Photo by Derek Bremner
Across the four days at Fernhill Farm this year, fans are treated to arguably the festival’s most diverse lineup yet, seeing multiple genres combine into a bill that most festivals would find hard to make cohesive, where ATG do it with aplomb.
HIDDEN MOTHERS/JONATHAN DADDS
Opening this year’s pre-party on the Wednesday is Sheffield’s Hidden Mothers, operating now as a four-piece whilst still packing a hell of a punch in the delivery of their abrasive brand of post-metal. Their entire set made up of songs from their soon-to-be-released debut album, the crowd eat up the entire half-hour like they’ve known these songs for years. The triple vocal approach sounds massive and it’s clear that Hidden Mothers have really settled into their new groove right in time for the November release of Erosion / Avulsion. Joined by Ed Gibbs of Devil Sold His Soul / Copse for an incredible end, the traction they’re gaining and a stellar label in Church Road Records, there’s undoubtedly huge things in store for these guys and it’s a hell of a way to begin any festival.
UNDERDARK/CARL BATTAMS
Into the fest proper, it’s another Church Road band in black-metallers Underdark that get the party started this afternoon, with the incredible vocals of front-woman Abi Vasquez shining in tandem with the tightness of the musicians to create a truly powerful concoction of noise to clear the heads of any of last night’s partiers. The sound clarity is great all weekend here, and it helps really encapture the crowd in a performance worthy of being way higher up the bill in the near future.
URNE/JONATHAN DADDS
Off the back of an impressive few years, URNE strike with their chaotic heaviness and a sound that would suggest way more than three people in their outfit. Frontman Joe Nally’s gnarly vocals sound huge, and his bass-playing carries the songs throughout guitarist Angus Neyra’s soloing akin to how Rex Brown did it with Dimebag Darrell back in the day - a highly impressive feat. URNE are clearly very grateful for the turnout, and give a special shoutout to Gojira for taking them out and building their name, emphasized by playing a snippet of their track ‘Silvera’ towards the end of their set as a nice touch.
JULIE CHRISTMAS / JOE SINGH
Julie Christmas is clearly a crowd favorite here on the Thursday before she’s even begun, with the tent filled out nicely and an air of intrigued anticipation of what she’ll bring to the table. Her eerie, almost childlike vocal delivery in parts is as alluring as it is unsettling, and matches the aesthetic of her outfit perfectly. Everyone here is hypnotized by the songs from her latest record, and first in many years, Ridiculous and Full of Blood, and it’s very likely there’ll not be another set quite as captivating all weekend.
KAONASHI/JOE SINGH
Kaonashi are a name that is on more and more people’s lips recently, and this frenzied 40 minutes over on the PX3 stage makes it apparent within a couple of songs just why. Their blend of screamo, pop-punk, hardcore and even some death-leaning tendencies simply should not work, and yet, it not only succeeds but is catchy as hell in doing so. The energy of frontman Peter Rono is matched by a lawless crowd, with some of the biggest pits all weekend and even some fans climbing the towers, much to the security’s horror. Rono’s vocal delivery over several styles impresses the most, but the whole band do everything to please their fans already in the tent and gain so many more today too.
BARONESS/CARL BATTAMS
Over on the main stage, Baroness come through after winning the ‘most merch worn in the crowd’ game, and they’re as on fire as ever in ripping through classics like ‘Shock Me’ and ‘Take My Bones Away’ to rapturous singalongs, and they fill out their setlist nicely with songs from across their entire career to please any fan. Frontman John Dyer Baizley and guitarist Gina Gleason battle off against each other in guitar and vocal harmonies to an enchanting degree, and the size and passion of the crowd suggest that Baroness could have been even further up the bill.
A perfect follow-on, Red Fang are their usual solid selves with their no-shit, straight-up rock ‘n’ roll, and they sound even tighter and larger here than on record. The tent is absolutely rammed - it must be said, the weather has become absolutely disgusting outside so people have flocked under cover, but absolutely no-one is disappointed they did so as they bear witness to an electrifying 50 minutes from masters of the game.
ZETRA/DEREK BREMNER
Into the Friday, and another band with some real momentum right now is London duo Zetra, with their unique blend of a softer, synth-led dreamy sound and catchy songs paired with a much more intense, corpse-paint black metal aesthetic. A big jump from the tiniest stage last time they were here only two years ago to the main stage today, the audience is made up of people already fully invested and clamoring for the debut album in a few weeks, to skeptics unsure of what the hype is about, but it does seem that the latter leave the tent impressed and excited to see where the two-piece could go next.
IRESS/JONATHAN DADDS
On what is basically a Church Road takeover at this point, ethereal four-piece Iress recently released their latest full length Sleep Now, In Reverse to grand acclaim, and along with their set here this weekend, they’re marked as a band to firmly keep an eye on for very big things to come soon. One of the performances of the weekend, frontwoman Michelle Malley is so at home and effortlessly commands the audience in an almost hypnotic way with the band’s floaty atmosphere, and as good as they are on record, Iress’ songs sound just that more powerful live, leaving a hard act to follow for the rest of the day.
EVERY HELL/JOE SINGH
Every year, ArcTanGent is filled with people wearing Black Peaks merch, and this year is no different. Inside the tent is a crowd enamored with what half of that band - vocalist and saxophonist Will Gardner and bassist Andrew Gosden - do next, and they’re treated to a sublime set from newcomers Every Hell, after their unfortunate cancellation at last year’s festival. With only a handful of tracks actually released, a lot of what is played over these 40 minutes is material that no-one has even heard, and yet that doesn’t stop the reaction to every single song being an emphatic celebration of what this band do and could have ahead of them.
