Metal Junkbox is back for day two at Hammerdown Festival in Brighton! With tonight’s main headliners being The Raven Age and second stage headliners Raised By Owls. It’s another day of the 18-band lineup up which completes the remaining 36-band set.
Recall The Remains
Recall The Remains is a band that has been consistently popping up on my personal Instagram account, and I have been looking forward to checking them out at today’s festival. They absolutely smashed it, their tight-knit and full-on energy is exactly what I was expecting from them! They were the exact energy I have been looking forward to at today’s festival (hopefully just the beginning for our stacked run of bands), their powerful vocals and strong sound fill the room!
Crushed By Waves
Manchester’s Crushed By Waves are no strangers to a Metal Junkbox Review, having personally covered them multiple times this year. I set high standards for them to beat! This was the biggest room I have so far seen them in, and everybody’s eyes were on them! With lead singer Arron getting up on the barrier multiple times throughout their set, the boys showcase how powerful a band they were, playing flawlessly and getting everyone joining in!
Hell Can Wait
Now it’s time for Brighton’s very own Hell Can Wait. Within minutes of the band coming on stage, one crowd member has made the trip around to catch the beginning of the set. They are loud and shouty, but this room and audience fit them perfectly! They are tightly packed on the small stage, but it doesn’t stop them from moving around!
Bleed Again
When you have the power and voice of sounding a bit like Linkin Park, you can get the crowd to do what you want within seconds of getting on stage; that is the perfection of tonight. Bleed Again has their incredible vocal range and musicians to go with, just make it opening one of the biggest mosh pits this weekend.
Waterlines
Waterlines are no strangers to another Metal Junkbox review. Having seen them last perform with Veiled back in Leeds at The Hyde Park Book Club and at last weekend’s Mangata festival in Nottingham, I knew we were coming in for a special treat once again
Lead singer said “right lads, it’s 10 past 5, should we do a thing” and turning to address the crowd “, Hello cockles” before the full force of a waterlines set kicked in, their set is so perfectly put together, hailing from Yorkshire, it was nice to hear an accent from the North. They have high energy and a powerful set, which just tickles the crowd, making them one of the highlights of the day! Hammerdown missed a trick by not popping them on the main stage today!
In Search Of The Sun
Having seen the Fun relationship that Harry from Hammerdown and In Search Of The Sun have together, everyone knew this wasn’t a set to miss. Their high-energy set is just fun, and you can feel the love and support which has turned out for the band. They just don’t stop moving throughout their set from start to finish, they just win over the heart of the packed out room!
The Five Hundred
The Five Hundred have been another band on my radar for quite a while, popping up at most music festivals I have been to this year. I have been saving them for a special occasion, which is Hammerdown! It was worth the wait for my small snippet of them. The most impressive part of the set was how strong and changeable the lead singer’s voice can be, which is insanely talented.
Dream State
With it being their first time back in Brighton with this line-up, Dream State Kick off their set. The sweet and dominating presence of Lead singer Jessie melts the audience, capturing the crowd under their spell. Dream State always creates a safe and fun environment within their sets, with the demand for circle pits and brand new songs mixed within classic hits. Dream State brought the best out of the crowd today!
Cradle Of Filth ft Mr Blooby aka Raised By Owls
Cradle Of Filth takes to the stage looking slightly different to how we normally see them, but wait a second, it’s the cheeky lads from Raised By Owls! I heard many a good story about these guys, and I wasn’t let down. I could write a full-on review about how much I enjoyed the set, but I’m gonna keep them short and sweet.
Expect Game shows, Mums, Slipknot, Dildos, and Mr Blooby to be around. Get ready to open up the mosh pits, dance away to “Napalm Death”, and just to have a really good laugh. Another band that outpacked their room, and although headliners of the second stage, they truly should have been placed on the main stage!
And with heat load, we nip up to our final headliners for this evening
The Raven Age
Delaying the start of their set by a few minutes to allow the Raised By Owl set to finish and people to arrive back at Chalk. The Raven Age takes to the stage, having seen them over a week ago at Mangata. Their set is just spot on once again! They know what they are doing and how to work the crowd. They capture the crowd, holding them in. Their sound gets the remainder of the Sunday night crowd going to complete this year’s Hammerdown Festival
Overall view of Day Two
Kicking off today’s issue with the Dust Venue Aircon above the stage dripping and being broken just to make today’s set-up a little hotter, and definitely a leaking issue for band equipment (hopefully something Dust can sort out quickly for its small stage).
For many people I spoke to throughout the day, Day Two was the stronger day for many. Similar issues followed from day one with the stairs, seating, and not being able to bring drinks from venue to venue.
As hard as it is to line up a music festival, there were a few bands who could have been placed on the larger stage, such as Waterlines and Raised By Owls. But overall, the feedback for the ending of day two was a huge hit!