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Push to Fire Review: Ghostfest 2010
26th and 27th June, Leeds University
Review and photos by Simon Daish

Day 1 Opening Ghostfest 2010 on the Honour Over Glory stage Curses get right down to business with a very energetic performance. Being gifted this slot through winning the road to Ghostfest battle of the bands there is no question in my mind they have rightly earned their spot by being a super tight band. Then again I would say that as I actually voted for these guys. The best thing for me though is getting to see a local Leeds band opening a festival that is rapidly expanding but still seems to be very aware of its roots.

Heading over to the main Monster stage for the next band of the day TRC are up with their unique style of hate-core. I have been looking forward to seeing them for a long time now, and boy they don’t disappoint in their live performance. The set had everything, loads of crowd interaction and the occasional stage dive from the TRC frontmen. I’m surprised with the band’s support and their awesome stage presence that TRC were not higher on the bill, but who knows. Maybe next year could be their year.

I leave just before the end of TRC’s set to secure a spot near the front for This Is Colour. Every time This Is Colour come to Leeds they always get a fantastic reception, and in return they give a performance to remember. By the end of the first song the second room is full to the rafters. With this kind of turnout it again is difficult to see why the band is not playing on the main stage, but nevertheless they get down to business. I love that This Is Colour just get on with their music and don’t care what anyone thinks of them, and it really becomes clear in their music as they become one of the stand out bands of the day.

After seeing This Is Colour owning the second stage we head over to the main stage to see Bleed From Within who go one step further with a performance totally off the scale. Playing tracks off both new and old albums, Scott Kennedy’s vocals seem to get stronger and stronger through the half hour set. ‘We Are Gathered Here Today’ got the biggest reaction when during the intro Kennedy got the entire crowd to split into two halves until his vocals kicked in, resulting in a huge circle pit. Personal highlights was new song ‘The Healing’ taken from the Empire, one of my favourite albums this year. The band has really refined their sound for the new album and I honestly can’t wait to see how this band progress in the future.

Even with their unique and unforgettable sound, The Arusha Accord will have a tough job to top the last two bands. It’s not an easy feat to dance and have a good time to their music with so many switches and changes but the crowd defiantly tries as hard as they can. The bare-footed Luke Williams, who is such a natural talent, slapping his bass in any way he can and is clearly the real driving force behind the band’s sound.

Their set was unfortunately overshadowed with the news that the band would be taking some time out after this show. Telling the Ghostfest crowd they would be taking the next two years to write their new album, I believe the UK scene will thoroughly miss this very unique and original six piece. I seriously hope this isn’t the last we see of The Arusha Accord.

Less than 24 hours before Azriel were due to be on stage, it was announced that David had been forced to step down as lead vocalist. According to the bands MySpace David had been advised that if he continued to scream he would without a doubt lose the use of his voice within years. Understandably he decided to part ways with the band and friend Kyle would stand in for the rest of the tour until they can find a new vocalist.
Although I felt Kyle did an extremely good job I did however feel the performance just lacked the final finishing touch. Songs like ‘Of Those Who Are Alive’ just didn’t have that punch that they usually have. I can’t quite put my finger on it at first, but as the set continues I realize that the passion that has been there in the past isn’t quite there today. Dare I say it: there not the same without David!
I really hope Azriel can get this unfortunate situation sorted ASAP as they are an amazing band, and with a new album in the works, surely there on the path to great things.

After not playing a show for well over two years Clone The Fragile make a special one-off performance. To some it was a surprise to see the Leeds band so high on the bill, especially when you consider they have been out of the scene for a long while. I had heard lots about the band but never had the chance to see them in their prime, so for me this could have been one of the highlights of the fest.
There were still some faithful fans at the front who could recite just about every word as well as some people who hadn’t heard of the band before still trying to get in the mood for the Acacia Strain and warming up the circle pit. For me it wasn’t quite the highlight of the festival I was expecting, but I hope this ‘one off show’ has sparked something inside the band and we’ll see them back at their best soon.

Finishing up day one was the mighty deathcore giants The Acacia Strain, who flew in from the USA just to play for us. There set starts off a little slow due to a half hour overlap with second stage headliners Knuckledust, but if anything that adds to the madness as there is now more room for that crazy circle pit, and space for the two-stepping crowd to do their thing. This ultimately backfires when a someone slips and causes herself a rather nasty injury. The band returns to the stage to remind people just how miserable and angry front man Vincent Bennett actually is. Stomping around the stage and at one point saying: “I hate everyone and everything”. I think is the best way to sum up The Acacia Strain was by the text on read on Bennett's t-shirt: “Loud and Obnoxious”. Image aside The Acacia Strain were the perfect end to day one, the complete package.

