With four stages based around the legendary Rescue Rooms in Nottingham and a focus on up and coming talent Mangata Festival is more than anything else a voyage of discovery. It has to be said it’s well run too which means any planning you’ve done won’t have a stick thrown in its spokes.
Reckoner get things underway on the Liquid Light stage (Rescue Rooms) with their particularly solid brand of post-hardcore making sure everyone is paying attention from the off. There’s already an impressive number of early birds here to catch the show. The GraphicsFix stage located in Ghost nightclub is next hosting local lads Syncolima who produce a sound like stoner rock on steroids. The riffage is strong with this trio. Duo Rogue Limb make plenty of the right kind of noise in the Red Rooms otherwise known for today as the Blue Monkey Stage. Orbital Alignment have quite an organic feel to them for a progressive death metal band. That means all the technical stuff is focussed in the right places.
Hidden Mothers are a bit of a revelation. It’s so easy these days for scream metal to just merge into a glutinous mass. Here though we have a band that rise well above that thanks to smart writing and skilful musicianship. Kryptess keep the standard high too with some slick playing and devilishly memorable vocals. There’s an element of fun with Street Soldier mixed in with all the mayhem. They’re fast, furious and fantastic. Shrapnel invoke the memories of thrashers past while putting a fresh spin on things too. They’re melody heavy which comes through loud and clear along with the fine guitar work.
Quirky would be a good description of El Moono. They are today’s odd band out, meant in the best possible way. Lying somewhere between rock and metal the Brighton bunch are once seen never forgotten. It’s Tap And Tumbler time with deathsters Dreor kicking things off on stage number four. They play proper no nonsense music with vocals that remind you a little of Carcass in places. The mighty Ghosts Of Atlantis put on a hell of a show. These guys have honed their skills to razor sharpness and must surely be destined for greatness. Phoenix Lake bring all the hard rock with some well penned tunes and a singer who has a voice of liquid gold. Ones to watch for sure.
Like many of the better metalcore bands around Drip fed Empire have broadened their reach by including other unlikely genres in their songs. A little bit of NuMetal and hip hop makes all the difference here. Ditto Shadowvale who manage to make sludge metal laced with doom upbeat by lacing their sound with a bit of seasoning from other parts of the music spectrum. Bit Hitters Skarlett Riot are far heavier these days and sound massive on the Liquid Light stage. Those vocals are always a joy to hear. 7eventh Sea lay metalcore over soundscapes in such an impressive manner. Another example of how a bit of diversity sets you free.
The Red Rooms can barely contain the energy given off by Those Once Loyal. They have shades of Hatebreed in the mix and a whole heap more too. Leeds nutters Godeth have to be one of the bands of the event. They have a great sound, a great attitude and a vocalist who looks like he was born with a gift of stagecraft. Brilliant stuff! Having put in the hard graft Cabin Boy Jumped Ship are now starting to reap well deserved rewards. You can see why with their showing here. Remember mathcore? It was a thing, and then it wasn’t. Blight Town have taken the best bits and made them their own.
You get masks aplenty with Veiled along with black metal and a hint of ritualistic shenanigans. It’s all good clean fun really. Belfast’s Survivalist bring plenty of groove, a bona fide genius level bass player and a window into the future. They’re a band finding a brand new path and they sound all the fresher for it. Boss Keloid don’t follow, they don’t lead either, they just are. Their’s is the kind of show you savour like a fine wine, which is exactly what the crowd do, in an excited kind of way. Burner take no prisoners. They arrive, blow the roof off with deft deathness and hardcore punch, and leave, probably for a pint.
The Red Rooms are turned yellow thanks to PIJN and their interesting mood lighting. They provide a kind of sonic thinking space closing down the stage for the event. Meanwhile at the ‘Tap’ Thrashatouille really aren’t making a meal of their performance. It’s entertaining stuff complete with cries of ‘Yes Chef’. Not taking themselves at all seriously Raised By Owls are a hoot. Is that Harry Kane leading the sing-a-long, no it’s Sam in an optimistic England shirt. Extreme metal that brings extreme smiles, which is hard to beat, a bit like Spain.
Headliners Hacktivist aren’t the last band performing at Mangata, something of a novelty but well played by the organisers. The rap metallers are on fire tonight with the twin vocal exchanges making the set flow a break neck speed. That trademark punch from the lyrics is given a platform created by a super tight rhythm section and well nuanced guitars. The whole set has an ease about it that you only get with experienced performers at the top of their game. The crowd love every minute, and rightly so.
A couple of streets away Wolfbastard are looking and sounding a little bit like early Motorhead. It’s technical at all, just bloody good rock music played loud and proud. It’s time for Viscera to close the Ghost stage and they do it with a swagger. It’s brutal stuff that melts faces and sets off car alarms. Perfect for Mangata then. It’s left to Ritual King’s stoner metal to end the festival down at the Tap And Tumbler. It’s a bit of a masterstroke to let fans that still want more to unwind down the pub before they head off.
Mangata Festival ticks all the boxes for metal fans. The stages aren’t too far apart, there’s plenty of food and drink on offer at sensible prices and it’s incredibly well run. It also supports a lot of emerging artists giving them a wonderful platform to expand their following. Importantly it also felt safe. That’s both down to the organisers and their team and the fans too. Let’s hope this fantastic festival runs for many years to come. Roll on Mangata 2025.
Review and photos by Gary Trueman
Feature image: Shrapnel