UK Tech-Fest is more than a festival – it’s a family and a community. It genuinely feels like returning home when you enter through the box office and get your wristband put on. It’s a festival that genuinely creates a feeling of welcoming, inclusion, passion and dedication. Add to that lashings of technically impressive progressive metal, infectious on-stage performers, enough merch to sink a battleship and plenty of booze, and you’ve got what is now my favourite festival. First seen in 2012 (and at Newark Showground since 2014), the not-for-profit festival has only been possible thanks to the tireless devotion of founder Simon Garrod and his annually returning group of volunteers. The past two years have seen the postponement of the festival due to the pandemic, and the feeling this year is a mixture of anticipation, relief, excitement and comfort. Each year it’s grown and grown, and now is very much a central part of the calendar for many individuals – myself included.

Early bird Thursday sees the action starting with many of the crowd still making their way from across the country, and even the world. The excitement from the crowds and the intensity from the bands is no less for it though, and we dive straight into it as soon as we can. It doesn’t take long for the party feel to show its face and as we make our way into the second stage crowd we hear Karybdis requesting a conga. To many, such a juxtaposed image of heavy pummelling tech-metal with a conga would seem unthinkable or odd, but not at UK Tech-Fest. And that’s essentially the joy of the festival. Fans of Harbinger should definitely check out Karybdis, who fuse some deliciously technical musicality in a thundering brutal fashion. 

We switch to the larger main stage to catch Red Method. Since I first saw them here a few years ago they have grown more accomplished and slick, and to all intents and purposes deliver a technical version of Slipknot and American Head Charge. A pigeon gets into the hangar and threatens to steal the show, but the array of onstage personalised equipment which includes instruments, props, outfits - even a stony-faced mask on the lead guitarist – ensure the crowd remain engaged and dancing throughout. 

“We’re probably the least tech of all the bands here this weekend – the only technician thing about us is they we're technically playing music” jokes Stephen MacConville the vocalist from Confessions Of A Traitor. This isn’t remotely true though, and their mix of metalcore with early Architects-esque fury is complemented by some intricate fret-work throughout. The Macarena makes its annual appearance early doors, whilst MacConville (and at one point one of the guitarists) spends a large portion of the set prowling around off-stage in the crowd. A cover of Linkin Park’s ‘Papercut’ goes down a treat with the crowd, but their own material is very impressive and this band won me over very quickly. 

The afternoon progresses into evening as we see the solo metal maestro Drewsif, and the guttural brutality of Bound In Fear. Soon it’s time for Artificial Language and they effortlessly slide into their melodic and intricate progressive rock-metal. They seem a little nervous to start with, and it takes a while for vocalist Shay Lewis to settle, but once he does they match the sublimely graceful sound found on their recordings. There’s a swingy and laidback feel to their work, and you could almost describe it as techy-lounge-core. They’re a very accessible and interesting band that can reach a very wide audience.

Tonight’s headliners are Exim (aka Exist Immortal) and you can immediately see that they have that star element. Frontman Meyrick De La Fuente takes to the stage in a yellow jacket but, instead of breaking out into Queen covers, delivers soaring clean vocals over some lively and catchy melodic technical metal. They’re a mix of Monuments with Ravenface, and fans of Normandie and Siamese will love them. Not only is every song an earworm, but they perform them very professionally and in an engaging manner alongside a superb light show. Their set is filled with fantastic songwriting, variety and a really good example of how to blend melody and passion. We leave their set with a grin and a hunger for the next three full days to come.