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Damnation 2019
Nov. 3rd, 2019 12:18 pmWith the ringing still in my ears, it's time to write about Damnation 2019.
We were late registering for this one on account of the Brexit uncertainty, with this weekend slated to be the first outside of the EU. However, another welcome delay meant that we got to reprise our regular tradition of toasting Ode To Joy at the exact time we should have departed (11pm Thursday on this case) and thus unlocking the next three months of plans in relative stability. Indeed it was pretty obvious in early September that there would be a delay, so we booked our tickets back then, knowing how much of an annual highlight the event is.
This year's was unfortunately a little mooted, however, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Part of the problem was that there were only three of us there - me, Wolfie and his former work colleague Adam (who I kept calling Zachary for some reason) - and Adam and I have different tastes in music when it comes to metal. Consequently, I spent a fair bit of time seeing the likes of Alunah, Wheel and Lord Dying on my own. This was perfectly fine as we met up for other bands in the middle (namely Raging Speedhorn, Mgla and the fantastic Primordial) but it did tarnish the experience a bit. Another point was that the bands were far less diverse and in some ways less heavy than previous years. There definitely was more focus on the lighter side of the genre, while some of the batshit stuff like Batushka from last year, was sadly missing. This always gave the event an edge and so yesterday's roster headed towards being a little conservative, which meant it also became a little less exhilarating.
Twelve hours on your feet is always a struggle and getting to 6pm again, I was starting to flag. Having seen A Pale Horse Named Death, one of the highlights of the day, we decided to skip Alcest and go for some dinner. Leeds Uni is fantastic for options, while the bright and airy seating space downstairs is a pleasant place to be. This is also the case for the number of bars littered around the complex, including the Terrace Bar, which is where Wolfie and I ended up between 9pm and 10:30pm, having exhausted all of the bands we really wanted to see and just counting down the clock to Opeth. People watching there was great fun - there was the usual black-clad bearded gentlemen with the petit goth girlfriends, plus a number of women dressed as succubi, which I found particularly hot. We also bumped into a young fur who was wearing a fox tail and attending with his dad. He seemed quite delighted and surprised to meet us. The atmosphere was fantastic, with loads of people fully immersed in the music and the scene. A number of guys were cross-dressing, which made me feel like I should have done it, and I did muse on how being a rock fan, I've never really needed the LGBT scene as metalheads are also incredibly inclusive. Comparing this to Club Animalz for example, with its horrendous EDM-style dance music, I couldn't help but think that here was where I would rather be. I was also wearing my Bloodywood T-shirt, which got a number of positive comments from people, which only enhanced my sense of belonging in this scene - it's probably the closest thing I have in this regard.
Opeth ended the evening, musically very good, but a little bit dull if I was being honest. I do like Opeth but never really became immersed in their work, and a ninety minute set seemed quite lengthy. It didn't help that my feet were aching quite a lot and the main stage area was somewhat hot, with the people packed in pretty tightly. Earlier in the day, I also saw their support act The Vintage Caravan, which looked a little like a school party who had won a competition to perform but they were exceptionally talented, had a load of stage presence and carried the crowd with them. They were definitely one of the highlights of the evening. However, for me, it was definitely the Celtic-infused metal of Primordial, which despite suffering from technical issues at one point, were definitely the most engaging of the evening. The crowd responded in kind too, a situation I didn't really see for the other bands, with a few of them noticeably being a little irked by the lack of interaction. It was an odd one.
We decided to stick around for the aftershow, which was metal infused with 80s synth, which worked surprsingly well. However, after so long on our feet, we decided to pack it in shortly afterwards, leaving by taxi at 1am. The driver was really chatty and we spoke a lot about the event, while we had done our usual thing of slow-paced drinking so we hadn't had too many. Furthermore, with the Kirkstall beers no longer being served, the beer range was a lot less interesting than usual.
The event therefore was a good one, but I have enjoyed previous years more. Emotionally it was something of a rollercoaster - joy, sadness, reflection, tiredness - but then music does make you feel things so that's par for the course. Next year, should we still be here, we'll have to try and get more people involved and make it more of a party as I think that would definitely enhance things.
