Last year introduced us to Scotland’s newest death metal festival and it was a rip-roaring success. Fast forward to the present and the festival has it’s sequel, bigger than before becoming a two-day deadly affair. Unfortunately the threat of storm Eowyn has blown the plans over resulting in the Friday night pre-party, and all the bands announced for it save for the headliners have cancelled as a result of the tempest. However, nothing can stop death as today’s schedule has been adjusted to make up for the disruption. It’s unfortunate that as a result several bands announced have had to cancel but here’s hoping they make their way to a Glasgow stage some time in the near future – shout out to Blasphemer, Impurist, Trench Foot, Mutagenic Host, Tempered, Repuked, Ageless Summoning and Acid Vat!
Prior to the festival I unfortunately have to go to work so I arrive at Ivory Blacks at around 15:30 while Dead of Winter is in full swing. Considering it’s still early in the day, Ivory Blacks is packed with bloodthristy maniacs in leather and black, wrecking their necks to the tail end of Murder Worship. This is a special show for the band as this is their first show since relocating to Scotland from Brazil in 2020 and it’s definitely well-received. Frontman Diego Murray has cut his teeth playing with other bands in the Scottish scene since his arrival and it’s a joy to see such overwhelming support for his own band. From what I manage to see, the performance is heavy and energetic, bringing some no-nonsense aggressive death that gets my head nodding straight away. A great start to the festival for me and an awesome new discovery.
My Moshville Times partner in crime Ricky and I convene post-set and he assures me the opening trio of bands – Jaundice, Rumination and Suffering Rites – killed each of their respective sets and it’s been an awesome death metal party so far. Following our first of many interviews, we head upstairs to catch another special performance, the live debut of gorefiends Grave Ghoul. The solo project of horror hound Ryan Wills also goes down a storm with his filthy brand of old-skool death with the likes of ”Dr Butcher” and “The House of Dead Flesh”. The riffs are crushing and catchy, getting heads banging and the pit raging through each groove and blast. Trends are forming for Dead of Winter bringing plenty of rare performances, live debuts and underground legends returning from a hiatus across both editions of the festival. Both times I’ve not been very familiar with the majority of the lineup but last year I made plenty of killer new discoveries, and this year is proving to be no different with the two bands I’ve seen so far.
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The venue empties for a teatime intermission but fills up again quickly once the horde of headbangers return, stomachs lined and energy recharged, with drinks in hand ready for more. Next up is Severe Lacerations marking a swift but welcome return to Glasgow having slayed the stage at Ricky’s birthday show last October. The band are on fine form bringing the energy back to the room with crushing tunes like “Terror Signal” and “To Kill”. Touching moments come with “Immutable” dedicated to the memory of the band’s late guitarist Fil Rourke who sadly passed in 2023. The band do him proud rocking their set and the feeling fills the room with the crowd chanting his name at the end of the set.
Following is local heroes BrainBath. Dead of Winter founders, the two Kennys’ band hit the stage to rapturous applause that doesn’t let up the whole set. Frontman Kwondo has the room in the palm of his hand, interjecting with his down to Earth patter between each crushing tune. The mosh is mental through killer cuts from the debut EP like “Stripped Clean” and unreleased brutality like “Kemper”, with hair flying and bodies sailing over the barrier into the sweaty storm of people tearing up the floor. Ricky and I said afterwards it’s awesome the insane support of rabid fans BrainBath has despite only having one EP released a few years ago. One thing that’s certain is that BrainBath are one of the driving forces of the underground metal scene, especially in Scotland and with Dead of Winter, and the scene will be forever dying for what they’ve got to serve from their meat locker.
The penultimate band, Uncoffined, are arguably the wild card of the lineup bringing the doom to the fore. The energy decreases along with the tempo leaving the room more still with entranced heads nodding along to the deathly dirge. There’s plenty in the crowd enjoying the set, especially stage-side, however after two songs the band’s sound is proving to not really be my pint of lager leaving me eagerly awaiting the final performance. Anticipation is high for the headliners as many of their standout t-shirts seen throughout the day converge in the centre of Ivory Blacks in time for the gore-drenched climax with Tenebro. The baying horde scream as the band take the stage with frontman Il Becchino already drenched in blood. You wouldn’t believe this is the Italian horror hounds’ second gig as the performance is tight and crushing with the band (featuring guest Grave Ghoul himself on guitar) wrecking their necks through heavy grooves like “Ultime Grida dalla Giungla” and more uptempo bangers like “Khakhua”, while Il Becchino’s becomes possessed, filling the air with his deep demonic growls. The energy has returned with denim demons raging throughout the room, joining the band in the neck-wrecking through more *ahem* tenebrous tunes like the crunching “Carne Umana” and the blasting “Lo Squartamento della Tartaruga” as more corpses continue to fly over the barrier ready to be devoured. Tenebro are a highlight and truly a treat to witness. A killer end to a killer festival.
At the time of publishing Dead of Winter has also announced it’s next installment for the 26th of January 2026! I already can’t wait. I’ve became a fan of many of the bands introduced to me by the festival and had a great time at both installments so far. The underground death metal scene in the UK and Europe is teeming with great bands, and with what’s sure to be an awesome lineup announced over the coming months, I expect next year will be no different.
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Dead of Winter Fest: facebook | instagram
Tenebro: instagram | bandcamp | spotify
Uncoffined: facebook | bandcamp
BrainBath: facebook | instagram | bandcamp | spotify
Severe Lacerations: facebook | instagram | bandcamp | spotify | youtube
Grave Ghoul: facebook | instagram | bandcamp
Murder Worship: facebook | instagram | bandcamp | spotify | youtube
