Ahh, the annual expedition to Damnation Festival in Manchester. It’s always a pleasure, never a chore. It’s a busy one this year; Damnation is all but sold out, and it feels it. As usual, it’s a very well-run and executed festival, and everything is a well-oiled machine at this point. Kudos to the organisers.
This year comes compete with increased production values and a professional camera crew for the main stage, filming the action for the side screens. It’s possible they’re here for other reasons too, but whether the band’s sets are being filmed for later release, we’ll have to wait and see. In fact, the main stage production in particular overall seems to have taken a step up again this year – a credit to Damnation for sure.
One notable thing across the weekend too – the sound was uniformly excellent, with only some minor issues here and there, which will be mentioned below, but far, far less than you usually encounter at a festival of any sort. Whatever sonic gods that the Damnation crew have been praying too have been listening – this weekend was a major win for clear, well-mixed live music.
Once again, a big thanks to Damnation for providing access to the amazing photos of the bands, and to the photographers themselves, who are credited below.
Day One – Saturday
Wormed – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Opening Damnation, (alongside clash-buddies Hundred Year Old Man), are the formidable Wormed, who bring their sci-fi tech death chaos to Damnation with lashings of extra brutality. It’s just what you need to blast the cobwebs away.
Wormed’s churning maelstrom of extremity is well-received. They put in a set of satisfying intricate savagery. They give it the business throughout, bringing in the audience for their first taste of live action for the day. It’s always great to be Wormed.
A flying start to Damnation 2026.
Holy Fawn – Pins and Knuckles Stage
Holy Fawn’s glittering brand of shoegaze comes with a touch of blackgaze and post-metal, which is why they’re a strong choice as the first band to play the main stage today. It’s a set of cinematic atmosphere mixed with crushing darkness. Ranging between delicate introspection and crashing thunder, Holy Fawn’s music fills the stage with their enviable presence. The songs act as a tapestry of sound, which the audience are encouraged to explore, with the band as capable guides.
Holy Fawn have impressed, putting in a standout performance. This is a band that look very comfortable and confident with a venue of this size, and it’s surely not long before they’re higher up comparable bills.
Car Bomb – Pins and Knuckles Stage
Car Bomb are a explosion of jagged rhythms and harsh aggression. They ply their off-kilter trade with mechanical fury, a metallic mathcore wrecking ball that’s more fun than it has any right to be. The occasional bursts of splintered melody or feeling-rich clean singing only emphasis the band’s angular appeal.
Car Bomb have a charismatic frontman who engages with the crowd, and the whole band kick out the twisting jams with controlled abandon. It’s a set of rhythmic heaviness that’s very enjoyable.
Eyehategod – Pins and Knuckles Stage
It is now time for sludge metal masters Eyehategod to take to the main stage. The singer’s personality is front and centre from the start, bolstered by the band’s massive Southern grooves and swampy riffs. It’s malevolence, decadence, depravity, and despair given sonic form, and it’s gloriously disgusting.
Eyehategod rawk hard. With so many anthemic, genre-defining songs to pull from, the set can’t be anything but a raging success. And it is, of course. Eyehategod are masters of their grisly art, and this is 50 minutes of doomgroove heaven. Eyehategod show the sizable Damnation crowd a bleakly good time, and much fun is had by all. It’s feel-bad party music that makes you want to move. Top work that band.
Dödsrit – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
What do you get if you cross atmospheric black metal, turbulent crust, and heavy metal might? Dödsrit of course, which is why so many people are packed into the second stage. Dödsrit have a broad appeal within their style, and they’re here to throw down the iron gauntlet in challenge for the crown.
Dödsrit deliver a triple guitar attack that speaks of the power of heavy metal with a rich blackened voice. There is a dark joy to be had watching the band do their thing. It’s wildly metal, yet has that crusty black metal grounding to stop it getting above itself. And, when they unleash the full atmospheric weight of their black metal heart, it’s wondrous. To be fair though, the entire set is a triumphant one, and the audience packed into the stage clearly approve. It’s an unexpectedly transportive experience.
