From its small beginnings in Danehill Village Hall (nee ‘Pitch Up Festival’) about 9 years ago, Hammerdown has slowly grown into its current form: a two day, two venue extravaganza of rock and metal, showcasing new talent as well as NWOBHM stalwarts. This year sees Brighton’s Dust and The Chalk hosting 36 bands, with one band starting on one stage as soon as another finishes on the other. The mastermind behind the event is the irrepressible Harry White, who has ambitions for Hammerdown to become the “Download of the south!” He has clearly put together a great team (aka the Hammerdown Family), and they seem to have the attitude, work ethic and attention to detail which could make that a distinct possibility. There are already ambitious plans to expand the format to a three day outdoor event next year, with camping. Watch this space.
After an initial problem with the list (not the first time this kind of thing has happened and I’m sure it won’t be the last – big ups to Connor for sorting me out), I made my way to Dust for the festival openers, Sero. Once I’d got my mind around bassist, Richie’s, self-portrait T-shirt (which has to be seen to be believed), they impressed me with their metal energy. They quickly built a good rapport with the crowd and my notebook scribbles described their sound as Trivium-lite, which is not meant to be disparaging at all. Their songs are crammed full of Maiden runs, all topped off by smashing drums (the drummer reminding me of Animal from the Muppets) and they put out a very enjoyable set. They also announced that they donate a percentage of any money they make to diabetes charities, pointing out that there are Type 1s and Type 2s among them. Respect.
Chvpters graced the Chalk stage with an interesting dual vocal attack and huge bowel-rupturing bass drops, on the first two tracks at least. Lead vocalist Paige has a folk background and sings the cleaner vocals well, even starting one song in a poetry-reading style, while harsh vocals stab in on occasion, these coming from a unlikely looking source in the form of fresh-faced George. I found them a little bit pedestrian at times but they are still at the start of their journey.
The excellently named Cages For Preachers play a stomping grunge form of metal, which plods along nicely. I wasn’t completely convinced by the singer’s high end vocal parts but he was spot on for the doom-filled refrains and they have some quality tunes in the arsenal. In terms of musical flavours, I would say their tasting notes include Soundgarden, Black Spiders and a pinch of Pearl Jam.
Now, The Hellfire Club are what I call a proper rock band with a natural frontman and full on rock’n’roll tunes played with gusto. From the head-nodding chug of “Custom Bitch” to the faster paced “Rattlin’ Bones” and “Make Me Want It”, there is something for everyone on their album Do As Thou Wilt, which they showcased today. They proved themselves to be a very good live act. Now I don’t know about you but I think there’s something very comforting about the fact that the event organiser is constantly seen moving through the audience and headbanging at the barriers, supporting the bands playing his event. Not something you see very often in my experience.
Anyway, the fragrantly effervescent Karmen Field were next up on the Dust stage and the South Walians were a lot of fun, paying attention to keeping the audience engaged both visually and aurally. The music leans on grunge and heavy metal in equal measure and Alice in Chains vibes come through strongly, particularly with Molly’s powerful lead vocals. A nice rendition of “Sticky Jam” saw Molly drip feeding strawberry jam into the mouths of some willing punters, while Will and Lewis played on (in their nice flowery summer dresses); Joe battering his drums behind the ensuing chaos. If you need to know more about the inspiration behind the song, I recommend the interview on the Hammerdown YouTube channel. I think gigs are always improved by the introduction of more balloons and bubbles and Molly duly obliged, throwing balloons into the crowd – to get crushed and popped in the moshpit.
Apologies to One Last Day but my need for one essential burger was greater by the time of their slot… a minor gripe with the format. After a Martin’s Tower (blatant plug), I was ready to venture forth once more, catching the end of Eulogy’s set of heavy hitting riff-filled metal in Dust. The first thing that hits you is the obvious Hetfield intonation of Thomas’ lead vocals and the general Metallica influences that form the backbone of each track. This is no bad thing in my opinion and the heavy kick drum sound was satisfying to hear, causing involuntary headbanging throughout those assembled.
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Land Captains ‘won’ their place on the bill through an online Hammerdown competition and I can see and hear why, based on this performance. They play a proggy blend of rock and metal with war-painted Sarah’s vocals seemingly morphing from the sublime to harsh screams (check out “The Count” as a good example). There was good energy coming from the Chalk stage, especially on songs like “Turn It Up” I expect to see these guys further up festival bills in future, with their very satisfying riff-driven songs and crunching basslines.
Ransom launched themselves right into our faces from the get-go and got the crowd going with high energy straight-down-the-line old school rock and roll. They like to come up with fun song titles and enjoy a tongue-in-cheek approach to their music: “Back To The Boozer”, “Even Nun’s Watch Porn”, “Hell Fuck Yeah!” All of these are little gems, showcasing their honest brand of rock and stirring in healthy dollops of AC/DC, Great White and Skid Row along the way. Matt is a great frontman and Ransom are a proper rock band. Playing a glorious cover of “Let There Be Rock” as an encore was proof of the pudding.
