So this new stair-free incarnation of Damnation festival means that with a good wind, a willing bladder and a packed lunch you can actually plan on seeing 17 bands back to back. But for those of you more discerning folk who are still trying to work in merchandise shopping and beer perusing, we at ROCKFLESH are proud to present our five must see sets of the weekend. Based entirely on the subjective views of our black/death metal correspondent Stewart, these are the acts that he will personally get very grumpy if you dare not grace them with your presence (yes we know that he has not included Converge doing “Jane Doe”, yes we know that is not on and yes we will supply you with this email address). 

5) Frayle.
So let's start with an early doors addition as Damnation is not one of those events we should be wobbling into from the pub halfway through. They have a habit of putting on pretty darn good acts in the graveyard slot (Vola in 2018 is a case in point) and this year is no exception. Frayle are funeral doom with added sensuality. Dark and sensuous music to lose yourself in. They are the aural equivalent of a velvet black cloak, enveloping the listener in luxurious decadent darkness. The band themselves describe their brand of doom as heavy, low and witchy and to be honest, they have done most of my job for me. Gwyn Strang’s vocal refrain has a feeling of deadly allurement to it, like a mythical siren luring sailors to their death. Music to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, I can't think of a more perfect start to the day.

4) Ithaca. 
Our next selection is actually playing the night before as part of the Night of Salvation, but they are so darn good that we just couldn't keep them off the list. Metal has evolved massively over the last fifty years. One of the most impressive changes is the way that it now understands and handles human emotions. In the olden days, there were only two types of subject matter for a metal track, namely goblins and dragons or tits and arses. Emotional repression was rife, and every hint of fragility was buried in sub-Tolkien twaddle or levels of blatant sexism that would make Hugh Hefner blush. Thankfully the world has changed, and Ithaca are part of a new brand of metal acts that wear their personal traumas on their sleeves. There is something stunningly honest and humble about what they are doing. They are taking the emotional turmoil of their collective personal lives and turning it into a cathartic cacophony of self-healing. The collision of screamed refrains and beautifully textured comedowns creates a swirl of transcendental noise that feels truly unique. It may feel like I am using more than my quota of superlatives but, God do they need to be seen to be believed. If you do go along on Friday for one band this is the band you need to see (tickets still available!!!).

3) Wolves in the Throne Room. 
No band better illustrates the massive change that Damnation Festivals are going through than transcendental black metal royalty Wolves in the Throne Room. You see 12 months ago they were meant to headline but sadly international travel restrictions and the blasted C word got in the way. A year is a long time in extreme metal and here they are halfway down the bill of the new arena bothering Damnation Festival. But they are still an act that you should hunt out with utter conviction. The beauty of Wolves in the Throne Room is that they have deconstructed what we understand to be black metal and then reconstituted it is a euphoric maelstrom of noise that screams into the abyss at what we are doing to our planet. All that satanic nonsense has been plucked out and instead this is a fierce environmental message that uses the genre's ethereal aggression to get the message across. They may not now even be in the same room as the headline acts but boy are they going to be one of the bands of the day.

2) My Dying Bride. 
The British metal institution that you didn't know was missing from your lives. My Dying Bride is as important and as revered as they are overlooked. Anything that has called itself Doom metal over the last two decades has been (whether it knows it or not) influenced by them. Fads and genres have come and gone but they have been as steadfast as the archetypal immovable object. They were purveyors of the finest Doom in 1992 and 30 years later they are doing exactly the same having stayed incredibly loyal to their chosen musical form. Like a fine wine, they have matured but not lost what made them so wonderful. The forgotten geniuses of British metal this will very much be a set to savour.

1) At The Gates.
Heavy metal’s very own Velvet Underground. In that they may not have sold a shed load of records but every band that existed in their wake has been directly influenced by them. More importantly, every band that came after them has been directly influenced by the album that they will play in its entirety at Damnation. Anyone who may tell you that perfection is not possible has never heard "Slaughter of the Soul". Over thirty-four staggering minutes, it sets the template for how you combine commerciality with pure aggression. Not a note and not a minute is wasted. There is no self-indulgence or time-filling at play here. Every track is immaculately created and beautifully rendered. The solos are short, sharp and watertight. It takes metal's obsession with bloated overindulgence and chucks it in the bin. It replaces it with trim precision. It understands that less is indeed more, and the important bits are actually what you leave out. There is not an album like it, but you can hear its DNA in every subsequent heavy metal release. This is the origin story for metal core, the new wave of American heavy metal, and frankly every genre that combines melodic riffs with gruff vocals. There is not an album like it and at Damnation will get to hear it played in full by the five people that created it. I throw superlatives around like confetti but don't think I've ever looked forward to a set at a festival more than this one.