The melodic Mallory Knox are blessed with clear sound as they open up the big tent on a bright Sunday morning. They are just the bright kind of band, with both clean and falsetto sung vocals, you want to start off such an occasion. Despite both the band and the audiences hangovers they give their all, encouraging clapping for QOD. They don't even let a broken bass string get in the way. They are a band riding on a high at the moment with mainstream radio picking up their new hook laden songs. Their music typically features clean picked guitar verses followed by distorted power-chord choruses. It doesn't ask too much from the listener and neither do they, just requesting that people nod their heads along in time with the beat. The "woahs" at the end of Death Rattle before a climatic riff sound big and poppy. With an accessible sound that could propel them into the mainstream and more shows later this year Mallory Knox are one to watch. (9/13)
Attack! Vipers! suffer vocal mic feedback as they straight away kick in heavy. They play a blend of punk metal and hardcore with the singer Joe getting up in people's grills screaming. The first song off new album Deadweight Revival Reverse Heart Attack is, we are told, about growing old, as Joe explains how he wishes that they started their career at a younger age. Ben manages to craft cavernous sounds from clean guitar and when he picks his instrument he makes it sound well pronounced. They dedicate Strays to all their friends in the community before stating that it is about the time Joe tried attacking the Melvins with a bottle on their tour-bus! They may have less people to play to than Mallory Knox did five minutes earlier but they are still chuffed by the early morning turnout. Last number Fire In Your Lungs is a prime example of the variety in the guitar work which is Attack! Vipers! distinguishing feature, although it arguably comes out clearer on record. (8/13)
Next as the audience's population dwindles further the few are treated to what is Night Verses fifth ever show, and what a treat it is; with a drum flurry they burst into From The Shadows Where I'm Low, "barely alive" sung with unbridled passion and powerful shouted backing vocals. They play like the place is packed even though the tent has all but emptied. Aric Improta is animated throughout, using double bass peddle on occasion to great effect and jumping off his drum stool generating an impressive amount of air. Douglas Robinson has a big mouth and a big pair of lungs singing "why does this feel like a bad dream?" with eyes wide and alive. His vocals hold up well on the parts without any instruments playing too, a good example being the ending of Be Happy With Yourself, I'm Staying Here In Hell which they have just released a music video for. Some of guitartist Nick Depirro's work is impressive including some intricate fingertapping and a handful of masterful (and importantly not self indulgent) solos. He practices some calm meditating guitar on their final song before whipping up a distortion storm as bassist Reilly Herrera leads the band in putting every last drop of energy into the final riff. (11/13)
Worms Feed start with some desperate slow tempo sounds before divulging into a heap of guitar pull offs then slapping me fast, fast, fast across the face with a large number of snare hits accumulated in a very short space of time. They seem determined to make up for their recently cancelled tour with a stinging performance at Hevy today. At times Worms Feed sound like a mule struggling to pull a colossal load. Unfortunately there is little in the way of audience engagement. Highlights other than the tightly tuned tom drums come from single Black Snow and Trash Can Man with its fast punk beat. The last track they play bursts out of feedback in a ball of energy before the drums and bass build amidst a fuzz of feedback and distortion. (7/13)
Black Shapes are the soundtrack to some early afternoon pit action. It is a sound like the groan of trees in a cursed wood. Try listening to Chaos Reigns, a song of the stop/start nature, to see if you get what I mean. Ex-Jairus bassist Mike Ager's distorted bass leads the verses as Jonathan Goldthorpe's chugging guitar parts are matched with bell hits on the cymbals by Richard Wooding, before he shows off with some rolling snare fills. The replacement of a drum stand delays him from starting Carnival which they eventually tear through as he head-bangs and mouths along. They finish on free single Let Valhalla Burn, its riffs with razor sharp stops ring clear but the thrashy parts do not, and are therefore sadly lost. (8/13)
I had no intention of watching Suis La Lune but the vocal call and response of "I'm so sorry" in Remorse felt so arresting I had to stay to hear more. As the words falter and break, similar to Circle Takes The Square vocals, I am aware that most people would argue that they just can't sing but to these people I would say you're wrong. This overt frailty is what is so attractive and intoxicating about this band. The pain in the struggling vocals is striking, the picked guitar sounds like a ticking clock and the bassist plays chords for a full bodied effect. When they go heavy it is like a weird mix of post-rock and hardcore. They also leave faint guitar twinkles echoing between songs which adds a nice touch. Spontaneous applause bursts out as their shy frontman describes how weird it is for them to be on such a large stage, demonstrating that people have really tuned in to what we are hearing. Although this focus on listening to the music might be in part due to the fact that they are not much to look at. Instead of throwing themselves around they construct dense walls of sound in their heavy moments. The last song sees one guitar playing constantly as all the other members come in and out with their instruments building up the volume in an impressively short space of time, and as it culminates in a climatic aural frenzy the heavy sound this time is more of a straight up hardcore sound. Suis La Lune are artists splattering dark paint across their music with bright delicate strokes, the best band to come out of Sweden since Refused, well worth checking out. (12/13)
