Damnation Fest 2022

07 Nov, 2022

@ BEC Arena, Manchester - 05/11/2022

So Hideous

@ Eyesore Merch Stage

Me and Leo went to Damnation fest together. In the midst of Manchester's bullshit traffic at the time, I'm glad we managed to get there basically on time to see this band first. I'm pretty sure they basically played their latest album in full which, tbh, is the most I could've asked for. Drums are especially cool, but you'd find me saying that a lot about the bands that played here anyway. No, Leo, the second track does not sound like Gospel.

They were really good!/10

Full of Hell

@ Pins & Knuckles Stage

Well, y'know... Grindcore band with grindcore band energy. Cool! Their longer songs, except the ones that are pure noise generally, are not very good though imo, and that's like 40% of the set here.

Decent/10

Incantation

@ Holy Goat Stage

Could only see a portion of their set before preparing for Pig Destroyer, and I had somewhat low expectations just because of their recent material being frankly quite rubbish, but the bits I saw where alright! Really good setlist looking back on it (assuming this was the same as previous setlists documented from other recent shows of theirs), but it's a shame we missed them playing songs like 'Christening the Afterbirth' or 'Impending Diabolical Conquest'.

Pig Destroyer

@ Pins & Knuckles Stage

Leo was eager to be in the pit and I intended to just observe it from the side, as I've done a fair bit, but I found myself getting crushed basically the moment 'Cheerleader Corpses' started. Leo was also overwhelmed by how fucking nuts the pit was there which, in hindsight, yeah it really was. First time I've been in the pit for a long time, which I still only did in infrequent small doses. I yeeted myself into the pit for 'Heart and Crossbones', which I would've done for other songs here if my energy wasn't what it was which, by the way... You concert goers have serious energy! How do you do it? Is it the alcohol, or do you, unlike me, have a consistent heavy exercise routine which means you don't sweat even after over 7 hours of spinning and bouncing around and shit? Is my low pain tolerance really that uncommon?

I realised after the fact that my ears have not been too good at hearing out the bass lately, which sucks, cos I love the idea of Pig Destroyer with bass. That being said, holy FUCK 'Starbelly' sounded real beefed up and fucking heavy! The whole album is great, but I still often point out personal highlights like 'Heart and Crossbones', 'Pornographic Memory', that fucking final 4 track run in general... All of these things could not have been any better then they were then, even if Hayes' voice was probably shot to shit (Going as hard as he had on vocals in the past is far from sustainable in the long term so I get it).

Me and Leo were sure they'd have more time, according to the official clashfinder, to play some other songs after, and we had our fingers crossed for some good Terrifyer tunes. I figured if they had more to play that newer stuff was also par for the course, but nah, they just did the album and left 'Jennifer 2' (the long outro on 'Piss Angel') on as they left the stage. Couldn't complain there a whole lot, since they didn't do anything extra that may have been to their set's detriment...

Awesome!/10

Did see the teeniest bit of Wolves in the Throne Room and they sounded pretty good from where I saw them, but I had a pretty shit view and the room was already super packed.

My Dying Bride

@ Pins & Knuckles Stage

In case I didn't realise it before, 'The Cry of Mankind' is a fucking great song. You'd think I'd like a long, repetitive, drone-y, minimalist outro like the one on the studio version, but eh, not really. I also don't really care so much for the first track they played. Great setlist picks beyond that though! The aforementioned 'The Cry of Mankind', 'She is the Dark' and 'Turn Loose the Swans' especially. 'The Prize of Beauty', 'The Songless Bird', and 'The Return to the Beautiful' (or maybe even almost any other song on The Dreadful Hours tbh, even if I personally find the title track a little upsetting these days) would've also been personal bucket list picks for songs they could've played live, but saying that, hell, I'd love to see them play both Turn Loose the Swans and The Dreadful Hours in full! What a dream! Then again, this is already quite the wish fulfilling festival! And again, in regards to MDB specifically... great stuff! Fucking love them!

7/10 (Very good!/10)

Despised Icon

@ Holy Goat Stage

Did waste a bit too much energy not only trying to find Leo, who I thought was still taking a break after getting pig destroyed, but I figured they'd show up for Despised Icon eventually. I also made multiple attempts to get a... spiral potato, I believe it was called? The line was way fucking long for that. Gutted that Godflesh playing their Streetcleaner set were plagued with sound issues... The bass was barely audible (pinch of salt regarding my hearing) and, after a point, neither was the guitar. Bummer!

I only just considered at the very last minute the possibility of crowdkillers in the pit here, and yeah, the pit was mad here, but not that bad. I didn't see anyone actually pulling any punches or spinkicks or whatever. Regardless of my feelings on Despised Icon in studio (I like them, I just wish they had better riffs and breakdowns a lot of the time), they were a lot of fun live. They played 'Beast', the first two tracks on The Ills of Modern Man, and 'A Fractured Hand', which are all personal favourites of mine when it comes to Despised Icon.

The song 'Purgatory' is almost like a parody of 'MVP' in a sense... like, it starts out going real hard, and then halfway through it ends up completely shitting the bed, then diarrhea'ing on it, then hotboxing the entire room with its shit stench. I figured that'd be more fun in a live setting, which I'm quite amused with saying given the analogy I made just then, and eh, maybe I enjoyed it a little vicariously through Leo at least.

Fun!/10

Me and Leo did see a bit of At the Gates, who were playing their hit album Erasure of the Alf Slaughter of the Soul in full. We saw the first 4 songs and left. Even Leo found it mid. I'm alright with how Tomas's vocals sound on record these days, but it sounded especially shot here. Eh.

Elder

@ Eyesore Merch Stage

Had to head to Converge's set by the end of 'Halcyon', but having seen Elder live before, at the Roundhouse in London where they really shined on stage, before they put out Omens as well, it was not only great to see them play that song especially, but even just to see them play songs like 'Dead Roots Stirring' again.

Converge

@ Pins & Knuckles Stage

They played my (2nd?) favourite album of all time in full. Obviously it owned. I felt myself welling up by 'Phoenix in Flight', let alone the title track and the extended outro they did for that, screaming "RUN" (or whatever Bannon screams around then) at the top of my lungs and feeling like glomping Leo who was not too far away from me. It fucking owns that we got to see that together, because if I went by myself, I know I'd wished that we had shared that experience, much like seeing BTBAM together back in late 2019, which was literally Leo's last show they went to before this. Mad. The encore kinda killed that feeling for me, not that it was at all bad, but... with the state 'Jane Doe' put me in, maybe it didn't compute with me or something. 'Last Light' would've been the only song they could've played after that that I feel would've at least vaguely fit the tone, but then, I also remember that 'The Saddest Day' is a thing, and that alone as an encore would've made this show potentially a 10/10. It was probably a planned encore, but aside from the last track I mentioned about, whether or not this encore was planned... I don't understand how Jane Doe from front to back alone could not be a satisfying enough end to the night?

I'm especially particular about just seeing bucket list bands now. Kayo Dot are playing Choirs of the Eye live in full in London early next year¹, so that definitely counts. I wanna give Roadburn a shot some time, and I still really wanna see Rammstein². Beyond that, I want shows to be a more social thing for me at this point, something to do with someone like Leo especially. I struggle to think of much else there off the top of my head atm, but the point is, I just got 2, no, 3 items checked off my live bucket list, the other one being Pig Destroyer obviously, but also, big shoutouts to My Dying Bride! Big shoutouts to Damnation fest in general and those who got it to happen! Now, let me save my goddamn money!!!

8.5/10 (Awesome!/10)

#converge #despised icon #elder #full of hell #godflesh #my dying bride #seen live #so hideous