By Jase Walker
It’s the final day, ten hours remain. I’m definitely feeling the tiredness catch up a bit but today is absolutely jam packed with bands I love so I must soldier on.
Opening up Sunday is local act, Atheana. They kick things off and unfortunately I can’t say I’m a fan of their singers vocals that seem quite flat in comparison with the rest of the bombastic music. They’re very energetic on stage and there’s a fair amount of people that have come along to check them out but I don’t think this one’s for me this time.
Next up and opening the main stage, France’s answer to Northlane, Ashen. Even right from the start, going to 100 per cent in seconds and getting the energy for RADAR Sunday up to speed. It’s fantastic how good the light show is for every band on the main stage, regardless of if they’re the opener or headliners. Ashen have got incredible riffs, a beautiful touch of atmosphere and brash attitude, a real treat to start the slew of incredible acts gracing the main stage of RADAR. After seeing them on a significantly smaller stage in Arnhem and killing it there, they’re totally slaying it on a stage of this calibre! ‘Sacrifice’ amps up the crowd to start going nuts in the middle and marking the first of many pits today, it’s giving me goosebumps and a hope that I get to see them do a headline show themselves soon!
Back to the second stage to catch Adharma for the first time! Featuring two very lovely guitarists, Ash and Tom formerly of Valis Ablaze. The room darkens and it’s time, the synths and riffs kick in and it’s thumping my chest big time. Couple of sound hiccups at the start but smoothed out pretty quickly and good god their singers vocals against the blistering riffs behind her is such a wonderful juxtaposition. I really love it when they lean into the guitar grooves, when it pulses at odd timings against flowing backing synths it really scratches that itch I get for a bit of weirdness in my music. I’m not gonna lie, I probably should have typed more up but I ended up so engrossed in the music that I just spent the entire show headbanging on the front barrier so read from that what you will.
Now it’s time for some (bass) guitar wankery courtesy of The Omnific. Think Animals As Leaders except with bass guitars and you get the idea. Displaying outrageous skills that would make Victor Wooten blush, slapping like madmen, double thumb thump, double hand tapping, outrageous Billy Sheehan level finger work, they’ve got the lot. These seem very much a result of the ‘They said it couldn’t be done’ kind of thing and to their credit, they’ve made it work incredibly well. The live show is maybe a bit more subtle than I was expecting, the sort of show that is a mix between a live experience and a bit of a masterclass in how to be incredible at an instrument. I love the drummer having a bit of a dance party in the middle of one of their songs too!
I ducked out a bit earlier to go test the screaming booth, hit 116dB and won a RADAR pin, whoo! Might have hurt my throat a bit though, ouch.
Anyway, time for Future Static! Another slice of delicious Aussie proggy metalcore and they’re already tearing it up by the time I roll into the second stage. I’ve been eager to see these since falling in love with their newest album and they’re delivering the goods. Another good example of soaring cleans mixed with shrill uncleans against riffy playing, this is my comfort zone. I do kinda wish these were on the main stage but I think this is the first foray for them across to the ÜK? I could be wrong but it always seems to be a slow process for Australian bands due to the extreme distance to cross for tours. Doesn’t matter that much anyway, I’m just happy I get to see these absolutely fucking destroy the second stage and hope it’s a good indicator for a return tour in the near future. Future Static sound phenomenal on the second stage, a sound that’s worthy of stages far bigger than this and hopefully will see them taking them over the course of the near future. Future Static have been a real treat and I would hope that they’ll be back soon.
A bit of a break and it’s back to the main stage for Sungazer! A bit of meme-y jazz fuckery and an absolute favourite for me, although I hope they bloody place ‘Thicc’ this time! The moment they start I can feel the drums and bass trying to dictate my heart rhythm, it’s strong. And because this is jazz, it’s time to learn how to count to 5 in the most awkward way possible, that’s just how Sungazer rolls. I’m also a little surprised that the crowd followed Sungazer’s idea of what a 2-step is instead of what would probably be considered the normal approach for here. As a former bass player it’s a real treat to watch Adam Neely hammering out tasty bass solos and licks in quick succession too. They’ve managed to get the crowd to clap a rhythm that’s in 7/8 and doesn’t start on ‘1’ either which is pretty impressive in its own right. Sadly I had to depart slightly earlier as I needed to prepare a bit for an interview with Leprous.
