THIS IS PART II – PART I CAN BE FOUND HERE. Go and read that, and see how Dengfest opened up with performances from No Gods No Masters, The Matriarchy, Auraboros, and Reckoner!
The sun hadn’t really been out at all that day, but regardless, it was finally beginning to set over a rainy and overcast Preston. At the legendary alternative venue The Ferret, Dengfest was about to enter its second half, promising to bring the kind of messy glory that only a heavy night at a tiny local venue can bring.
Take Breath arrived to proceedings as a promise of something a little different from the rest; instead of high-octane heavy thrill rides, their material is pensive, thoughtful, and gently exploratory. A deep breath in the midst of the Dengfest chaos.
The outfit opened their set as they meant to go on; ‘Perspective’ showcased their enigmatic stage presence that manages to be both reserved yet engaging, vocalist Fynn Gillions casting a towering melancholy shadow with a phenomenally commanding vocal performance.
Sparkling and haunting ambience gives way to moments of rapturous heaviness, slower in pace yet no less energetic than what had come before them. Their unreleased track ‘Promise Me’ brought huge, swaggering percussion, and immense down-tuned riffs, building on the band’s core formula in a brilliantly impressive way.
Their set should also act as a lesson for many other heavy bands out there; whilst the audience did not burst in an explosive pit, they maintained their full focus and concentration on the band, suckered into their intelligently constructed artistry. Snippets of conversation in the back of the crowd included ‘this is my favourite act so far’, and, in reference to the incredible vocal performance of Gillions, ‘absolute power’. Even an audience that may seem reserved may actually be deeply invested in your performance.
Hitting their major set pieces such as ‘Bliss’, ‘Oblivion’, and ‘Sleep’ (according to Gillions, a song that is ‘about death and all other sorts of lovely things’), and bring their set to a close with ferocious intensity and passion. Fitting in perfectly alongside bands like Loathe, Casey, and Sleep Token, Take Breath feel like a band that could prove to be very, very special; a must-see if you are given the opportunity
By now, the room had truly filled up. The beer was flowing, spirits were beginning to run high, and the atmosphere was charged; with the big three of the night, things were ready to be ignited. With the stage now equipped with lighting equipment, Pulse took to the stage to bring some hardcore thunder to proceedings.
To even describe as Pulse as ‘fucking brilliant’ would be doing them an immense disservice. Their stage presence was masterful; outfitted in black streetwear, the band brought with them an aggressive, self-aware machismo, understanding exactly how hardcore punk and gang culture intersects perfectly. They’re likeable, energetic, yet menacing, vicious.
The crowd soaked this up immediately. Ripping through tracks such as ‘Devour’ and ‘Flies’, the crowd instinctively opens up and collapses in on itself repeatedly, two-steppers and spin-kickers knowing that this was their moment to shine. The band know that they have won; the wolfish grin on the face of the guitarist said it all. They have full control over the room, and it is magnificent to behold.
As the band hit their debut single, ‘Worthless’, even those who had yet to even mosh that day took to the hardcore pit, and that is what all of this is really about; making it clear that anyone and everyone in the scene is welcome. One audience member calls one of the band’s breakdown ‘fucking filthy’, whilst another beneath the chaos shouts out ‘I need more!’.
It’s a domineering performance from a band that could so easily become figureheads of the UK hardcore scene, their fine blend of nu-metal flows and incendiary hardcore breakdowns feeling like the perfect climax of modern heavy music trends.
I bought a shirt immediately afterwards, and in a cost of living crisis, that means a whole lot.
The penultimate set came from Liverpool’s rising heavy stars, Cut Short. Already possessing a cult following, with huge singles such as ‘A Familiar Face’ and ‘The Old Soul Dies Young’, this was comfortable territory for the four-piece; people already knew what Cut Short had to offer, and they were very willing to participate.
Immediately, the band get off to a blistering start, their on stage chemistry and passion bringing the room to life. Their vocalist is a restless figure, using every inch of stage available to him as he commands Preston to ‘open up this fucking room’; the crowd are more than happy to oblige.
Those aforementioned big hits go down particularly well with the audience, ensuring that the energy the band started the set off with is maintained throughout. Cheering rises up whenever the breakdowns get particularly filthy, and one brave concertgoer keeps pitting throughout the entire set; Cut Short demand that the rest of the room gives this champion support, and as they rally to the end of their set, once again, the crowd obliged to move.
It’s an incredibly solid set from Cut Short, showing just why they’re becoming the cult favourites that they are. The core of their sound is raw, straightforwards metalcore that slams into the listener like a truck, but the band embellish in ways that feels simply unique to them. It’s a battering ram of sound that translates perfectly to a live setting, and places Cut Short at the very front of the north west heavy scene.
Finally, the time came for the hosts themselves to take to the stage. Based out of Manchester, the great nothing released their debut EP ‘no one.’ last year, before following it up with their inaugural live performance. A further headline show, and a handful of support dates, have since followed, and the band have morphed into a four-piece outfit with a tour-ready live set.