GLASSING/CARL BATTAMS
Glassing take to the stage giving 45 minutes of genre-defying bombast to re-energise the Friday afternoon crowd to see them through the rest of the night, mixing dreamy soundscapes with Deafheaven-esque shrieks atop brutal heaviness. The three-piece let their music do the talking and turn anyone who didn’t know them beforehand into wanting to dive deep into the band’s back catalog and try to figure out everything they have to offer.
NIGHT VERSES/CARL BATTAMS
Instrumental alt-metal heroes Night Verses grace the Yohkai stage to bring in the evening to a tent packed with people keen to see the notorious talent of each member come together to create impressively catchy songs considering there’s no vocals, and hulking grooves to dance to. Always a fun band to see do their thing and enjoy it so much, the energy is reflected in the devoted punters and it’s a glorious set that leaves everyone with a beaming grin come its end.
SIGH/JOE SINGH
Subheadlining over on the Bixler stage, Japanese experimental black metal legends Sigh have managed to seem like a bit of an outlier even on a festival this diverse, and yet they prove to be a massive victory - rows of people are stood outside the tent trying to get a glimpse since it’s too busy to get in. Sigh’s unique mix of styles - including electronic, black metal, trad metal and way more - paired with some native vocal styles absolutely fascinates in the best of ways, and paired with their impressive stage aesthetic, its a testament to how far creating pretty weird music can get you.
SHOW ME THE BODY/JONATHAN DADDS
Talking of weird, Show Me the Body are one of the most impressive ‘hardcore’ bands doing it right now. With countless releases over the last few years spanning a huge number of styles, the interesting aspect of being a heavy band fronted by a banjo player is enough to impress the audience with just how naturally it works, but their attitude on-stage as well as their scintillating cover of the Beastie Boys classic ‘Sabotage’ makes this one of the most intense yet uplifting sets of the whole weekend, and a lovely way to spend a Friday night.
MESHUGGAH/JONATHAN DADDS
Meshuggah headline over on the main stage tonight, and their imposing stage presence, unparalleled tightness and a mesmerizing light show is a great way to bring down the curtain on any day of any festival. There’s no slowing down in their 80 minute stage time, the band delivering a show that attacks all senses whilst leaving just enough room to breathe. A career-spanning setlist with three favorites from latest album Immutable, it’s very easy to see why Meshuggah are regarded as highly as they are, and beginning their encore with the inimitable ‘Bleed’ demonstrates that they are truly the masters of the scene.
SUNNATA/JONATHAN DADDS
There’s arguably not a much more perfect band for a Saturday noon than Sunnata, with their hypnotic grooves and stoner riffs matching with a dual vocal approach not dissimilar to Alice In Chains. They impress most with the songs from their 2021 effort Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth, whilst the songs from this year’s Chasing Shadows too sound way bigger than on record. The distortion on the guitars really gives a driving force to the band’s whole sound, and they look like playing this music is just their favorite thing to do in the world.
HEXVESSEL/DEREK BREMNER
Their set made up of tracks from latest album Polar Veil, Finland’s Hexvessel bring in the afternoon impressively on the main stage with their take on black metal, fronted by the crooning vocal of Mat McNerney (of Grave Pleasures and about 100 other projects). The look of their stage and light show along with their slow somber output is a perfect digestif to the prior band, and it’s clear that a lot of people in here didn’t really know what to expect but quickly fall in love. A highlight of any festival, Hexvessel here show that they can play on such a diverse range of bills and translate fantastically, and they shape up a great final day of the weekend.
BOSSK/DEREK BREMNER
Bossk are a heavy band on record, but here they sound colossal. With their impressive space-y backdrop and a humongous crowd for not even 3pm, the atmospheres they create are unmatched throughout the weekend, and the merch around the attendees of the festival show they’re a real favorite here. After nearly two decades of grinding, it’s great to see Bossk finally getting their dues, with the reception to each song they play being one of enamorment, and the band look very appreciative to be in this position. With their now very expansive discography and the aforementioned crowd size, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Bossk in a much higher spot in near-future years.
KEN MODE/DEREK BREMNER
Another band who’ve been putting out great material for so long that it’s criminal that they’re not bigger (25 years, unbelievably), KEN Mode put on an intense display of noise rock that rattles and rumbles through their 35 minute playtime to great effect. The outfit of brothers Jesse and Shane Matthewson is completed by Skot Hamilton who sounds huge on bass, and relative newcomer Kathryn Kerr who delivers an exceptional array of sounds on sax and synth to round out a huge sound and a truly great performance.
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT/CARL BATTAMS
Imperial Triumphant were incredibly divisive in their last ATG appearance in 2022, yet here this year on the Yohkai stage the band enrapture the whole crowd to a much more successful extent, with the clarity of sound over 2022 in their weird mix of black, death metal and jazz undoubtedly being a contributing factor. It’s very hard for a band to make dissonance work but Imperial Triumphant do so confidently, something obviously mastered through their near 20 year career. Their masked gold aesthetic, alluring movement, grandiose stage and signature champagne-for-the-crowd moment makes this an assured set where it’s clear the band can tell they nailed it.
MSPAINT/JONATHAN DADDS
Rounding out just how diverse of a festival this is, MSPAINT close out the weekend on the PX3 stage with an hour of synth-punk/hardcore/hip-hop, featuring a truly impassioned performance from vocalist DeeDee reminiscent in a lot of parts of Zack de la Rocha. The lineup replacing the expected guitar with synth is a really impressive highlight, and the band don’t seem to care that they’re playing to an unfortunately small crowd (post-rock maestros Mogwai are over on the main stage), and instead deliver a massive and ardent set that really couldn’t close out the festival any better.
ArcTanGent continues to be a highlight of the UK festival scene. Get your 2025 tickets HERE - https://arctangent.co.uk/tickets/
