Damnation Festival 2022
Venue: BEC Arena, Manchester.
Date: 5th November 2022.
Review By: Joe McKenna
The bill was stacked with supreme extreme metal greatness at this years Damnation festival in what was the first time the festival was moved away from its home territory of Leeds University Union to the BEC arena in Manchester. For some, this might have been quite a departure from the original festival atmosphere, however the event appeared for the most part very well-organised, providing a wider scope of fans with three stages of incredible acts who all played their hearts out to give the audience one of the most exciting Damnations to date showing great promise for the future growth of this underground festival. I was fortunate enough to attend this years Damnation and see a wide variety of artists showcasing a multitude of various styles, sub-genres, and stage personas, highlighting the festivals recent shift that incorporated a number of more niche musical acts from genres such as post-rock, noise, and mathcore, whilst still catering to Damnation’s traditional audience demographic with plenty of death metal, black metal, doom metal, thrash metal, and grindcore.
BRUIT ≤ (Eyesore Stage)
French orchestral post-rock quartet BRUIT > were amongst the first handful of bands to get things kicked off, and that they did. Despite a late start due to some technical difficulties, the emotionally charged instrumentalists absolutely nailed their set to a much anticipating audience. The performance featured many songs from the band’s 2021 post-rock masterpiece “The Machine is burning and now everyone knows it could happen again” and combined a well-rounded blend of cathartically demonstrated orchestral strings, from an organic cello and violin partnership, alongside some powerful rock instrumentation that resonated wonderfully with the electronic beats creating a whirlwind of alluring atmospheric tension. BRUIT > may have been one of the more unconventional acts to play Damnation, but don’t let that detract you, their performance proved why more niche styles of music should be welcomed at Damnation along with extreme metal. 
(4.5 / 5)
Stygian Bough (Holy Goat Brewing Stage)
The unfathomable bastard child of funeral doomers Bell Witch and Ariel Ruin, Stygian Bough unleashed a magnitude of unrelenting heaviness through a sacred and energy releasing set. In a packed-out 2nd stage hall, Stygian Bough pushed their slow, doomy gaze through loud amp stacks and thunderous drums. This epic collaboration features Dylan Desmond’s ominous 6-string bass tone to build an unholy foundation; accompanied by Erik Moggridge’s chilling guitar harmonies; and drummer Jesse Shreibman’s minimalistic tension; whilst we hear the beautifully haunting, choir-like vocals fill the atmosphere. The performance felt more like a hellish sermon taking the audience into the darkest, mystical chasms of the doom-laden abyss in what felt like a cathedral rather than a live arena stage. 
(4 / 5)
We Lost The Sea (Eyesore Stage)
Keeping in line with the post-rock aspects of the festival, We Lost The Sea delivered a fascinating set through a soothingly dramatic performance, a day after a noteworthy pre-show set the pervious night for the festival, in which the band played their classic “Departure Songs” in its entirety. The interwoven guitarscapes and organic synths and keys created a solid atmosphere that kept on building to some mesmerising climaxes; on top of this, the epic percussive elements kept things moving whilst the audience watched in awe at the ambient sonic landscape which the band created. The magic didn’t stop throughout the show and by the end of it the crowd had become completely hypnotised, under the spell of We Lost The Sea’s transcendent and mind-altering heaviness. 
(3.5 / 5)
Full of Hell (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
Now is time for some abrasive energy and utter chaos, what better band to deliver this than the noise-ridden sonic gods that is Full of Hell. The band brought a brutal performance that featured a range of material from the Full of Hell arsenal, whether you wanted to hear the sinister classics off of “Trumpeting Ecstasy” and “Weeping Choir” or just pure sonic obliteration with tracks featured on “Amber Mote in the Black Vault” or the recent “Garden of Burning Apparatus” they had it all. A ferociously dissonant barrage of noise filled the speakers, and the band onstage execution kept the crowd moving, violent, chaotic and vicious seemed to be Full of Hell’s live ethos with nothing off limits. (4 / 5)
Pig Destroyer (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
The first of four artists on the bill to perform a special album specific set, Pig Destroyer’s presence felt like a rarity having them in Manchester and for fans of this legendary grindcore outfit, it was not something you could afford to miss out on. Playing their brutal classic album Prowler in the Yard in its entirety, Pig Destroyer packed the punches and dished out some utter carnage along the way. The riffs were filthy; the bellowing vocals hit with tremendous velocity; and the tempos were rapid as anything you could’ve hoped for, watching the Virginian quintet was a blessing, and it was made all the more special to hear them belt out classics such as Cheerleader Corpses, Trojan Whore, and Ghost of a Bullet. (4 / 5)
Wolves in the Throne Room (Holy Goat Brewing Stage)
The lights were low, and the stage was covered in a murky, fog-like smoke as Wolves in the Throne Room entered for their set. As anticipation was running high amongst the crowd, the US-based atmospheric black metal warrior’s performance felt like a release for many, consisting of fiercely distorted, tremolo guitars that filled the atmosphere as the sinister screams were potent enough to send shivers down the backs of spines. The stage set up certainly played a part in making this performance seem like a ceremonial ritual with the artists addressing their audience with catharises, the sonic communication between both parties really made this performance so special. (4 / 5)
Green Lung (Eyesore Stage)
Green Lung are propping up on many metalhead’s radar more and more it seems, and after seeing one of the band’s live shows, you can definitely see why. The English stoner doom/psychedelic appeared to be a huge crowd favourite over the weekend as they were completely packed out for their set, it most likely made many people wonder if they should have been higher up on the bill or at least on the main stage in order to accommodate the sizable crowd that watched their performance. Playing tracks from their latest release Black Harvest as well as classics from their notable Woodland Rites, the band put on an absolute rager of a show, the guitar licks were tasty, as were the awesome Sabbath inspired vocals, it was exhilarating watching as the band engaged with the audience, howling out banger after banger in complete unison all with excellent stage presence and enjoyment. 