Dramatic lighting is accompanied by an opening of ambient noise, layered with vocal clippings. Drummer Connor McColl whips up the excitement of the audience, before his band mates take to the stage, and boldly kick off their set with an unreleased single, ‘Die, Cry, Hate’.
Being unreleased matters not, however; even at this point in their career, the great nothing have enough of a dedicated following that portions of the audience already know the track, relishing the opportunity to sing back the track’s central violent hook. An appearance from Auraboros’ Aisling Killey on vocals goes down a storm, her chemistry with vocalist Leo Craig electrifying to watch.
Much of the ethos of the great nothing arises from the intersection between the heavy scene, and clubbing culture; if the audience is moving, if they are truly feeling the music and letting themselves free with it, then that is what matters. This shows itself perfectly as the band vault into their emo anthem, ‘dirty dishes’, as not a single person in the room is permitted the opportunity to remain still, compelled to mosh, dance, or simply jam out.
Craig is a feral presence on stage, never settling and constantly pushing the crowd to give him more; there’s an urgency to it all, almost as if his heart were to stop beating should he stop performing, and that kind of raw passion is both infectious and compelling. The band’s staple cover of ‘Song 2’ goes down a storm with the crowd, with Craig having just as much fun on stage as anyone in the audience.
Another unreleased single is then played, featuring some of McColl’s most intricate drum work to date, playing out beneath a wall of violent and vicious riffs and vocals. Kudos must go to guitarist Neil Barrie and bassist Elliot Stewart, the band’s new members; both have merged seamlessly into the outfit, and provide plenty of fun to watch on stage in different ways, whether that be Barrie’s raw and focused intensity, or Stewart’s high energy playfulness and passion.
A moment gifted to the audience to get their breath back finally arrives, with the extended ‘enter the nothing’ introduction for the band’s debut single, ‘coming clean’. It’s worth noting the subtle touch of the venue’s lights changing colour to correspond with that of the single, with each of the band’s released tracks having their own specific colour. Certainly, for a band performing at the academy level or above, this might be expected. But this level of commitment and perfectionism in such a small venue is indicative of a band that doesn’t just exist to make music, but exists to construct a sonic world you can get lost in.
If any track has become the calling card of the great nothing, then that credit must go to ‘the dirt’. Craig is pleased with the dancing and movement in the room, but wants to see just a little bit more violence; ‘be nice to one another, but be a little bit not nice,’ he asks, knowing full well that even those who are new to the great nothing will happily oblige.
As the track’s electronic intro plays out, the crowd already opens up a fresh and violent pit, and that only explodes further as the instruments kick in. At the track’s immense bridge, Craig drops into the crowd, parting it, and gives the two halves of the audience the very simple instruction to show Preston what a wall of death is. ‘Gouge out the filth,’ he bellows, and as the instruments crash around the audience in all of their disgustingly heavy glory, Preston indeed gets to see what a wall of death is.
All good things must come to a close, however, and the great nothing cap off not just their set, but Dengfest as a whole, with their beautifully ambitious track ‘no one.’, which features Craig taking up extra guitar duties. However, the band also conjure up an entirely unexpected yet also perfectly suited cover of ‘Sound of the Underground’ by Girls Aloud, following genuine demands from the audience for one final song. It’s utterly ridiculous to behold, and yet, as the room bounces with exuberant life, it feels just right to end Dengfest on that note.
the great nothing don’t just want to perform; they need to perform. There is a visceral desperation, an urgent necessity, to every aspect of their performance, bringing the world of the great nothing to life as if their very lives depended on it. That energy is palpable and infectious; a pull that you cannot resist, commanding you to get up and move.
It’s impossible to truly pin down what the great nothing are. Certainly, they perform with all the aggression of a metal band, and there are the huge, soaring choruses that you might find from your favourite emo outfits. But woven into their fabric is a cross-cultural energy that defies genre conventions; it’s as much an EDM rave as it is a hardcore mosh pit, with the great nothing identifying that free-spirited sense of rebellion both worlds have, and uniting them with a commanding, euphoric attitude.
Community. That is what Dengfest was all about. Establishing a new wave of heavy acts that build each other up, give each other opportunities and creative impetus, and give the audience something to mosh to in the process. The sales will show that Dengfest was a success, but that’s not what this is about.
As a community event, Dengfest should be an inspiration for other bands up and down the country to look to their own local scenes, and reach out to bring them together. As a community event, Dengfest wasn’t just a success, but fantastic experience that gave something back to everyone involved.
Oh, and there was a pit or two as well.
If somehow you have made it this far and haven’t read Part I then, well, thank you very much! But also please do go check out Part I and find out how it all kicked off!
Follow the bands on social media below:
No Gods No Masters
The Matriarchy
Auraboros
Instagram // Spotify // Twitter
Reckoner
Instagram // Spotify // Twitter
Take Breath
Pulse
Instagram // Spotify // Twitter
Cut Short
Instagram // Spotify // Twitter
the great nothing
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