The energy given off by the music is palpable. If Damnation hosts them again in the future, Dödsrit look set to take the main stage by force next time.
Crowbar – Pins and Knuckles Stage
It’s back to the main stage now for some more New Orleans Southern heaviness. Heavy, heavy heavy, that’s the name of the game, but with actual songs too. Crowbar know how to pen a good tune.
The songs are full of crushing doom heaviness and sludgy riffs the size of mountains. The audience have turned out in force to see them, and Crowbar are making the most of it. The classics are belted out with ageless ability. Crowbar hit the spot.
Cabal – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Cabal‘s music is the sort of thing that’s easy to bounce around to destroying the place, but also has an inner darkness that elevates it. Today the industrial-tinged songs are ferocious, all belligerent breakdowns and grim deathcore grooves. Once the sound settles after the first couple of songs, the band and crowd lock into it. Cabal are all really animated, with the singer and drummer in particular giving it some shit.
Cabal’s high-octane deathcore shenanigans are always fun, and today is no different. Once the singer of John Cxnnor has joined them on stage for a song, a big old wall of death is organised. Cabal know how to work the crowd. As the singer says, “We play heavy music for sad people”. What’s not to like? Closing with Magno Interitus, Cabal leave the stage as winners.
Carcass – Pins and Knuckles Stage
Grindcore and death metal legends Carcass are always a welcome addition to any lineup, and it seems there are a lot of people who feel the same.
Playing a set of choice cuts pulled across their storied career, Carcass can’t fail in this setting. The Damnation crowd love them. The songs come fast and furious, one after the other, classic after classic. Encompassing everything from brutal goregrind, (Genital Grinder!), to sleek melodic death metal, (Unfit for Human Consumption!), the songs all coalesce together to simply be Carcass, doing what they do best. They also play Embodiment, which remains one of the absolute best songs ever.
Tonight Carcass put on a masterclass in professional extremity.
Frontierer – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
It’s mathcore mayhem now, and everyone’s invited. The crowd is more sparse than it should be though, (at least initially), which is a shame, as Frontierer are an excellent live proposition. Everyone’s loss. Those in the know who are here to witness Frontierer’s aural punishment get rewarded with a whole heap of weapons-grade hyperaggressive heaviness.
Frontierer are a warped ball of energy, sent into Damnation to cause carnage and destruction. The audience oblige nicely, willingly laying themselves down in front of the Frontierer shapeshifting bulldozer. What complexity is lost in their live sound is replaced with sheer brutality. It’s a fine display of dense chaotic sonic overload.
Get out and see Frontierer the next time you can.
Cult of Luna – Pins and Knuckles Stage
Mainstage headliners, and the main event for many, Cult of Luna‘s set is highly anticipated. Hot off the release of their latest record In the Shadow of Your Shadow only the day before Damnation, the audience are primed for a good show.
Operating a dual drum kit setup, Cult of Luna open with the title track of the new album, and from there it’s 60 minutes of atmospheric post-metal grandeur. The second song aired – I: The Weapon – is a rumbling juggernaut shot through with textured colour and psychedelic hues.
After that it’s new cut The Rift, which gathers its strengths slowly, before bursting into a storm of the band’s most aggressive output, again and again, as it ebbs and flows. Stone cold classic Leave Me Here follows, getting a roar of approval from the crowd. It’s a spellbinding rendition. Sadness Will Reign brings its considerable emotive weight to bear on the main stage like the gaze of a displeased god. It’s another new one, and what a song it is.
Cold Burn is an absolute monster, the sound of the apocalypse knocking on the door of the world before kicking it down. Colossal. Then, In Awe Of‘s compelling mix of molten sludge and progressive layers makes for an engaging final song from this superlative act.
Cult of Luna are majestic. A fitting end to a great day. Or is it?
The Berzerker – Holy Goat Brewing Stage
Except wait, it’s not the end, not any longer. This is the first year that Damnation are shutting down the main stage before the other two, which leaves attendees a choice of The Berserker or Eyesore Merch stage headliners Pelican, for those who prefer something less extreme.
