Live Review : Download Festival on June 10th 2023

When they say “Sold Out” they really do mean “Sold Out”. This is the busiest we’ve ever ever seen Download and all four stages start crowded and just accelerate from there. Our journey today begins with a four-band salvo on the second stage. Static Dress are quite simply a different band to the one that opened the third day of Download pilot two years ago. At the time they brimmed with potential but came across as incoherent and rather scattergun. Twenty-four months of tireless touring has resulted in an immaculately focused and really rather slick post-hardcore outfit.

Matt and Johann do Sweden Rock : Bellends in Abbaland

Matt Fraser and Johann Wierzbicki of ROCKFLESH report on the 30 years anniversary of the Sweden Rock Festival in Southern Sweden which happens every June. The 4 days festival was a true gem to experience. We tried balancing work and pleasure and although a sound problem with a GoPro means we lost a lot of footage, we hope you will find something of value in this motion picture. Until the next festival, rock on!

FleshtivalsAuthor : Matt Fraser20 June 2023Sweden RockSweden Rock, Avatar, Europe, Gojira, Karmanjakah, Vlog, 2023, FestivalComment

Live Review : Sweden Rock Festival on June 10th 2023

We start the final day early on with an incredible interview with Sammy Urwin from Employed to Serve. A truly great guy from an awesome band. There’s also a chance for us to do some uploading and admin before the bands start playing, and it’s worth noting that both 5G and 4G networks perform admirably throughout the festival, not just for the press but for all punters, ensuring seamless connectivity. Too often you go to a festival in the UK and can’t stay in touch with friends and family to meet them.

Live Review : Sweden Rock Festival on June 9th 2023

The third day arrives with a sigh of relief as a breeze graces us with its presence. It's a welcome breeze, although it does play havoc with the sound at times. Nonetheless, to be fair, it’s been noticeable that all the stages boast excellent sound. We snag an interview with the incredible hardcore legends Raised Fist before making our way past H.E.A.T. to catch Vended on the Blåkläder Stage. Griffin Taylor’s vocals undeniably bear a striking resemblance to his old man's, not just in style but also in phrasing and vocal melodies. Still, he and the band are carving out their own path and making a name for themselves, not just riding on the coattails of their family ties.

Live Review : Sweden Rock Festival on June 7th 2023

The journey is a long one with the early start (3am from the house), but we finally make it from the North West of England to just outside Sölvesborg in the southern region of Blekinge, Sweden. To be fair our trip is fairly painless, with a decent flight to Copenhagen, train to Sölvesborg, and the festival shuttlebus to the site. Once we get there everyone is mega friendly and helpful, and it’s no ordeal or fuss sorting our press accreditation and campsite access. There are a few campsites dotted around nearby the festival site (but none included in the festival ticket), but we plumb for the nearest and craziest in Camp’n’Rock.

Sweden Rock Celebrating 30 Years of Rock

Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal extravaganza that takes place just outside the town of Sölvesborg in the southern region of Blekinge, Sweden. The festival delivers the perfect mix of classic rock, hard rock, metal and other related genres. Moreover, the festival organisers pay particular attention to creating an exceptional overall festival experience, and every year they aim to improve the level of comfort for all the punters, not just those in VIP. As the organisers themselves say; “Joy and community lay the foundation for ‘the spirit of Sweden Rock…simply that people get on well together here, help each other out and socialize with both known and unknown people…enjoy the music, indulge the atmosphere and hang out with the brothers and sisters that we simply call the best audience in the world.”

Live Review : Download Festival on June 9th 2023

Understandably we are all a bit confused. Friday feels like Saturday, Saturday like Sunday and Sunday like an excursion to the surface of the sun. It’s also hot, dusty and really busy. Any inclination that the Bring Me The Horizon day would see a lull in attendance is soon knocked on the head. The place is jumping and jiving from the get-go and the sold-out signs on all the BMTH merch makes it clear that they are not making up numbers as we wait for Metallica Part 2.

FleshtivalsAuthor : Stewart Lucas18 June 2023Donington ParkDownload 2023, FestivalComment

Live Review : Call Of The Wild Festival on May 28th 2023

Sunday is another bright and sunny morning, but as I already have a nose that’s bright red enough to see from space, the first thing I do today is make sure I’m wearing A Hat. And sunscreen. That was a crap song but a great message! Anyhow, over in the arena……..

The day starts with LaVire who are good, loud and powerful thrashy rock with a female vocalist. I find them quite similar to Ukrainian outfit Jinjer so if that's your thing check them out, I think you'll be impressed.

Live Review : Call Of The Wild Festival on May 27th 2023

Refreshed by a good night’s sleep and bacon, I return to the fray of the arena wondering what surprises today may have in store for me. The sun is shining and so is my nose (dear reader, wear sunscreen!) so armed with factor 50 and a hat I sally forth into battle.

