Sore heads for the journey onsite the second full morning of the festival. Damn you Strawberry Daquiris, why did I ever know you! Despite everyone partying hard on the Friday, the awesome breakfast pizzas and plentiful coffee supplies get everyone perked up and ready for more tech-metal…and drinking this warm Saturday. We walk in to be met by the ever excellent Krysthla, who could easily be mistaken for being a Scandinavian juggernaut with flowing hair and ferocious energy. Equal parts extreme, prog, tech and groove, these guys lay down riffs that Decapitated would be proud of. We move through the day and see some great bands.

Axiom provide some brilliant chilled instrumental prog. There’s plenty of groove, and whilst very technical it’s never at the expense of the songs. They also provide a heavy edge when needed, but never as an unnecessary wall of sound.

The Five Hundred bring the Bury Tomorrow/Killswitch Engage style metalcore with a technical boost, dynamic guitars and syncopated drums. They all have fantastic stage presence and plenty of movement. John Woods-Ely has a great range, both clean and unclean, and delivers one of the standout on-stage comedy moments of the festival with his machine mic manoeuvre.

The Hirsch Effekt cannot be pigeonholed. They simply are The Hirsch Effekt, and what they do is sublime and superb. If I had to pin them down I’d say experimental math-rock tech-metal…but I’m not sure that captures them sufficiently enough. I can’t think of any other band that do melodic, gentle passages juxtaposed with crazed experimental tech-metal as well as this trio from Hanover. The musicianship is tremendous and the song-writing genius, but it’s their uniqueness that sets them apart. Syncopated rhythms perpetuate from all corners, and it’s a joy to watch them drift between technical avant-garde post-hardcore to technical metal riffs. They’re fun as well as clever, and the dynamic music is matched by their stage show. Visually they provide tonnes of movement and stage presence, even standing front of stage in turn to have jets of smoke shoot up their bums! Not as strange as Johann meeting them brushing their teeth in the band/press toilets the night before, at which we nailed them down for a video interview on the Sunday which you can see HERE. The singing is fantastic both clean and unclean, and there’s an awesome groove and swagger to their work. The infectious enthusiasm they put into every note leaves the crowd buzzing, and there’s a delightfully raw and passionate core to everything they perform today. It’s a unique and spellbinding set from one of the most inventive bands out there.

Manchester’s Blind Summit go down an absolute treat with the crowd today. Their mix of almost 90's dance vocals over the top of brutal but Vola-esque bass and guitar technical work and tone is addictive. Time signature changes and syncopated drums keep everything fresh and interesting, and it's as professional as it is technical and catchy. There’s loads of bouncing energy from the bassist and guitarist but it’s the fantastically soulful vocals and captivating stage performance from Alexandra Angelini that capture the attention.

Anima Tempo have made the long trip from Mexico to be with us, and thank goodness they did! Imagine computer game/anime electronic backing tracks with forceful tech-metal over the top of it, and you have Anima Tempo. Their technically intricacy is only matched by their stunning musicianship, and pleasingly they deliver on the extreme metal side of their profile with a much heavier sound live than on record. Nothing says tech-metal more than a 6-string bass, and these guys epitomise UK Tech-Fest and what it stands for. That’s not just the band’s performance, but also their series of masterclass workshops held through the weekend, and to chat to these guys were the most humble, insightful and fun guys you could wish to meet. I for one can’t wait to see them return to our shores as soon as possible.

Monasteries are a rising band that you shouldn’t sleep on. Their blisteringly vicious metal could melt your face off whilst warping your mind. I’m going to call them experimental deathcore, that is very, very heavy. There's that deathcore ethos to much of their material, in a similar vein to Thy Art is Murder, but also some interesting technical guitar parts more akin to The Locust or The Blood Brothers. They also have a great groove, and whilst the vocals are brutal, they do have that hardcore definition to them too.

TheCityIsOurs had to step in fairly short notice to the bill, and are a great chance to breathe between all the extreme heaviness we’ve seen and are yet to see. Sitting somewhere between Normandie and InVisions, they are precise and a lot of fun for sure. Each member of the band knows how to work the stage, and between them I think they must have the best trousers in metal.

Vexed bring back the brutality and then some. Headlining the second stage, their unrelenting mix of heavy djenty deathcore with experimental sparks is like Car Bomb mixed with Emmure, and maybe even some Gojira thrown in too. The technicality from every member of the band in what they add to the sound is stunning. The mixture of jagged stabbing djent and gentle interweaving guitars from Jay Bacon sit perfectly with Willem Mason-Geraghty’s intricate yet pounding drums and Al Harper’s dynamic bass. Track ‘Narcissist’ is almost pure Meshuggah…but with even heavier vocals dare I say! Megan Targett’s singing is some of the most ferocious and cutting low-end guttural singing I’ve heard for some time, and they layer perfectly with band’s sound. There is absolutely no fat in their sound at all – it’s as lean as possible and affords the crowd to tune in to the precision and brutality in equal measure to full effect. It’s actually unbelievable they were nervous prior to this performance, as they revealed in my pre-set video interview with them HERE.

South Africa’s Vulvodynia take the title for heaviest and most extreme band of the weekend though. Oh my, they’re not just heavy, they’re the personification of gut-bustingly visceral metal. Imagine Thy Art is Murder on a really grumpy day and you might get halfway to imagining these guys. The band unleash their brutal signature slam deathmetal and the crowd absolutely love every second.  Vocalist Duncan Bentley shows control and variety in his fiercely savage vocals, but I have to admit I’m transfixed throughout by the watermelon patterned outfit worn by one of the band member (or is that slaughtermelon…). In any case, they are technically superb and extremely enjoyable live.

The tempo changes one final time for the day with Main Stage headliners The Ocean Collective. The smoke fills the stage and all we can see are silhouettes of the band. The band start to create their opening soundscape and immediately every person in the crowd is entranced. They spend the next roughly hour and half delivering one of the most amazing performances I’ve seen since the pandemic. They mix Leprous style melodies, with sweeping Karnivool instrumental elements and Massive Attack groove-laden atmospheric segments. With Loïc Rossetti still recovering fully from his broken legs (yes both of them) we’re afford his mysterious sat down presence for much of the set, but that doesn’t stop him from delivering some amazing vocals tonight. His voice switches between clean luxurious warmth and commandingly aggressive unclean growling, starting songs warm, rich and velvety before developing into the more brutal elements. The entire band are meticulous in every element of their performance, affording tender passages to sit alongside heavier tech-metal segments. These truly are a special band that need to be seen live to be truly understood. We make our way from the stages thoroughly impressed and satisfied, ready for more on our final day.