Damnation Festival - Leeds University - 5th November 2011 (Live Review)
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Written by Ben Bland
An undoubted highlight of the UK metal calendar, this year’s Damnation Festival may have had its concerns over ticket sales at times but has managed to pull out all the stops yet again. With a diverse (but wickedly heavy) line-up spread across three packed stages, Damnation has managed to outdo arguably all of its, previously excellent, line-ups.
Local lads Humanfly kick off the day on the intimate Zero Tolerance stage. Sadly they are not as impressive as they were when they flattened venues across the country supporting Earthtone9 earlier this year but they still provide a welcoming dose of heaviness to start things on the right footing. Xerath attempt to be equally crushing as they open up the Jagermeister stage but sadly lack the true force required, not something that experimental black metallers A Forest of Stars suffer from despite their misleading Victorian chic. Paul Catten may look like an ordinary man on the street but he throws himself into performances of classic Medulla Nocte and Murder One material during a brief but ferocious A Man Called Catten performance on the Terrorizer Stage. Sadly Conan are dedicated but dull crafters of stoner doom and a thinning Zero Tolerance Stage crowd bears testament to this. Illuminatus also lack a bit of punch despite their impressive Tool-isms.
Thankfully Norwegian jazz-metal loons Shining are on the Terrorizer Stage to get everything going at top gear with arguably the best set of the day. In half an hour they manage to deconstruct an entire crowd’s conception of what a band can and cannot do with saxophones and guitars. Astrohenge are a unique combination of instrumental stoner rock and psychedelia and an undeniably impressive act. Turisas certainly have conviction in their ‘battle metal’ even if they are the very definition of an acquired taste. Dragged Into Sunlight are an acquired taste as well, but they are also the best British purveyors of filth-encrusted noise for a long, long time…utterly indescribable…and utterly terrifying. Evile are straight-up thrash but are good at it and the Jagermeister Stage crowd laps them up.
Altar of Plagues are one of the weightiest things your ears will ever here, that is if you brave entering their desolate sonic kingdom. They turn the Zero Tolerance Stage into a decidedly hazardous area for a forty minute set that transports those present to hell in fiery raptures. Grand Magus are nothing new but they have some anthems to back up their devotion to classic metal and so their power doom approach is better executed that one may suspect. Amplifier may appear fussy as they sound check before beginning their Zero Tolerance Stage set but they are merely ensuring their hour of excellence is as sonically amazing as it should be, and unsurprisingly is.
As the evening draws in on the Jagermeister Stage Godflesh are unbelievably loud…but anything less than absolute full volume would be a travesty on this most extreme of acts. Their slightly reduced hour performance is painful but utterly brilliant. Headlining the Zero Tolerance Stage, God Is an Astronaut successfully lure the crowd in with their epic, joyous journeys into the world of post-rock even if their performance does seem a little affected by tiredness. Ulver more than take their time getting on stage but that would not have mattered had they not disappointed. A set that appears to less than interest the members of this incredible band therefore falls slightly flat despite an undeniably potent array of sounds. The Devin Townsend Project are tailor made for festival headline slots. The ultimate metal entertainer, with a back catalogue that is satisfactorily dipped into, Devin comes up trumps again to bring Damnation 2011 to a triumphant conclusion, capping off the metal event of the year.
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Altar of Plagues are one of the weightiest things your ears will ever here, that is if you brave entering their desolate sonic kingdom. They turn the Zero Tolerance Stage into a decidedly hazardous area for a forty minute set that transports those present to hell in fiery raptures. Grand Magus are nothing new but they have some anthems to back up their devotion to classic metal and so their power doom approach is better executed that one may suspect. Amplifier may appear fussy as they sound check before beginning their Zero Tolerance Stage set but they are merely ensuring their hour of excellence is as sonically amazing as it should be, and unsurprisingly is.
