Slam Dunk 2016 @ Birmingham NEC, 29th May 2016 – Part 1
It’s the late May bank holiday weekend, which means one thing – Slam Dunk festival! The Birmingham Live team headed to the NEC to help celebrate this fantastic festival’s tenth anniversary in style.
For this year’s curtain raiser to both summer and the festival season, we’re not making our trip to Wolverhampton, but instead we’re off to the NEC – the 2016 home of Slam Dunk Festival while the Wolves Civic is undergoing a facelift. Time to pack in as many bands in as possible with Brumlive’s Dave Musson (DM), Chris Bowley (CB), and Steve Kilmister (SK) covering the hard yards! Here is part one of our three part coverage:
Kicking off the main stage are Canterbury emos, and Birmingham Live favourites, Moose Blood, who get off to the toughest of starts when one of their guitar amps fails them. Thankfully, a quick switch and an awkward couple of minutes later and the band is up and running with latest single Honey. This is a band that has climbed the ladder at Slam Dunk, progressing from the Fresh Blood stage last year to opening the big one this time around. Musically, the band sound perfect and the setlist is made up of some of their particularly excellent songs – the only downer is the vocals sound a little ropey. However, it doesn’t seem to bother those watching and what could be a huge summer for this band get off to a pretty good start. DM
Kicking off the first act of the day at the Atlas stage was American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona, The Word Alive who were a few minutes late to stage, and lucky we caught them due to sound issues which prevented Coldrain playing. They were like little kids only maybe bigger and older and acting the typical spoilt brats. However, having been around since 2008 these are no newcomers to the stage.The anxious crowd needed a music fix and that is exactly what they were given. The band leapt, stomped and span their way through every single song of their turbo-charged set.; a set made up of powerful tracks from the latest album Dark Matter, and a couple of old favourites Life Cycles and Lighthouse. CB
Bringing the early noise to the well-hidden Impericon stage were The One Hundred. It’s difficult to pigeon-hole the four piece out of London, but I mean that totally as a positive. Successfully smashing together Metalcore, Rap and Grime among other influences, while still maintaining a cohesive sound is no mean feat, but one that The One Hundred pulled off in style. Their mix of new material with clearly more recognisable tracks from their EP Subculture got a great response from the, getting more movement going than you’d usually expect from a crowd whose caffeine and/or alcohol levels were still almost rock bottom. SK
There has been a rumbling of good things being said about metal newcomers Cane Hill, whose debut album is released this July, so it’s no surprise to see plenty of people in front of the Fresh Blood stage ready to see what the fuss is about. From the off, you are left with no doubt that there is something special and exciting about this band – sounding like a bunch of kids who grew up on Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Korn, they have crunch, big grooves and an ever-so-slightly intimidating gang mentality about them that really works. Cane Hill already seem too polished and accomplished for this stage and, who knows, if they bag a decent support slot to promote their album, they could really explode. One to keep an eye on for sure. DM
A band that starts out by kicking inflatables into the crowd better to be ready to bring the party, and that’s exactly what WSTR did. The old school feel to their angsty pop-punk, punctuated by heavy in just the right doses really got things moving. Although it was difficult to see through all of the dry ice it seemed the lads from Liverpool were having just as much fun up on stage as the crowd were. By the time they hit Graveyard Shift, the sing-a-longs from the crowd were deafening and the NEC security were given their wake up call, with crowd surfers flowing over the barrier in droves. If the pop-pink revival continues at its current pace, expect to hear a lot more from these guys. SK
London based Alternative Rockers Young Guns were up next on the main stage, opening up with Daughter Of The Sea, followed by a mixture of their best hits over all their albums including Daylight and Rising up . Young Guns have a talent for creating catchy music and the set was overflowing with catchy powerful hooks and their performance was a whole lot of fun. They introduced a new recruit, drummer Ben Jolliffe and their last two tracks Bones and I Want Out rounded off the set really well. Look out for a host of new songs and a new album soon. CB
