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Representing the progressive death side of metal, Tomb Mold took a rightful place on the Roundhouse ‘main’ stage as a major draw for many this year. Combining straight up brutal death metal with technically proficient progressive rock with a psychedelic spice demonstrates the fluid and unique approach Tomb Mold offer to the world of extreme metal. Speaking of unique, how many extreme metal drummers can hold down a blistering blast beat whilst knocking out consistently fierce and gnarly gutturals vocals from behind the kit? Max Klebanoff did on this night, even if his vocals seemed to get drowned out in the mix sometimes! Whether you were marvelling at the beard-stroking progressive patches or banging your head violently to a mercilessly heavy breakdown, Tomb Mold’s set had it all. Our only regret? Having to miss the start due to travel time from the end of Vomitory’s set.

Time for Dragged Into Sunlight ? Unfortunately not. Aching bodies and a need to feed meant missing out on one of the hottest draws for this year’s festival! After seeing the reaction on social media, it seemed like we missed out on something special. Having seen the band tear the Manchester Club Academy apart two nights prior, I can understand this sentiment. So it never really felt like missing out. Plus the idea of seeing this in what would surely be a painfully packed out EBR didn’t seem appealing. Refuelling at a kebab house conveniently located across the street from the Roundhouse whilst getting the weight of our feet and comparing thoughts from the day’s event up until now seemed necessary (hey, this happens in your mid 30s!).

“There’s too many bands”
“It should be two days”
“It feels more relaxed than last year”

This seemed to be the common consensus amongst us and also other festival attendees up until now. The reaction on social media seemed much more positive than the year prior, when complaints about overcrowding in smaller venues that were rife a year prior had seemingly disappeared this year. Which suggests the festival had taken this on board. After being fed, hydrated, it was time to make the pilgrimage to the Roundhouse once again for a special set.

“Is it really that empty for Grave?”

It was. Surprisingly. At least early on. There was a scheduled ten minute gap between the end of Dragged Into Sunlight’s set, due to end at 19:35, and the start of Grave. Though the Swedish death metal icons started ten minutes early at dead-on 19:35. Why, we’ll never know.

Fellow Swede’s Vomitory had set a very high bar as they had laid waste to the EBR stage a few hours prior. Grave were not going to be outshone and right from the first note, we knew they weren’t hear to play games! Every crushing note and sinister lick of the guitar was designed to deliver maximum pain and carnage, sending the Roundhouse collective into a frenzy mere seconds into the set. More and more piled into the venue and the pit got even bigger, with Fuming Mouth vocalist Mark Whelan right at the heart of it! With my stomach full of cider and kebab meat, this meant that any visit to the pit for me would have resulted in said stomach contents being emptied; and nobody wanted that! Instead, I watched and admired from a safe distance. The added addition of pyrotechnics added to the visual spectacle, building upon this already savage sonic foundation. We learnt that this was the first the original line up had ever played in England, making this feel even more special! The Swede’s clearly know how to deliver death metal, clearly!