The success of 2006's Damnation Festival has seen the event grow into the UK's biggest and most successful extreme metal festival and with its new home at the Leeds Metropolitan SU the crowd capacity has doubled. This year, Birmingham based black metaler's, Anaal Nathrakh play a one off headlining show, along with crowd favourite bands such as 1349, Aborted, Ted Maul and many more. Opening this years festival are British born Malefice who, despite the small turn out, put on a jaw dropping show and manage to get the crowd moving. Scottish boys Man Must Die are next up to show us what there made of and they do not disappoint, kicking up a storm and turning the static crowd into chaos. Ted Maul are one of those bands many people hate, their mixture of Drum & Bass combined with extreme metal isn't for everyone, that is defiantly not the case here and within seconds every head in the room is banging. Their energetic stage show rubs off on the crowd and after a few minutes the room feels like a bomb has hit! Just when the audience thought the best was over the lights are cut and onto the stage walks a dark figure, flame in hand, he proceeds to blow, sending a ball of heat across the crowd. Closely followed by three more grim looking men, this can be only one band, 1349 something I personallyhave been looking forward to more than anything. An ear-splitting scream stuns the audience “Hell Fire” and were away. For the next 45 minutes we are treat to a first class display of black metal at its finest by one of the best bands around. Extreme drumming and guitar playing that can only be described as out of this world, defiantly a performance that will be remembered for a long time. Aborted follow, their dedicated fan base kit themselves out with doctors coats covered in blood and descend on the crowd like a plague, opening the place up and creating the biggest pit we have seen all day. Aborted do not disappoint and new drummer Dan Wilding certainly stands up to the job providing a battery of blast beats and double kick. Mid set vocalist, Svencho, orders the crowd to split for an infamous Aborted wall of death. “On the count of 3 I want to see you kill each other. 1, 2, 3” hell is let loose with every single person in the crowd moving. This is defiantly one of the highlights from today's events.Last but defiantly not least, are the almighty Anaal Nathrakh who by far pull the biggest crowd and the we soon see why. The room shrouded in darkness, everyone anticipating something spectacular, a dark outline of Dave Hunt walks onto the stage, screaming the words “Have you seen the future? Cos I have. And it looks like a boot stamping on a human face, forever” with that they bust into an ultra-violent whirlwind of extreme metal at its very finest. For the next seventy minutes we are blow away with a unforgettable performance and a perfect end to an remarkable day of extreme music. I think its safe to say Damnation Festival has left its mark on the extreme metal calender for another year and everyone is looking forward to next year.
Matthew Wright
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