Well, who expected The Berserker’s sonic terror to come blasting out of the past and straight into Damnation’s second stage headline slot? Before it happened, probably not many. They make good use of the video screen during their performance, getting the most out of it as they dish out the damage.
Punishing is one word for it. Brutal is another. Savage too. Relentless yet another. The Berserker are merciless on their quest for unrelenting technologically enhanced barbaric hostility. It’s a mind-numbing and body-collapsing breaking of the spirit via industrial death metal horror. The crowd are mostly too stunned to even move, apart from a few hardy souls who are surely succumbing fully to the nightmare-inducing onslaught.
The Berserker are killing it live. They even play their best song, February, which is a disturbing dream come true.
Assuming you have the stamina to survive The Berserker’s sustained assault, it’s a remarkable spectacle. On that note, it’s obscurely satisfying to see so many people gathered together for something so horrifying and ugly. The Berserker close Damnation with uncompromising, shockingly enjoyable nastiness.
Unrelenting industrial death metal extremity and violence. Pure gold.
Damnation Festival day one is now officially over. Day two beckons.
Day Two – Sunday
Swamp Coffin – Cult Never Dies Stage
After the bad news that both Eyes and Lik are unable to make it to the festival today due to cancelled flights, Swamp Coffin have been promoted to the second stage. With no clash now with the third stage, the place is filling up nicely by the time the band appear.
Swamp Coffin begin with belligerent enthusiasm, before locking into one of their signature sludgy grooves. The Swamp Coffin boys make a good impression, and the ever-swelling crowd approve. With a near-perfect sound, an entertaining, humorous frontman, and more burly riffs than you can shake a stick at, Swamp Coffin have all of the tools they need to succeed. And they do. The band’s trademark finale World’s Slowest Wall of Death is great fun too. Theirs is a set of appealing doomy sludge that hits the spot quite nicely early on this Sunday.
Hippotraktor – Lou’s Brews Stage
We now turn to the progressive metal stylings of Hippotraktor. With a sound and a performance that focuses on a modern, atmospheric brand of prog metal, Hippotraktor are an obvious choice as the opener of the main stage.
They’re late, but just as the natives are starting to get restless, an ominous pulse rises out of the stage to instantly grab everyone’s attention. Once the first song begins in earnest, it’s heavy and emotive, showcasing Hippotraktor’s artful contemporary craft in a good light.
There is a cinematic quality to Hippotraktor’s performance, despite the video wall behind them only displaying a static logo image. The combination of complexity and simplicity, and mood and heaviness, goes down well with the audience. Hippotraktor’s set is a treat, although one marred by circumstance. Why? There was an issue with their sound – clear and well-mixed, but strangely it kept cutting out intermittently for brief movements, lessening the band’s overall impact. Definitely a shame.
Mastiff – Cult Never Dies Stage
Ugly, nasty, heavy. It’s the Mastiff way. And what a way to go it is. Theirs is a hybrid form of metallic hardcore sludge foulness that nonetheless still manages to form coherent songs that make you want to stomp around and smash things. Finding themselves in the same upgraded no-clash stage situation as Swamp Coffin, Mastiff make the most of the opportunity by causing muscular carnage on the second stage.
Mastiff start early, eager to get right down to it. Huge riffs and angry diatribes are thrown out with venomous contempt, yet between songs they have a good sense of humour and personality to spare. The place is packed for them, and they do a great job of brutalising the audience. The sound is massive and thick with distortion. Riffs riffs riffs! They’re joined by the singer of Burner for one song too.
Top work from Mastiff. A hideously good set. Judging by the reaction they get, they’ve hopefully picked up a lot of new friends.
Ultha – Lou’s Brews Stage
This is a special one. Ultha‘s black and post-black metal is some of the best in the world. “We’re gonna play four songs, it’s gonna take 45 minutes, enjoy. ” What a perfect way to start a show.