Over on the Desperados Stage – the home of all things ska – Tewkesbury’s finest ska bunkers [spunge] cranked the early afternoon energy levels up a notch with a bouncy set. It has to be said that, were we getting our ‘normal’ bank holiday weather, this outdoor stage would have been an absolute misery, but with the sun out and a soundtrack of up chords and brass, it’s tough to beat. [spunge] might be among the more ‘experienced’ bands on the festival, but they don’t hold back. In fact, they leap around the stage like a far younger band and look like they’re having an absolutely lovely time. DM
Inside the huge hanger housing the Atlas stage Floridian metalcore outfit Miss May I bring riffs, big choruses and catchy beatdowns galore. Frontman Levi Benton is a solid frontman, leading his troops through slab after slab of highly polished metal, all in a blaze of growls and a furious mane of flowing hair, and those watching seem to lap it up. On what is probably the weakest stage across the entire festival in terms of quality acts, Miss May I at least go some way to standing out from the crowd. DM
Heading to check out Dead! On the Kerrang! Fresh Blood stage, I ‘d got it into my head that I’d never seen them before, so why did I find myself lip-syncing along to Alaska? I then relaised that the band in front of me were the young guys I’d seen supporting Zoax over a year ago at one of the smallest gigs I’ve ever been to. Actually, it didn’t take me long to figure out they’re not the same band, they’ve come a million miles in terms of presence and their live sound. Whether it’s them upping their game or the fact that the industry has apparently already decided that Dead! are going to be the next big thing I’m not sure, but they have certainly collected an army of adoring fans. You will be seeing more of these guys, and if today is anything to go by, that’s no bad thing. SK
We have a long walk though slow moving crowds reaching the Impericon stage to see Paris based Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!. Having just finished their South American tour these guys are now in the UK and is their third time playing Slam Dunk Festival, and they expressed how grateful they wee for being here. They are loud, fun, and energetic, opening today with Haters Gonna Hate which like most of the set has mixtures of heavy aggressive breakdowns and fused pop punk. They kind of make their own style of music ,and particular fun to watch is Éric Poncet on guitar with his energy and physicality. CB
Florida based Mayday Parade have been together for a decade and they have marked this with their Three Cheers For Ten Years documentary. The high spirited set was full atmospheric songs and the room was brimming and bursting. Mayday Parade demanded full attention, met immediately with squeals and shouts accompanying the opening One of Them Will Destroy The Other. A brief hello to the crowd and they were onto a personal favorite Jamie All Over. Although the lighting was a little dark you could still see them busting out their moves and Derek Sanders (Vocals) having an absolute blast. CB
Back on the Atlas stage we found post-hardcore band from Detroit, We Came As Romans taking the stage. Having gone through many variations in line-up and with a band name change they have now found their feet and have a sound that really works. A set combining blasts from the pasts and the present day album was well received by the crowd who were jumping around and surfing from start to finish. CB
It’s questionable as to whether Blood Youth are truly worthy of a slot on the Fresh Blood stage, having been around in their previous incarnation Climates for some time. However, the addition of new front man Kaya Tarsus (a name befitting of Game of Thrones if I ever heard one), has brought about a change of name and more importantly quite a distinct change in sound. Guitars and drums are as tight as they ever were and on the whole the melodic hardcore vibe still reigns but things feel a lot heavier and all the better for it in my opinion. The delicious breakdown and subsequent melodic clean section during Dead Space for me sums them up perfectly. Looking forward to more from these guys in the future. SK
Ending part one of our coverage of Slam Dunk 2016 are Brighton’s Gnarwolves
From the moment Gnarwolves quietly take to the stage and roll into the song Smoking Kills, you can tell that something special is brewing. The Brighton punk trio have a habit of impressing wherever they play and today is no exception. Their scratch, catchy punk is full of heart and power, and throughout their set they underline what a talented and real band they are. This isn’t a band that relies on backing tracks and click tracks like those on the stage next door, instead these guys just get on stage and play some quite wonderful songs. Watching them give one of the performances of the day, you wonder how they are not far bigger. With more shows like this, it won’t be long until they are. DM
Part Two and Part Three of our Slam Dunk 2016 coverage are on the way!
Slam dunk 2016 words and photographs:
Dave Musson (DM), Chris Bowley (CB), and Steve Kilmister (SK)