We were late registering for this one on account of the Brexit uncertainty, with this weekend slated to be the first outside of the EU. However, another welcome delay meant that we got to reprise our regular tradition of toasting Ode To Joy at the exact time we should have departed (11pm Thursday on this case) and thus unlocking the next three months of plans in relative stability. Indeed it was pretty obvious in early September that there would be a delay, so we booked our tickets back then, knowing how much of an annual highlight the event is.
This year's was unfortunately a little mooted, however, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Part of the problem was that there were only three of us there - me, Wolfie and his former work colleague Adam (who I kept calling Zachary for some reason) - and Adam and I have different tastes in music when it comes to metal. Consequently, I spent a fair bit of time seeing the likes of Alunah, Wheel and Lord Dying on my own. This was perfectly fine as we met up for other bands in the middle (namely Raging Speedhorn, Mgla and the fantastic Primordial) but it did tarnish the experience a bit. Another point was that the bands were far less diverse and in some ways less heavy than previous years. There definitely was more focus on the lighter side of the genre, while some of the batshit stuff like Batushka from last year, was sadly missing. This always gave the event an edge and so yesterday's roster headed towards being a little conservative, which meant it also became a little less exhilarating.
Twelve hours on your feet is always a struggle and getting to 6pm again, I was starting to flag. Having seen A Pale Horse Named Death, one of the highlights of the day, we decided to skip Alcest and go for some dinner. Leeds Uni is fantastic for options, while the bright and airy seating space downstairs is a pleasant place to be. This is also the case for the number of bars littered around the complex, including the Terrace Bar, which is where Wolfie and I ended up between 9pm and 10:30pm, having exhausted all of the bands we really wanted to see and just counting down the clock to Opeth. People watching there was great fun - there was the usual black-clad bearded gentlemen with the petit goth girlfriends, plus a number of women dressed as succubi, which I found particularly hot. We also bumped into a young fur who was wearing a fox tail and attending with his dad. He seemed quite delighted and surprised to meet us. The atmosphere was fantastic, with loads of people fully immersed in the music and the scene. A number of guys were cross-dressing, which made me feel like I should have done it, and I did muse on how being a rock fan, I've never really needed the LGBT scene as metalheads are also incredibly inclusive. Comparing this to Club Animalz for example, with its horrendous EDM-style dance music, I couldn't help but think that here was where I would rather be. I was also wearing my Bloodywood T-shirt, which got a number of positive comments from people, which only enhanced my sense of belonging in this scene - it's probably the closest thing I have in this regard.
Opeth ended the evening, musically very good, but a little bit dull if I was being honest. I do like Opeth but never really became immersed in their work, and a ninety minute set seemed quite lengthy. It didn't help that my feet were aching quite a lot and the main stage area was somewhat hot, with the people packed in pretty tightly. Earlier in the day, I also saw their support act The Vintage Caravan, which looked a little like a school party who had won a competition to perform but they were exceptionally talented, had a load of stage presence and carried the crowd with them. They were definitely one of the highlights of the evening. However, for me, it was definitely the Celtic-infused metal of Primordial, which despite suffering from technical issues at one point, were definitely the most engaging of the evening. The crowd responded in kind too, a situation I didn't really see for the other bands, with a few of them noticeably being a little irked by the lack of interaction. It was an odd one.
We decided to stick around for the aftershow, which was metal infused with 80s synth, which worked surprsingly well. However, after so long on our feet, we decided to pack it in shortly afterwards, leaving by taxi at 1am. The driver was really chatty and we spoke a lot about the event, while we had done our usual thing of slow-paced drinking so we hadn't had too many. Furthermore, with the Kirkstall beers no longer being served, the beer range was a lot less interesting than usual.
The event therefore was a good one, but I have enjoyed previous years more. Emotionally it was something of a rollercoaster - joy, sadness, reflection, tiredness - but then music does make you feel things so that's par for the course. Next year, should we still be here, we'll have to try and get more people involved and make it more of a party as I think that would definitely enhance things.
