Some words on Damnation Festival, and indeed my first words since I sat in a friend's parents'flat and listened to the main stage of Victorious Festival. I've been to some cool gigs since then and have made notes for the eventual end of year post. A part of that post can now be written in its entirety as this weekend just gone, I've attended my last festival of the year. That festival was Damnation Festival 2022 and it was my first time attending it. This post will be some thoughts on the trip as a whole, the festival itself and the bands I saw. To dispense with a potential cliff hanger from the off, I had a great weekend.
My trip started with a flight from my local airport to Manchester. This isn't something that would usually be in my wheelhouse, financially (unless the pricing was very unexpected). In fact, when I bought my ticket (right after the first announcement), I was planning on a bus from Portsmouth to Manchester (as a note, Friday was my birthday and I really wasn't jazzed about the idea of spending 7+ hours on a bus on my birthday). The only reason this plan changed to a flight is because I changed jobs, and my leaving present was generous to the point that it covered the cost of the return flight. This was my first flight since March 2019, so it was a bit strange going into the airport. Still, the flight out was pretty quiet, to the point the seat next to me was empty which given I was travelling alone, was nice. When we landed in Manchester, I was off the plane quickly and into the terminal (I think I set an alarm off when doing this, which if so...oops). I had pre-booked a taxi to whisk me off to the hotel before going to the festival pre-show (which as it is a part of this trip, I've decided to include in my thoughts about the festival), and I had assumed it would work almost like it does on TV - someone waiting at the exit with a sign with my name on it, and off we go to the taxi and get on the road. This wasn't the case sadly, and I was waiting around for about 15-20 minutes for the driver, and then a further few minutes because the driver had to pop away before we got on the road. My timings were tight anyway, but this lost time completely ruled out any chance of me getting to the venue to see Pupil Slicer, which is a damn shame as they are excellent. Having conceded defeat on this matter, I went to the hotel, got slightly freshened up and off to the venue.
The venue was the Bowlers Exhibition Centre (BEC) Arena, a venue in Stretford, Manchester. The area it was in was effectively an industrial estate. Getting there wasn't too bad as there was a tram stop outside my hotel and one about a 5-10 minute walk from the venue. The road leading to the venue had little to no pavement to walk on at times due to neighbouring vehicles and taxis using what was available to park on. Not ideal but not the end of the world. What almost could have been a real dampener was my coming very close to twisting my ankle after getting my ticket checked and walking into the venue proper - I think I saw the curb and assumed my foot would then drop to the floor but instead it hit a shoddily arranged slope. I'm not against places making an effort for accessibility at all - but this was a bit shit. BEC, drop the curbs! The main thing was my ankle was sore but mostly okay. I got into the venue just after Ithaca started, and so this seems like a logical time to talk about the Friday night event.
Damnation Festival Presents A Night of Salvation (NOS) 2022
As mentioned, I missed Pupil Slicer which I was very sad about. I also missed Mastiff. Truth be told, because I knew I would be missing them I haven't actually listened to them - because of this, I don't know whether to be sad about this or not (I'm guessing I probably should be, I'm assuming they wouldn't have been booked if they were shite). NOS was held exclusively on one of the side stages (the bigger of the two, I believe) and it seemed relatively busy but not completely packed. Because I was in a rush to get in the venue for Ithaca, I didn't stop to check what if any food vans were serving that night, so I didn't have any food. Here is a photo of me having what turned out to be my dinner on Friday night. I am not a smart man. Hazy day I think it was called? Nice drop either way.
Small note, as per with these kind of posts - the scores I give are for my own enjoyment and are not a comment on how the band performed or owt like that. Case in point, in 2011, I gave System of a Down's Download set a 10. Almost all the comments I've seen about this performance is that SOAD weren't particularly good that night, but I had a lovely time! (I then saw them in 2015 at Wembley Arena and my overwhelming takeaway was "Oh! that's what a good System performance is like").
Ithaca - 9. Ithaca were one of the main draws to me buying a ticket and I am pleased to report I thought they were great. I loved They Fear Us (released earlier this year) and the material from that album sounds massive live. An excellent way to kick off the night for me.
We Lost The Sea (performing Departure Songs in full) - 10. Spoilers, you know how I mentioned earlier I can now write the bit of my end of year blog about festivals? Because I've decided to include these sets in that consideration, this will be number one. We Lost The Sea came to my notice when they were announced for the main show and I saw the festival organiser confirm he had tried to book them to play this album for it. Based on that, I gave it a listen and it is superb. Live? I mean it is somehow even better. It just had that feeling of a special show. The album is close to 70 minutes long and has 5 songs on it. One of the songs is over 23 minutes long and at no point did the album feel like it was dragging. It was the best set of the weekend for me - I didn't predict that beforehand, which somehow makes it cooler that it was.
