Hull-based newcomers Newmeds may have been billed for one of the earliest slots of the day, but that doesn’t stop them from pummelling the crowd with their eclectic brand of rock’n’roll-infused hardcore. Imagine a blend of Every Time I Die, Queens of the Stone Age and Daughters and you’ll be somewhere close to imagining what the early punters experienced as their intimidating vocalist clambered over their heads for 30 minutes, backed by swaggering riffs and effortless groove. ‘Nothing Is Heavier Than The Mind’ is the highlight of the set, so if you fancy checking this band out you should start there.

Next up it’s melodic hardcore veterans Demoraliser, one of the many bands to come out of mosh retirement just for today. Demoraliser, or “Demozza” to the initiated, were a huge part of the UKHC scene in the early 2010s, but disbanded in 2015 and haven’t been seen since, until today. Judging by the crowd reaction, they’ve been very much missed. From the second the lights go down, before the opening swell of ‘Pretender’ has really even started, The Leadmill is a flurry of arms, legs and inflatables. What follows is 30 minutes of pure chaos. At one point a man crowd-surfs on a blow-up unicorn. There’s a cheeky Terror cover. Everyone is having the absolute best time. Are Demoraliser the most original, interesting band on the lineup? No, not by some stretch. However, are they the most fun? Very possibly.

With the bar set extremely high after the above acts, can Feed The Rhino make their set count? Of course they fucking can. They may not have been absent for as long as Demoraliser, but their return has a lot of people extremely excited, none more so than vocalist Lee Tobin who spends the whole set with the biggest grin on his face, eyes wide and wild, clearly thrilled to be back doing what he loves. Raucous, groove-laden tracks like ‘Featherweight’ and ‘The Burning Sons’ sound absolutely huge, and the band play with a vibrancy that bands half their age would struggle to muster. Their set is so perfectly executed, so full of life and energy, that it seems like a crime for this to be a one-off. There’s been precisely zero talk of the band doing anything else after this show, but maybe if we all wish for it hard enough, something will happen.

Expansive post-hardcore heroes Palm Reader are next to take the stage. Last year Palm Reader released the incredible ‘Sleepless’, and the people at this event are lucky enough to be among the first people to hear stunning tracks like ‘Hold/Release’, ‘Willow’ and ‘A Bird and its Feathers’ in a live environment. As always, the band play to perfection, their sound a perfect mix of shimmering beauty and emotional devastation. Josh McKeown is a mesmerising frontman, one of the UK’s best in fact. Every movement he and his bandmates make feel so organic; there’s never any sense of choreography when watching Palm Reader, and yet they’re always impossibly tight and this set is no exception. Older tracks like the chaotic ‘Swarm’ and the relentless ‘Internal Winter’ also help solidify why Palm Reader are one of the best, if not the best band in the UK underground. Their set felt disappointingly short, but it was still an absolute pleasure to behold.

There’s a palpable tension in the air before Dead Harts begin their performance, with good reason given the circumstances, but whatever emotions people were feeling before it started, Dead Harts changed those feelings into joy. Their set is absolutely wild, every beer-soaked riff punctuated by crowd-surfers and mic grabbers, not to mention some very ill-advised circle pits on what had become The World’s Slippiest Floor™ over the course of the day. This may be the first Dead Harts show since 2016, but tonight it feels like they never really left, and they can walk off the stage safe in the knowledge that they more than did Ant proud.

After an emotional set from Dead Harts, the event doubles down on the sadness with an incredible set from Landscapes, another band to come out of retirement for one last bittersweet show. Landscapes just sort of disappeared without any formal breakup announcement in 2017, so it feels right for them to get a proper farewell show whilst also being able to pay tribute to a departed friend. With their sound sitting in the Modern Life Is War / Defeater realm of emotional melodic hardcore, they’re easily the most raw sounding band on the lineup, but that doesn’t stop them from giving a high-energy performance that has the crowd absolutely enraptured.

