After my hotel booking for the weekend was randomly cancelled with barely any notice, I decided I would be more than capable of getting the train to Badgerfest each day. Day 2 and I am regretting that thought already, as I whizz through Warrington and Newton Le Willows, unable to get lost in my usual daydreamy train thoughts (todays is “They missed a trick last night not covering the Badger song”) as I am alarmingly close to Dave and his workmates having a staff day out and sipping their pre mixed G and Ts.

 It’s not how I wanted to warm up for today’s music based shenanigans, but by the time my converse have carried my chunky thighs down to the Bread Shed I am in a much better mood and ready to see all the bands… well, almost all the bands. Long story, but other duties left me indisposed for about an hour and there were some bands I didn’t manage to see properly, or give my full attention to. 

Day 2 kicks off in style with Recall The Remains. You know when you’re half asleep the morning after a heavy night, and you’re clumsily trying to make your breakfast? Then you accidently touch the hot bit of the toaster and you wake up instantly…? Recall The Remains were the toaster. This was an excellent example of metalcore at its finest and it doesn’t take long for the energy in the room to pick up again. It’s a stunning turn out for the first band of the day and it’s easy to see why they’ve been able to build an army of fans.

 In order to pack more bands in, a second stage has been introduced this year, so as to maximise head banging time. It ran like an absolute dream time wise between the two stages, but generally the second stage was sometimes a little hit and miss with its lights and sound, and I heard a few photographers commenting on the difficulties they had shooting the bands on this stage. 

With that in mind, Merseyside’s Ashen Reach absolutely slayed their set. Again with another massive turn out for an early set, they stomped their way through with their own brand of hard rock, standing out particularly with their track Heir to the Throne and closer Homecoming. 

Back on main stage, it was time for The Injester and I’m not really that sure what to think of them initially as I’ve always been a little unsettled by clowns, and this is the look they are all about. Visually, it’s stunning, and I love bands that go all out on the theatrics. Musically, it takes me back to Black Waltz era Avatar, and it’s incredibly enjoyable. 

In stark contrast to the clowny themed horror of before, Callus grace the second stage with their doomy/sludgy/stoner metal, and wow, it is loud! There are elements of thrash nestled in their riffs, and the result is a densely thick noise that penetrates the air in the room.

Sadly, the set from Netherall was missed due to my family emergency, and I catch only the tail end of Everest Queen but I am overjoyed to make it back inside in time for Ashen Crown. What can I say about these guys that hasn’t been said before? The love for them in the room is palpable. For those of us who love the more extreme side of metal, Ashen Crown deliver a perfectly tight and formidable performance, cementing their place as one of the UKs most promising up and coming bands. 

I believe Ascaris are normally a trio, but today they are getting on with it minus a drummer! It works pretty well with the backing track, but I think I’d like to see them again in their full Black Metal glory. 

One short interval and a trip to Archies round the corner, we’re back in time for King Goat and there’s a lot to take in here. Admittedly, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a band light an incense stick as part of their set, but it just adds to the atmosphere of doom that’s settled upon the audience. What sets King Goat apart is the impressively powerful vocals of front man Anthony Trimming. His aural melodies bellow out of his lungs and soars above the audience. This is pretty standard ethereal doom but, god those pipes of his takes it somewhere else entirely. It is an oddly beautiful set (and yes beautiful was not a word I was expecting to use to describe Doom Metal) and it has a long-lasting effect on me, staying in my minds eye long after they had left the stage. I will go as far as to say that it left me taken aback slightly, and I would love to see these guys again. 

Switching our attention back to the main stage, it’s Glaswegian death metallers Godeater who hit the boards in a brutal fashion. God they are heavy, so heavy that they seem in danger of crashing through the stage and plunging into the subterranean labyrinths that snake below Manchester. This the pounding crunching end of Death Metal, full of Machine gun like riffs and insistent drumming. I may prefer my death with a little more melody but even I can tell that they do this stuff blooming well. 

For a lesson in how to absolutely destroy a stage (and my neck), I once more switched stages to witness the blackened death goodness of Bloodoath. They continue the air of brutality started by our Godeater, but they add a level of malicious menace. “Monuments to our ruin” is the stand-out track for me. Ear splitting in both its volume and intensity but also possessing an eerie atmosphere giving it an other-worldly feel.  

Red Method have an insane hype around them and are very much my kind of band. They expertly blend tech, industrial and nu-metal creating something that feels both wonderfully familiar, but also distinctly unique. Metal can be found guilty in many many places of being derivative and too obsessed with its own history. Not here. Red Method takes the component parts of past genres and build something else. A something else that enrapts the whole of the Bread Shed. The music gets the crowd whipped up into a huge venue engulfing circle pit, a frenzy of bodies that clash together in time with the beats. I am not sure of what they are doing but god it is magnificent.

King Witch usure in a distinct change in style. This is a sultry take on classic doom. It is essentially Candlemass but with a massive dollop of sensuality. It is distinctly old skool in both its approach and in its delivery, but it manages to rise above the ordinary because of Laura Donnelly’s electric stage presence. She shimmers, she swoons and she utterly burns of the stage. 

And a mere eight and a quarter hours after we started we reach tonight’s headliner, Krysthla. Boy have they earnt this top of the bill position. Krysthla have been omnipresent in the UK metal scene for the last nine years. They have built a following and a reputation by getting out there and playing every stage (and corner of a room) that will have them. They have learnt their craft out on the road and that experience shows tonight. They don’t take the audience reaction for granted and instead they graft to capture the hearts of everyone present. They connect and engage with the crowd every opportunity they get and the bodies tumbling over barriers grows as the bound between band and punter grows. 

They manage to perfectly balance slick with spontaneity. Yes this is the hundredth (if not the thousandth) time they have played these tracks but they maintain the feeling of hunger and raw passion. They are utterly fantastic and the entire floor becomes a seething mass of flaying limbs. There is no encore (damn you curfew) no matter how much we bray but no matter how good King Goat and Red Method were, this so so Krysthla’s night..