It was ten years ago that Jac Holloway, at the time working in the legendary Fuel rock club in Cardiff, came up with the idea to launch his own publication to cover alternative music; today, Noizze came home. What started as a wild idea to celebrate a decade of existence has turned into a sold out, one day festival split between the venue where it all began and The Moon next door. The undertaking has been mammoth, but it’s all come together wonderfully, and now it’s time to let the impressive lineup of Noizzefest throw the best party possible.
The bands are staggered between the stages to allow for an uninterrupted day of music and it all kicks off with Barrow-in-Furness punk outfit THE LIARS CLUB. Coming onto the grandiose strains of Nessun Dorma, made famous by Luciano Pavarotti, they deliver half an hour of huge songs – the highlight of which is Redefine Me – with riffs that swing like pendulums with the heft of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY; there’s a good amount of stoner/desert vibes in there too a la THE SWORD and the gravel in Griff Wise‘s vocals have a lot of depth. It’s a strong performance full of confidence and there’s still plenty to go.
Rating: 7/10
BLANK ATLAS open proceedings in The Moon and deliver a wonderful display of post-rock and post-hardcore with more than a little nod to the early days of BIFFY CLYRO. The trio have their three part vocal harmonies down to a tee, especially during the choruses which are nothing short of gorgeous. There’s plenty of layering in the tracks, some of which contain a lot of time signature changes but it’s no matter – as the title of the second song says, there’s a big Connection building between them and the punters watching. “This song is about how I feel when I play a lineup this good!” gushes bassist Chris Simpson when introducing I Feel Great; everyone watching fully agrees with the sentiment.
Rating: 8/10
The first truly standout set of the day comes in the form of SLASH FICTION, moved up the bill following the unfortunate cancellation of DELOUR. Playing the ‘adult’ pop-punk and mid west emo blend that bands like THE MENZINGERS and SPANISH LOVE SONGS have made so popular, the quintet have come all the way from South Yorkshire and take Noizzefest to the next level in no time at all. The vocals are lush, they benefit from a great sound that means you can hear every note and they have some songs with plenty of weight behind them like Pick My Stitches and How’s This For Heartbreak?. This is a band with big things ahead of them.
Rating: 9/10
If you ever wanted ENTER SHIKARI, but goth, then look no further than NIGHTLIVES. There’s a healthy audience for the band, playing a hometown show, and they’re appropriately spooky and spooky with the time they have to perform. With infectious choruses, some huge electronic breakdowns and an on brand aesthetic (think the likes of DEATHSTARS and THE 69 EYES), they bring the evening in with aplomb and energy, the likes of The Sleepless Club going down a storm. Plus, their songs are proper earworms – whether you wanted to or not, you weren’t about to go home without them lodged in your head.
Rating 8/10
Back in Fuel, the Essex boys in BEYOND EXTINCTION have run into technical difficulties that begin to eat into their set time. They eventually sack off their backing bass tracks and use their frustrations to stoke the fires of a set that, whilst truncated, is utterly brutal. Much has been lauded on this young band in recent times – us at Distorted Sound among the outlets championing their potential – and if they’re feeling the eyes of the UK music scene on them, they aren’t showing it. New track Posthuman goes off like an atom bomb and, for all of their initial obstacles, they’ve overcome them in the most brilliant of ways.
Rating: 8/10
“We play music to bury your enemies to!” proclaim DELAIR THE LIAR as they play a room that is more intimate than many they’ve done this year. Fresh off supporting the likes of BLANKET and AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS – and with dates opening for DREAM STATE coming up – the Londoners take their emotional, metal and hardcore infused punk that invokes the likes of VUKOVI and HOLDING ABSENCE and use it to put The Moon to the sword. They’ve got big riffs, bigger melodies and even bigger choruses, and their rising star status is evident throughout. They’ve got a raw spot following BEYOND EXTINCTION, but outside this they’re very good indeed.
Rating: 7/10
The sight of people dressed as beekeepers in mourning come on stage doesn’t get any less bizarre, but WALLOWING are – to tap in the obvious pun – beginning to cause quite a buzz. If you’re not aware of the Brighton quintet, they sound like SUNN O))) with added black metal and blast beats, thereby creating music to make your teeth rattle. Their set is, as expected, a visceral experience of noise, feedback and samples that’s also quite harrowing in places – when one of the two vocalists goes on a long, drawn out monologue that grows increasingly anguished, it’s really effective. They’re bleak, bludgeoning and utterly brilliant.