There couldn’t have been a better headliner for this event than the reinvigorated, dual-mouthed, post-metal behemoth that is Devil Sold His Soul. Whilst Landscapes’ music is emotionally heavy, it’s coated in a bleak sense of despair that wouldn’t have been the right endnote to this celebration. Devil Sold His Soul are emotionally heavy, but their sound is one of hope and triumph. Awash in blue light, the band fill the room with feedback before devastating the sold-out crowd with ‘The Narcissist’ from their stellar new album ‘Loss’. Duelling vocalists Ed Gibbs and Paul Green are a force of nature, tearing up the stage whilst the impossibly tight band plays behind them. Alongside a couple more new songs, we’re treated to a handful of tracks from across the band’s discography. ‘An Ocean of Lights’ from 2010’s ‘Blessed & Cursed’ feels particularly cathartic, but it’s set closer ‘Hope’ that truly provides the perfect message to end the day. As the closing line of “I know that we’ll be just fine” rings out, it’s clear to everyone in the room that Ant Allen has had the send-off he deserved, and that music can bring people together better than anything else in the world.

If you missed the show but want to contribute to Ant’s incredible legacy, please make a donation to Music Minds Matter and / or Project 6 Sheffield.

LONG LIVE ANT ALLEN

LIAM KNOWLES

The song is taken from their latest album, ‘XVIII’, which was released earlier this year via Rise Records.

The band are also playing the following UK shows with Landscapes and Counting Days this November.

NOVEMBER
09 LONDON Underworld
10 GLASGOW Cathouse
11 MANCHESTER Sound Control

FRIDAY

As the Friday afternoon sun blisters down over Ypres, Venom Prison deliver on all fronts. Their material from ‘Animus’ may be far more death metal-centric compared to their first two EPs, but rest assured this has made them sound much heavier. Larissa Stupar is both captivating and terrifying with her vocal delivery, at times sustaining shrieks that shouldn’t be humanly possible, yet somehow perfected here. Given the recent call outs against her former band-mates in Wolf Down, songs like ‘Perpetrator Emasculation’ and ‘The Exquisite Taste Of Human Selfishness’ hold even further emotional weight. The crowd is attentive and while they may not play as many hardcore bills as they used to, their presence here is still very much welcomed.

Legendary Canadian Death Metal group Gorguts, present us with a live performance that enhances their strong studio efforts. The audience might not be punching each other to submission, but the caustic strobe lights over their technical mastery make for a sinister atmosphere. The punishing nature of classics such as ‘Nostalgia’ and ‘An Ocean Of Wisdom’ have stood the test of time, and despite guitarist/vocalist Luc Lemay’s few words to the audience, this career spanning set is one of the highlights of the weekend.

Returning to Ieper for the second time, Sheer Terror’s no-nonsense NYC hardcore graces the main stage. As well as churning out timeless renditions of ‘Here To Stay’ and ‘Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful’, Paul Bearer’s cynical sense of humour is enough to reel in first-time listeners.

Whilst grindcore godfathers Napalm Death are one to tick off your ‘bands you should see before you die’ bucket list, it’s fellow legendary Birmingham stars Memoriam who steal their thunder. Their thick, dissonant guitar tones, echo what made Bolt Thrower so great while taking on a back to basics approach to death metal. A sea of happy metal heads head bang along as they shred through highlights such as ‘Reduced To Zero’ and ‘Resistance’. On the whole, the atmosphere seems far more wholesome rather than brutal.

Without any other clashes in the way, Hatebreed brings us a nostalgic performance of ‘Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire’. Arguably the greatest hardcore record imaginable, the main stage tent has an almost ritualistic atmosphere in response to it. Opening with the theme from Bad Boys, from start to finish, the atmosphere is a total war zone. An abundance of stage divers and slam dancing is to be expected, but even those far away from the main action can’t help but throw fists in response. An explosive encore of their newer material also manages to keep the party going, avoiding cliches such as ‘As Diehard As They Come’, opting for stronger hits like ‘This Is Now’ and ‘Smash Your Enemies’. Overall this headline performance is a great reminder that with the right setlist, the metalcore giants are still an unstoppable force.

SATURDAY

After Reduction give us a sharp wake-up call, Malevolence bring their brand of Sheffield fury to the main stage once again, this time treating us to fresh cuts from ‘Self Supremacy’. With mic grabs, crowd killing and gun fingers galore, they manage to live up to the title as one of the UK finest hardcore exports.  ‘No pity for fools’ indeed.