Day 2

After a long but very enjoyable first day it’s back to Leeds Uni for day two. This without a doubt was the best looking line-up out of the two days and promised to be a cracker.

The start of the day couldn’t have been more perfect for me. While She Sleeps have to be one of my favourite UK bands at the minute, and anyone who has seen the Sheffield five piece live has to agree with me when I say...they put on a show!
They bring their own strobe lights, which is a welcome change to the newly named Thirty Days Of Night Stage. It’s such a simple touch but it’s the little things that make the difference, and there is nothing like a brutal breakdown accompanied by crazy strobe lighting.
The set includes two of my favourites ‘Hearts Aside Our Horses’ and ‘My Conscience, Your Freedom’ which go down a storm. Faithful fans would agree that ‘I Am King’ is always welcomed in their set as its perfect for crowd participation and sing along moments. WSS finish the set off appropriately with the title track from there forthcoming mini album ‘The North Stands For Nothing’, which I’m sure is going to mean great things for the Sheffield band who are already well on their way to becoming one of the best new UK bands around.

More Than Life were yet another band this weekend that were missing a lead singer. Getting some helping hands from Nicholas Worthington (Dead Swans), Theo Kindynis (Last Witness) Ajay (Brutality Will Prevail) and Shaun (Landscapes), the stand in singers gave it their all on the Monster stage in what was a very entertaining set. The fans didn’t seem to worry about the absence of James Matthews either, as the crowd went crazy and a brutal pit formed. New song ‘Love Let Me Go’ gets the best reaction of the set, and I definitely can’t wait to hear their new stuff!

The Boy Will Drown are a band I haven’t heard much of before today, but their set definitely stood out for me. All four members of the band are clearly very talented, especially to get a sound like there’s with so few members. Both Liam (guitar) and James (bass) were totally shredding their instruments, adding to the big sound. Not knowing much about the band and their music it’s hard to comment on their live performance, but as a neutral onlooker I thought TBWD seemed a pretty tight outfit, and would recommend seeing them live if you are yet to do so.

Evergreen Terrace were next up on the Monster Stage and the first thing to note is you can definitely tell the big guns are out now. No disrespect to any of the other bands on show today but it’s clear that Evergreen Terrace have perfected their live performance over the last 11 years . I have been a huge fan of Evergreen Terrace for around 6 years now and today was the first time I had been able to catch them in the UK. It was a long but worthwhile wait and was awesome to see the band play some of my favourite tunes. From the Writers Block album they played a perfect cover of Tears for Fears ‘Mad World’ and then ‘Dogfight’, my personal highlight. All too soon the set is over and the band leaves the stage to a huge cheer from the crowed. If there was some people out there who haven’t heard of these guys before today I'm sure Evergreen Terrace have just won over some new fans on that performance!

Finishing off what has been a fantastic weekend of live music, Gallows and the big ego of Frank Carter step up to a packed out main stage. Opening the set with ‘The Riverbed’ fans of the band instantly goes crazy and it doesn’t take long for Frank to make his way to the front of the stage and put the mic out into the crowd. Despite being a fantastic front man who has complete control over the crowd, Carter seems to be more worried about his hardcore image, and his unnecessary comments between songs soon become annoying. He does however get himself stuck into a circle pit, and then, to prove he has the fans wrapped around his finger, demands a human pyramid of which he then appears at the top of. Whether or not the band was running out of material for the headline slot they decide to play a couple of covers. ‘I Fought the Law’ was the best of the two and goes down a treat with everyone in the room singing along. Final song ‘Orchestra of Wolves’ is halted due to some fans getting a little too fired up and a lad is helped out by security with what looks like a broken nose. Restarting the song goes without any problems and the song seems a fitting end to a set of ups and downs. They still need have a way to go to win me over.

 

 

Overall it has been one heck of a weekend, and the general consensus from the bands is Leeds is blessed to have an event such as Ghostfest, and without the fans supporting it, events such as this wouldn’t be possible. As for myself I leave with the same mind frame as every other music lover here… Ghostfest 2011 can’t come soon enough!!

Photos of the bands who played the festival are available in our Ghostfest 2010 photo album.