Ultha, as should be expected, are brilliant. The sound is clear and strong, and whatever technical difficulties that plagued Hippotraktor are mercifully absent. The nuances and melodic textures that characterise much Ultha work survive the translation onto Damnation’s main stage, and Ultha play a blinder. The songs performed – Dispel, The Unseen World, Her Still Singing Limbs, and Fear Lights the Path (Close to Our Hearts). It’s a powerful experience.
The band absorb themselves utterly into their art, and it seems like the same is true for large portions of the audience. Whether conjuring forth howling fury, atmospheric darkness, or spacious sublime soundscapes, Ultha don’t put a foot wrong.
Sheer blackened excellence. A real highlight of the entire weekend.
Sugar Horse – Meliora Stage
Thoughts turn to something different now – Sugar Horse‘s charismatic and multifaceted alternative/sludge/post-metal.
Sugar Horse are monumentally heavy when they want to be, but this is juxtaposed against a lighter ethereal beauty. Sugar Horse embody both in their quest for ultimate musical expression. As they undertake this live exploration today, they take the audience on a journey into their multihued world.
Sugar Horse sound great, and put on a good show for the packed crowd. It ends in squealing feedback, as it should. A solid, enjoyable set.
Machukha -Meliora Stage
When the singer of Machukha starts screaming out of nowhere, it’s fair to say that more than a few people are caught off guard and jump right out of their skin. It’s a good start to their set, if ever there was one.
Today, Machukha are treating Damnation to their idiosyncratic post-black metal, and the crowd shows up for it. They are playing the entirety of 2024’s Mochari in full, apparently for the last time ever, so it’s something many don’t want to miss.
The band put on a passionate show, navigating churning waters or rumbling earth with skill. The music is layered and detailed, transporting Damnation to realms of ash and waste, where the darkness is violent and the light simply hurts. This is less a simple collection of songs being played, and more along the lines of cathartic performance art. There’s an affecting rawness to this performance that’s enticing.
The last song in particular – Nezrushnist’ – is completely entrancing. What a performance. Machukha are worth catching when they return to the UK at next year’s ArcTanGent, that’s a certainty. Fantastic.
Walls of Jericho – Lou’s Brews Stage
Walls of Jericho open with All Hail the Dead and it’s like the band have never been away. They immediately own the main stage completely. Walls of Jericho rule, that’s just the fact of the matter. They jump around on stage like they haven’t been a band for over two decades. System Error: Humanity is a cracking new album though, (two songs are played today off it – The Ascent and True ’til ‘Death), so it’s obvious they’ve lost none of their passion for their music. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
The singer is a bundle of energy and she leads the band and crowd through a storming set of metallic hardcore tunes. She clearly loves what she does, and her voice sounds amazing. The crowd lap it up, as they should, as this is an injection of adrenaline straight into the heart of Damnation.
Walls of Jericho end up putting on a set to rival Ultha’s in excellence, albeit in a very different way. Ace. Music to dance to. Life affirming. What a stonkingly good set.
Groza – Cult Never Dies Stage
Judging by how completely rammed the second stage is, it’ll be the main stage for Groza next time. They’re a popular bunch, and they get a strong reaction to their engaging set.
Groza’s melody-rich black metal has all of the ingredients necessary to be a tasty treat, and the audience are here ready to be fed. Tonight’s show serves up a choice selection of scrumptious songs to the amassed crowd, and they are all very well-received. Groza don’t disappoint.
Triptykon – Lou’s Brews Stage
When it comes to their musical output, what Triptykon lack in quantity, they more than make up for in quality. However, and unexpectedly to many it seems, it’s a Celtic Frost-heavy set Damnation gets tonight, rather than one exclusively airing Triptykon material. It’s hard to complain though; it is Celtic Frost, after all.
With a big sound and an equally big crowd here to watch them, Triptykon put on a compelling show. They open with Procreation (of the Wicked), and from there the classics come thick and fast. Roughly half way or so comes Demon Pact, our first Triptykon cut of the evening, and it’s doom-tastic. Messiah follows, a Hellhammer song. A real standout is A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh, which is masterful.