Celeste (performing Assassine(s) in full) - 8. This was the band/album I was the least familiar with come the event, which is very much on me. I thought Celeste were very good, and I quite liked their aesthetic, if that is the right word, when it comes to their show (lighting making it hard to see the band at times, but the members each wearing a single red light). Naturally I've chosen a photo below where you can't see this because the one where you could wasn't a good photo. Anyway, Assassine(s) is a cool album, and it was ace to see it live. One thing I noted is that when Celeste finished the album, their set ended. I thought they would have maybe had time to perform another song or two, but no matter! This was a theme of the weekend for some sets, but I'd be lying if I said I ever felt short changed.
And that was NOS done. As mentioned before, my main regret was not getting there in time for Pupil Slicer's set. All three sets I saw were varying degrees of great to sublime, with one running away with the entire weekend. Lovely stuff. The journey back to the tram stop was fine, though I later came to learn I walked the long way back to the stop. The road outside the festival (mentioned earlier) was swamped (with a capital swamp) with taxis. Apparently they were very much taking advantage of folk financially - I didn't use one and only comment based on hearsay from the festival's Facebook group. Other than walking for longer than I needed to, I got the tram back to the hotel and all was well.
My pre-Damnation Saturday morning, other than a walk for breakfast, mostly involved lying down. I knew it would be a long day on my feet and decided to take advantage of the fact I didn't need to be on them in the morning. I set off for the festival just after 11 and, after a pretty quick moving queue, got in about 11.45.
Damnation Festival 2022
Frayle - 6. Frayle kicked off the festival for me, and I thought they were pretty good. Not a whole lot to add really.
Irist - 9. First band on the main stage and goodness me, Irist were excellent. I was on the barrier for this set. I really liked their 2020 album and EP earlier this year, so it didn't surprise me that I really liked this set.
BRUIT ≤ - 4. Technical difficulties appeared to blight the start of this set. They were about 10-15 minutes into their time before they even started, which is a shame. Unfortunately for me this just sucked the momentum out of it for me. I stayed for two songs I think before heading out as it was nearly time for the next band. Technical difficulties must be a bastard for a band.
Insanity Alert - 9. Party thrash probably isn't for everyone, and I understand that. In small doses though, I unashamedly love it. And I loved this. It was fun, it was silly, it had someone in an inflatable Pikachu costume in the circle pit. The stage patter included comments about, amongst other things, the royal family and cleaning Ikea toilets. Insanity Alert are a lot of fun live. I could imagine one of their shows being absolute carnage in a small club and I am now willing for that to happen (I'm picturing it in the Joiners in Southampton, which would be a hell of a good time).
So Hideous - 3. Sometimes, band names are very appropriate. The set musically, was fine but I wasn't blown away. The strobe lighting was very abrasive, to the point it was hard to look at the stage at points. These scores are about enjoyment and I didn't overly enjoy this as a result. My advice to anyone seeing them again and have eyes that react the same as mine did to loads of strobes? Sunglasses.
Full of Hell - 4. I'm not sure what happened here, as I was very much looking forward to seeing Full of Hell. As they started though, I didn't get into it, and that was the case the entire time I was in the room. I didn't stay for the full set because I concluded if I wasn't into it, a better use of my time would be taking that chance to have a sit down and take the weight off my feet for a bit. Full of Hell were not crap, but on this day, I just wasn't that into it.
We Lost The Sea - 9. Seriously, this band just ran away with the festival this weekend. The second set I didn't enjoy as much as the first but only because the first will be a part of future conversations about best festival sets I've seen. Let it be known, I bloody loved both and this was very good. Truthfully, I'm not as familiar with We Lost The Sea outside of Departure Songs, so I believe this was mostly made up of material from their latest album Triumph & Disaster (not a complaint). Another great set from a great band. I think these shows were their UK debut shows - not sure if they will ever come back but I hope they do!
Pig Destroyer (performing Prowler In The Yard) - 8. The first of the album shows from the weekend and it was a belter. Pig Destroyer were superb. I wondered, as the album isn't very long, if they might play other material. Alas they did not. Still, cracking set from the band (was I even slightly tempted to type crackling set there...only slightly).
Green Lung - 9. Green Lung I think were in the first announcement and I knew I wanted to see them pretty quickly after listening to their latest album. This was tested only when it was announced they would clash with Wolves In The Throne Room, but I decided to stick with Green Lung and I am glad I did. They had a superb set. I won't be able to see Clutch (whom they are supporting) later this year and that makes me sad. Would definitely consider seeing a headline show off the back of this though.
A food break then followed. The food queues were pretty nuts but the one for the hog roast seemed not too bad, so I joined it. The person in front of me asked for a hog roast and got told it would be about an hours wait for one - heartbreaker! Instead, I went for a kebab. Truthfully, I didn't feel too well on Sunday (or this morning as I type this, for that matter) and I wondered whether this might be the culprit (I had two whole cans of beer on the Saturday, so I know I wasn't hungover). I've not seen any other complaints suggesting this was the case, so who knows. At the time though, it was nice enough. I had hoped for a sit down while eating but alas, the seating area was rammed.
