Today sees us in for a long, loud and frenetic day as we roll up for the 7th edition of Leicester's one day, multi-genre metal fest - Uprising.
Three stages, all located within the O2 Academy complex, are host to a total of 21 bands throughout the day, with the first couple of hours or so being the grand final of Leicester’s M2TM competition.
Weeks of heats and semi-finals have seen dozens of bands battling it out to get to this stage. The four finalists; Running With Knives, Feral State, Independent Trucking and Break Them were the bands that had the opportunity to impress representatives from Bloodstock and to grab a spot on the New Blood Stage at this year's festival.
It was going to be a tough choice, both Running With Knives and Break Them caught our attention, and to be fair they all played excellent sets, but it was Running With Knives who got the nod and will represent Leicester at Bloodstock in August.
Stage 3
With barely enough time to grab a very rock ‘n’ roll cup of tea and bask in some very welcome summer sun, we soon had to find our way to Stage 3 (thank god for the elevator to all the stages!!) for the first band of Uprising 7 - Bloodyard, who blow away any mid-afternoon sluggishness with their brutal death metal onslaught that set a high standard for the rest of the third stage bands to follow. Battalions continue the aural assault with their sludgy riffs and gravelly vocals, whilst Sugar Horse bring a more experimental slant of dischord, distortion and disorientation with a kaleidoscopic wall of noise.
The antidote to this cerebral fix was the chilled stoner grooves of Barbarian Hermit that brought us back down to a level that was more in tune with the calm summer evening outside. This was a brief respite though as main support on stage 3 were about to tear it a new one. UKHC legends Borstal have returned with a bang. This is straight up 2-step in your face aggro, and their hiatus has only seen then come back fresher, faster and heavier.
A welcome return and a perfect way to set the stage for headliners Discharge. The punk veterans have successfully made that cross-over into the metal world with their unique D-Beat style that paved the way for a whole generation of punk infused metal bands and the room tonight was heaving, an indication that they are still a relevant band nearly half a century on. There is a wonderful sense of chaos in the room, there are technical issues, bodies are flying and frontman JJ jokes about rehearsals, but this is punk and no one seems to care.
Stage 2
Stage 2 is located on the second level and handily located to the outside terrace where the is food and the very popular Motley Brew, which, in the rare slice of summer we’re having, gave it a nice outdoor festival vibe. Five bands were lined up for this stage and the first of those were eagerly anticipated by many here.
Tribe Of Ghosts are gaining a lot of traction lately and it’s well deserved. Their atmospheric, industrial tinged style impressed us. The double vocal assault (which would become a theme of the day) and the brooding low-end reverberate around the room leaving no one in any doubt that this band is about to explode and destined for bigger stages (Uprising 8 mainstage?)
For a young band to open a stage with such confidence and aplomb would surely have any band wondering “how do we follow that?”, but seasoned prog veterans Ramage Inc have been around long enough to not let anything ruffle their feathers and we were treated to a sublime set of heavy technical prog with a crushing wave of layered melodies that left us in awe.
The next two bands up were completely unknown to us, so we had no idea what to expect.
My Favourite Nemesis hail from Finland and continue with the dual vocal theme. Immediate comparisons to Lacuna Coil are soon assuaged as this outfit have their own heavier, aggressive style and a large crowd has gathered to see what the fuss is all about and they don’t go away disappointed, one of the highlights of the weekend.
They were followed by the intensity of Oxford's Lastelle. Dark, brooding, post-hardcore, heavy rock is the only way I can describe them, another new found gem to investigate.
Finally, the highlight of the day for many judging by the amount of bodies crammed into the room and spilling out onto the terrace.
Stage 2
Stage 2 is located on the second level and handily located to the outside terrace where the is food and the very popular Motley Brew, which, in the rare slice of summer we’re having, gave it a nice outdoor festival vibe. Five bands were lined up for this stage and the first of those were eagerly anticipated by many here.
Tribe Of Ghosts are gaining a lot of traction lately and it’s well deserved. Their atmospheric, industrial tinged style impressed us. The double vocal assault (which would become a theme of the day) and the brooding low-end reverberate around the room leaving no one in any doubt that this band is about to explode and destined for bigger stages (Uprising 8 mainstage?)
