Live Review : Tech-Fest on July 1st 2023

Despite everyone going hard on the Friday, there’s no lack of appetite for more tech-metal…and more drinking. We make our way to two interviews with Vexed (Here) and Harbinger (Here), before making our way to the stages to be met by the energetic Monasteries. They continue to offer us their unique take on experimental deathcore, which is deliciously vicious and ferocious. They’re very, very heavy. Very. There's a Thy Art is Murder theme to much of their material, but mashed together with technical guitar parts that bring that crazily experimental The Locust feel.

Azure provide a more considered and gentle, yet no less technical, modern prog offering to the festival. Fantasy themed, and with some delightful noodling, and bluesy, their a great change-up in proceedings. 

Vexed take to the Main Stage with their unrelenting mix of technical modern deathcore. Previous material was clearly in the realms of Car Bomb and Emmure, but with recent album ‘Negative Energy’ we see an evolution and maturity to the band’s sound that pushes them clearly to the next level and gives them a unique and signature sound of their own. The technicality from every member of the band is stunning. Jay Bacon has one of the filthiest and delicious tech-metal guitar sounds I’ve heard for ages, and his violent stabs and jagged riffs sit perfectly with Al Harper’s vigorous bass work and Willem Mason-Geraghty’s driving drums. Megan Targett has added an awesome range and variety to her singing, and she commands the stage both through performance and vocals. She’s added technically impressive cleans and spoken aspects to her already ferociously furious low-end guttural singing. It’s all killer no filler with their catalogue now, which affords the crowd a prolonged chance to tune into their precision and brutality, and I can’t wait for a full album tour soon.

We manage to catch Heriot and Armed For Apocalypse, both bands that have plenty of potential and genuine buzz about them currently, whilst also grabbing interviews with Hundred Year Old Man (Here). Then we make our way into the Main Stage room for what I think ends up being the biggest crowd of the weekend. Kublai Khan TX were made for whipping the crowd into a frenzy, and they are simply brilliant live. The thrashy yet technical hardcore onslaught, is delivered with ferocity and swagger. Each song explodes into our ears in a delightful mix of groove and aggression. They prowl the stage like a pack of hunting animals, their presence commanding and electrifying, and in frontman Matt Honeycutt they have a charismatic and fierce frontman. The definition in his vocals, and the whole band’s sound is perfect, with each aspect perfectly discernible. The guitars are venomous, the bass and drums providing a punishing backdrop of thunderous rhythms, and Honeycutt’s dog barks control the crowd’s primal instincts. Seriously, a band that deserves attention.

Hundred Year Old Man live are even more impressive live than they are on record, and tonight they deliver for me the performance of the weekend. This powerful and unforgettable execution of their unique post-metal showcases their incredible musicianship and emotional intensity. They combine so many elements of so many different influences in a holistic powerhouse of sound. For me, they stand alongside bands like Leprous, Wheel, The Ocean and Gojira. Every single member of the band has the captivating presence, talent and ability you need in a special band. The journey they take you on through each song sees highs and lows of intensity, gradual builds, beautiful pin-drop moment - it really is a tour de force of musicality and it leaves us all in awe of their intricate, mesmerizing soundscapes. 

Aborted are so heavy, they’re the personification of heavy with a gut-busting exclamation mark. Fans of the really angry segments of Thy Art is Murder will love these Belgian guys. It’s a primal death metal journey through grindcore sensibilities and back out again, and the crowd absolutely love every second.

Talking of heavy, Chelsea Grin immediately bring their raw intensity and passion to the Main Stage as headliners. It’s a visceral, extreme and bludgeoning tech-deathcore heaviness at its best. In Tom Barber they have a frontman that commands the crowd perfectly and delivers a brutal, guttural assault of a vocal with a deceptive clarity. The guitar and bass viciously rip and gnaw away, while the drums blast and drive through the set. It’s a wall of unadulterated distorted deathcore that hits squarely between the eyes. The controlled focus of fury talent powers throughout the set, every drum hit intense and precise, the guitar and bass equally note perfect and a technical delight.

The after party sees us entertained by Blight Town, with their enjoyable metal-tinged math-rock, and the awesome Lost in Lavender Town. They’re reminiscent of I Built The Sky and We Lost The Sea, with superb use of intricate bass lines, syncopated drum hits and enthralling technical guitar work. The technical guitar work is truly outstanding, with plenty of tapping, and they demonstrate a very impressive song writing to technicality balance across all their songs. The delivery is very professional and tight, but it’s the impressive knitting together of music into a holistic set of songs that is most memorable though. We eventually make our way from the party, thoroughly impressed and satisfied, ready for more on our final day. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Chelsea Grin, Aborted, Hundred Year Old Man, Kublai Khan TX, Armed For Apocalypse, Heriot, Vexed, Azure, Monasteries