Anyway, time to scream to Holding Absence, and opening with ‘Like A Shadow’ sets the tone for what little is left of my voice. Work is gonna suck on Tuesday. ‘Curse me with your kiss’ and ‘Gravity’ sees the crowd getting properly amped up and spinning around in the middle, the most wholesome of circle pits. Every time I see Holding Absence, without fail they are one of the most fun and humble bands around right now. The music is fun, accessible, meaningful and all delivered by one of the UK’s most wholesome bands. ‘In Circles’ delivers another massive anthem from their catalogue, the set they’re playing covers a fairly decent breadth of their discography too. ‘Afterlife’ signals the closure of Holding Absence set with one more to go, and I always feel sad about it after all their wonderfully uplifting music. Holding Absence are such a fantastic watch, a band that fully believes in what they do and loves performing it.
And to wrap up the second stage for the weekend, it’s the heaviest band on the lineup, Humanity’s Last Breath. Easily by far one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever came across too, it’s all just the lowest tuned guitars that are still playable without becoming spaghetti strings and the filthiest vocals imaginable. Legitimately just as the name describes, it’s like the apocalypse made manifest. Quite interesting to have them sandwiched between Holding Absence and Leprous too. This isn’t a band that does a whole lot of movement on stage, they’re so obscenely heavy and terrifying that they’re more than comfortable letting the cataclysmic event style music speak for itself. There are no gimmicks here, no subtleties, that is completely absent. All that remains at a Humanity’s Last Breath show is just horrific music that embodies the concept of heavy. ‘Instill’ clearly seems to be the song that quite a lot of people have also been waiting for. This song is what finally switched me onto HLB, and what an incredible mix of the heaviest djent with a Bulgarian choir… it is, outrageous.
And finally, the culmination of the weekend, Leprous by request. Starting a bit earlier than expected as we’ve walked back in and found them already mid song by the time we walk round the corner. Anyway, time for ‘The Price’, a funky, bouncy number from The Congregation and I can see my man Harrison manning their keys and I’m so proud. Tonight’s set is going to be a bit of a special one as they’ll be carrying out votes for the next song so not even the band knows what could be next! ‘The Valley’ definitely won the first round of voting, no doubt about that, I was team ‘Illuminate’ in this case. I really have to give credit to whoever is doing the lighting again, they’re doing a stellar job with this show. ‘Silently Walking Alone’ is not a choice in this case, they still need to get those new singles out since we’ve got a new album on the way too!
The next vote is won solidly outright by team ‘Castaway’ and Einar makes a brief comment on people so far choosing the ‘easier’ songs. Following on team ‘The Flood’ won by a rather larger margin and I’m totally okay with that because ‘The Flood’ is fuckin incredible! More democracy with team ‘Alleviate’ winning the next vote. I am absolutely wounded that a possible cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Angel’ lost to ‘Mirage’ but ehhhh, it’s a good one too I suppose. A random pick from ‘Pitfalls’ means it’s time for ‘Below’ and it’s another chance to ruin what’s left of my voice singing along to its incredible anthemic chorus. As we march towards the end, my body is a wreck, my voice is shot, but my god I have had the best time returning to Manchester for this weekend to see a run through some of my favourite music and meeting with my favourite people.
You’ve absolutely ruined me, Radar, in the best way possible. Now for two weeks wait before it’s time for ArcTanGent.
- PHOTO CREDIT: Photos © Claire Alaxandra Powell/Rubén Navarro/Aneta Pixart. Copyright on all images remains with the respective photographers. Photos courtesy of RADAR Festival.
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