Once again London has been laid to waste by the most prolific extreme festival celebrating its tenth year! The mighty Incineration Festival
And oh boy it was a sweaty one! But we were there to witness one hell of a brutal day!
First up at The Black Heart was Burner. Hailing from London these guys bring the energy you need for an opening act. The perfect blend of Disembodied & Converge, the chaotic riffing style & ridiculous breakdowns set things off nicely. Their newest album “It All Returns to Nothing” is fantastic & hearing a few tracks off it live showcases these guys are a strong live act not just a great studio band. Also having the room packed for 1 pm is a hard but great feat!
Next over to The Dev is Corpsing. I’ve unfortunately missed these guys a few times but it was great to see them finally. These are a straight-up solid death metal band with some slight blackened elements. Vocalist Levi Jackson has stage presence, it might be a tiny dive bar & in the mid-afternoon but he’s giving it full pelt in his performance. The hooded cloak & studded wrist cuff give him a different look & help play into that blackened element that sets these guys apart from your run-off-the-mix death metal act. If these guys are playing in your area give them a watch!
For our first band of the day at the mighty Electric Ballroom we have the return of the epic Winterfylleth. Based in Manchester Winterfylleth has been flying the flag high for UKBM for the longest time & just by their opening few moments you can tell these guys have something so special.
Their performance is anthemic & pure. Keyboardist Mark Deeks’s passion shines through. He joins vocalist & guitarist Chris Naughton with every word sung, arms in the air & giving every ounce of sweat & energy.
The group also previewed some of their upcoming material to be released later in the year. And it sounds like their greatest & most expensive music to date.
Next at The Underworld are the brain-baffling Thantifaxath. Their set was highly anticipated and by the place being packed like sardines in a can this seemed like one of the biggest performances on the smaller stages, and boy did they impress. Thantifaxath’s brand of black metal, death metal & off-putting time signatures & song structure can be difficult to progress but in a live setting, they have something powerful. Their ability to play such complex & technically hard music in cloaks baffles me but it adds so much to their intense & mesmerising set.
Malediction brings that old-school death metal flavour to The Dev. When it comes to the death metal scene these guys are O.G. After a lengthy hiatus it’s great to see these guys back at it. Releasing new material & playing a killer set. Even with a few technical difficulties they pull a great set of new music & early material. I can see these guys within the year becoming a much-beloved act within the UKDM underground.
Back at the Electric Ballroom is one of the highlights of the day, the blasphemous Belphegor. It doesn’t matter how many times I see these guys perform but it’s always the best time. Their stage presence & performance is second to none. Opening with two back-to-back top tracks “Baphomet” & “The Devil’s Son” the crowd are rabid, already starting the pit and making a frenzy. Closing out their set with “Totentanz – Dance Macabre” just showcases how much of a powerhouse Belphegor & always will be.
Back at The Underworld, it’s time for something low & slow. The gigantic Conan is here to shatter your hearing. These guys always put on a superb show. Their wall of noise & piercing vocals always leave me with a smile on my face. Riff are riff leaves you in a trance & today was one of the best sets I’ve seen them play. So on top of their game right now. Merseyside is where the caveman dwells!
For the headline act of the night the mighty Finnish legends Amorphis close out the ballroom. And the room is packed & ready for these guys to blow the roofs off & that they do. What was nice about the ground sound even in their modern area is their big use of melody. And after a day of extreme music, some larger choruses & tracks you can sing along to was refreshing. They might be a band who started in the early 90s but their passion for performing is still there & the stage show they have was perfect. A stunning and well-fitting closure for the main festival show.
As a nice cap off to the end of evening the swamp dwellers Slimelord. In the past year or so Slimelord has become one of my favourite bands. Their album “Chytridiomycosis Relinquished” which was released earlier this year is one of the best debut albums to come out of the UK in some time. Their brand of swampy death doom in a tiny bar like The Dev is fitting.
In a smoky room filled with sweating bodies “Splayed Mudscape” gets everyone’s heads moving & singer Andy Ashworth’s manic gutturals are just drenched in putridity. Slimelord always puts on a spectacle of a show & concludes the best extreme metal festival London has to offer! Here’s to 2025 & congratulations to the Incineration Fest team for a well-deserved 10 years!
For All Info Visit: www.incinerationfest.com
Review: Joseph Mitchell
