Live Review: RADAR Festival 2024 - Sunday
28 July 2024
Words & Photos: William Mawdsley
The third and final day of RADAR 2024 opens up with hometown Manchester act Atheana delivering an excellently heavy early afternoon performance. Powerful guitar lines layered under a mix of clean and harsh vocals give the band an impressively large sound. Showing no sign of that Sunday slump of a three day festival the crowd are vibing well as we warm up for another full day that focuses largely on the heavier side of what RADAR has to offer.
The blast of energy that is French metalcore outfit Ashen is a very welcome opening volley to our main stage roster for the day. The group have an impressively confident stage presence that couples well with the energetic groove of their songs. An intriguingly modern interpretation of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is included among a setlist made up of the band’s own catchy originals. With their first single being released as recently as 2021 the group have already toured with the likes of Novelists and Crystal Lake and it's clear their star is very quickly on the rise. It's also safe to say this latest showing at RADAR has won them a boatload of new fans.
Things take a more melodic turn back on the Sneak Energy stage. A creation of project mastermind and vocalist Charlie Draper, Adharma deliver a very strong performance full of melodic and often surprisingly theatrical song writing layered over chugging progressive guitars and drums. The pop sensibilities in the songs get the crowd bouncing but the strong messages behind them still make an impact.
Hailing all the way from Melbourne, Australia instrumental outfit The Omnific have come to bring the boogie to RADAR. The trio's unique two bass one drummer configuration is an impressive feat in technicality. Featuring thumping bass lines that are fast and technical as fingers fly up and down the fretboard yet nevertheless remain groovy as hell. If you thought a fully bass driven band would lack melody then you couldn't be more wrong. Syrupy smooth tapping sections feature throughout that help bring a lightness to the instrumental compositions.
The Aussie contingent are out in numbers today with fellow Melburnians Future Static taking to the Sneak Energy stage to deliver a spicy performance full of big catchy choruses and heavy breakdowns. With shows featuring stage fellows Adharma and Giant Walker following today's RADAR appearance, the progressive metalcore outfit are clearly priming to take the UK scene by storm.
Just before the festival it was announced that unfortunately American Rap-Rock outfit Oxymorrons would be unable to make the festival, and although a major disappointment to many the addition of acoustic composer Mike Dawes was met with plenty of excitement. While on paper the acoustic fingerpicking maestro may not be an obvious pick for a replacement, Dawes does a remarkable job of winning over the crowd with his impressive acoustic compositions, utilising every part of the guitar possible. The playing comes along with plenty of on stage banter and a massive grin present throughout that clearly shows Dawes is enjoying every second.
The set is a mix of original writings as well as interpretations of other artists' songs including a cover of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’. Dawes ends his set with a gorgeous rendition of ‘Euclid’ by Sleep Token.
It's a tough situation when a band is forced to pull out of a festival at the last minute and unfortunately Danish metalcore outfit Siamese are the second casualty on today’s lineup. But never fear, a quick call to the gaffer later sees geezacore collective Pintglass, fresh from their shift at the previous night’s after party, don the high-vis once again and deliver one of the most down and dirty sets of the weekend. Clearly word was making the rounds early that the group were going to be filling in because the room is absolutely packed, with many an audience member already draped in fluorescent yellow attire.
Sandwiched between two absolutely wild performances, Sungazer are a bit of a sharp left turn when compared to a lot of today’s bookings. The vibrant summer-y vibes provide an excellent opportunity to collect one’s self as we head into the final stretch of the weekend. The group traverse futuristic jazz soundscapes with ease and more than a hint of playfulness. Bassist Adam Neely jokingly at one point has the crowd attempting to clap along to the odd signatures of the songs and during ‘Cool 7’ the group lead the crowd in a little bit of a dance routine they call the Sungazer 2-Step.
The band with the three stripes are always a very welcome sight on a Manchester stage and their appearance today is no different. The abrasive punk rock attitude that Blood Command bring to their performance is a force to be reckoned with, cranking out a set heavily structured around their aptly titled latest release ‘World Domination’. Almost immediately singer Nikki Brumen claims the stage’s catwalk as her own private plaything, not relinquishing it unless it’s to launch into the audience for a couple quick crowd surfing sessions. The band are exhausting to watch in the best possible way with high kicks, headbangs and wild on stage antics combining to create a true firecracker of a performance. Throw in a costume change or two for good measure and you've got yourselves one of the performances of the weekend.
From the very opening line of set opener ‘Like a Shadow’ the darlings of Cardiff’s rock scene, Holding Absence, have the entire room completely enraptured. The next hour is a true example of a rock show, not a single person is stood still and almost every line is sung back at full volume with almost a constant stream of crowd surfers making their way over the barrier. It's tough bringing to mind the last time we’ve seen anyone with quite as much on stage energy as singer Lucas Woodland who, in between belting out one big emotional chorus after another, runs around stage throwing up high kicks on the beat.
The band, having made the decision to take a break from festivals after extensive touring, take a moment to acknowledge their eagerness to make a special exception for RADAR when the offer was extended to them. With Woodland mentioning having attended last year’s festival purely as a fan. It goes without saying but if you have the opportunity to catch Holding Absence live, take it, you will not regret it.
Dark is the order of the day over on the Sneak Energy stage, both in tone and in lighting. RADAR were clearly saving the heaviest for last as Swedish deathcore stars Humanity’s Last Breath throw out devastatingly technical riffs that wash over you like a wave. The dark and haunting atmosphere the group cultivate for their set is captivating to watch with the visage of frontman Filip Danielsson throwing out gutturals from beneath a black hood
And with that it’s time for the last band of the festival to take to the stage. Norway’s Leprous make a triumphant return to RADAR after their 2022 headlining appearance at the festival’s send off to their previous Guildford location. Not content on delivering just any standard headlining set, the band have opted for a ‘live request’ type setup. Just under half the setlist is to be chosen by the audience, given a choice between 4 candidates winners are chosen by a charmingly low key show of hands. ‘The Valley’, ‘Castaway Angels’, ‘The Flood’, ‘Alleviate’ and' ‘Mirage’ ultimately coming out on top with ‘Contaminate Me’ being chosen as the last call to play out the festival. Slotted between a number of pre-selected tracks this unique approach lends the set an engaging personal touch.
The staging itself is minimal yet stunning with plenty of white light utilised throughout. Paired with the vocal prowess of Einar Solberg floating over the subtle yet simultaneously hard hitting tracks are a fitting send off to this year’s festival.
Photo credits: William Mawdsley
