Fury Fest 2014 10/5/14

A pretty new and fresh festival took place on the 10th of May at East Village Arts Club in Liverpool, home to Fury Fest. Only being around for two years now, the first ever festival kicked off in 2013 with a pretty impressive line up of hardcore/ metalcore bands. Before the festival had only had one set of genre and one stage, however this year had been such a hit that the day was split into two stages with a variety of bands playing across them both.



With two very solid stages filled with bands from all over the UK as well as US, this years fury fest was looking very solid indeed, as I fell in love with it so much, I decided to get a ticket and travel all the way to Liverpool just for the day! (6 hours on a coach is not the one.)


 Arriving just in time for the first band, Headroom to make an appearance on Stage 1. Opening the festival off with their alternative emo sound that gave off a similar presence to Nai Harvest. The quintet from Manchester provided a lively, interactive performance for the crowd to sink into and begin to loosen up a little.

(Ian Taylor - Headroom)

Not having heard of them before, they immidently captured my ears are I could relate to their sound, suprised of their talent, Headroom are sure to be making more appearances around the UK as they are a band you just find yourself liking immidently without a second thought.

Second up on the bill were one of the bands I was most looking forward to see, yet again, ROAM!
Set up for an early start, the pop punk band from Eastbourne had somehow caused a storm of a crowd to form right towards the middle of the stage. Surly known by a lot of fans, this was the first set of crowd surfers and interactive fans to actually got involved with the music as each one had memorised the lyrics word for word.
A great experience, as Roam set the stage spinning with their catchy and bouncy music that you can easily finger point to in the comfort of fellow fans surrounding you. Actually seeing the crowd get into their music was brilliant, as only second up, Roam had caught a lot of fans up north. A nice clean set was finished off with Head Rush, they're famously ending song which caused the adrenalin to rise even higher before their set ended.

Photo credit: Ian Taylor (Buckle Tongue)

Trying to get a mixture of the bands who played that day, I decided to quickly check out Stage 2, where Buckle Tongue were playing, an alternative rock band. Sneaking in halfway through their set I could already hear their loud bashful music booming through the doors as they carried a class rock beat with overwhelming, powerful vocals. Packed with heavy riffs and djenty rhythms the band had represented stage 2 with some competition.
Really enjoying what I was hearing, Buckle Tongue are a fresh, yet nostalgic rock band that take you back to Rise Against and Alter Bridge as similar sounds are explored within their music. A lot of talent and experience was shown as their set was very interesting and lively to watch, even with a small crowd the band didn't let that stop them from giving it their all.

Then dashing over back to Stage 1 for Nai Harvest, I managed to catch their second half of songs. Waiting ages to see this band live and finally there they were, performing some beautiful indie punk music that you could sway to.

A chilled out vibe was lingering in the air as their melodic music took over your mind while you just enjoy their set peacefully.
Definitely worth checking out, Nai Harvest sounded better live as their words were more impacting and music more fierce.

 Keeping to the same stage again as most of the bands I like were lined up to it, Moose Blood were another who I had been dying to see after my first experience which was gripping.

The band are from Canterbury, which is quite a while away, they seemed to have already captured quite a few of the audiences ears.

Moose Blood (Nicholas Gerrard)

Improving since the last time I had saw them, Moose Blood were another chilled, calming band that just captivated your whole body. The soft emo sound matched with their famous lyrics which echoed throughout the venue, filling it with brightness.
Producing a flawless set, packed with old songs as well as few new ones, Moose Blood had surly surprised the crowd with their unique arresting music.


A much hyped about band who seem to be unfamiliar within the UK, Turnover travelled from Virginia Beach, their hometown to tour with a few bands from the festival. Thinking I would never see this band play in the UK, I was stunned when they got announced.

Turnover (Nicholas Gerrard)

Such an underrated, yet talented band who produce beautiful, sensational music. My eyes were glued to the stage when their set started as hearing their music being played live, directly in front of me was too overwhelming. More flawless than I had expected, Turnover played a lot of old songs as well as the bangers off their album, Magnolia. Each song was filled with light catchy melodies, that accomplished the calming vocals skilfully. Ending the set with Most Of The Time, as I hoped was exactly right. A brilliant composed set, as I was grateful for the band as so were a few Trunover fans found in the crowd, singing back the lyrics as they were spoken. Hoping they get some more recognition amongst a UK, as Fury Fest was sure to make that happen.

Photo credit: Nicholas Gerrard (Major League)

Straight after the punk rock band from the west side of the world, Major League were up to play a fully inspired set that again got the crowd back into their lively spits of jumping around whilst mirroring back the lyrics.
Another really great heighten set that was well planed and sounded solid as the stage space was filled with each member running around.
This time a much larger crowd formed, connecting with the audience, you couldn't help but move yourself along with their hooking vibe.

Photo credit: Ian Taylor (Carcer City)

 Moving slowly back to Stage 2 again to catch Astroid Boys, a band called Carcer City were just finishing up their set and I was lucky enough to catch them. Instantly causing chaos, the majority of the crowd laid below in the floor space going nuts to their music with various pits consuming the floor. A strong metalcore sound that was jam packed with the djentiest shit you have ever heard was blasted with low screams that matched various highs. Definitely a talented band, they had pumped up the east side of the festival with their loud metal music.

Hyped for the Astroid Boys set as previously seeing them the week before with Desolated, Liverpool had a lot to live up to.
A totally different mix of genre and style as the hip hop crew played a variety of grime mixes with elements of hardcore and rap, however they still seemed to appeal to the festivals crowd.

