Photo Credit: FUIN

Live Review: Mangata Festival

Mangata Festival

The Old Cold Store, Nottingham – July 16th, 2022

Photo Credit: FUIN
Photo Credit: FUIN

We popped along on Saturday, the first day of Mangata Festival to witness the birth of a brand new Metal event. Mangata spanned over two days, had three stages and hosted 50 bands over the weekend. On arrival, we were impressed with the venue which is based within Nottingham’s own Castle Rock Brewery. The main stage was situated outside along with the  3rd smaller stage which was more of a gazebo. The 2nd stage was indoors, shielded from the scorching rays we have been having of late.

The venue was an ideal size and with the layout, it was easy to get to each stage in time for whatever act you wanted to see. There was a good amount of people spending time at each stage which was great to see so much support for each band in attendance. Nottingham has a rich Metal scene and if you haven’t already known, it was blindingly obvious with the turnout and backing for this event.

Photo Credit: Aggy Gillon
Photo Credit: Aggy Gillon

The first band we caught on the 2nd stage was local Gothic Metal Band Flirting with Corpses. Donned in corpse paint they put on a ghoulish display, with guttural vocals which were quite reminiscent of Murderdolls. The whole vibe of the band felt quite 90s early 00s with their own modern twists. A stand-out track they played was ‘Graveyard Lullaby’.

Shortly after, atmospheric black Metal band, Wolvencrown hit the main stage. Hailing from Nottingham, the five-piece played such a ferocious and tight set our first thoughts were that they could have easily headlined. That would be a reoccurring theme for some acts to follow and it just shows that the quality of the lineup for Mangata was so rich that many could have taken that spot.

Pop-punk trio Decade and a Day were a surprise to see on the 3rd stage. Hearing their bouncy tunes in amongst heavy Metal was quite the juxtaposition but fun addition to the lineup. Although on the smaller stage they pulled a fair crowd who all seemed to enjoy the show.

Photo Credit: Emily Coulter
Photo Credit: Emily Coulter

Wolves Don’t Sleep gathered the largest crowd we had seen so far on the 2nd stage, maybe mainstage next year? With powerful vocals and lyrics, frontman Steev had the audience in the palm of his hands. You can tell by their performance they have put a lot of thought and work into their stage presence and sound. A definite highlight of the day.

The top band of the day for overall performance is arguably The Five Hundred. Packing out the mainstage area, they went down a storm. They were big on audience participation, calling on mosh pits and at one point a wall of death much to everyone’s delight. The bassist was taken on an audience member’s shoulders while still expertly strumming away. A must-see band to add to any metal fans list.

Photo Credit: FUIN
Photo Credit: FUIN

Conan brought their Doom metal to the main stage which slowed the pace but certainly not the intensity. With their trance-inducing tempos and thick and heavy sound, they had all the audience in sync banging their heads to the beat. Mangata served up an incredible variety of bands with varying styles under the Metal and Rock umbrella. No two bands we saw on Saturday were alike. An impressive and well-thought lineup by the organisers.

Our final thoughts on Mangata is for it being so well organised and attended, it’s incredible that this is the first year it has been on. Speaking with festival goers, all of them echoed how much they had enjoyed the atmosphere and music and hoped for it to return next year. We are very excited to see where the future of Mangata may lie and we also hope for a triumphant return in 2023.

Review by Aggy Gillon. Photos by FUIN, Emily Coulter, and Aggy Gillon