For a young band to open a stage with such confidence and aplomb would surely have any band wondering “how do we follow that?”, but seasoned prog veterans Ramage Inc have been around long enough to not let anything ruffle their feathers and we were treated to a sublime set of heavy technical prog with a crushing wave of layered melodies that left us in awe.
The next two bands up were completely unknown to us, so we had no idea what to expect.
My Favourite Nemesis hail from Finland and continue with the dual vocal theme. Immediate comparisons to Lacuna Coil are soon assuaged as this outfit have their own heavier, aggressive style and a large crowd has gathered to see what the fuss is all about and they don’t go away disappointed, one of the highlights of the weekend.
They were followed by the intensity of Oxford's Lastelle. Dark, brooding, post-hardcore, heavy rock is the only way I can describe them, another new found gem to investigate.
Finally, the highlight of the day for many judging by the amount of bodies crammed into the room and spilling out onto the terrace.
The Mediterranean vibes out on the terrace were apt as we were about to witness the return of Gibraltar's biggest metal export, Breed77. When the band announced their return, including Paul Isola back on vocals, there was a lot of anticipation and excitement, and they didn’t disappoint. Their blend of North African influences and flamenco infuse their rock and was a breath of fresh air way back in the midst of the Nu-Metal years and they gained a reputation for scintillating live shows. Fast forward a quarter of a century and they can still light up a room with their mesmerising songs and melodies.
Welcome back guys, you were missed!
Main Stage
The privilege of opening the main stage today was handed to local heroes Mage who were also breaking in a new guitarist, local legend Frazer Hart of Blood Oath, much to the pleasure of a large portion of the partisan crowd who took great joy in cheering Frazer on at every opportunity. Their brand of stoner doom rock attracted a decent sized crowd for this early afternoon slot and their groove laden set really got the party started.
Then BOOM! Everything goes into hyperdrive as the Beast that is Seething Akira hit the stage and light the fuse. One of (if not the) highlights of the day, this hip-hop/metal cross over collective have so much energy, it was breathless to watch, like Beastie Boys on speed, superb!
Any band would find it difficult to follow such an impactful set and it was dark pagan outfit Forlorn who had that unenviable task, but the beauty of Uprising is that it prides itself in giving us a wide range of genres, and the punters appreciate this, and Forlorn’s blackened folk metal with it’s dark nordic undertones was a chance to soak up something more atmospheric.
Cellar Darling were another band that were an unknown quantity and unfortunately they were besieged by technical issues before they even started, forcing them to have a much shortened set, resulting in a mis-jointed performance, which was a great shame as what we did see holds great promise. Any band that has a hurdy gurdy on stage has my attention!
Main support tonight was a band that would just bludgeon their way through any technical difficulties. Brujeria are an ever evolving, ever changing cartel of musicians that bring Mexican street culture into the live arena. Not 2 but 3 vocalists compete on stage, constantly moving, gesturing and baiting the crowd. The band wear the masks of banditos, furthering the street gang image, except for the diminutive Pinche Peach, who seems all the more threatening for it. But it’s incredibly great fun to watch and be a part of, even if you don’t understand a single word!
A whole world away both figuratively and literally is the gothic somberness of Katatonia. The room is eerily quiet as the other two stages are only just finishing, and as the excited punters start to filter into the main room, there is almost a sense of reverence in the calmness compared to the high energy that had been on view in the other two rooms.
Katatonia stay cool, calm and collected, playing a selection of songs from their extensive back catalogue, Jonas is in an unusually chatty mood, even bemoaning the poor performance of Sweden's ice hockey team. The bands class is evident, and shows why they are deservedly the days headliners.
Opening with the recent track Birds and then taking us through a journey of the gloriously dark depths of the labyrinth that is Katatonia, My Twin being a high point, we leave and say farewell to Uprising for another year and wait in anticipation to see what intriguing mix of bands will be announced for Episode 8
No comments:
Post a Comment