Live Review: Rabidfest 2024 Day #2 (Sunday)!

After the drunken debauchery of Saturday there are more than a few who have arrived at The Bullingdon for Sunday with sore heads. Partaking in hair of the dog is obligatory as they prepare to witness another 10 bands on the Devolution Magazine sponsored main stage. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation will be proud as the whole event is one raising money for their charity without any hardship on anyone’s part. Who needs painful sponsored events when you can drink a pint and let your ears bleed to the strains of your favourite riff? Rabidfest, we love you!

The day begins with Halfway Home [7/10] who take to the stage armed with 7 string guitars and a 5 string bass to create some Melodic Metal with new single “Leeches” punchier than most. Lush Post-Hardcore inspired moments of melody and 3 part vocal harmonies add weight and depth to their sound and each lyric resonates. Flipping the script almost entirely Theorist [8/10] are a Heavy Metalcore from Southampton with some impressive tapping sections and bags of stage presence. Their frontman spends more time in the pit than he does on stage, taking the opportunity to jump over the barrier and get in peoples faces whenever possible with big single “Paralysed“ going down very well. Tech-Fest favourites From Her Ashes [9/10] were due to play the fifth anniversary of Rabidfest last year but were forced to pull out at the 11th hour. Making up for lost time the Derby Tech-Metal DJentlemen roar through cuts like “The Swan and the Serpent” and “Nemesis” like they have itchy trigger fingers and there is no tomorrow. Fiercely combining brutality and melody they punch like a prize fighter, rolling back the years as they remind us just how good they are. Hangover? What hangover? Old school Death Metal of the highest order is brought to the Oxford masses by As The World Dies [9/10] a Birmingham five piece who reformed in anger in 2018 and slapped us silly with album “Agonist” in 2022. For those not in the know, they have Memoriam riff slinger Scott Fairfax and former Ashen Crown drummer Chris McGrath in their ranks and those years of experience mean they exude confidence in a brutal display worthy of a standing ovation.

It’s a new dawn, a new day, a new chapter for Draconian Reign [9/10] who arrive at Rabidfest at the third time of asking with a new vocalist in Alec Radford of Kingdom of Entropy. He freely admits to feeling like he might have spontaneously combusted on the journey to the venue with the hex that has been over this band when it comes to playing here but that doesn’t stop them from decimating the weak with a high energy set. The Nottingham five piece barely fitting on the stage as they pummel us with Symphonic Deathcore, material from last years EP “Tragedy Eternal” an absolute pleasure. All that’s missing is pyrotechnics. After a few technical issues Voidwalker [10/10] bring out some glorious tapping sections in their brutal collection of Technical Death Metal songs and let’s face it, when your bassist is wearing a Bolt Thrower t-shirt and is armed with five strings, you know it’s going to be a good time. Their March released EP “The Slow Decay” is the backbone of the set with some seriously bowel clenching vocals, “Dreaming in Monochrome” as harsh as the apocalyptic wasteland of the records cover art. The winds of plague refuse to die down with Birmingham five piece Recall The Remains [9/10] blurring the lines between Metalcore and Deathcore. Three singles surfaced from them in 2023 in “Lifetaker“, “Empty Woods” and “Fairfield“, each one keeping us from our beers with neck snapping intent. It’s all brutal breakdowns and beautiful melodies until someone loses their mind, the Oxford crowd loving every single moment.

The day before Rabidfest was Christmas come early for Ocean Planet [9/10] fans as new single “Eye Of Kala” arrived as the first from the Technical Progressive Metalcore band with a vocalist. After two albums of instrumental material they finally found the vocalist they wanted and have since created a collection of fresh cuts that Oxford are familiar with from the bands run in this years Metal to the Masses. The place goes wild for the Reading natives who are treated like returning heroes, the perpetual forward motion of their riff machine putting serious bounce in the mosh pit. Folk Horror Metal masters Forlorn [10/10] are the kind of band that you experience, their blend of expressionist art, pagan ritual and Post-Metal blackening pushing the boundaries of what you consider music to be. They create a sense of theatrical drama to sit alongside their punishing percussion and down tuned riffs, lulling us into a false sense of security with lush melodies before tearing us apart with their sheer brutality. Vocalist Megan Jenkins has incredible range, captivating the audience like Medusa as each song unfolds, her brutal screams the opposing force to her delicate cleans. “Creatress” and “The Weight Of It All” are masterful and this band demand your attention. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at a Metal show? How about a fan throwing a pack of Rennie on stage when a vocalist talks about regretting a kebab before the show with red onion reflux? That’s exactly what happens to Jamie Graham as tonight’s headliners Viscera [10/10] burn through a collection of their finest tunes. They are currently working on album number three after playing Summer Breeze Festival in Germany and are a well oiled live machine. From “Carcinogenesis” to “Lamb to the Slaughter” via “Rats With Wings” the Technical Deathcore five piece know how to work a crowd and armed with the rhythm section of Osiah they build them up only to knock them down. A savage assault on the senses that we love every second of, as with the weekend as a whole, it’s over too soon, the fierce vocals and blistering riffs ringing in our ears as the night draws in…