There are people grazing on the grass in the sun outside of the tents as &U&I start with the slow build of D Pablo in the small tent before a wizing fill sets them on their way to rocking To the Water Now is the Hour and as Thom Peckett sings "hello, hello good day" more and more people enter the beer smelling tent. They get to hear his screams like a demon, admire his de-bearded chin, and see him head-bang his hat off. All this before a scuzzy bass leads Terror Back, guitar held upside-down in the verses to create feedback before a complex stop/start riff comes in. What is most impressive is the perfect harmonies Peckett achieves by running his vocals through a DB7 Delay pedal singing "so save your breath 'cos it's not worth the air you're breathing, beads of sweat and do you feel alive?" Indeed the control he retains on his voice whilst losing bodily control is inspiring. Subsequently they succeed in taking it down a level using quiet guitar chords before &U&I jump you with a riff and proceed to stab you in the brain with it. From the sold out album Light Bearer (which they cannot afford to re-press) they treat us to Belly Full of Fire & a Heart Full of Blood with its pounding drums before Accordingly in Motion which features the narrated part delivered in commanding style by a hidden guest vocalist. Steve Richards of Sharks joins them on stage to play guitar on the last song which features the bleak Blakfish-esque lyrics "no-one achieves because no-one believes". A powerful performance of songs that deserve a bigger audience than this small tent can hold. (11/13)
H2O declare the mainstage barricade as crazy so singer Toby Morse comes down for a sing-along as people flock to the front. There is an energy to their music and in their performance which galvanizes the entire audience- and they pull a near full tent! The punters pump their fists in the air and shout "don't forget your ROOTS" as Toby Morse bounds around the stage like someone literally half his age (42). We are duly informed that we are not seeing the original line up and that their bassist has now switched to guitar. But they still have Rusty Pistachio who sings "woah"as H2O enthusiasts circle pit. This is not energetic enough for the liking of Toby Morse who himself starts the circle pit for the next song. He then stops to sing into a cordless mic in the middle of the circle pit before getting mobbed and having to fight his way out and circle again. Until "Oh shit! Here comes the mosh part" cues much moshing and another absolute mobbing, this time with people jumping on top of the pile. Despite this Toby elects to stay down in the pit with the fans (I overhear someone say "what a fucking king") citing the barricade as being bigger than his house and jokingly requesting a drawbridge. Sunday is a hit and One Life, One Chance refuses to let the crowd be stationary and quiet. H2O only pause to give respect to the bands on the bill which Toby has tattoos of: 7 Seconds, Madball and Descendents before the singing a cappella intro "my friends look out for me like family" of 5 Year Plan. Before playing What Happened with guest vocals from Madball they state before they sing "it's all about the music and the message" which brings the house down. (11/13)
The Chariot take a photo from the stage before demanding "everyone up front, this is a celebration". I take it they don't miss KC Wolf who has quit the position of bassist so recently they did not have the time to either find a replacement or drop out. Guitarists Stevis Harrison and Brandon Henderson batter their bodies around and hurl their guitars about as Singer Josh Scogin carelessly throws his microphone twenty foot into the crowd. They form a wall of sound then all freeze a la The Hives amidst a blaze of feedback before going berserk. They utilise the space masterfully and the double guitar loop around the shoulder in one throw we are treated to is remarkable. Scogin stands on the barrier conducting a screamathon later treading over his fans before broadcasting "I love you, I love you, we are Bob Dylan". Bob Dylan they are not, in fact they are so heavy that for long periods the guitars just sound percussive and rather than hearing any tune all I can make out is the drums. There is a bizarre interruption to this noise when a fairground pop song pops up in the middle of a song twice. The juxtaposition is unnerving. The singer picks up and plays a tambourine along to their stuff, as if it could ever be heard above The Chariots high octane racket. By the end of the set the noise culminates into what sounds more like an air raid alarm than a song of any form. Extreme! (7/13)
