UK TECH-METAL FEST REPORT 4 - SUNDAY JULY 14TH, 2013

Video and final report coming soon! Read up on Report 1 HERE, Report 2 HERE, and Report 3 HERE.

After the hard work of Saturday we were happy to have a relaxing and enjoyable day Sunday, even though we strongly started to feel the need to take a shower.

But as soon as the concerts started we immediately attended the Mask Of Judas performance. We also had an interview scheduled with them in the afternoon. They played songs from their latest mini album “Axis” and I must say I liked their live performance more than their studio material, which I definitely appreciate. After them it was the time for Chronograph's heavy performance on the main stage, followed by Basick Record's and Peterborough's very own Visions, and Monolith Music's Nexilva.

Later on the main stage, one of the funniest moments of the festival took place. Sadly Aliases performance had been cancelled, so the Tech-Fest team decided to replace them with a party. Stiff Bizkit, a Limp Bizkit cover band got on the stage to entertain the attenders for a half hour bouncing set! I was at the press area for my interview at that time so I couldn't attend most of the set, but it featured guests appearances from No Consequence, Linked, and other acts. In any case I recognized songs like “Nookie”, “My Generation”, “Break Stuff”, “Livin It Up” and more. As soon as I realized what was going on, I immediately ran from the press area to the stage to spend my last 15 minutes before the interview there as my friend was preparing the camera... Yes, I must confess I liked Limp Bizkit. They're one of the first "metal" bands I ever got into. And believe it or not, a lot of tech-heads loved that set. There were a lot of people moving, singing and jumping to those songs. It was a good way to slow down and take a funny break from the complicated proggy stuff played at the fest, and in the end everybody knows the lyrics of at least one Limp Bizkit song. You cannot escape.

After that we went back to some fast and furious technical death metal with the UK-based Dyscarnate, delivering one of the most virulent sets of the weekend (we got this on tape too...wait for it, it's coming soon!). After that we moved again to the main stage where we filmed what will be remembered as the most extreme mosh pit of this year's Tech-Fest during Heart Of A Coward's set. The band delivered a massive and devastating performance, confirming they're one of the most interesting hardcore bands to come out of the UK in recent times. They also recently signed a contract with nothing less than Century Media Records!

Shortly after, some quality instrumental music owned Tech-Fest's main stage. First, Basick Record's Chimp Spanner played a heavy and largely attended set, with a big crowd to appreciate the quality of their exhibition.

Immediately after, we saw the “only band not playing 8 strings guitars” as they defined themselves on stage. I'm talking about dutch fusion metal champions Exivious which did a virtuous and flawless exhibition with original and beautiful sounds. Unfortunately, there was just a small crowd to attend their set... The audience was probably tired from the long weekend and decided to take a break and come back for TesseracT performance, but I must say that this was probably the most clean set from a technical and instrumental point of view.

A few minutes before TesseracT's performance, Simon Garrod (Tech-Fest organizer / owner) and James Monteith (TesseracT and HoldTight PR) picked the winners of the contests to win an 8 string Ibanez RG8 and a coustom Double Slit guitar. After that, Simon delivered a small speech asking the crowd to celebrate the success of the festival with a big group hug that was one of the most moving and unforgettable moments of the weekend. Lovely. And TesseracT with the final performance? Well that was an amazing show with an exhausted but enthusiastic crowd enjoying one memorable set from the perfect band to end this festival. It was an intense, moving, and passionate performance to end Tech-Fest in the best way possible.

Yeah, because Tech-Fest, despite the timing troubles, the absence of showers and wi-fi connection, trouble finding power, and all the bands delayed or cancelled, was still the best Festival I have ever been to. And if I had to choose between finally sleeping in a bed and taking a shower the following night or sleeping for 3 more days on the grass, smelling like dirt, I would have definitely chose another Tech-Fest! If you missed this epic event, you better not make the same mistake next year. Be there!

- MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Official Website

UK TECH-METAL FEST THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT

It's finally here, the long awaited third announcement to complete this summer's UK Tech-Metal Fest line up! First up, a little info... The festival is going to take place in Peterborough from July 11th to the 15th and it's looking to be one of the greatest events of this Summer!

Onto the announcements. The UK's psychotic technical death metal act Meta-stasis will headline the second stage on Friday the 12th. Along with this announcement, 12 more bands were also added to the line up. They are Bloodshot Dawn, Empires Fade, Red Enemy, Black Tongue, Acrania, Chronographs, Murdock, Mask Of Judas, Karybdis, When Our Time Comes, Subversion and Cambion! This is going to be sick! Also, Dan-Elias Brevig and Seething Akira are set to join the after parties!