The day starts with Shadow Smile who are a good wake up band there's nothing like a bit of metalcore in the morning to blow away the cobwebs! They are competent and fast, and although the music is slightly out of my comfort zone it's ok.

Live Review : Call Of The Wild Festival on May 26th 2023

The sun is shining as we stumble from our tents and vans into the arena for an 11am start. Bleary-eyed from the VIP welcome party the night before, we wonder who on earth thought it was a good idea to start a festival this early? To be fair they kind of had to, as we have a packed schedule today with many bands to see and many friends to greet.

Live Review : SpringFest UK on April 22nd 2023

It’s a good sign that with over ninety minutes to go before the first band are due are on stage at the inaugural SpringFest, that there is already a sizeable crowd gathered in and around the Waterloo. Whether it’s the sun which has unexpectedly decided to grace us with its presence (and justify the seasonal name of the event) or just the prospect of the ten hours of rock n roll ahead, there is already a positivity, camaraderie and family vibe that will come to characterise this new festival by the time the day is done.

Live Review : Damnation Festival 2022 - Part III

The terms seminal and genre defining are probably thrown around too much these days but the work of Godflesh, and in particular debut album ‘Streetcleaner’, deserves those accolades and more. It’s therefore almost unbelievable to experience the band performing the album in full after all these years. The anticipation prior to opener ‘Like Rats’ is palpable and, once some feedback and sound difficulties are overcome, it’s a joyous ride through what is a very important set of tracks from the late 80’s that has undoubtedly shaped the very fabric of industrial metal ever since.

Live Review : Damnation Festival 2022 - Part II

Meanwhile back at the eyesore stage So hideous present us with their awesome take on Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze. It’s massively atmospheric, a luscious full sound, and truly epic. The floods of dry-ice off the stage mash with the abundance of pastel lights and strobes to allow us to completely immerse ourselves in their wonderful world. The New Yorkers play their album ‘None But a Pure Heart Can Sing’ through in full for us Playing new album straight through.

Live Review : Damnation Festival 2022 - Part I

So, this is it. Damnation Festivals’ grand step up into the big league. And if you are going to move home then do it in style. Whilst we were in the end sixty-six sales shy of the blazing “sold out as fuck” sign, shifting 5,934 tickets (double the capacity for even the busiest previous Damnation) is phenomenal. And then there is the bill. A smorgasbord of special sets, UK exclusives, and representatives from every corner of the extreme metal world. The fact that the absence of billed headliner Ministry was a complete non-event, is kudos to the strength of the bill as a whole. In many ways (in terms of performance, crowd size and participation, and general buzz in the room) it felt distinctly like Pig Destroyer were headlining and everything else was building up to and away from them. But more about that later.

Live Review : Damnation Festival 2022 - "A Night Of Salvation" on November 4th 2022

Night of Salvation provides Damnation festival with an intimate opportunity to road-test its new home at the Bec Arena in deepest and darkest Trafford. Tonight, manages to be simultaneously low-key and auspicious. Low-key in the fact that there are only around 300 of us on site, but auspicious in terms of the quality and the prestige of the bill that they have managed to pull together. The closing two sets (Celeste’s performance of “Assassin(s)” and We Lost the Sea doing “Departure Songs” as their UK debut) are both world exclusives and according to both sets of artists unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.

5 Bands To Not Miss At Damnation

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).

Why I love Damnation!

My first Damnation was nine years ago, back in 2013. I went for one reason and one reason only, the (supposed) only UK show by my beloved Carcass (I say supposed as they were then added to an Amon Amarth UK package tour a couple of months after they were confirmed for Damnation). I went for the grind but ended up seduced by the variety of metal goodness on offer. It was a smorgasbord of diverse aspects of metal’s duplicit personalities.

FleshtivalsAuthor : Stewart Lucas25 October 2022BECDamnation Festival, 2022, Stewart LucasComment

Live Review : Steelhouse Festival on July 31st 2022

It’s Steelhouse Sunday and the weather has cheered up which in turn cheers the crowd up too. We start with Merseysiders Ashen Reach and I know who they are this time (in joke!). They are not bad at all, I like them quite a lot. They do melodic alt rock and remind me a bit of Papa Roach.

Live Review : Steelhouse on July 29th 2022

Actually it’s kind of day 2 because those of us in self-contained campers are now allowed to drive up and get settled on the Thursday night. No facilities, no bands, just a chance to chill with your mates and celebrate most of us getting our various vehicles up the mountain without mishap.

Live Review : Steelhouse on July 30th 2022

Saturday starts rather drizzly and the first band up are Mother Vulture. They are heavy blues and I was prepared not to like them but wait, what’s this? They have the worst pants ever but they move, they dance, they fall over - it's all a bit mental but it's also kind of fun. Musically they're average but visually they are superb