Rating: 8/10
The Noizze team are expectant – through certain, prior events, Brighton outfit EL MOONO have a cape in their possession that everyone is hoping makes an appearance during the show. They aren’t about to be let down – it’s around the shoulders of vocalist Zac Jackson from the moment the quartet start and isn’t going anywhere. The band, however, are certainly going places – a blend of metal, grunge and sludge that’s complimented with quieter, more post-metal moments, The Moon fills up nicely the longer their set progresses and are suitably captivated by what’s on show. Like many others who are playing, there’s a lot of potential here.
Rating: 7/10
Is there anything that BURNER can’t do right now? Whether playing the upstairs room of a pub to a handful of people or the sold out rooms of their recent support slot with SYLOSIS, they’re one of the most exciting heavy bands in the UK right now. Tonight, once again, they’re lethal – their hardcore-laden death metal is so potent it’s a miracle the speakers don’t blow with the sheer deliverance of their songs, and the room responds in kind with ferocity. If you’re heading somewhere this year that has BURNER on the bill, do everything you can to catch them – they will shatter your mind into the tiniest of shards.
Rating: 8/10
THE ST PIERRE SNAKE INVASION have a special bond with Wales, given its the motherland of vocalist Damien Sayell, and their show is as incendiary as the dragon that adorns the flag. Just how this group aren’t any bigger is both a mystery and a travesty, because they should be and deserve to be – this performance is testament to that. From the moment they open with Kracked Velvet to the dying strains of Rock ‘n’ Roll Workshops, they are tight, loud, lairy and superb. The response they receive after each number shows just how much love there is for them – it can’t be long until the world wakes up to them, surely?
Rating: 9/10
If HECK and CODE ORANGE had a baby, it would be something like DEATH GOALS. A two piece, metallic hardcore outfit with a hefty dose of chaos thrown in for good measure, the band completely mishear the news that they have ten minutes to go until their allocated set time and start there and then, with barely more than a few individuals in front of them. Not that they care, of course, because they’re going to have a blast whether in front of 12 people or the sold out 120, yet there is something perfect about how, because of their early start, they kick into If I’m The Enemy Then Who’s the Protagonist after Fuel has begun filling up nicely and to a rapturous reception. Hugely entertaining to watch and bringing Zac from EL MOONO on for a song, they might have started slowly, but they exit triumphant.
Rating: 8/10
CLT DRP have been given the task of closing The Moon stage and they do it with panache and overflowing confidence. The vibe within the venue isn’t dissimilar to that warm, fuzzy satisfaction of hearing a song and thinking ‘this is a proper bop’, extended for an hour and a dozen numbers. Their brand of electronic noise rock/punk is going down a treat with an audience that aren’t showing any signs of tiredness and even a hiccup with the microphone can’t stop them from producing an excellent performance. Front and centre is Annie Dorrett who oozes charisma, delivering songs like I Don’t Want to Go to the Gym and Until You Showed Me with what can only be described as a graceful confrontation – it’s provocative, but done without getting in anyone’s face. On really good form and with an adoring crowd, CLT DRP are assured and slick.
Rating: 8/10
A dozen bands might have come before them and all put on strong performances, but VEXED are not about to let anyone else steal the show. This is a band on the top of their game right now and they can get even better, which is both exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. Much of the set is dedicated to brilliant new album Negative Energy, with choice cuts from debut Culling Culture and standalone single Dominate sprinkled in as they go along, yet the momentum and tempo is cranked to 11 from the off and never dissipates. X my <3 (hope to die) hits with the force of a petrol bomb and Fake – dedicated to the men in the room who have suffered abusive relationships – is already a cornerstone of the live set and threatens to bring the roof in. Without a doubt, though, the highlight is It’s Not The End – tonight marks its debut airing and, despite Megan Targett choking up in the emotion, it’s a world-class performance. As the band come back to perform Nepotism as one final hurrah, NOIZZEFEST closes with a very pertinent statement – this is VEXED‘s world, and we’re just living in it.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery of the day’s action at Noizzefest from Serena Hill Photography here:
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