(5 / 5)
My Dying Bride (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
Entering the stage with ominous presence, My Dying Bride brought their morbid brand of death-doom to an awaiting crowd. Through symphonic greatness, this was a one of those performances where you could just feel the band’s passion for playing, the dreary tempos carried things with melancholic earnestness; the guitar riffs were gloriously woeful, bringing a low-spirited presence to the band’s overall sound; the orchestral accompaniment from the keyboards and violin sections were implemented to make an unholy, funeral-like atmosphere; all on top of Aaron Stainthorpe’s fearsome vocal delivery preaching to the crowd with harsh intensity. MY Dying Bride’s set was clearly an anticipated one, and they made sure of it being seasoned veterans at this festival, and they showed it in such a sorrowfully passionate way. (4 / 5)
Godflesh (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
In another unique set, Birmingham’s industrial metal legends Godflesh emerged onstage to deliver an exclusive performance of the band’s debut 1989 release Streetcleaner. With just the two members Justin Broadrick and G. C. Green there to ensure the mechanised infused whirlwind of noise and sound could be blended together in a typical Godflesh manner, the band’s set was certainly one that stood out amongst many of the bands who played this festival. The experimental performance felt rather nostalgic for many industrial heads in the crowd as the heavy machine-like sonic elements provided a suitable backdrop for the very abstract visual exhibition that the audience was subjected to, merging parts Streetcleaner’s aesthetically pleasing artworks, with images of hellish iconography and renaissance art that felt more like a sonic exhibition in extremity than it did a standard performance, making this one of the most authentic shows at Damnation. (4.5 / 5)
At The Gates (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
Returning to Damnation once again, this was no ordinary At The Gates show, as the band had promised to play the entirety of their esteemed 1995 album Slaughter of the Soul. This was where you could feel the energy in the room as the crowd made their feelings clear of their admiration not just for the band but for this legendary and influential release. You could sense the enthusiasm as the band approached the main stage, going straight into Blinded By Fear showcasing their melodic death metal competence in brilliant form; then moving into Slaughter of the Soul, they so clearly had the audience in the palm of their hand. Continuing with some crowd-pleasing favourites from this album like Into the Dead Sky and Suicide Nation, the band didn’t stop there when they were summoned back for an encore by the crowd in which they performed The Night Eternal from their following album At War With Reality. (4 / 5)
Despised Icon (Holy Goat Brewing Stage)
Stepping into deathcore territory now, and what better band to play the second stage than Canada’s Despised Icon. With intense blast beats, brutal chugs, and that signature vocal pairing of Alex Erian’s deathly growls and Steve Marois’ gruesome squeals, this was an intense show from start to finish. The deathcore presence at Damnation is one that hasn’t seemed to have been developed much until more recently, and with a younger, more eager audience for more diverse bands and subgenres, Despised Icon were the perfect choice for the festival. Their setlist consisted of some massive bangers from albums such as The Ills of Modern Man and more recent releases such as Purgatory, Despised Icon’s extreme and remorseless set really brought the damnation crowd, old and new, together as a true extreme metal community. (3.5 / 5)
Converge (Pins and Knuckles Stage)
The final act of the night and it was one truly for the ages, US mathcore giants Converge absolutely slayed with their performance of the classic Jane Doe in what was a purely chaotic and wild show. It felt somewhat different to have Converge as the main headliner on the main stage, yet it was definitely the right decision for the promoters as this was one of those performances that for many, certainly in the UK, only comes round once in every ten years, so you better be ready to mosh to the dissonant, violent, and volatile sound of Converge’s most acclaimed and dynamic songs; from the discordant ferocity of Concubine to the catastrophically inharmonious and emotive Homewrecker. Not only were they willing to gift the fans with such a special set, but their encore was complete with a unique cover of Entombed’s Wolverine Blues as well as other fan favourites I can Tell You About Pain and Dark Horse, as if we weren’t fortunate enough already. (5 / 5)
Whilst I was lucky enough to see so many awesome bands play at this year’s somewhat different layout of such a legendary and renowned festival, a big shoutout should go to the other artists that I was unable to see this year; Oceano, Distant, Incantation, Misery Index, Irist, Insanity Alert, Frayle, So Hideous, 40-Watt Sun, Pallbearer, Elder, and of course, Decapitated all deserve some credit for being part of this major event. Damnation is clearly looking to expand with the recent change in venue and the openness to a handful of different artists awry of the usual genres, Damnation festival will likely be the next big metal festival to be hosted in the UK after Bloodstock and Download.