I will spare you the long history lesson but Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris used to play bass in Gypsy’s Kiss when they formed in 1974(!). The band split after about a year and only reformed again in 2018, sans Mr Harris obviously. David Smith and his cohort have now released a few albums and EPs, including 74 and the spanking new Piece By Piece. They have certainly not lost any of their magic, playing a great set of classic rock songs from their repertoire today. There are elements of early Maiden, as well as UFO and Deep Purple, to give you some idea of what we were treated to. “Endless Pit” is actually a reworking of “Innocent Exile” (or the other way around?) and it is dedicated to their late friend, Paul Di’Anno. David likes to talk between songs and his humorous asides didn’t detract from the show, as far as I was concerned, although other band members must have been mentally calculating how many songs they’d have to drop from the set to accommodate him. Sadly, they didn’t have very long but they certainly inspired this listener to check them out more in the future. Pure class.
The Hot One Two proceeded to hit us with a set of cracking full throttle rock’n’roll, strained through Motley Crue and Blackstone Cherry fishnets… Simon West’s powerful rock vocals pack a punch over Nick Manners’ and Rory Lewis’ tasty riffs, Nick Blackburn’s bass and Joe Chivers’ pumping drums, to produce a full and rounded sound that really filled the Chalk today. The crowd lapped up each and every banger, banging heads and raising horns throughout. Their excellent album Superbia includes the track “Is it Hot”? It certainly is! I stopped judging gig performances with marks out of ten a long time ago but… this was a ten-out-of-ten performance and no mistake. As an aside, I noted that the sound desks in both venues had done a fantastic job up to this point. A great sound mix makes for a happier band and a better performance all round.
I saw Until 9 for the first time at Maid of Stone Festival 2024, so was really looking forward to this three-piece’s set today. They have a diverse range of sound styles in their music, from System of a Down to Lamb of God to nu metal vibes. I was particularly impressed with Mark’s brutal drumming; he has some crazy fills at his disposal. However, for all this talk of influences, opener “Heart & Soul” proved that they have their own distinctive sound (with piggy-squealing guitar), whilst “Spew” and “Colours” included some rap elements and, even, touches of Sikth. Until 9 have blended all of the various elements of their influences to perfection and Paul Johnson has an interesting range of vocal skills, so the resulting compositions never become derivative. The energy in “Headstone” and “Adam & Eve” provoked some good moshing action among the crowd, with an inflatable banana even getting involved! This set was one of my festival highlights.
I caught a glimpse of Neonfly at the Chalk and was impressed with Willy Norton’s vocal range. They play metallic-rock in a Breed 77 vein and they play it well. I have seen Phoenix Lake a couple of times before and they present their take on melodic metalcore to good effect. Lana is the focus of the band and does a great job leading the troops through a few sound issues today, with the drums overpowering the sound and her vocals being too low in the mix. This is a case of ‘commentator’s curse’ I’m afraid as I had only just written down how good the sound mix had been at both venues a short while before. Fans of Within Temptation and Bullet For My Valentine should definitely check them out.
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Back in the Jurassic period, well… the 1980s, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) thrust a group of bands into the spotlight and Demon was one of the bands riding that wave. And… well… what a band! Lead by founding member Dave Hill, the six-piece thrilled those assembled in the Chalk with some of the finest old school metal tunes you’ll hear anywhere. Hitting us with an opening 1-2 of “Night of the Demon” and “Hurricane”, it was immediately obvious that everything about these guys screams quality. Like most bands of their ilk, they have had a somewhat turbulent history of ups, downs and hiatus but they have come through it all stronger than ever. Highlight tracks include “The Plague”, “Face The Master” and the fast-paced “One Helluva Night”, the first tracks being accompanied by some textbook synchronised guitar posturing (which scores an automatic kudos point of course). Was it the great musicianship, the cool and memorable songs, or the outstanding arena-level classic rock at local pub-gig prices? Whatever it was, there was nothing not to love about Demon tonight.
Exist Immortal clearly enjoyed playing to a packed out Dust crowd, who reciprocated with a very warm reception. Meyrick’s vocals soared over the progressive metalcore on offer as the audience bounced along.
Day 1 was then rounded off by NWOBHM stalwarts Tygers of Pan Tang, who I remember from their first album Wild Cat way-back-when. In fact, I think I still have it on vinyl somewhere… Justifiably regarded as a ‘Legacy band’ by some. First track “Euthanasia” reminded us of their auspicious beginnings. They have suffered the usual chequered past but latest album Bloodlines restores confidence in their ability to write metal bangers. “Fire on the Horizon” is a case in point, with its full on riffs, pounding drums and highly singable vocals. “Love Don’t Stay” was another goodie and they managed to plan out a perfectly balanced ‘Best of…’ collection of songs spanning their entire career. They finished the night with The Clovers’ “Love Potion No.9” and sent us away happy but shattered after a full-on day.
All pics by Steve Dulson
