On turning 21, and making its fifth outing at Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Damnation Festival once again demonstrated the exciting and exhilarating place that extreme music is currently in. Proving its own ingenuity in bringing together the worlds of black metal, hardcore, synthwave and so many more, the diversity of Damnation spoke to the true health of heavy music.

On a weekend full of breathtaking sets, we took inventory of some of the best of the bunch.

Dödsrit

Swedish/Dutch black-metallers Dödsrit make waves on the second stage with their blistering brand of heaviness; their crushing riffs and hypnotic melodies captivating the huge crowd. The whole weekend has to be praised for a stunning sound mix on all three stages, and here it really brings a genre that can notoriously be hit-or-miss live into a full spectrum of sonic assault, emphasising the band’s brilliance on record to another level.

Fange

Setting a precedent for a wave of completely mind-melting acts to come later in the day, French industrial foursome Fange present an utterly disconcerting atmosphere, with their wild and wonderful mix of heavily effected guitars, samples, and electronic drums, complemented perversely by frontman Matthias Jungbluth’s vocals, disturbing in the best way. Again with the sound mix, their oddnesses and nuances really come alive to bring together an early highlight.

Carcass

Photo by Jake Owens

Few death metal bands have an appreciation more grand than Carcass, and they don’t half surpass expectations with a front-to-back, Heartwork-heavy set of unrelenting energy and pummelling drive. The four-piece’s famous virtuosity is on full display here, proving themselves as one of the most influential bands to ever come from death metal, and the bands and fans alike seem to be having the best possible time. Their fourth Damnation set in 18 years, the legends of the game gladly seem to still have a lot more to give.

Cult of Luna

Photo by Jake Owens 

Armed with their new album In the Shadow of Your Shadow released the previous day, Saturday headliners Cult of Luna bring in a couple of live debuts from said record, which may already have taken its place as one of the best of their career. Beginning the set with its title track, leader Johannes Persson’s vocal heft comes together with the band’s percussion-heavy tightness as impressively as ever, and the outfit look to be truly enjoying themselves showcasing their new material and old, and hold the audience in the palms of their hands whilst doing so. An hour set is almost too short, but the feeling of longing for more is a good one, and the band’s return to these parts is already anticipated.

The Berzerker

Photo by Jake Owens 

An argument to be the most constantly annihilating set of the weekend - bar appearing at Friday night’s warm-up show A Night of Salvation, The Berzerker make their eagerly awaited return to UK live shows for 16 years, and the frenzied atmosphere of the second stage proves how much the band were missed. With their lyrics on the screens hilariously teasing the audience to keep up, frontman Luke Kenny’s vocals make you wonder how it’s physically possible to perform with such viscera so mercilessly, the band themselves also performing at an outrageous technical ability, culminating a day of previous chaotic bands like the aforementioned Fange and the excellent Frontierer, and it’s a hell of a way to round out Saturday before a perhaps not-so-slower start on Sunday morning.

Hippotraktor

Photo by Christina Faur

Opening the main stage on day two, Belgian prog stars Hippotraktor also come armed with a new album, Annihilist, with which they implement as a beautiful backdrop to their set. The show itself is a devastating yet atmospheric way to wake the early crowd up, and their always tight and impressive musicality show off well their discography, and, barring the unfortunate occasional sound issue, they do an incredible job of impressing old fans and undoubtedly winning over new ones.

Walls of Jericho

Photo by Jake Owens

OG metalcore heavyweights Walls of Jericho may just play the set of the entire weekend here, with 55 uncompromising minutes of wall-to-wall ragers. Frontwoman Candace Buckingham had an energy that anyone would envy and looks like she’s still living the dream every single second of the set, and the band - who play unbelievably -  armed with a huge catalogue, make every song new and old sound just as fresh as the day it was written. With a new album “this week”, there clearly is no stopping these stalwarts who look as young and hungry as ever, and have the entire site clamoring over their set for the rest of the night.

Worm

Photo by Em Coulter 

Following February’s release of Necropalace, Worm, now a full-band outfit, bring the sense of occult, mystery and darkness to their live show, and in front of a massive crowd pull out a performance both musically and theatrically that has the crowd here entranced. 14 years into their career, this is a performance that really sets Worm up for being a huge deal in the scene, their corpse paint and sword rituals bringing in the drama that black metal should have, but more importantly armed with songs that already feel like classics, and there’s a buzz around the arena for a long time after they finish up.

Igorrr

Never ones to be categorized, Igorrr, created and masterminded by guitarist Gautier Serre, play a stunning sub-headline set that proves they could go one further next time out. Visually mind-blowing and musically just as impressive as they are confusing, new soprano vocalist Gerda Iguchi shines in a set from the band’s last three releases, her voice melding with unclean vocalist JB Le Bail’s superbly, and the whole band put on one of the most impressive and truly enjoyable sets of the whole fest. Somehow writing catchy songs in a mix of genres like this is an incredible feat, but Igorrr do it so well that everyone here leaves with a smile.

Wolves in the Throne Room

Bringing the festival to a close, revered atmospheric black metal troupe Wolves in the Throne Room set the perfect tone to end out what has been an unforgettable weekend - they put on the best black metal set in a festival with loads of them. It’s also a testament of Damnation’s decision to end with the headliners on the second and third stages rather than the main, as Wolves bring in a massive crowd to near midnight. As solid and enchanting as anyone could expect and then some, it’s visually impressive but mostly a demonstration of just how good the genre can be when done well.

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Marking a first, Saturday evening announced a hefty start to next year’s lineup, with heavyweights Zeal & Ardor, revered outfits in Black Breath, Bell Witch, Panopticon and a bunch more generating a mass excitement on site.

Get tickets for Damnation 2027 - HERE