Misery Index - 8. I had in my mind that I had 10 minutes or so when entering the room to grab the sit down I had hoped to get while eating. Alas, it was not to be as almost immediately after I took my spot, I realised they were due to start. No matter though. This lack of a sit down didn't hamper my enjoyment of Misery Index's set as I thought they were excellent. Shout out to them for stopping a song when it looked like someone got hurt.
Godflesh (performing Streetcleaner) - 6. Godflesh were a late addition to the bill after Ministry pulled out and, I think, the only repeat booking from 2021. Godflesh are a band who, before this announcement, I knew the name but not their music. Listened to Streetcleaner a couple of times and thought it was pretty good, so I was looking forward to them. I thought they were pretty good but it took me a while to get into their set. I didn't think the sound for them was particularly good - I've since seen others say the same thing so I'm pleased it wasn't just me, but still a bit of a shame. I enjoyed this, but truthfully it didn't blow me away.
Pallbearer - NR. I can't, in good conscious, give Pallbearer a rating of any description. I was sat down at the back of the room for their whole set and the people around me, doing the same, were having chats. I couldn't hear much of them, and that was very much on me being sat where I was. I definitely needed the sit down though!
At The Gates (performing Slaughter Of The Soul) - 9. I headed to the main stage about 5 minutes before At The Gates were due to take to the stage, and pretty much was at the barrier off to the left of the stage - close to the spot I had for Irist but not the exact spot. I wondered whether this would be wise considering how tired I was feeling at this point, but it turned out to be fine - any mosh pit activity wasn't near me and I'm perfectly okay with this! I really enjoyed At The Gates, and seeing them playing this album in full was a lovely time. They played the album, and finished with a song from their first album post-reunion. No complaints from me!
Decapitated - 7. I knew before going in I wasn't going to hang around for all of Decapitated because I wanted a sit down before Converge. I was in the room for I think half of their set, maybe slightly less. I enjoyed what I heard but truthfully I had checked out by this point. I wanted to hear Converge play Jane Doe and then I wanted to go.
When I left the room, I sat down on a very sticky floor. Indoor seating at that point would have been nice as I didn't want to sit out in the cold.
Converge (performing Jane Doe) - 8. I mean, this was superb. Never seen Converge live before and they are an excellent live band. I was super tired as they were playing Jane Doe which no doubt hampered my enjoyment - but I want to take nothing away from the band themselves, they were very good. I definitely want to see them live again, that's for sure.
And that, as they say, was that. I had an excellent day. It was a very long day, but it was an excellent day. Bowing out when I did meant I had barely a wait for the tram as well, which was a nice bonus. Getting back to the hotel and laying down after all that was one of those great feelings. As mentioned above, I felt unwell on Sunday and that started in the early hours (putting paid to my hopes I would sleep in after such a long day). Ho hum!
My Sunday, because I wasn't really sure what to do before my flight home, consisted of me walking to the Imperial War Museum, which was good. Then walking around a bit of Old Trafford and going in the Man Utd megastore (I spent precisely 0 pounds). I was tempted to see what the craic was with a museum visit and stadium tour, but I later learned advance bookings start from £25, and walk-ins are charged more. I went as a kid, and this would have been little more than a nostalgia trip. Bit much for that considering I don't follow football anymore. Oh well! After dropping back into the hotel to collect my bag and have a cup of tea there, I went to the airport. Nothing much to report from my journey home other than I was an absolute eejit and put my hand luggage liquids in the clear bag...and then put the clear bag in my bag and let it be checked. Unsurprisingly, it got selected for additional screening. I'm out of practice when it comes to airports! Or I'm a fucking idiot...one of them (the latter...). Slight hold up getting the flight going but still arrived back in Southampton just about the advertised time, so that was cool.
All of those words to say, my first Damnation Festival is in the booked and I thought it was great, If there is another lineup that takes me fancy, I will definitely want to go back. There were a few issues with the venue which could potentially be resolved for future years going forward (if the festival stays at the BEC of course). I can't compare anything with Leeds as I never went to that venue.
As for next year, below is a list of bands I'd be interested in seeing be announced:
Zeal & Ardor
Napalm Death
The Dillinger Escape Plan (if this reunion chat is a thing and isn't just one show)
Botch (see above, but two shows)
Obituary
Destruction
Birds In Row
The Antichrist Imperium
AmenRa
Alpha Male Tea Party
Employed To Serve
The Callous Daoboys
Conjurer
Rolo Tomassi
Frontierer
Bleed From Within
And So I Watch You From Afar
Palm Reader
Sikth
The Ocean
Helpless
DVNE
Venom Prison
Sugar Horse
Heriot
Delta Sleep
That said, my band of the weekend was We Lost The Sea, and I hadn't heard of them until they were announced so...
The music I was listening to while writing includes:
Pulp - Different Class
Ithaca - They Fear Us
Pig Destroyer - Prowler In The Yard
Irist - Gloria
Zeal & Ardor - Zeal & Ardor
Zeal & Ardor - Wake of a Nation