Astroid Boys (Nicholas Gerrard)

It's always nice to mix things up, as they provided to do exactly that, engaging with the audience, as they would with anyone else the lads bashed their original tracks to the crowd will full enthusiasm and passion. Truly amazing in their performance, Traxx and Dellux moved around the stage as they sung, keeping in contact with everyone in the crowd, pointing at various faces to keep them all involved and buzzed.
Minging and Bada$$ proved to cause a little temper within the crowd as a handful of Astroid Boys fans got right into their music, pumping them selves up for Desolated who followed.

 Nicholas Gerrard (Gnarwolves)

Really gutted about the clash between Gnarwolves and Desolated, I finally sided with seeing Gnarwolves as this was one set I could not miss.
Proving my instincts right, the skate punk band from Brighton were severely hyped up about as soon as they made their appearance on stage. Delving right into their set with History Is Bunk, the trio caused a swarm of fans to form centre stage, flying all over the place. Constantly moving and cracking jokes, the band exhibited a true punk set that was thrashed with banging fast pace tunes that got your head bobbing every millisecond with your hands in the air.
Quality band live, Gnarwolves made sure their set was entertaining as well as aesthetically pleasing. Combined mixtures of their music a solid setlist was conducted for their time at Fury.

Photo credit: Ian Taylor (Desolated)

The night was nearly over with just three more bands left to play, Desolated's set was just closing up as I reached the doors, however still managing to catch up with their mad actions.
Their show back in London the week before proved to be crowd kill heaven, as the band are heavily attached to this trademark, as Liverpool's crowd appeared to follow. A heavy hardcore beat with powerfully hitting vocals that amplified the room, Deso are certainly a crowd pleasing band, whither you're in the pit of doom or watching from a safe place nothing interrputs the solid edgy sound they produce to a live audience.

Photo credit: Ian Taylor (Malevolence)

With a similar style of music, the headlining band of stage 2, MALEVOLENCE were up now to top Desolated's set causing even more destruction and havoc across the venue.
Being the last band to play on this stage they certainly left their mark by tearing up the stage right from the start of the first song.
Built with heavy riffs that compliment the metal genre with hints of hardcore, the crowd reacted with immediate impact with whirls of bodies flying all over the place in time with the music.
Waking everyone up for sure, Malevolence raged through their set with a mixture of steady paced songs that matched fast ones.
You'll always going to get people who think being at a gig gives you an excuse to start a real fight, but Malev weren't having any off it, as said by vocalist Alex: "If you're gonna fight then fuck off."

Not letting the interruptions spoil the night the band carried on producing their polished, piercing sound to a packed audience, ending fury fest with sweaty battered bodies.

Photo credit: Ian Taylor (I Am The Avalanche)

Lastly to end the whole of this amazing festival was I Am The Avalance, who travelled all the way from their hometown New York. The American punk rock band had a 45 minute set which was filled with classic tunes, old and new the band had composed. Being a hit with a large audience of a variety of ages it was nice to see everyone getting involved for one final time.
Only managing to catch the last few songs of their set, they still seemed to keep everyone going, bouncing along to their catchy and vibrant music as hands were flying along with mouths, their punk rock sound seemed to please everyone. It was a brilliant way to end the festival as there were bands from all styles to please everyone.

Fury fest 2014 had been phenomenal and a massive hit, as I already miss it. A solid line up, packed with heaps of young talented new and old bands which all gave a flawless peformance.
I look forward to 2015 now, going to hard to top it!

What being in a band does to some people...

It has come to my close attention that a bands personal life is getting in the way of their musical ability, recently you wouldn't really compare the two or even comment on them because it's their own personal life, but when it actually affects the music your produce then there's another story.

Again this is not one of my typical reviews but I feel strongly about this topic and how mistreated it is, just passed to the side like it's normal, but why should it be considered normal?
After the whole Ian Watkins case, things have been a bit blown up and sensitive, but it has only seemed to expose many more bands who have done similar things. Not saying that it's the WHOLE band, because in many cases it's just a few members or so, but it does seem to reflect an overall view which isn't a good one.

Not trying to justify what Ian did, but there are so many other band members who have come close to things Ian had done, the fact that they haven't yet gotten caught is another thing. Just because we don't actually know what is happening inside of the tour van doesn't mean that it's all good.

Recently being updated with some information about a few band members who have truly sickened me to the bone with stories and attitudes they have towards their so called "fans" and girls in general is sickening.
Of course it's not ALL the guys fault, because it does take two, but as an adult you should know what's right and what's wrong. You should be the leader and not portraying such a dirty influence onto your fans and abusing them. You may argue "oh I didn't know she was underage" but when you see her in her school uniform and THEN drop her off to school the next morning after you've had a shag, well then there's a whole new story. (This actually happened)
The fact that they seem to think just because they're famous, successful (I beg to differ), rich and apparently good looking that they can get anyone they want, yet they chose underage silly school girls shocks me.

When this is a reoccurring thing, as in happening more than a few times is when it becomes serious. It becomes an actual problem that needs to stop. Now I'm only generalising this to guys because I've never known any female members to do it (however I'm sure there are some cases) but the craze of having sex with underage fans is becoming way to popular.

I'm not going to name and shame anyone because it is their private lives and I wouldn't really want to expose that but if it goes get out of hand, I won't hesitate, I just think that this is a topic which is not taken seriously in this world as it's only "a bit of fun", it maybe fun to you, but how fun would it be locked up in jail for 35 years? Just ask Ian eh?

But seriously guys sort your shit out, because silly little mistakes you make now will certainly affect your future.

(My rant articles are not to be taken with offence but are to be made serious, my work is relatively kept to a professional standard.)