Bleed From Within. photo: Ashley Green
Nottingham’s own thrash metal mob The Winter Hill Syndicate marked the Macmillan Fest gig with the debut performance of new vocalist Tom Walker on the Rescue Rooms main stage - though you'd never have known without being told. Their raucous blend of progressive death metal was delivered with such fluency, and each face-melting riff was performed with masterful precision and an intensity that plenty of more experienced bands would be more than proud of.
Leeds-based medieval power rockers Shields played the Spanky Van Dykes Stage… and when we say played the stage, we mean tore the room apart. Kris Allen stood in the middle of the circled crowd captivating his army while looking like a fugitive Captain Caveman. The growling vocals roused a battle cry and call to arms for some monumentally epic heavy rock and roll. A macho injection of heavy bass and sludge riffs managed to sound both barbaric and noble at the same time. The kind of music you can imagine storming a castle or slaughtering a dragon to.
It was 6pm and that meant that Adelphia were about to grace the main stage. Having last year played the acoustic stage, they graduated to the big time after a productive year. Having headlined their own show at Rock City and played Hit The Deck Festival, Adelphia also rocked the Red Bull Stage at Download Festival after amassing nearly 5,000 votes in an online competition. Working with producer/engineer Matt O’Grady (You Me At Six) on the debut EP Fingers Burnt and Lessons Learnt, Adelphia are making a serious play on the UK rock scene.
Adelphia. photo: Ashley Green
They played a tight-knit form of melodic rock n roll that was both smooth but brimming with attitude. Nick Crampton's vocals oozed style and soul and it is clear why Adelphia were the name on a lot of people's list at the festival. The finely tuned melodies are beautifully crafted and the lighters sparked around the room during the slower numbers. They obviously had a lot of hometown hardcore fans as the crowd roared every word behind them from the recent singles.
Rik Gilbert (drummer) spoke about Macmillan Fest: “I think Macmillan and cancer revolved charities are close to pretty much everyone's hearts because it's something that affects so many people globally in one way or another and we fully support awareness/aid for Macmillan and have done for years through the great fundraisers they put on.” Nick Crampton (frontman) also explained how you - yes you - could be in with a chance of joining Adelphia: “We're in the process of auditioning one or two guitarists, though we are still open minded to finding the perfect person for this position. So if you're reading this and you're interested then drop us an email."
Walking into Lock And Key’s set five minutes after it had begun was like being thrown into a wind tunnel of violent hard rock power. Richard Lardner sculked around the downstairs of Stealth like a shark and his beastly vocals gave the brutal sound a fearsome bite. Lock And Key have just released The Divide on Small Town Records and showed off their heavy as hell hard rock. The machine gun-like sprays of skin-shredding riffage were ear-splitting as the mosh pits swirled around the room. A very impressive live band.
Over in the hustle bustle of the Rescue Rooms main bar, Vanity Box took to the stage for an acoustic showcase of their fresh rock n roll sound. Their usual guitar-laden indie rock n roll had a stripped back velvety feel and silenced many in the bar as heads turned to appreciate this rare treat.
The penultimate band on the Stealth stage were the London-based Anavae. Conjuring up pop-rock songs that will inevitably draw plenty of comparisons with Paramore, their set was filled with killer hooks and catchy choruses. Rebecca Need-Menear's powerful vocals were delivered with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, while the band's light rock melodies packed enough bite to get the crowd bouncing. Rounding off their evening with the synth-driven Invaesion, Anavae closed their set with a mesmerising performance that culminated with four of the five-piece pounding away on drums, an unusual move that was executed superbly.
Moments before Bleed From Within take to the stage for the headline slot there was a tangible sense of anticipation in the Main Room, like the building itself was bracing itself for what it was about to contain. Clearly fired up from their EP launch in their hometown of Glasgow the previous night, they grabbed the crowd by the scruff off the neck and commenced a brutal victory parade of death metal.
Hot-out-the-furnace material was exhibited from the monstrous new EP Deathwalk with Scott Kennedy bossing the show with assured confidence and gratitude to the riotous fans.The fist-in-the-air brutality of the tunes combined with the energy of the band united the packed out room and band together as one as Bleed From Within thrashed out over an hour of joyous white-hot metal.
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Kris Davis (Head of Ike Productions and proud owner of a new bum tattoo) said: “Macmillan Fest 2014 took on its fifth year with the best crew and largest audience to date, with a high calibre of acts and activities which everyone loved. For us it was amazing and we wish it could of lasted longer. We are really intrigued in peoples feedback of the festival of how we can improve, what they loved and what they want to see more of. People can send their feedback to info@ikeproductions.co.uk”
Kris also got the festival logo tattooed on his bum to raise even more money for Macmillan Cancer Support this year. You can donate via the link here.
MacMillan Fest 2014 took place on Saturday 6 September 2014.
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