So as we draw to the end of our review stage coverage, we’ve made our way over to the Twisted Tavern stage, and the BSB TV stage. Unfortunately time constraints meant that we didn’t catch half as many bands as we wanted to, so with that in mind we condensed these 2 stages down to one review so that you had a nice meaty article to sink your teeth into. What we can say though, was that these bands have been solidly on repeat since leaving Mangata and we think you should also be checking them out. Live or not.

King Abyss

Kicking off the festival at the Twisted Tavern Spirits stage was King Abyss. With the vocalist throwing down in the crowd – you get a good idea for what they were going for. Bellowing across the room, with an impressive gut-punching blend of thrash and death metal, infused with hardcore, gave the crowd an excuse to keep their heads bopping throughout. I remember looking around at one point and not seeing a single motionless body.

The groovy hooks introduced a fresh take on the genre, especially one that I’ve personally not come across before, making this quite the memorable set. It felt like they single-handedly bridged across decades of genre influences, effortlessly offering something for everyone, keeping the set varied and interesting to watch. With the vocalist demonstrating his passion front and centre – everyone in the audience, and especially the band on stage, were confidently having fun. You could feel this energy when the vocalist is giving it their all and the guitarists not being able to stay still themselves. Excellent start to the day and set the bar very high from the get-go.

hemloch

We made our way over to the BSB TV Stage at Tap & Tumblr for Hemloch, who although seem to be described as Symphonic Metal, the addition of unclean vocals and some hefty breakdowns actually gave me more post-hardcore or modern metal vibes. I did still notice sections of their songs that had the cinematic/classical sounds you’d expect from Symphonic Metal though, and I honestly think this mix of genres is actually what made Hemloch a very interesting and fun band to see live.

premier jester

Have you ever thought “I wish we had an Electric Callboy in the UK?” Well your wishes are answered with Premier Jester. With tracks such as PJ Party and a banging cover of Basshunter’s “All I Ever Wanted”, their set was a certified dance metal party from start to finish. The Red Room was becoming quite the oven at this point in the day but I couldn’t bare to leave such a good time. Heavy breakdowns, unrelenting screams, classic high-pitched cleans and synth in all the right places, I really cannot find anything bad to say about this set. One of the vocalists was actually filling in and it turns out he’s the vocalist of Paint Me Crimson, and because both vocalists were so spot on with their performance, I now have two new bands on rotation just from this one set so I’d call that a win!

DACARA

As we made our way up to Dacaras set, we were engulfed in a mist that stretched down the corridor. Visibility was low, somehow they made the red room green, and the energy in the room was palpable. This really is a band that when they perform you can feel the connection they have, their stage presence is brilliant, and watching their guitarist and vocalist both thrash around in the pit as the burn through their set in what can only be described as the hottest room of the day, is a great time. Dacara feel massive in such a small room, and have the presence of a band that should be on a stage twice as big.

CONTINENTS

Continents show had all the elements you’d expect of a show full of fast-paced metalcore, and there’s clearly talent and energy from every member. While there were similarities to other modern metalcore bands, Continents managed to display a large amount stage presence and musicianship that would easily rival bands in larger venues. Despite the fact that the room was as small as it was Continents drew a good sized crowd that actually made it quite a challenge to get enough to see the action. But when we were able to get to the front, which we did, the boys in Continents were tearing through their set with a truly gripping level of vigour. They packed in all the chugging riffs and and pinched notes that you’d expect from a set of its kind, and the crowd were loving every second. I have to add as well, that while there similarities to other modern metalcore acts with Continents, that is by no means a bad thing. Their musicianship and stage presence meant that they were taking a well refined formula and pushing it to its absolute limits, and dropping in some tidy clean vocals as well while they were at it.

Tickets for next years Mangata Festival are available now on the Mangata Festival website.

https://www.mangatafestival.co.uk

Additional words provided by @mihir-miyangar

Photos provide by @mac-byrne and @stangoode17 (Full galleries coming soon)