Over at the Trench stage, sludge metal group Cough showcase their ugly sound in the most bludgeoning way possible. Elements of drone are also added to their live performance, and whilst barely addressing the crowd, the cacophony of thick riffs do all the talking for them. The wailing guitar solos on songs like ‘Fuck It Up’ are delivered with such clarity that undoubtedly leaves many attendees with grins on their faces and ringing in their ears.

19 years later, the ever controversial Arkangel arrive gracefully to their old H8000 stomping ground. They’re on fairly early on in the day underneath bands that were still kids back in their heyday, but they still seem over the moon to be back. Donning black leather jackets on stage and a giant banner, the metalcore outfit dive right into ‘From Heaven, We Fall’. The sound is muddied and midway through they have to stop their set to get their fans to calm down amongst the heavy pitting, but other than that, they retain an almost flawless presence. This set is definitive proof that Arkangel is, and always will be, the enemy.

Defeater manage to cram in a well-varied chunk of their discography into a 25-minute set. Understandably there’s not a single soft, acoustic cut to pad things out, just pure, unadulterated aggression. Whether it’s the whole tent screaming “cause there ain’t nothing, but your smile, your legs and those eyes” on ‘Empty Glass’, or “and still all you see is that bastard in me” from ‘Bastards’, the Boston melodic hardcore group give us a well rounded, cathartic set.

Turnstile are renowned for their unashamedly fun live sets and tonight is no exception. The jazzy guitar effects for cuts like ‘Blue By You’ and ‘Fazed Out’ are a welcomed addition to their live sound, but it’s vocalist Brendan Yates’s punch throwing and unwavering enthusiasm that raises the bar. During ‘7’ bassist Franz Lyons even hands his bass to a member of the band’s crew and performs a jaw dropping backflip before returning to business as usual.  By the end of ‘Drop’, Turnstile are engulfed with a full blown stage invasion, with yet another successful Ieperfest performance under their belts.

Belgium/Germany’s beloved beatdown gang Nasty, treat us to a 45 minute set on the main stage. Despite their frequent visits to the UK, it’s in their home territory where the audience reaction remains the most enthusiastic. Effortlessly transitioning into songs such as ‘Shokka’ and ‘Slaves To The Rich’, their sound may not have changed much over the years, but their heavy bass drops and satisfying singalongs are always a sight to behold.

30 years into their career and Louisiana’s finest, Crowbar, are still one of the heaviest live bands around. To say that their sound is merely ‘huge’ is a complete understatement, with their obliterating guitar tone that retains its blunt nature throughout. They showcase a perfect balance of music to bang your head to with your best friend, whilst also making you want to fight people at the same time. Kirk Windstein’s trademark growl is still consistently gritty and ’90s classics such as ‘To Build A Mountain’ and ‘All I Have (I Gave)’ haven’t lost their skull-crushingly heavy edges. There are few bands that embrace human misery in such an unrelenting manner, and tonight proves once again that Crowbar are the true connoisseurs of this craft.

SUNDAY

“It’s Jesus Piece you fake ass motherfuckers”, vocalist Aaron Heard barks to the audience at 12am on Sunday morning. The Philadelphia beatdown bring a sizeable crowd into the main stage tent, and deservedly so. Their pissed off, blunt sentiments about police brutality and corporate greed are lapped up, laying waste to everything in sight. New song ‘Deny Reality’ is blasted out, with Heard explaining what it’s all about: “There’s a movie showing in the More Than Music tent called 13th, which is about white supremacy in America. I wrote this song about the people of colour, myself and all my friends, who are consistently shit on by those people”. The socio-political commentary is praised and adds further to the aggression of their already hard as fuck beatdown sensibilities.

Shortly afterwards, it’s announced that Desolated have sadly pulled out of their set due to logistical issues, and are replaced with H8000 band Stab. Their set gets the job done, but considering that Desolated are doing their last run of shows this year, you can’t help but feel saddened that for many people, this may have been their last chance to catch the Southampton quintet.