Hundred Reasons still make me smile today and the songs from their classic debut Ideas Above Our Station have stood the test of time as proven by the popularity they still hold with those in attendance this evening. From having been one of the heavier bands at the first ever Hevy held at Folkstone Seafront, they are definitely a lighter touch this time around compared with the likes of Devil Sold His Soul, Norma Jean, Converge et al. But this just makes people enjoy their poppy edge more with classics such as If I Could and Falter being greeted like old friends. The set is flawed with the slightest of mistakes made by stand in drummer Joe Birch (Hell Is For Heroes) in Dissolve and singer Colin Doran holding his hands up for messing up the only instrumental part he plays (the keyboard solo on Silver). But the audience is forgiving and sings the part for him. After running through the whole album in order, with bassist Andy Gilmour doing a good job taking over the vocal parts of departed guitarist Paul Townsend, singer Colin finishes up alone with Larry Hibbett on guitar for quiet number Avalanche. (11/13)
Despite visiting our shores many times this is the first 'open air' (the Rock Sound stage is under a tent guys) festival New York City's Madball have performed at. They walk on to tense horror movie style music as the lights are raised. They are so dazzling that they temporarily blind the audience which is surprisingly comprised of people at their first ever Madball show. Delving into a rich back catalogue of great riffs you just wish you wrote as the singer Freddy Circien bounces from one side of the stage to the other. They air the first, and best, song off the new Rebellion EP Reap What You Sow which fits in well, and can only help to cement their legacy. Their regal status in the hardcore scene however does them no favours tonight in front of a bunch of newbies. Cricien is not put off by the quiet audience and instead offers "we accept the challenge". Madball are made to work, and whilst they do not earn the biggest reaction this festival sees they do earn the biggest respect, as the crowd slowly comes around. They thank all the punk rockers and metal heads for keeping an open mind and hearing them out, but declare that they are in no way going out to such a tepid response. At last, right at the death, they get the huge pit they deserved all along and even get clapped by Converge over on the Punktastic stage adjacent where they have been busy soundchecking. (9/13)
Nate Newton blows the bass head on his amp almost straight away as Converge kick into Jane Doe but this allows you to appreciate the talents of Kurt Ballou (guitar) and Ben Koller (drum kit) even more. The backdrop, comprised of kissing lovers with a deathly skeleton lurking behind and paint like drops strewn across it, taken from the artwork to 2009's Axe to Fall looks stunning. I sincerely hope Singer Jacob Bannon does the artwork for All We love We Leave Behind, due out later this year. A dark guitar intro with single note hits from the bass and drums takes Converge into Dark Horse which features the most fast, epic drums to excite the crowd. From here on in they demonstrate why they are so highly regarded in underground music. With a set that takes in songs from their last four studio albums including four cuts from the seminal Jane Doe the fans seem very satisfied. Most recent album Axe to Fall is well represented with Reap What You Sow, Cutter, and Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast getting back to back plays and Yet to be released All We Love We Leave Behind is also drawn from extensively. They hope to come back to the UK to tour in support of this album before the year ends. There is a funny moment when one of their songs ends abruptly and we hear Descendants playing a bar or two to test out their sound, after which Newton joins in on the bass exclaiming "I always wanted to play with the Descendants!" They finish the masterclass in heavy music with an emotional delivery of Last Light and the obliterating soundball that is Concubine. With singer Jacob Bannon out in front of a frenzied audience with crowd surfers suffering music induced seizures making for a mental scene to take in. (11/13)
Descendants have hits to spare as they discard Everything Sucks straight off the bat. Ben Koller (Converge) can be spotted crouching at the far corner of the stage air drumming to Bill Stevenson who with his tongue lolling out of his mouth looks like he has been electrocuted, or perhaps just brought back to life by a defibrillator to play some fast old-school punk. Karl Alvarez meanwhile has a fan in H2O singer Toby Morse who you can tell wishes he could finger pick the bass as well as Karl by his mimicking movements sidestage. Whilst they have the artists popularity vote, they do not have as big a turnout as some of the previous bands on today and throughout a long (and exclusive) headline set the numbers decline. It's a shame to miss the mid set double header of Clean Sheets and Bikeage, which has fans singing along loudly.
I am left confused for a brief period of time in which singer Milo Aukerman pulls out a prop which looks like a tablet with commandments written on it. I have no idea what that was about. What comes across clear and strong is their childish charm. With band members playing a "wha wha wha-whaa" to failed jokes and Stevenson grabbing his overhead microphone just to belch down it.
"I want to be stereotyped, I want to be classified" introduces Suburban Home to the audience, before they play I'm Not a Loser which houses some great guitar lines. Less people still stick around for an encore that features the catchy Sour Grapes and finally to bring Hevy to a close Descendants play Descendants. (8/13)