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.
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.
We chatted with Damnation Festival Director, co-founder, and booking agent Gavin McInally to preview this weekend’s 2022 festival in Manchester, UK. Gav discussed this year’s festivals, what goes into planning a festival, booking artists to perform exclusive sets (Converge, Godflesh, Pig Destroyer, At The Gates), how the fest pivoted to new headliners when they lost one (Ministry), booking the “Night of Salvation” event, the move from Leeds to Manchester, the current state of the UK heavy music scene, and more!
Decibel Magazine, America’s finest metal magazine has announced its first annual Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Denver event! It will take place December 2nd-3rd, 2022, at The Summit, and will feature Cannibal Corpse, Pig Destroyer, Dark Funeral among many other international and local bands! The even has beer in its name so it will also have some of the best (and Most Metal Breweries in the scene. The full lineup can be seen below and tickets go on sale Friday July, 22nd at 10 AM!
America’s only European-style Open Air Metal fest is Full Terror Assault Open Air 2022, just outside of Chicago. Last year’s event was headlined by Exodus and sold- out and they are aiming to top last years’ event. The first wave of bands for 2022 includes Municipal Waste, Pig Destroyer, Ghoul, Skinless, Putrid Pile, No Mas and many more acts to be announced soon. FTA Open Air takes place from September 7th to 10th 2022 at Hogrock Campground, in Cave In Rock, Illinois. Passes are on sale now at the links below.
In a story we have been following, Psycho Las Vegas has announced that bands such as Mayhen and Satyricon have dropped off the upcoming metal festival later this month. This is due to ongoing travel/work visa and pandemic related issues. To their credit, the fest has been dealing complaints and addressing on social media, and in emaisl to ticket holders. Other bands still hoping to gain entry into the USA to perform include Efforts are continuing for Emperor, Watain, Crippled Black Phoenix, Cult of Fire, and Psychlona, and we’ll keep tracking this story. Continue reading
The fest you have been waiting for is finally happening! The full line-up of Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Philly – sponsored in part by Metal Blade Records – has rebooked for this fall, 2021! The previously announced headliners Napalm Death, Converge, Pig Destroyer will all appear and play special full-album sets. Joining the bill, Deadguy will reunite their Fixation on a Coworker lineup to perform their first show in nearly 25 years. Also joining the long-awaited party on September 25-26, 2021 are Municipal Waste, Midnight, Imperial Triumphant, Blood Incantation, Warhorse, Eternal Champion, Crypt Sermon, Die Choking, and Teeth.
Last Friday (1/29/21) I got to check out the live stream from Housecore bands Scour and Shock Narcotic. Both of these groups are “supergroups” but I’m not going to get into that right now. I will say though that the list of bands that make up the background for each band are some of my favorites so I was kinda excited for this show.
Relapse Records, one of the leaders in releasing some of the best albums in metal history has shared a 30th-anniversary sampler from their entire catalog. It is available now via all streaming platforms. The sampler features over 200 songs and includes bands from across their history such as Mastodon, Baroness, Obituary, Death, Incantation, Repulsion, Pig Destroyer, Nasum, Yob, Neurosis, Nothing, Torche, Inter Arma, and more.