Tag: hevy fest

Hevy Festival is back and with a line-up that boasts a plethora of great bands, it’s definitely the place to be this weekend. With so many amazing bands playing over the three days, it can be hard to decide which should be the ones to check out and that’s where our preview steps in to help.

Our intrepid writers Ryan and Winey G have picked the acts they are most excited to see and, as the videos alongside each pick shows, you’re not going to be disappointed by any of them. If the success of last year’s festival is anything to go by, the 2011 version is going to be a ton of fun. So get reading and get ready for some carnage!

Winegums’ picks:

Touché Amoré (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)

Having recently released what is undeniably one of the finest albums of the year, Touché Amoré will be bringing their frenetic live stylings to Hevy so get ready to get involved and scream your heart out. The intensity is definitely going to reach fever pitch for TA, just one of many so-called buzz bands included on the line-up this weekend. Something tells us that most of these acts are going to deliver in a big way.

The Bronx (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)

The Bronx are just a standardly brilliant live prospect. Broken limbs and a crowd-bound frontman are not unheard of. But let’s not forget the tunes! Oh what a delectable treat of riffs, barked out melodies and general raucous punk fun we’re in for as vocalist Matt Caughtran will no doubt bound around like a giant baby with a huge grin on his face.

Ceremony (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Sunday)

Hardcore punk with a sense of swagger that you just couldn’t fake, Ceremony are one of the most exciting prospects of the weekend (there are a lot of those this weekend, huh?). Inciting mile-long queues outside teensy venues last time they were in the UK, these guys are going to grab a very eager crowd by the neck and shake them to their very core.

Dillinger Escape Plan (Jägermeister Main Stage, Saturday)

Why does it feel like all of the bands at Hevy this year are going to be attempting to outdo each other in the “we’re crazy-ass motherfucking musicians” stakes? Well, many will no doubt try and some will succeed. But Dillinger really have nothing to prove on this side of things having already performed such legendary feats as shitting in plastic bags on stage and throwing it into the audience. Perhaps this time it’ll be purely about the music. Which is of course awesome. But we kind of hope the theatrics feature too.

OFF! (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Saturday)

Vocalist Keith Morris was in Black Flag. You probably don’t need to know much more than that in order to be persuaded to catch these guys live. West coast hardcore that packs a punch. Hard, fast and loud.

La Dispute (Etnies + Front stage, Sunday)

With the most deliciously unsettling vocals and the ability to create atmospheres of eeriness and full on ripping emotional heartache from one moment to the next, La Dispute are already contenders to At The Drive-In’s post-hardcore throne at this point. It’s safe to say that if they’re going to live up to the, albeit underground, hype then they’re going to have to deliver something special at Hevy. We have faith they’ll do just that.

Basement (Etnies + Front Magazine Stage, Friday)

Part of Hevy fest’s Friday taster if you will, which will see a pared down line-up get the party started on the smaller stages as the masses begin to arrive for the weekend. Basement’s brand of emotionally driven melodic punk rock is just the ticket to get your weekend started so make sure you get to the field early to soak it all up.

Ryan de Freitas’ picks:

The Ghost of a Thousand (Jägermeister Main Stage, Saturday)

The fact that this is The Ghost of a Thousand playing a festival should be reason enough to see them on the main stage at Hevy this year. Adding that this is the band’s last ever gig before splitting up and it makes this a completely unmissable set. There will be walls and pits throughout the set as the band have promised to go out with an almighty bang.

Make Do and Mend (Rocksound + Macbeth stage, Saturday)

Off the back of their debut LP ‘End Measured Mile’ and acclaimed split with fellow Hevy stagemates ‘Touché Amoré’, this melodic hardcore outfit are not to be missed on the second stage. With a proven track record of laying waste to almost every venue they play, this is not a band that you want to regret not seeing the next day.

Funeral for a Friend (Jägermeister Main Stage, Sunday)

True pioneers in the UK Post-Hardcore scene, Funeral for a Friend have made an overdue return to form with new album Welcome Home Armageddon and their slot at Hevy will be one of their biggest UK sets since the release, with hopes of timeless classics mixed in with the intrigue of seeing the new material live for the first time. FFAF have created a real buzz about their appearance at Hevy and no doubt will live up to the hype.

While She Sleeps (Rocksound + Macbeth Stage, Sunday)

These Sheffield lads are one of the most talked-about bands in the UK at the moment. They will bring a perfect balance of passion and rage when they play their set on the second stage on Sunday. Having recently won over thousands as main supports to Silverstein earlier in the year and with 2010 album ‘The North Stands for Nothing’ rightfully earning them the respect of their peers and critics, this is a band that you’ll want to see (especially since it means you’ll have seen them before they were one of the biggest bands in the UK, which they certainly look on course to become).

Four Year Strong (Jägermeister Main Stage, Sunday)

There is no other way to say it other than: THIS BAND MUST BE SEEN LIVE. This years festival closers are sure to provide one of (if not the) highlights of the weekend with their trademark anthemic sing-along choruses and relentless, brutal breakdowns that will translate perfectly into the atmosphere of the festival. With the set sure to include hits from debut ‘Rise or Die Trying’ as well as current release ‘Enemy of the World’ these bearded warriors are set to tear the metaphorical roof off the place.