The audience for Landscapes at the Trench stage is sparse to begin with but gradually builds up as their set progresses. Vocalist Shaun Milton has no trouble with riling up the crowd, spending most of his time off stage and screaming his lungs out. There’s a healthy balance between songs from ‘Modern Earth’ and older cuts like ‘No Love’ and ‘D.R.E.A.M’. Melodic hardcore may not be as popular as it was in the late ’00s, but Landscapes still pull off a gripping performance and hold their own.

Changing the mood entirely, Australia’s Clowns bring the drunken party atmosphere to the Trench stage. Circle pits and stage divers amass for ‘Destroy The Evidence’. The tent is loud enough to intrigue newcomers whilst retaining the unbridled chaos of a house show aesthetic.

Japanese noise rock group Boris are an odd choice for a predominantly hardcore oriented festival but nevertheless deliver on a unique set. They’re dressed head to toe in black uniforms, merely nodding to one another for the next song, creating an eerie dissonance between themselves and the audience. The stage billows with smoke through the opening chords of ‘D.O.W.N- Dominating Of Waiting Noise’. The set is heavily focused on their latest album ‘Dear’ but their sonic unpredictability is so enticing they can almost be forgiven in this instance. The wailing wall of feedback and powerful vocals are so loud, A Boris live show is total sensory deprivation in the best way possible.

L.A.’s Terror may not be as old as some of the other American hardcore bands on the bill, but they’re certainly a big influence on countless different artists in the scene, and for good reason. Vocalist Scott Vogel is on top form tonight, swaggering around the stage and getting involved in the crowd like there’s no tomorrow. 15 years into their career, Terror show no sign of slowing down, and tonight is a solid testament to that. There’s a real sense of community that comes with their shows and with an unstoppable wave of stage divers and high energy throughout, it’s admirable to see fans still being able to go in hard despite it being the third day of the festival.

ASHWIN BHANDARI

The melodic hardcore band will play six dates, kicking off at The Underworld in London on March 26th. Support for the tour will come from Landscapes and Silent Planet.

Tickets are on sale now, and you can see the dates for the tour below.

26 LONDON Underworld
27 BIRMINGHAM Flapper
28 DUNDEE Beat Generator Live
29 GLASGOW The Attic
30 LEEDS Key Club
31 BOURNEMOUTH Anvil

Put on as the main UK support, Landscapes set the cathartic tone for the night perfectly. Due to the three year gap between studio albums, however, this has meant that the band have had to play catch up and there’s less fans here compared to their support slots several years ago. Regardless, the ‘Modern Earth’ material is very well polished live, with the post rock influences in their instrumentation adding an extra layer of melancholy to the upheaval of heavy hitting riffs and shrieked vocals. Once again, ‘No Love’ ended up being the biggest highlight of the set, with fans practically stealing the microphone from vocalist Shaun Milton, but he doesn’t seem to mind it one bit.

With the sweat coated room almost entirely packed,  Milwaukee punks Expire come on to the stage for the very last time.  There’s audience jumping off the back railing, jumping off the front stage amps, and when it comes to the band’s take on testosterone filled energy who can blame them? ” I can’t stop smiling, this shit is so fucking cool,” states vocalist Josh Kelting as he catches his breath in-between songs. It’s a comforting moment to see a band proud that they managed to create so many fans outside of their home country during their career.  Finishing their flawless set on “Abyss”, their biggest track lets Expire go out with a bittersweet bang.

Coming on to the stage with ‘The Sound’ by The 1975 might be a bit of a quirky choice for a melodic hardcore band, but thankfully, Counterparts have never only be interested in one genre. Their set tonight covers most of their discography in a well balanced manner, each anthem more emotionally draining (in a good way) than the last. Midway through the set, frontman Brendan Murphy takes a brief moment to reminisce on the recent passing of Tom Searle of Architects. “I’ve never lost anyone close to me and I just didn’t know what to do, so this next song goes out to him”.

The band then carry on into ‘Choke’, evoking one of the hardest metalcore breakdowns the band has ever written. Sounding even bigger and spin kick inducing live.  The cut throat riffs are relentlessly savage for songs such as this and ‘Slave’, but are also well placed and don’t overstay their welcome.

