The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are falling and festival season feels like a warm and distant memory. But, for metal fans in the UK and further afield, Damnation Festival proves solace. Year after year, the extreme metal festival has grown to become a genuine heavyweight in the festival calendar, with 2022’s move to the larger BEC Arena in Manchester proving to be a success. With 2024’s event on the horizon, we preview this year’s staggeringly good lineup, alongside the A Night Of Salvation ‘pre-show’ to give you the lowdown on who to watch at this year’s Damnation Festival!
Once billed as simply a pre-show, Damnation‘s A Night Of Salvation has grown considerably since the move to Manchester and today, it has grown to become a fully fledged additional day of the festival. Polish tech death juggernauts DECAPITATED land the coveted headliner slot for Friday’s action, recruiting former vocalist Sauron for a world exclusive performance of 2004’s The Negation in its entirety. Prior to this though, festival goers are treated to performances from a carefully curated bill that straddles the breadth of the heavy music spectrum. Woking’s heavy hitters, EMPLOYED TO SERVE, will give their latest album, Conquering, the spotlight treatment with a full-album playthrough for the first and only time whilst German post-metal royalty THE OCEAN will celebrate 2013’s Pelagial to mark a swansong for the band’s current lineup.
Elsewhere, mysterious Czech black metallers CULT OF FIRE will bring mysticism and awe-inspiring aura to A Night Of Salvation, hardcore/crust punk legends DISCHARGE will incite chaos performing 1982’s infamous Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing in its entirety. Throw in thrashing mayhem from Austrian mob INSANITY ALERT, utter heaviness from LLNN and SUGAR HORSE, whilst the likes of FEN and UNDERDARK will show that UK black metal is in extremely good health.
Moving onto the main attraction and Damnation Festival‘s main day is an extreme metal feast. Headliners, and black metal royalty, CRADLE OF FILTH make their Damnation debut in a world exclusive set that will rewind the clocks for a special old school-focused performance. The band have promised a set focused on material up to 2004’s Nymphetamine, so expect to hear plenty of deep cuts from the CRADLE back catalogue!
Elsewhere, Damnation have pulled out all the stops, carefully curating a lineup of bands in exclusive appearances and full-album performances. Whether it’s metalcore veterans BLEEDING THROUGH‘s homage to 2003’s much loved This Is Love, This Is Murderous, Australian neo-classical/progressive death metallers NE OBLIVISCARIS delivering a masterclass of musicality with a rendition of 2014’s Citadel in full, or arguably one of the most anticipated sets of the day; DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT. The band are cult heroes in the UK extreme metal underground and Damnation Festival will host Hatred For Mankind in its entirety.
And that’s just scratching the surface. American powerviolence outfit NAILS make their eagerly awaited to Damnation after levelling the festival back in 2017, doom metallers AHAB return after their unfortunate withdrawal from last year’s festival, and the more doomier and reflective affairs of HANGMAN’S CHAIR, DOOL, PIJN and A.A. WILLIAMS will provide much needed respite and moments to catch your breath.
Whether you’re getting hurled about the pit to ENFORCED‘s riff-fuelled fury, knuckle dragging and practising your best stank face with 200 STAB WOUNDS and FUMING MOUTH, or basking in the monolithic soundscapes from black metal alchemists THE RUINS OF BEVERAST or French outfit CELESTE, Damnation Festival has something for you.
We’ll see you down the front!
Damnation Festival 2024 takes place at BEC Arena, Manchester from 1st November – 2nd November 2024. Tickets are available now and can be purchased here.
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