheRavenAge
Closing Thoughts
Well, I’m already strongly considering attending next year’s festival and have told many within my peer group about it! For roughly £50 a ticket, you really cannot argue with the value there. This shows you can have a solid day’s entertainment without spending a fortune. It’s not like it’s filled with chumps and beginner bands either. The majority are seasoned well-polished acts who have respectable touring pedigrees and festival credentials behind them. Despite the smaller venues needing a little polish and sprucing up, everything felt well-organised and I saw nothing but good vibes and people having a great time. As a guy with back issues, I found there were plenty of seated areas and adequate areas to take a break from the music and noise too whenever it was needed, which is a point I think the festival really deserves credit for as it makes it way more enjoyable and accessible to all.
More than ever, it’s crucial that we support smaller independent festivals like Mangata. I’ll continue to speak praises for what really is a hidden gem here in the UK.
