Live Review: Uprising 7, O2 Academy, Leicester

Before the main event, there’s still some unfinished business to attend to. It is the local Metal 2 The Masses final, where four bands are competing for a chance to play Bloodstock later this year. It’s a good crowd with a few familiar faces dotted around. Running With Knives, Feral State, Independent Trucking, and Break Them are the bands competing, and after a short delay, Running With Knives are declared the winner. We hope they can cut it on the Bloodstock stage.

Bloodyard opens up the festival proper, tucked away on the Academy 3 stage. It’s female death metal, and the sense of anarchy is never far away during their set. Despite the room’s location, up a flight of stairs behind the main stage, they still get a really good crowd. It’s a good indicator of how good the bands for this year’s Uprising are that the opening band can fill a room when so many other festivals open to a few friends and family, and the next band’s equipment waiting for the interval between sets.

The main stage opens with Mage who bring their doom metal to the festival. It’s a great set, loud and punchy. They sound great with a new member on stage, as they’ve now added a second guitarist to the lineup. Drummer Andy Moore is hidden behind the drum kit and cymbals, which is a challenging feat given his size.

Tribe of Ghosts are next up in Academy 2. It’s a predicted powerhouse performance with dual vocalists Beccy and Adam conjuring up some otherworldly chemistry. The band are phenomenal, and it’s hard to see how the day can improve. Definitely one of the most exhilarating live bands around at the moment. The crowd certainly agrees.

Back to the main stage, Seething Akira put on the best and liveliest show of the day. It’s a party atmosphere as they blast through Punishment Instructions and Metaphors before launching into a few new tracks. Charlie Bowes can’t seem to keep off the barrier when he’s not dancing across the width of the stage with Kit Conrad. Meanwhile, Richard Ellis can’t stay on the stage as he keeps leaping about. The crowd won’t stop moshing; it’s a charged atmosphere, and everyone is having fun. Not as much fun as the band is having, though.

Ramage Inc. brings some old-fashioned metal to the festival. It’s power chords ahoy, and it gets the heads banging along. They’re loud and heavy, exactly what you want to take you from the afternoon and into the early evening.

Forlorn look out of place at first. Has someone accidentally booked a folk band for a metal festival? Have no fear; it’s pagan-infused folk metal. The lead singer, Megan, puts on a highly visual show, weaving shapes in the air with her hands as she sings. Definitely different from the folk music of your ancestors.

My Favourite Nemesis from Finland includes a duo of singers pumping out deathcore-inspired vocals. While Janne Piela sticks to screamed vocals, the female lead, Sanna Solanter?, switches effortlessly between clean and screaming. It’s a surprisingly heavy show with a kick drum determined to rattle a few spines in the crowd.

Cellar Darling are late onto the main stage, with feedback issues pushing their soundcheck well past when they’re supposed to start. It means a cutdown set from the Swiss progressive metallers. The former Eluveitie band members do great despite the early setback.

Lastelle managed not to break any of their kit this time, and the Oxford lads put on an energetic set. Vocal duties are shared between the main vocalist, Adam, and the drummer, Mike. They’re heavy enough for this crowd and get a good reception, even getting a few of the fans sat outside to crowd around the door to the room. Meanwhile, word filters down that Borstal are putting on one hell of a show for the punk and hardcore fans in Academy 3.

Brujeria sounds as brutal as their name suggests. It’s a sonic onslaught from start to finish, and it puts on a fantastic, if incomprehensible, set. No one can understand what the Los Angeles band is singing about as they lean into their Hispanic roots and sing in Spanish. It’s a significant coup for the festival to get the band as part of their European tour.

It’s back over to Academy 3 for Discharge. The hardcore pioneers don’t disappoint, putting on a charged show that gets the crowd going. Jeff’s not content with staying safe on stage, so he launches himself onto the barrier at every opportunity. Apparently, stage diving and crowd surfing have been banned, but Jeff has none of that and urges the crowd to break the rules. The crowd are happy enough just moshing away, thankfully, with just one overly exuberant fan having to be retired early.

While Discharge are busy destroying Academy 3, Gibraltar’s Breed 77 are closing the night for the crowd in Academy 2 with an exclusive performance. With their more melodic metal, the mosh pit doesn’t get as violent as the punks upstairs, but it’s still a huge crowd. There’s no chance of pushing through to the barrier here; it’s at capacity. So good to have them back!

Once the other stages have finished for the night, only Sweden’s Katatonia will be left to impress on the main stage. The mood swiftly changes, and it’s a weighted and slower pace of melodies that take us through to the Uprising finish line. It’s a hauntingly beautiful, melancholy-fuelled set, and the Swedes are, as ever, consummate professionals who are masters at pulling on the heartstrings.

Uprising is an incredible gateway into the busy summer festival season, and the organisers have once again pulled off a diversely stacked bill with some exclusive shows that marked the event as truly special and unique. The crowd departs into the streets armed with the biggest smiles of satisfaction.

Goodnight Leicester.

Uprising Festival – Facebook

Photos Gary Trueman
Review Mark Bestford & Nickie Hobbs

Feral State