In Flames

Forget what you thought you knew about heavy metal in general, because as In Flames have spent the best part of twenty-five years proving, there actually is such a thing as melodic death metal. It’s commercially viable, too, with the Gothenburg outfit having shifted two million records over the course of their career to date; eleven records in, they’ve carved out a feverishly loyal cult fanbase, and continue to pack out their own shows the world over as well as provide support to some of the biggest bands in metal, too. Dreadlocked vocalist Anders Friden is one of the most recognisable frontmen in the genre, and it’s his energy that’s key to In Flames shows being the high-octane affairs they’ve long been known as. He rarely stays still, stalking the stage with genuine menace and he screeches through the likes of ‘Take This Life’ and ‘Rusted Nail’. Behind him, his four bandmates put on nightly masterclasses in technical proficiency; guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Niclas Engelin, in particular, are amongst the most naturally-gifted players in metal. With a new record, Siren Charms, set for September, the band have lined up October dates in Manchester, Glasgow and London, as part of a wider European tour.

Hellfest was lit up like crazy when Napalm Death took the stage. They are a band that brings the heaviest performance they have at all times. The crazy lights there were going off just added to the intensity of the show.

The first song that they played was a familiar one to all of the metal fans in the crowd including myself. It was titled 'Take the Poison'. Since Napalm Death's singer does so much deep growling and screaming we could not really sing along per say but we were all screaming, yelling, and headbanging.

Napalm Death wanted us to create a moshpit and circle pit during the middle of the set and that got people going crazy. The members were not wearing any special clothes but the drumset was like a prop in itself. It was so large that I could not even fathom how the drummer could play it but he did very well.

The entire show was fantastic and Napalm Death's singer just said 'Thank you!' at the end of the set and although we all knew they were not sentimental type of guys, they were still grateful that all of us fans came to the metal show to have a great time.

The metalcore band, Unearth, has a sound that will attack you with fists of furry. Volumes are cranked to full blast and the band is not afraid to unleash their sound in the fiercest way possible. The band came upon their name, Unearth, because they wanted to unearth a new sound in the metal genre, and their ambitious approach to do so has paid off. They have attempted to up the intensity of metal music by large leaps, always producing the heaviest sounds that are possible to make. There is hardly any melodic singing whatsoever during their performance. The vocals are always approached with deep yells and growls that are in your face. Even the backup singing is handled in the same manner of intensely bellowing the lyrics. The band clearly revels in the intensity of their songs, which can be conveyed in the title of one of their songs, “This Glorious Nightmare”. The more horrific and exhilarating they can make the music, the better it is for their performance. Although the vocals are always presented in an atonal and harsh approach, the guitarists often incorporate some melodic riffs into the music. The band is extremely epic on stage, running all around, and head banging to their heavy metal music. The singer, Trevor Phipps, never lets up on his intensity when addressing the audience. When speaking to the crowd he does not refrain from using his deep, raspy growl, and incites the crowd to go crazy. The crowd seems to eat up the viciousness of the performance and aggressively partakes in mosh pits and head banging.
Although the band shows direct influences from some of their metal heroes such as Slayer, Anthrax, and Testament, there is no doubt that they have unearthed a sound of their own that continues to push the boundaries of heavy delivery.