Photos and Text: Nuno Bernardo
If Amplifestโs day one felt like a dark daydream, then day twoย wasnโt that far off. It’s true thatย every single act on this line-up deserved to headline a show on theirย own.ย People approached James Kelly, Colin H. van Eeckhoutย and Oathbreakerโs Caro Tanghe all day onย Hard Clubโs main floor, featureing a Mรผnster Studio exhibition with beautiful work pieces in the likes of Buzzcocks, Russian Circles, Caspian, Baroness and Mono.
Nate Hall from US Christmas played some of his solo works on this second and final day of Amplifest, right before Miguel Bรฉco de Almeida as ATILA crushed the audience with his dark electronics alongside Guida Ribeiroโs amazing visual geometric projections. These dark impressions would thrive with Grave Pleasures, ex-Beastmilk, as the reserved surprise act of this yearโs edition. A death rock and post-punk procession would lead anย hour and a half of two Church of Raโs projects โ the soundscapes of Syndrome and the new black metal strength Wiegedood.
Some different manners of violence would take care on Amplifestโs final run of the year. Chris Slocharโs amazing bass tone helped theย METZ concert feel like a punch in the stomach, while both Alex Edkins and Hayden Menzies delivered everything they got โ a typical yet still surprising force shown by the Canadian trio. While myย stomach was still hurting, Stephen OโMalley destroyed myย hearing withย his massive wall of amplification, and Amenra bled every heart inย Hard Clubโs bigger room. Then the demons of Mories on Gnaw Their Tonguesย enclosedย all these wounds andย made everyone yearn for next yearโs Amplifest. The motto ringsย true โ Amplifest is not a festival, it’s an experience, both a mental and physical one.
NATE HALL
ATILA
GRAVE PLEASURES
SYNDROME & WEIGEDOOD SOUNDCHECK
SYNDROME
WEIGEDOOD
METZ
AMENRA
