Live Review: Tech-Fest Techabilitation 2023: Sunday (3 of 3)!

They say that all good things must come to an end; so as the sand slips though the hour glass we’re going to enjoy one last day of Techabilitation at the hands of Tech-Fest and then sit back and watch as Simon Garrod’s new band Eschalon grow wings. Tech-Fest has been an adventure for us since 2017, the inspiration for these very pages and so it’s our pleasure to witness the sign off (for now at least) of the kind of event that should be celebrated until the crack of dawn…

There is no easing in to Sunday with the sheer brutality of lunch time opening act Writhe [8/10] who plough a new furrow through our craniums with their Gloom inspired Deathcore offering. The four piece who specialise in summoning monsters from the abyss (how else do you think the events of Pacific Rim unfolded?!) have an operatic vocalist join them on stage to add atmosphere to some of their savage offerings and her evil grin during the chaotic light show adds a disturbing unhinged quality. Dirge Laden riffs and brutal breakdowns flow like rivers to the sea and some might not know whether to laugh or cry – but one thing is for certain. Their energy is goddamn electric!

After that demonic opening Bind [8/10] win this weekends award for having the least metal looking frontman with the most ferocious voice. The East Anglian Metallic Hardcore crew may only have two singles out in “No Guilt” and “Empty Space“, both released this summer, but on this evidence there is plenty more where that came from including a forthcoming split EP. There is more to the band than the genre norms, blurring the lines between Kublai Khan and Counterparts at both extremes while confirming that it doesn’t have to be complex to be a f***ing good time and that’s exactly what Bind are…

If we didn’t know better we’d swear that Only The Righteous [8/10] had Taskmaster’s Alex Horne on bass and Rubeus Hagrid on guitars… But the Strongbow Dark Fruit isn’t that strong. The North West Metalcore outfit played Tech-Fest in 2022 and come armed with an albums worth of singles they have been releasing in waterfall fashion for the past year, the chunky riffs offering flavours of “All our gods have abandoned us” era Architects. “Diaphony” is a real moment, a fans favourite that brings all the boys to the yard, the light show doing little to hide the sweaty mess.

North Wales Metalcore merchants Rosen Bridge [9/10] were one of few bands we missed at the 10th Anniversary of Tech-Fest back in the summer and with this set that’s something we may have come to regret! Highly recommend by Arcaeon, the outfit have flecks of Progressive and Technical Metal in their sound and they’re deceptively heavy too. After two well received EPs, it is their October released album “Adorcist” is the backbone for tonight’s set with absolutely no slow down for their obligatory yet wonderfully fleeting clean sung vocal parts. It’s all wall to wall riffs as they paint in light and shade with a few cleverly worked melodic moments building back into the heavy being a nice formula. That ensures that their music slaps harder in the heavier moments, the swagger and stage presence they have a testament to time spent in the rehearsal space and on stages all over this green and pleasant land.

Lovers of blast beats Vast Slug [8/10] decimate the weak with their sound check alone, their vocalists Hawaiian shirt a serial killers disguise. The drum machine is set to overdrive as the Death Grinders deliver 30 songs in 30 minutes, each one a brutal artillery shelling while the bubble machine causes havoc in the pit. It probably goes without saying that their songs are of course classically caustic vicious tirades of violent turbulence… but what you might not expect is that their vocalist saying “cheers” between cut as if to say “that’s done“, something which the audience start saying back to him pretty much straight away. “Remixed To The Point Of Orgasm“, “Does Anyone Really Need A Drummer” and “Covered In Piss” are all hilarious good fun before KoRn cover “A.D.I.D.A.S” brings the sonic abrasions to a fitting conclusion, a 92 second burst that feels like John Hurt did in that scene from Alien.

After the arguably the heaviest band of the day Blight Town [8/10] might have struggled but the Math infused Progressive Post Hardcore collective are close to home territory being from just over the way in Nottingham so for them this is almost a home town show. They pull out all the stops, reproducing the good time grooves, funk swagger and vibrancy of their EP “It Lives” and at the same time reminding us of the much missed Napoleon. The quality of the musicianship is exceptional and there is no doubt that before too long they will be on bigger stages than this, they just need that one song to take off and they’ll be away…

A band who blur the lines between music and art, Forlorn [10/10] have come a long way in a relatively short space of time. A break in their set for their diabetic drummer to get some much needed sugar giving us a chance to reflect on the fact that “The Weight Of It All” has surpassed 106k of Spotify streams alone. That’s an incredible return for a four year old outfit who specialise in Midsommar Metal, a blend of crushing low guitars, folk horror stories and haunting soundscapes. What holds it all together is the captivating performance of their vocalist Megan Elliott, who has the power to mesmerise like Medusa with her equally beautiful and savage moments. It’s like they wrote the soundtrack to M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village“…

Celebrating a decade of aggression, the return of Deathcore collective The Cartographer [10/10] who haven’t played Derby in a year is another masterstroke from Simon Garrod. The five piece bring the violence from the very start of their set, making up for their leave of absence from this City with cuts like April single “Misery System“, one which finds one of their guitarists in a pit for a monstrous breakdown. A new, hitherto unheard song in their set is an absolute riot with instant appeal, the smoke machine and lights going crazy while the eight string solo rips…

Having played Tech-Fest no less than three times, we’ve had the pleasure of the company of Sworn Amongst [9/10] on a few nights now and the Hull natives never fail to decimate the weak with their crushing sound. March single “Restitution” was their first new material in three years but worth every second of the wait, the Groove Thrash merchants showing that not only does their early 90s inspired sound still have plenty of legs but that they remain very much a live force to be reckoned with. The icing on the cake would have been getting Annihilator guitarist Jeff Waters to reprise his role on “The Rules Of Engagement” tonight but we’ll probably have to wait for Bloodstock for that…

It makes perfect sense that a band who have been a HUGE part of Tech-Fest history should bring the velvet curtain down on Techabilitation and Hacktivist [10/10] are never ones to disappoint. Putting bounce in the mosh pit from the very start of their adrenaline fuelled career spanning set they remain very much a live force to be reckoned with. The arrival of former Borders vocalist Jordan “JJ” Olifent has been a masterstroke and he proves that tonight, stalking the stage with J Hurley and getting the crowd going between tracks. From the bands self titled track to “Armoured Core” and “Niggas In Paris” the pit is a sweat fest, empty plastic beer cups flying as the DJent riffs fly in all directions. Not only is their set a triumph but the event itself. Long live Tech-Fest.