Vulgarfest is the brainchild of Vulgar Dissection vocalist, Liam Wales. During our conversation, both of us agreed that the current UK extreme metal underground is thriving in ways not previously seen, and Liam admits it’s this growing number of both bands and fans that have made it possible to book Vulgarfest. Indeed, it’s scarcely believable this is happening on Teesside.
Line-up-wise, Vulgarfest is both strong and undoubtedly brutal. The recent boom in death metal-tinged hardcore, spearheaded by bands like Nails, has inspired a flurry of bands combining mosh-pit igniting breakdown riffs with the guttural heaviness of mid-paced death metallers like Wolverine Blues-era Entombed. Chieftain, Gylt, Done In and Graviter are all bands in this vein and will provide a ferocious start to the day.
Things move more towards death metal as the day progresses, with technical death metal wizards Erebor taking the blueprint laid out by genre-defining legends like Atheist and later period Death as they weave between precision blast-beats and prog-tinged passages with ease.
As something of an old-school death metalhead, Glasgow’s Rancid Cadaver are my personal must-see of the day. Like their fellow Glaswegians Coffin Mulch, Rancid Cadaver take the buzzsaw approach of classic Swedish death metal and fling it in a blender with no-frills Floridian-style neck-breaking fury.
Vulgar Dissection’s blend of modern, technically proficient death metal and slam influences has proven to be a highlight of the North East scene. Indeed, they’re worthy successors to the mighty Dawn of Chaos, reforming to bring their Deicide-adjacent brutality back from the grave. True originals, Dawn of Chaos were doing this when tight jeans and white belts ruled the waves and raised a defiant, rotten middle finger to the trends of the day. It’s great to see them back getting the recognition they deserve.
Thrash metallers Hellfekted offer a change of tact, with their early Kreator-meets-power trip style thrash metal, although no less raging. Expect circle pits galore.
On headliners Visions of Disfigurement, Liam explains: “Hartlepool loves slam so it’s only fitting one of the UK’s pioneers take the headline slot. Prepare for an onslaught of filth to round up the day, with hard-hitting blast beats, chunky riffs and guttural vocals.”
The fact that all this will only set you aside 12 quid is frankly insane. It’s well worth supporting, as Liam hopes to grow the festival.
So get yourself down to The Studio on Saturday 13th July and keep on rotting in the free world.
Tickets, priced at £12.00 in advance, are available from seetickets.com.
