Spring is here, and that can only mean one thing – it’s the start of festival season and there’s no better way to open the season than with an annual dose of Uprising! With last year’s event still warming the cockles, I absolutely could not wait for this to come around again and it did not disappoint. To me, Uprising is more than just an all-day music festival, it is a safe space, it is somewhere I can see friends from up and down the country, it is a learning curve, it is work, it is relaxation, but most of all, it is home!
The weekend starts with a laborious drive to Leicester on Friday afternoon, listening to Igorr and Machine Head, and we finally get to the hotel with just enough time to get a taxi to Firebug for The Night Before Uprising, in Leicester’s city centre. It is my first time at Leicester’s Metal 2 The Masses venue and it is an impressive setup. The place is very welcoming with a well-stocked bar, great beer, gaming consoles, a fully equipped function room, and of course metalheads from floor to ceiling. We arrive with enough time to get a round in, find some bodies and get ready for Voidwalker. We find Voidwalker outside in the smoking area and get chatting to them about playing the Night Before Uprising, on being M2TM alumni, and playing future events, and make our way upstairs for their set.
Having seen Voidwalker the previous year as M2TM winners, I knew I was in for a treat, but HOW MUCH HAVE THEY UPPED THEIR GAME? The band are so much tighter and considerably more controlling of their surroundings than previous outings. Miguel has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand within the first few minutes, and anyone not mesmerised by him will have been glued to Robin and Amaia’s guitar work. Robin’s splendid technicality creates such antithesis to Amaia’s effortless style that it is easy to forget that the band have not been on the circuit for a decade. The quality of the mix could have been a bit better taken care of for those down the front but this doesn’t affect the set one bit.
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Next up is another band I met at last year’s Uprising – Akilla. There are not too many viking metal bands in the UK, but Akilla stand out and instantly get the crowd going with highly anticipated Viking-themed songs. As part of their set, they played Berserker – a new song which absolutely blew the roof off the venue – it is the epitome of what we’ve all come to expect from the sub-genre. In between the Viking skåls and crowd rowing, the songs are well crafted, featured and executed to a very high standard. The look would have been complete if the band had dressed up in Viking garb and heavy face makeup. The sound was a little better for this band and I was able to hear more of the detail and intricacies of their craft.
Time for a spot of food, and we didn’t have to look too far as we found a Maccies literally next door. Through eating, drinking and much merriment, we miss Foul Body Autopsy, but we have heard that this solo project produces some of the finest local music to be found.
Last up for the day is Hidden Mothers. The band have very kindly replaced the billed headliner of Hang The Bastard, who had to drop out at short notice. I’ve not previously heard of Hidden Mothers but they pull off a blinding set, full of post-hardcore drama. I don’t know whether I need another beer or a hug at this point as the range of emotions that the band can promulgate to the crowd are intense. The mix is finally crisp and clean which adds to the crushing and ethereal finale the band play. This is a band that are firmly on my radar and will be looking to see them play again sometime soon, and with that, it was time to get back to the hotel and rest up for what promised to be an exceptional day of music, friends and family!
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Continued in our coverage of Saturday’s Metal 2 the Masses Final…
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