So, we meet again, for round two at the castle, with the absence of Graveless and Blacklist due to ill health, we send them our best.
Overall things seemed less busy than day one, so all credit to Rory and the team behind this festival for getting these shows organised, it is a task that is as complex as it is frustrating and overwhelming.
We march forth into the abyss that is the backroom at the iconic Castle and Falcon to be met with a band of ruffians, high on chocolate milk. Born Hostile drew the ‘short straw’ and to be quite honest they didn’t fuck about. There will always be the age old discussion about who opens a show, I feel it is nothing to be despondent about, it is a huge honour to set the scene and forge the path for the rest of the show.
‘Do you know Jeff? Well, this song is for that cnut’
We all know a Jeff I’m sure, so let us serenade him with hostility as we sing songs from the death bed.
Leaving Jeff’s corpse on stage, Aonach proceed with the heavy ethereal quality that belies their image. Long beards and a kilt, I saw a comment from the festival about ‘kilt metal’ and I think we should definitely have that as a part of future shows. The quite exquisite choral embellishments add gentle wisps of care and kindness amidst the burgeoning mass of doom and death.
I salute the work that these bands undertake to bring live music to your door.
Next up were Vindictive with their cut-throat, nerve shredding beats that hoist your carcass off the floor and chuck it into the neighbour’s garden. There will be no good graces and even less tolerance as the band wheel out the glass coffin to collect our body parts they have merrily cascaded in all four corners of the room.
Our deadly quintet Brazen stood up to be counted in this weekend minefield with their anti-war ethos, a topic that is currently on everyone’s lips. It is so heartening to see these bands fight for their rightful place in an industry where doors are more closed than open. Feeling a bit under the weather did not stop their rendition of ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ a song that has its own planetary orbit. If this is them on a bad day, then, let’s see them when they are all on the front foot, that will be something mightily special.
Take a soak in the Digital Bath my friends, shudder as the electrical charges shimmy up and down your spine and settle into what has turned into an immersion chamber of music that matters.
My friends from Black Water Fiend or Black Water Cheese- ahem- were in attendance, held to ransom until we were completely soused in their undeniable cheese reserves. This was not for the faint-hearted, as we celebrated the carnage and commiserated the loss of our collective brain capacities. Truly wonderous and wacky we channelled our inner teenage dirtbags and walked for five hundred miles and wound up at the Pink Pony Club, took a dip in the river along the way and a toilet break in Amarillo. Now where’s that fondue?
The day was evenly spaced with two comedy sets from Project Mayhem and a temptingly tuneful round of karaoke courtesy of DJ Andrew of those grooviest of thrash metallers, Chaplain.
The finale was suitably addressed with Skull Fox – who came with ‘Spanners’ I wish they told me, I felt a bit left out,
and Born Zero, or Born Hero if I may, who put us out of our misery to end the night thoroughly depleted and crawling home.
A lot of these bands were new names to me, but they are names I will certainly look out for at future events.
We went from zero to hostile with a gusto that would shame a gale force wind, we know that Midlands Metal is a living, breathing organism. It requires care, attention and support throughout its journey to ensure we do not lose the music, the very thing that is heavily documented as a lifesaver to many people.
There is a forceful nature to the blood of the grassroots, yet it flows through a sugar glass structure, the flick of a wrist could prove extremely costly, and the damage sustained will be irreversible.
Am I being overly dramatic? Maybe, but you can’t put a price on saving lives.
Azra Pathan
Slaughterhouse Festival Day Two, 19th September, The Castle and Falcon, Birmingham.