Uprising Festival 6
O2 Academy, Leicester – 29/04/2023
From its humble beginnings, the Uprising festival has risen in stature to become a highlight on metal’s denim-studded calendar. Set on the University campus in the heart of Leicester, Uprising now celebrates its sixth edition, and its enduring appeal is in providing consistently strong line-ups, and this year’s bill is no exception. An exciting mixture of fresh blood and established bands makes for an intriguing proposition, and this year the old and new collide in cataclysmic fashion. With an array of bands that cover the whole spectrum of heaviness rocking three stages there’s a lot to cover, so without further ado…let’s rock!
The first four bands on the second stage are competing for a chance to play at this year’s Bloodstock, and Voidwalker get the day off to a noisy start with their progressive brand of deathcore. They deliver a full-on sonic assault that’s guaranteed to blow away any hangovers and ‘Boiling Point’ (from debut EP Democratic Fever Dream) raises the temperature a few degrees and is rewarded with the first pits (both mosh and circle) of the day, and it’s no surprise that they won this edition of Metal 2 The Masses. Cut from the same cloth as bands like Korn, Loatch are rocking a distinctly nu-metal vibe, and their sound is as eclectic and frenetic as you’d expect. They largely forsake solos in favour of a riff heavy attack, and the result is a punchy affair that lands a succession of heavy blows that leaves the crowd battered and bruised (but in the nicest way).
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Inflictions are another local band, and they provided an arresting experience, both sonically and visually. With all but the singer hidden behind masks, they’re ripped straight from the pages of Clockwork Orange, and with an addictive sound that blends hardcore, rap and metal they soon get the crowd jumping in unison, and with original cuts such as ‘Sub Zero’ in their arsenal, I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more from this crew in the near future.Fourth and final band of this year’s M2TM,Running With Knives didn’t win despite impressing the judges with their cutting-edge brand of metal.
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Having played Hammerfest, HRH Metal and Bloodstock (three times!) Internal Conflict are no strangers to the festival scene, so it’s perhaps no surprise that they open up the main stage at this year’s Uprising. Riding high on the success of their latest album, APORIA, they’re like a viper uncoiling and their high-octane performance has set the bar high for all who follow.Dripping faux blood and bathed in crimson light (obviously) Blood Oath hit the stage like an atom bomb, and deliver a pleasing thrash/death metal hybrid. This is exactly how heavy metal should be played; it’s low down and dirty, and goes straight in for the kill. With riffs that have been dredged from the very depths of hades, Blood Oath deliver a six-song set (of which ‘Choke’ is a definite highlight) and leave a smoking stage in their wake.With their blink-and-you’ll-miss dbeat brand of hardcore punk, Leicestershire’s Feral State aren’t for the faint of heart, but those who checked them out opening the pop-up stage saw something special.
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There’s a real buzz surrounding Hawxx, and rightly so. Powered by plenty of riot grrrl attitude they take ownership of the venue to deliver a crowd pleasing set that pushes all needles into the red. They’ve built up an impressive array of songs in their brief history, while the new track debuted (titled ‘Death Makes Sisters Of Us All’, I believe) suggests they’ve got plenty of mileage in the tank.London’s Lowen have a sound that fills every cubic inch of the venue, and that’s thanks in no small part to vocalist Nina. She has a voice that rings out both powerfully and sorrowfully and, when coupled with music which melds middle-eastern flourishes to doom metal, creates a sound like you’ve never hear before (but you definitely should). Playing to a packed crowd, Lowen drag themselves along like a wounded giant and promise themselves as potential future headliners.The third, pop-up stage is held in the space as we travel between stages 1 and 2, meaning you can stumble on some surprise acts, and MuddiBrooke are one such revelation. As with Lowen, they create a sound that’s far bigger than their constituent parts and their alt-rock/grunge mash up is the perfect vehicle for Brooke’s wonderfully throaty roar, and this trio deliver a finely honed sound to a crowd that grows exponentially as their set progresses.
