On paper, this makes perfect sense. A collaborative effort between Full of Hell and Nothing stand as two of the most creative outliers in their respective genres, and the mission statement of When No Birds Sing (Closed Casket Activities) is to fuse the juxtaposition of their varied sonic palettes. Brace yourself, as Full of Hell is the overpowering force when the album opens.
Sometimes a good ol’ dose of angry music is what the doctor ordered. This year certainly had some bangers of this category, but one of the best so far is END’s latest effort, The Sin of Human Frailty (Closed Casket Activities). Thirty minutes of sonic aggression comes jam-packed in the form of this metalcore supergroup’s sophomore full-length.
It would be redundant to label End Reign an angry band. Metal tends to breed a dime a dozen of those. And metallic hardcore isn’t a previously untapped subgenre. Besides, the two have probably worked in tandem long before we subdivided every possible combination for the sake of clarity.
Knowing well who, or what, Full of Hell and Primitive Man are separate, it is no surprise what to expect should these forces ever collide. Suffocating Hallucination (Closed Casket Activities) is just the very chaotic collaboration I expected, but even more sonically harsh and violent than originally thought. Five tracks drag you relentlessly through a half hour of torture and misery. To make this clear, these are all compliments of what is a literal, aural trip through Hell itself.
Following their 2020 Grave of a Dog debut which happened to feature a certain Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota), Sightless Pit (duo Lee Buford of The Body and Dylan Walker from Full of Hell) return (sans Hayter) with sophomore release Lockstep Bloodwar (Thrill Jockey).
After their biggest year ever this year, Hellfest 2023 has booked headliners Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, and Slipknot! Set to take place June 15-18, 2023 In Clisson, France, the bill also includes Def Leppard, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, Amon Amarth, Alter Bridge And Within Temptation, and more! Headliners for the 2022 edition of Hellfest included Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Deftones, Ghost, Scorpions, and Korn over two long weekends to make up for the missed pandemic year of 2020.
The Acacia Strain have shared their first new music in a year and a half, since the release of their epic 2020 album, Slow Decay! Their new standalone single “Untended Graves.” The band also shared a visualizer you can watch below. The band will be hitting the road next spring on an extensive tour with Fit For an Autopsy, Full of Hell, and Primitive Man. Full dates can be seen below!
Crowd at Damnation – Credit: Rich Price Photography
Following the highly successful 2021 post-lockdown return of Damnation Festival to Leeds University, 2022 sees the event move back to its original home city of Manchester, now expanded to take place in the 6000-capacity BEC Arena.
The move, whilst probably inevitable, was always going to be something of a gamble. Some of the smaller rooms at the Leeds, Damnation were getting dangerously crammed, and the festival’s repute, ticket-buying demand, and band-booking clout had outgrown its former venue. But, on the other hand, many had come to regard the Leeds University Union, for all its quirks and eccentricities, as Damnation’s home.
Rejoicing still in the simple fact we can have a physical Roadburn again, the final two days definitely wore on our pandemic shocked psyche and physique. Stumbling more and wearing down in a way I’m not used to, I mentioned to some friends during the weekend the Pandemic has made us all old, and 5 days on our feet now feel a lot longer. Saturday started with the feeling it felt like a Sunday, traditionally called the afterburner, because by that time you are fairly burnt out.
