A quick shout out to Ya Cheng who was our photographer on site. Due to illness (there’s a lot of it going around), our reviewer John couldn’t make it to the gig. Ya went to the extra trouble of drafting some words on the bands for us. This is her work, not mine. Thanks, Ya! – Mosh
This was to be the final event hosted by Leeds Uni as Damnation moves to Manchester (its original home) for 2022’s enlarged event. They also faced the same issues as other events such as Bloodstock and Slam Dunk with overseas acts being forced to withdraw. Despite this, a strong lineup was gathered, ticket sales were through the roof and 600 unlucky prospective attendees langoured on the waiting list. Better luck next year!
We caught a few acts, starting with Mountain Caller who had also played the Jager stage at Bloodstock this year. Their prog-based post-metal sound was lapped up by a pretty full room (The Eyesore Stage), a good sign for the fledgling act – one of three at the festival with female members.
Local act Cryptic Shift had their chance to impress fans from further afield in the second room. They’d obviously brought plenty of friends as the room was packed as they screamed out their blend of prog, death and thrash.
Abduction were fittingly in the dark basement, all dressed in black gowns and masks. A very atmospheric act, their black metal couldn’t have had a more suitable venue.
Boss Keloid are a band we’ve heard of before, all the way from sunny Wigan. A very complex sound with elements of prog, psych, metal… the audience weren’t confused, though. They revelled in it! Party Cannon also brought the revelry, this time from Dunfermline. Absolutely bonkers, the only coloured logo on the poster (as always) and a slam metal party to behold. Ideal for fans of balloons.
Legends Evile played the festival for the first time in a decade, and thrashed the place up while Edinburgh’s Dvne went to the opposite end of the scale with their post-doom sounds. Another band who plays on atmosphere as much as their instruments, they’re an act to be experienced as much as listened to.
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Bossk had travelled all the way from Kent to thrust post-metal in our direction while Sylvaine managed to get here all the way from Norway. Fronted by Sylvaine herself, she creates all the music in the studio but has a session band for tours. Said music is a heady mix of black, doom and shoegaze and this was their first time at Damnation. A highlight of the festival, and hopefully we’ll see them back again sometime.
Paradise Lost rolled back the clock to album number two and, as a special one-off performance – played Gothic in its entirety. Definitely one for the fans, and a chance to revel in a classic album which is rarely dipped into for live shows.
Memoriam never disappoint so it was no surprise that tonight’s show was a classic. Why they were in one of the smaller rooms is beyond me as they’re definitely a main stage act. Like true professionals, though, you could have put them in a cupboard and they’d still have blown the crowd away. Many people I spoke to said this was the band of the day.
As we approached the end of a packed event, French act Year Of No Light were definitely my discovery of the day. I only caught the second half of their set, but what I saw was amazing. I only popped in to take photos but stayed until the end of their set. Each song felt like a journey with the lack of vocals barely noticeable, and the use of two drummers very interesting.
And to round things off… Carcass! I mean, come on, it doesn’t get any better as the crowd went mental to the grindcore legends. My friend warned me I might fall for Bill Steer and I confess that I left the show with just a teeny crush on him!
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Damnation weathered all their problems incredibly well, ending up with a lineup almost entirely made of British bands. As with Bloodstock, we ended up with an unexpected but heartening insight in to how strong, deep and talented our pool of homegrown talent is. A great day, a great festival. Roll on 2022!
All images by Ya Cheng Photography
