Live Review : RADAR on July 30th 2023

The final morning of the festival sees us welcomed by local favourites Where Oceans Burn. The band is growing from strength to strength and there are elements of grunge, tech-metal, and groove metal throughout. There’s that heavy Northlane vibe from them, especially the guitars, and the harsh vocals from Alex Wilkinson are superb. The band are getting bigger bookings every time I see them, and hopefully it’s time for them to make it to the next level. even better on a big stage.

Forlorn are like Sleep Token having a party with Rolo Tomassi. Vocalist Megan Elliott dances round the stage in her Green Witch, Pagan, attire, complete with flower crown. It is part of the ‘Midsommar Metal’ tag they’ve now attained, and the music they deliver is truly a chaotic post-metal treat. Megan’s singing is as gently sweet in the cleans as it is gutturally vicious in the harsh. The drums have plenty in common with Converge and Sleep Token, with impressive syncopation and swagger. 

I Built the Sky is the brainchild of Rohan Stevenson who writes, records and produces the whole act. He’s an undoubtedly fantastic composer and guitar player, with fretboard skimming, open chord arpeggios and blisteringly fast tapping. I often find instrumental tech-metal bands hard to remain engaged with, but with I Built the Sky I stay captivated throughout. It’s inventive, intriguing, and most importantly the songs matter more than the individual examples of technique. Guest vocals from Andy Cisek of Monuments for one of the tracks adds that little extra bit of spice, and the whole set is superb.

Lake Malice are fresh, enthusiastic, and characterful. Alice and Blake, together with a dynamic drummer, provide an energetic mix of tech-metal, punk, pop and electro-rock. It’s catchy and unique, with fans of Spiritbox and Vukovi sure to enjoy them. Alice’s diverse vocals, switching between velvety clean singing, Atari Teenage Riot style shouty vocals, and guttural growls. Blake bounds around the stage, spinning and jumping, all the while laying down jagged riffs. Meanwhile, Alice dances about the stage like a firecracker, striking poses in her spotty dress. They’re infectiously enjoyable, and give you that exciting feelgood factor.

Caligula's Horse are a band I’ve been hoping to catch for a good while now. They share a lot of the musicality, songwriting nuance and intrigue of Haken, but with a much heavily edge. There are Karnivool, and even Marillion vibes too. Intricate guitar work helps creates a sound that is both powerful and catchy. There’s a tight and driving energy to their music, all of the band providing a layer of atmosphere and depth to the songs.

I’ve not seen Ghost Iris for a good while, and they seem to have embraced their very heavy side. Masked guitarists flank frontman Jesper Vicencio as they deliver their violent tech-metal. Jesper’s vocals are brutal, sharp and jagged, with the guitars and drums following suit. It makes for a violent staccato style affording a tech-deathcore aspect aligning with the other elements of their music. Djenty segments moving into fist-pumping almost hardcore, alongside interweaving guitars and then driving deathcore.

The crew for Ten56. dash about the stage trying to get the band on stage as quickly as possible. Their van broke down, and the rescue van then ran out of gas. They’re up against it, but they sure as hell don’t let it derail them, as they put on one of the best and most brutal sets I’ve seen from them yet. The award for bludgeoning tech-deathcore heaviness goes to…Ten56. It’s a brutal, guttural onslaught of a vocal from Aaron Matts that blazes the way forward for the band, with guitar and bass viciously ripping and gnawing in front of the drums blasting away. The moments of slow rumbling synth and menacing talking intersperse the delicious assault, are this band remain as unique and fresh as they come.

We love Resolve here at ROCKFLESH, and tonight they are absolutely fantastic (if you want to know more about about them here is a video interview we did back with Robin in April of this year). Anthony Diliberto's vocals are stunningly emotive and tone perfect, and as a dynamic and relatable singer he delightfully mixes harsh and cleans sublimely. The band bound about the stage, and the Lyon crew mix their up-tempo catchy tech-metal songs with their slower atmospheric ones. The band showcases this diversity best with track ‘Between Me and The Machine’. It’s an absolutely stunning song. If there’s any justice in the world, then they're destined for big things.

Volumes bring their accessible yet brutal metalcore to the festival, and it might just be the heaviest and most intense I think I’ve ever seen them. They blend the best elements of earlier metalcore acts with a modern technical approach. Think Bury Tomorrow’s style having a mash-up with InVisions. Each song is loud and ferocious with jaggedly violent guitars, crunchingly catchy riffs, and engaging vocals.

Loathe turn things up a notch tonight, with a really heavy and intense performance. I’m not sure if it’s the acoustics of the second stage room, but they are an enormous wall of sound. Musically, they’re an immediately identifiable band, with their perfect mix of intense tech-metal and atmospheric post-hardcore. In Kadeem France they have a charismatic and assured frontman, and together with guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe, they deliver the variety of distinctive vocals these songs require. Imaginatively, each song switches and blends the light and dark, heavy and gentle elements throughout - dreamy segments sit alongside brutal passages, unleashed frequently, dynamically and without warning. These guys will be massive – there’s no doubt.

Periphery are a seminal act who really broke ground when they first hit the scene, and continue to make their mark to this day. They’ve acted as an influence and precursor to so many bands – Monuments and TesseracT to name but two. There’s no Mark Holcomb tonight, but that doesn’t stop the rest of the band from putting on a virtuoso display. The technicality and professionalism is superb from the djenty, prog-metal titans. There’s a continuous swirl of mesmerising riffs, rhythms and beats. Spencer Sotelo delivers sublime vocals which switch from high cleans to vicious harshness. An important band, bringing to an end the festival in 2023. Here’s to RADAR Festival 2024! 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Periphery, Loathe, Volumes, Resolve, Ten56., Ghost Iris, Caligula’s Horse, Lake Malice, I Built The Sky, Forlorn, Where Oceans Burn