As new faces begin to arrive for the first official day of the festival, the third stage begins to fill up quickly. Appropriately titled ‘Fresh Blood’, we are presented with up to five hours of promising bands who are on the first rung of the recognisability ladder. Starting the day with full-throttled heaviness is Echovirus and Man Must Die. Regardless of their good shows, they still have steep learning curves ahead of them in terms of song writing and development if they are to get to the high level of their predecessors. However, they are getting a great response from the crowd and are an entertaining watch.
If ever there’s a band that could transcend holiday hell, it’s No Made Sense. 2009 was the year of the prog, and ‘The Epillanic Choragi’ was one of the highlights and, with any luck, this will be the Reading trio’s year. Like their spiritual brothers Neurosis or Mastodon, every performance expands to fill the entire universe. On a larger scale, they could very well reach critical mass.
Stage two is unlocked, and casually people begin to trundle in during Xerath’s set. With such a unique sound, the unpredictability of how the crowd reacts to this band is always an excitement. However, widespread musical tastes in the audience means they go down a treat, and this will certainly not be the last we hear of these guys. Following them and quite possibly annihilating their presence is newly signed thrash outfit, Savage Messiah. With a name unknown to many at the beginning of their set, they soon are in complete control of the room as they slay through the diverse and aggressive yet melodic tunes that feature on their debut album. They can only get bigger and better.
People begin to pile out of the second stage area and into the first – catching the last few minutes of Epica, who you could say are one of the ‘better’ female-fronted acts. While a majority are waiting around for Katatonia, Malefice are about to start their set on stage two. An efficient following have been in ore with this band for a couple of years now, and they are about to pick up a few more along the way. Showing off their love for Lamb of God and Pantera-esque groove and riffery, stage two is definitely the most active stage of the festival so far.
Back on the main stage, DevilDriver’s pits might well come with a health warning on some days, but tonight, despite the interventions of ‘Pray For Villains’, the pit seems rather lifeless and Dez seems to lack his customary usual force. The majority of the crowd appear to be nursing hangovers, which probably has a lot to do with it. Meanwhile, as Dez and co’s set come to an end, black metal, corpse paint insaniacs Abgott are about to break sweat back on stage two. Despite being up against the popular Five Finger Death Punch, the grimtastic ‘lustmords’ hold it together as their individualistic touch to this small-acre genre grabs the attention of those passing through to the main stage. With progressive segments creeping through their music, they clearly do this for the love of metal. Watch out for them.
Up next are another upcoming thrash act, Warpath, who have somehow landed a slot that weighs in at well over an hour. As fans emerge down the front, others ponder towards the bar and an intense, thick sound blares into the audience. What a power attack of a band! Playing their debut in almost its entirety, Warpath prove that thrash is at the top of its game again, even if the set itself does begin to drag out a bit towards the end. Meanwhile, Napalm Death are having a very good night. They rip up the arena with a force few others can hope to match, and are fitting closers to the main stage. Despite an awful mix threatening their show come the start, things are soon sorted after a few tweaks - not that anyone appears to notice, given that the pit is literally the entire standing crowd. It would certainly be folly to try and follow them, and the dazed audience staggering out can attest to that.
Swallow The Sun are the slow relentless march to your eventual doom, or to the second stage at least. Last year’s ‘New Moon’ was among Soundshock’s favourites, and your correspondent is happy to report they are even better live than on record. Every little nuance is fully realised in the live arena. Not the most obvious closers to Friday night, but an extremely effective one.
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Festival Reviews 