It’s hard to think of frontman Tom G. Warrior as anything other than metal royalty, and he’s certainly treated as such by the crowd. Closing with Aurorae, Triptykon deliver an entertaining show full of old-school clout. Very good.
Worm – Cult Never Dies Stage
There is a lot of hype around Worm, so as soon as Triptykon finish up the second stage gets busy.
Worm’s spectral mix of symphonic black metal and death/doom is involved and extravagant. This manifests at Damnation as a live show that’s simultaneously full of grandeur, but also very satisfying.
The songs are long and the music immersive. There’s very quickly so much dry ice everywhere that it’s nigh on impossible to see the band for most of the time. Worm’s infernal show, bathed-in-red and shrouded in mist, is a hit.
Weekend Nachos – Cult Never Dies Stage
Griiiiiiiinnnnnndddd. Here we go. Powerviolence legends Weekend Nachos are here to shake things up hard enough to break them. The band’s punk-fuelled ferocity is in fine form, it seems. The band give it some welly on stage, although the singer spends a lot of time down front at the barrier trying to get at the crowd.
It’s a set of aggressive blast beats, crusty d-beats, malicious grooves, and mountainous doom outbreaks. There are a significant amount of people here to soak up the punishment that the band deal out with impunity, and Weekend Nachos give the people what they want. For the most part anyway; they finish, thank everyone, and take a group photo, before seeming to realise that they do have loads of time left, so play another couple of songs. Despite this, they still leave the stage about 15 minutes earlier than their allotted time, much like Wormrot did last year. Regardless, it’s a good set from Weekend Nachos.
Satyricon – Lou’s Brews Stage
Satyricon need little introduction, and they’re received by tonight’s crowd in a manner befitting their status. The decision to have the main stage headliner finish before the other two stages has clearly paid off, as the place is a lot more packed then it has been in previous years for headline acts, especially early on.
Satyricon pump out song after song pulled from across their career. As main stage headliners they deliver a professional show that gets a strong response from those in attendance. The songs all speak for themselves, with their black ‘n’ roll hooks and distinctive riffs.
There are many highlights, as Satyricon have a lot of quality songs to choose from. Deep Calleth upon Deep is very good tonight, as is To the Mountains, but it’s the follow up to the latter – Fuel for Hatred – that really hits hard. After this, it’s the fantastic Mother North, which just cannot be beat. Stunning to see it played live. Closing with K.I.N.G., Satyricon leave the stage on a high note.
Satyricon seem in their element tonight and put on a great show. Long may they reign.
Wolves in the Throne Room – Cult Never Dies Stage
Closing the festival as a whole, (along with Slow Crush on the Meliora Stage), Wolves in the Throne Room waste no time in setting a deeply atmospheric mood.
They open with the top-tier Estuary from their latest record, which positively drips with blackened majesty. Also new, Ghosts Among the Obelisks benefits from the stage’s strong sound, unfolding in all of its mystical glory.
Wolves in the Throne Room are on fire, and the place is packed to witness it. The Old Ones Are with Us only reinforces the impression of a band at the top of their game. Post-interlude, (Eostre), Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog allows the band to showcase their aggressive side, while still indulging in comprehensive worldbuilding with envious ease.
Finally, there’s a captivating performance of I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots, an absolute classic if ever there was one. Tonight, Wolves in the Throne Room more than do the song justice, and it’s a privilege to be here for it.
This is the sort of premier atmospheric black metal performance that sets a very high bar for everyone else operating in the style. What an excellent set from this exceptional act. Wolves in the Throne Room draw Damnation to a close in style, a crowning achievement atop a brilliant weekend.
Don’t miss out on your tickets to Damnation Festival 2027. The following bands were revealed this weekend, and it promises to be another one to remember – Black Breath, Bell Witch, Cult Leader, Dimscûa, Lamp of Murmuur, Million Moons, Panopticon, Pestilence, The Red Chord, Rome, Together to the Stars, Unsane, Unverkalt, Zeal & Ardor. Roll on next year!
