Video and additional reports coming soon! Read up on Report 1 HERE.
Friday July 12th, 2013
The real UK Tech-Metal Fest is just getting started. The sky is grey over our heads but it seems like there will be no rain for the whole weekend, which is a remarkable sign of good luck for the fest considering we’re in the UK.
During the early afternoon the performance that surprised us the most was delivered by The Colour Line, one of the first bands to take the main stage today. Everyone who saw the set can confirm that this band definitely wins the award for the most frightening and insane live performance of the fest. A perfect example of what a chaotic mathcore band should do live (we got it on tape, you will see it very soon). You need to check out this band if you’re a fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s recent stuff and live attitude, or if you like some good mathcore in general.
Later on we received sad news that Destiny Potato had to cancel their show. But we were informed that it had only been delayed to the following day due to some trouble with their gear on the plane. Exist Immortal’s performance received good feedback from the audience during the first afternoon. Other bands proceeded to play main stage, including the heavy live show from Cold Night For Alligators, supported by a good and enthusiastic audience as well.
After lunch, around 3:30 PM, our friends Damned Spring Fragrantia got on stage despite the long series of troubles with the UK plugs (they’re completely different from all the other European plugs. And believe me, this gave a lot of problems to a lot of European musicians). Their set was powerful and enjoyed by a considerable audience. It was amazing for these guys to travel more than 2000 miles for their first show out of Italy and find several people already wearing their t-shirts. We filmed part of their set too, which featured a good portion of their latest album “Divergences” including the song “Heritage” that they weren’t able to perform during their recent release party. I’ve already described more than once the power and the intensity of their live shows, so I won’t reiterate. But it was a great show, trust me.
After that, UK local heroes Meta-Stasis played their ruthless show headlining the second stage. I had seen these guys walking around the camping grounds and the stages, doing their best to try to give away their CDs and spread their music, putting all their heart into it. You should check em out.
Destiny Potato’s spot on the main stage was taken by the Israeli band Linked. Fronted by two vocalists, capable to bring dynamic singing, both clean and screaming, this band had a sort of Fellsilent and early Monuments flavour, reminding this band during the “We Are The Foundation EP” period. I’ve met them many times during the weekend. They were a bunch of really friendly guys (they also saved Damned Spring Fragrantia’s ass one minute before their set, finding them an adapter for the UK plugs, of which I spoke before). I really hope to meet them again. This was the last show of their UK tour with Invocation and No Consequence, who played shortly after. The UK-based band signed by Basick records has been growing so much since last year. With the release of their album “IO”, they’ve been showing more than serious potential. They played the most renowned tracks, like the single “Coerce:Conform” and “Unify”, but also amazing tracks like “Enemy Of Logic” and “Bury The Debt”. It was a memorable and high quality performance from a band that has by now conquered their spot in the UK and international tech-metal scene as one of the most interesting and promising acts. Me and my mate also met their vocalist around the venue many times for some very drunk Italian lessons with him – one of the funniest moments of the weekend.
Unfortunately I was busy trying to solve problems with my computer and camera so I wasn’t able to attend Cilice’s performance and part of Scar Symmetry’s set. Anyways, I was told that Scar Symmetry’s set was damn intense and attended by the largest audience so far. They performed songs like “Morphogenesis”, “The Anomaly”, “The Iconoclast”, and “The Illusionist”.
After a short break we were ready for the first after-party! After midnight it was officially my birthday as well! Celebrating it here at UKTMF was one of the best experiences of my life. As I was walking towards the stage I met two really funny English guys that insisted that I had a real English birthday, so every time they found me without a drink in my hand they bought me one. Alcoholic nights apart, I met them in the following days and had great times with them. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names (met so many people!) and I hope this post will help me find them.
I was really curious to see the UK-based metal & drum n’ bass band Collisions. Luckily, I was sober enough to enjoy them and The Algorithm as well in a worthwhile way. There was a good number of people to watch them even though most of them didn’t know the band. I must say that I was really surprised and liked their performance more than their studio stuff, which I actually already loved. They played their singles “Believe In This”, “Push” and the the Bjork cover “Army Of Me”, also bringing us some new amazing material. I’m definitely looking forward to this band’s new album, coming very soon. You all should check em out too if you already haven’t. After Collisions, it was the time for The Algorithm’s live set. I already told you about The Algorithm’s live show with Mike Malyan, and how intense and incredible they are. This time was possibly even better than the last time: Remi and Mike were also supported by an amazing guitarist adding thickness and epicness to the sound. The show was also more continuous, almost without interruption between the songs, making it more similar to a live DJ set.
First official day has been a fucking blast! Tomorrow will be probably be even better considering it’s my birthday but also one of the busiest days. You’ll see…
– MATTIA
Links: Facebook // Official Website