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This year’s Uprising has, perhaps unintentionally, showcased some great female vocalists, and you can definitely add Skarlett Riot’s Chloe Drinkwater to that list. With a voice that’s been liberally soaked in honey, she simply drips charisma, and with the sheer effervescence that radiates from the stage, it’s hard not to like Skarlett Riot. Today’s set is predominantly culled from their third album (2021’s Invicta), and tracks such as ‘Underwater’ and ‘Black Cloud’ go down extremely well.Satanic doom band Master Charger raised hell over on the third stage.Tying the crowd up in all kind of knots are London’s Damim. Their progressive black/death metal hybrid is played with a technical bent that’s fairly dizzying. That fast fretboard fingering and nifty time changes are enough to make any amateur musician throw down their instrument in exasperation. Proficient they may be, but Damim never lose sight of melody and latest single ‘World Turned Hell’ sits proudly alongside the classic ‘Descendent Of Amalek’, making this show the perfect Damim overview.
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It’s hard to believe that Nottingham’s post-hardcore heroes Palm Reader have been around for well over a decade, but they play with a hunger and urgency that belies their years. As the band appear, bathed in ice blue light, the huge cheer that welcomes them is heartfelt and stands testament to the band’s longevity. Despite the ferocity with which the band play, emotion seeps through every note, and makes tracks such as ‘Stay Down’ music you can both dance and brawl to (and possibly both at the same time).Serving up a slice of fuzzed-up sludge rock heaven are Boss Keloid. It’s standing room only as the band hit the stage and make the fixtures shake with their trademark 900lb gorilla stomp. Taking the swing of Sabbath and melding it to a modern metal sensibility was always going to be a winner, and the band push all the right buttons tonight to deliver a fun filled set with plenty of onstage tomfoolery. The band don’t take themselves too seriously, but this in no way detracts from their powerful sound which sends all away with thumping chests and ringing ears.
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Self-described purveyors of “Caledonian Metal”, Saor are an outfit who tend to veer towards the epic, and tonight’s 40-minute set comprises of just four songs. The aptly-titled ‘Origins’ opens the set and, as with each of these cuts, is like a monolithic sonic structure built in honour of a pagan deity. The grandiose, sweeping nature of their music perfectly replicates their native environment, with second track ‘Bròn’ ululating like the Scottish Highlands. There’s a pleasing tension of opposites on display with gruff male vocals reflected via ethereal female, and sky-splitting, thunderous drums juxtaposed with airy bagpipes. Holding the crowd’s undivided attention, they deliver an abject lesson in metal, and one that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.Closing the pop-up stage over in the Green Room are Recall The Remains, and surely it won’t be long until they graduate to the main stage?
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There’s a tangible tension crackling the air as we await second stage headliners Combichrist. Over a two-decade career the band have shifted from their early aggrotech sound towards rock and metal, so tonight’s promise of an “Old School Set” has the faithful salivating with anticipation and, at the very moment vocalist Andy LaPlegua appears and launches into ‘The End Of It All’, the crowd erupt like a primed bomb, and things rarely abate over the next 60 minutes. Operating as a two-piece makes Combichrist a dangerous beast, with the hyperactive LaPlegua bouncing around the stage like Zebedee and the crowd require little goading to mimic his every move. There’s a kind of mass hypnosis going on with the heavy, metronomic beats resonating with the listener on a primordial level and they place the crowd in a trance-like state. Each track only serves to raise the bar of insanity a few notches with ‘Fuck That Shit’ causing many present to lose their cool as Combichrist proceed to deliver a succession of songs that hit like well-aimed blows to the solar plexus. A masterclass.
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On a day that’s served up a delectable array of heavy bands, there’s probably only one group who could top such an impressive bill, and that’s Yorkshire’s Paradise Lost. There’s a reason why they’ve remained leaders in the field for so long, and that reason becomes immediately obvious as the band take to the stage. There’s still something refreshingly unpretentious about Paradise Lost; there’s no elongated intros or fancy gimmicks, they seemingly appear from the ether, plug in and play, and that makes opening shot ‘The Enemy’ all the more powerful. Attired in various shades of black, the band almost blend into the background, but this has the benefit of bringing their songs to the fore, and when the songs are this good, that’s exactly where they should be. Stopping off at various points from 1991’s Gothic album to 2020’s Obsidian, the band dig deep into their discography to deliver a dozen tracks that fill their fans with delight. ‘As I Die’ goes down exceptionally well, as does ‘Forever Failure’ with each song being received with a loving embrace, and you can almost feel the waves of affection radiating between crowd and stage. My only complaint is that at just one hour, this set is too darn short, but true to the old adage it leaves us hungry for more. However, a waifish ‘Ghosts’ brings down the curtain on another successful Uprising, and ensures that no one leaves disappointed.
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Review and photos by Peter Dennis