Mud and thunder
Despite its countryside setting, 2000trees (July 6-8, Upcote Farm, Cheltenham) boasts some definite thrills. There’s Brighton post-prog-metal newbies Black Peaks, the rave-mosh action of youthful quartet The One Hundred and, in what’s sure to be one of the sets of the season, the ethereal, post-black metal of Belgians Oathbreaker. That weekend also sees UK tech-fest (July 6-10, Newark Showground, Nottinghamshire), one of the most exciting events in metal’s calendar. It features exclusive UK sets from The Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, The Faceless and
Beyond Creation, along with a ton more heaviness and a series of afterparties and workshops. For classic rock fans, ramblin’ man fair (July 28-30, Kent) offers denim and leather from the likes of Saxon, ZZ Top, Extreme, British Lion and Rivals Sons.
Arctangent (August 17-19, Bristol) caters to fans of the most challenging and diverse music our world has to offer, and this year is possibly their most impressive line-up yet, boasting tech-metal pioneers Sikth, Japanese weirdos Boris, postmetallers Devil Sold His Soul, djent royalty Tesseract and rising metallic hardcore mob Employed To Serve. But it’s the UK-exclusive additions of two genuine heavyweight headliners that makes this year so special: Texan post-rock luminaries Explosions In The Sky and Boston’s legends of hardcore, Converge. A few weeks later, reading & leeds (August 25-27, Richfield Avenue / Bramham Park) provides more heaviness than we’re used to from them. The heart-string pull of nostalgia may play a big part, with Eminem headlining a Main Stage that includes nu metal godfathers Korn and reformed post-hardcore icons At The Drive In. Architects also find themselves on the Main Stage, oddly sandwiched between grime darling Giggs and pop rock goons Against The Current. You’ll mostly find us camped in The Pit stage, where While She Sleeps headline with the likes of Zeal & Ardor and The Amity Affliction in tow. Finally, Marmozets make their return to action. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.
mammothfest (October 6-8,
Brighton) has grown every year, and is pulling in some impressive names on the sub-genre specific
Main Stage of each day. Greek legends Rotting Christ top the bill on the black metal day and avant-garde Italians
Fleshgod Apocalypse headline the extreme day, while the third day is dedicated to stoner rock and doom.
Meanwhile, damnation
(November 4, Leeds) caps off the year with
Dying Fetus and resurrected doom trio Warning.
We round up the best metal action at the other uk festivals