Murphy’s willingness to let fans come on stage and take the microphone out of his hands or just and dance with him removes the barrier of intimidation that some people feel is present in the hardcore scene. Here it feels very inclusive, with the fans and band feeding off each other’s positive energy,  especially with more uplifting tracks like ‘Outlier’ and ‘Collapse’.

Completing their set with a mini encore of ‘Reflection’, Counterparts didn’t need to do anything special here tonight but the is defiantly satisfying. Intimate hardcore shows such as this are a reminder why non barrier shows need to be more common in the UK.  The Canadian metalcore masters stand triumphant tonight, although we’ll have to wait and see how they’re gonna top such a perfect performance next year.

ASHWIN BHANDARI

It can be found on the band’s final album, ‘With Regret’, which is available on the 23rd September via Bridge Nine Records. Produced by  Andy Nelson (Harm’s Way, Weekend Nachos), the record can be pre-ordered on the label’s website.

Listen to ‘Regret’ by Expire at Lambgoat.

Finally, Expire will be embarking on their final UK tour with Counterparts, Landscapes and Knocked Loose.

November
29 SOUTHAMPTON Talking Heads
30 PLYMOUTH The Hub
December
01 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
02 GLASGOW Cathouse
03 MANCHESTER Sound Control
04 HUDDERSFIELD The Parish
05 NORWICH Owl Sanctuary
06 LONDON Underworld

A very busy room seemed to enjoy material from Landscapes new album ‘Modern Earth’, not quite as hard hitting as the other bands on the bill but they defiantly made some new fans. Big hitters ‘Paradox’ and ‘Neighbourhood’ do the business, even a few circle pits popped up but melodic hardcore is not want these fans came to see. They’re an interesting band who focus on emotionally driven lyrics and atmospheric instrumentals but to fully get over with this crowd, you need riffs.

Straight off the back of a weekend headlining the Impericon stage at Slam Dunk Festival followed by a four-night takeover in London, Every Time I Die have hit the UK pretty hard this past week. Opening track ‘Underwater Bimbos‘ showcased the bands reputation as monsters of the live arena, playing that song straight off the bat is bonkers. Even when playing an unreleased song; entitled ‘Puddle’, they still managed to tear the place apart. A titanic pit opened and the New York band’s brand of white hot hardcore made sure it stayed that way. Oh how good ‘Floater’ is. Absolutely crushing. Every single song from this point can be placed in the “absolute bedlam” category. A million crowdsurfers is a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

The now veteran band do have a softer side, if you can call it that. ‘The New Black’ delivers interstellar size singalongs courtesy of one of the coolest men in rock. Mr Keith Buckley. “Baaaaaby, ya’ got me all wrong!” Closing with a piano driven masterpiece in the shape of ‘Moor’ was still too much for some fans who seem altogether stunned. Savagely intense. What a band.

Nearing eighteen months since their last hometown performance, the boys of Bury Tomorrow returned to a hysterical crowd, all of which were dying to hear new material. ‘Earthbound’ was a step up in every sense, but the main difference from previous material, it’s ten times more metallic. Even at times giving off Lamb of God vibes. BIG! Choruses have always been Bury Tomorrow’s forte, and they have a shit tonne of bangers. ‘Cemetery’, ‘Last Light’, ‘Memories’ and that’s just the new album! The Southampton crowd knew each and every word. Not a formality – these new tunes slammed. Another reason why BT are awesome, forever bigging up the local scene, Paul from Desolated got up on the mic for ‘301’. Wicked.

When it’s time for the hits to come out, there isn’t a person stood still. Under the vicious command of frontman Dani, the venue is transformed into a tornado of bodies. ‘An Honourable Reign‘ demands circle pits, ‘Sceptres’ redefines how heavy metalcore can be. In the past you could have accused the band of just putting songs in to fill the set, no such problems these days. Wall to wall bangers the lot of em’!

Closing the set with an encore of ‘You & I‘ and ‘Man On Fire’, Bury Tomorrow proved why they are one of the best young heavy bands around.

LEW TROTT