Live Review: Offal Fest 3 - Sunday
27th July 2024
Words: Patrick O'Reilly
Day two dawned and the prospect of another day spent in the presence of the cream of slam and death metal. Would the crowd be subdued and tired from the day before? Not on your life! They took to the floor again in numbers from the outset and revelled in the lunacy coming from the stage!
One-man Scottish slam machine Desecrated Extinction were first up with a great opening performance. Tightly written and played slams with some truly sublime riffs were the order of the day and fans responded to this display with gratitude. A really good way to open the second day.
Ancient Rivalry next, mixing death metal with a hardcore edge, they again played with intensity and a real mean attitude, like their sample from the spoken word intro to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 they brutalised this crowd, chopping them up into chunks of flesh on the dance floor. It was exciting to see Vulgar Dissection next, I had recently reviewed their new album and found it to be a supremely entertaining slab of slam and death. They didn't let me down in the live environment either with the new material sounding amazing. This band were a real fan favourite of the weekend, it was amazing to see so many people singing along to them, their songs featuring some really strong choruses which add a catchy element to the tracks. Make no mistake though they too were brutal and really packed a punch, definitely another band to look out for in future.
Homicidal serial killers Basement Torture Killings were up next, creepy vocalist Millie proceeding to eviscerate a stuffed monkey on stage releasing its innards into the now delirious crowd. Adding a touch of theatricality to their frenzied grinding death metal is a genius move, adding layers to their performance and ensuring a memorable occasion. I thought the solos sounded particularly good and their whole performance reeked of professionalism as well as putrefaction!
More goregrind followed with German lunatics Plasma bringing their sci fi tinged madness to offal fest, like 55 Gore yesterday they provided a welcome change of tone, as comedic pig squeals mixed with groovy riffs and polka beats. The crowd loved them and again the mosh pit danced along to their catchy grind. Imperious Mortality from Denmark were probably the most savage band of the whole weekend, a relentless force of nature that shredded everything in its path. Brutal death metal of the highest order and quality with great musicianship and songwriting, a real class act.
Hailing from Scotland, Iniquitous Savagery are making quite a name for themselves in the UK Death Metal scene. A supremely technical band they laid down a template for others to follow, combining slams and technical riffs aplenty. The crowd really got off on this combination working themselves into a frenzy of hair and limbs.
Sadly, this is where I had to depart, plantar fasciitis getting the better of me, a full weekend of death metal meaning I could barely stand and with pain reaching intolerable levels I made my exit. By all accounts the other bands were incredible, with Wormed treating people to a sci-fi technical masterclass and Defeated Sanity proving their name true with some truly mind-bending death metal. Hopefully I will be able to catch them both in future.
All that remains for me to say is just how good Offal Fest is becoming. To see the festival grow over the last three years has been brilliant and it is really exciting to dream of where it might go in the future. With such a great team behind it, particularly Sam, Jack and Jake who book it with an obvious love of the genre and their great relationship with the scene locally and internationally it sure is in safe hands. In fact, a secret announcement made to the crowd about next year's festival was almost the highlight of the weekend, some of the bands announced prompting cheers and screams of delight for the audience. I think it's safe to say there are many people looking forward to it already and count me in that number too!