They've also announced specific event dates and stage splits. Monuments will be headlining the early bird show on Thursday 11th. Scar Symmetry, Sybreed and Uneven Structure will be ruling the main stage on Friday. Veil Of Maya, Skyharbor, and No Consequence will conquer on Saturday. This leaves Tesseract, Exivious and Chimp Spanner on Sunday! Headliners of the second stage will be Meta-stasis, Xerath and Dyscarnate.

This is going to be an unforgettable weekend! Single day tickets and weekend tickets are available at www.uktechfest.com. Book yours now!

Links: Facebook // Official Website

MASK OF JUDAS “AXIS” EP REVIEW (FREE MUSIC!)

Mask Of Judas just released thier mini-album “Axis” on the tail end of April! Widely seen as one of the most interesting proposals of the UK underground metal scene, they now have a solid release to support them as they slowly emerge from the masses.

This Chichester band is interesting for a good number of reasons. First of all, the guitar riffage delivered by Sam Bell. He deserves to be recognized for his groovy, original and catchy creations. And second, the dark and deep vocals of the intriguing female singer Joe Challen. Together with the rest of the talented line up, this band was able to claim its own space in the UK's underground metal scene through creating what we already defined as a “magnetic mix of Meshuggah and The Agonist”.

The EP is available for a "name-your-price" download on their Bandcamp so you can go give the entire thing a listen free of charge. I swear you won't regret it.

The first track “Crown The Sun” immediately showcases all the power the band is able to bring with sharp, massive and aggressive riffs. There's even some mathcore hints. This is followed by a sweet clean chorus with a lot of groovy effort. This track was actually already featured on "Prodigious" (a free compilation with 17 tracks from all of Incendia Management's bands and more, check it out here!), so this wasn't my first listen. But it's definitely a great song and a solid way to start things off. On the other hand, I had never heard the second track “Endeavour”, which is introduced by another mighty assault followed by slow melodic segments. Once again, the riffs strike right on the border line between djent and modern mathcore. This all leads up to an epic ending.

“Axis” is next. This is the title track and the first single taken from the EP. It's easily one of the most representative songs of the EP, functioning perfectly as a single. It mostly follows along the line of the previous tracks: a dark and mighty assault in the first part followed by groovy melodic segments and a crazy third part leading to a theatrical ending. This is pretty much the recurrent formula of every song, but they're really well done so it doesn't take away from the experience. This formulaic approach also appears on the forth track “Ascension” but with a closer alternation of clean vocals and screams/growls. In this track you can detect more djenty influenced riffage with a remarkable Periphery vibe. In the last song “Should You Leave With Nothing”, the djent influence just gets heavier. It's delivered through a powerful and ruthless assault with a hectic groove. Easily the heaviest track of the EP and a good way to close things out.

I'm sure Mask of Judas will really surprise the metal world someday. This is a very good EP which proves this band has a lot of potential, especially on the creative side of things. They have everything it takes to become one of the UK's premiere metal bands in the future. So far, their music seems capable of exploding into something irresistible but it never quite gets to that point... yet. They just need to find the right “hook” / sound to put in their songs to reach that level and I'm sure it's gonna happen sooner or later. You cannot escape the Mask of Judas.

-MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes // Bandcamp

UK TECH FEST LONDON ROUND 2

UK Tech-Metal Fest is continuing to expand rapidly as they have added yet another event to their ever growing line of concerts. That's right, there will be a second London event held by the Tech Metal aficionados and it's looking as good as ever. It will take place March 31st at the Scream Lounge and will feature a multitude of bands. The headliners will be No Consequence and Mask of Judas. Supporting acts include Last Legion, Sincerity, Foundations, and Karybdis among many others. Check out the flyer along with music from the bands down below and get ready for the solid ton of metal headed your way!

Links: Facebook // Official Website

MASK OF JUDAS "AXIS" MUSIC VIDEO (AND FREE MUSIC!)

Mask of Judas is a forthcoming, female-fronted, progressive metal band hailing from Chichester, UK. Their fast, intelligent, precise, and modern riffage will strike you for its groovy and catchy styling as the charismatic singer Jo Challen will intrigue you with her intense and dark vocals. Both will keep you listening to this magnetic mix of Meshuggah and The Agonist. 

After releasing a small, self-titled EP in 2010, the band joined forces with the Incendia Management roster (with Shattered Skies and Exist Immortal among others). And rumor has it they're about to release a new mini-album in April! They uploaded a music video for the single "Axis" in support of this. They also have a couple of songs available for free. "Magdalene", which is featured on their debut EP, is available for free on SoundCloud while "Crown The Sun", featured on "Prodigious" (a free compilation with 17 tracks from all the Incendia Management's bands, check it out!), is available for a name-your-price download on Incendia Management's Bandcamp. 

Did I mention Mask of Judas will be headlining the UK Tech-Fest London Round 2 with No Consequence? This is definitely one of those bands you need to keep an eye on!

- MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes