Ten Bands We’re Most Excited to See At Badgerfest 2021
Badgerfest 2021 takes place between the 15th October and the 17th October 2021 at The Breadshed in Manchester, UK. Three days of rock and metal music, the cream of the UK underground scene, we’re very excited to be going. Especially as it’s our first time!
The line-up is incredible, so much so that putting together a list of the 10 bands we’re most excited to see was very difficult. The whole line-up is pretty phenomenal and the bands that didn’t make this list are must-sees too.
To come up with 10, we decided to look at it like this: Have we seen the band before? How long has it been? Has there been new music since we last saw them? With that in mind and in no particular order, here are the 10 bands we’re most excited to see at Badgerfest 2021.
Grief Ritual (Friday)
Grief Ritual are a blackened metal/hardcore band from Gloucestershire. Coming off a successful 2019 culminating at Bloodstock Festival, they are now entering the studio to record two singles to follow up their 2019 record “Moments of Suffering”, due for release in early 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYpF05anMCc
Due to interview commitments, we missed Grief Ritual at Bloodstock 2019 so this is our first chance to see them live. Especially as Moments of Suffering was one of our favourite EPs of that year. The expectation is that this is going to be chaotic!
Basement Torture Killings (Friday)
We are finally going to get our lessons in depravity and blood. The serial killing death/grind band from the UK have eluded us to date, but no more.
We’re going to get down with the sickness!
Recall the Remains (Saturday)
Formed in the West Midlands of the UK in 2017, Recall the Remains blend key elements of deathcore and metalcore to create both a new edge and a striking take on modern metal.
A superstar EP release earlier this year (Dead Dreams), Recall the Remains are the first band on the Saturday and are sure to cause quite a stir once they hit the stage. Another first time for us, the heaviness is one thing but the groove is going to be another.
Ashen Reach (Saturday)
Hailing from Liverpool in the UK, the hard rocker’s Ashen Reach released their debut album, Homecoming at the end of 2020.
A welcome break from all the brutal metal across the weekend, the hard-rock sound of Ashen Reach is going to stand out. Massive riffs, great chorus’ and lovely melodies, this should be a blast.
Callus (Saturday)
Formed in Lancaster in 2013, Callus play down tuned stoner metal, fused with thrash, sludge and doom elements for a truly terrifying and weirdly melodic sound.
After so much high-tempo stuff, we’re really looking forward to something that gets down and dirty as only stoner, sludge and doom can do. Although, there’s certainly more to Callus than that. Sure to be one of the heaviest sounding sets of the weekend.
Red Method (Saturday)
Spawned by the remains of ‘Meta-stasis’ and ‘The Defiled’, Red Method released their debut album ‘For the Sick’ early on in 2020 and then remixed it for a more industrial sounding affair, a year later.
One of our most anticipated bands of the weekend and another we have not been able to catch live yet. That finally changes at Badgerfest so don’t be surprised to see a couple of us right down in the pit for this one.
Krysthla (Saturday)
The headline act of the Saturday and for good reason, Krysthla’s third studio album, ‘Worldwide Negative might be a couple of years old now but it’s still wildly relevant.
Interview commitments meant we missed most of Krysthla’s set at Bloodstock 2019 and it’s still a major regret of ours. No excuses this time, of the three headliners, this is the most must-see for us. It’s going to be a spectacular end to the day.
Tortured Demon (Sunday)
An exciting prospect for the future of heavy metal overall, Tortured Demon are a young three-piece Thrashcore band from Manchester, UK.
We tried to watch some of Tortured Demon at Bloodstock 2021 but arriving a little late, found the Jager stage absolutely packed. We heard them but didn’t exactly see them so are super-excited to change that at Badgerfest. The future is very bright for this band.
Clashmute (Sunday)
Manchester, UK metalcore band Clashmute have been going from strength to strength since their formation in 2018.
A bit of groovy and stompy metalcore on Sunday is just the sort of thing we know we will need to pick us up and give us the energy we need to carry on with the day.
Ghosts of Atlantis (Sunday)
Hailing from deepest, darkest Suffolk, Ghosts of Atlantis are a metal band that carry a wealth of experience and professionalism. Ghosts of Atlantis (G.O.A) features both present and past members of Devilment, Failed Humanity, The Conflict Within and Cold Lazarus. They released their debut album, 3.6.2.4 earlier this year.
Ok, so we did see this band quite recently. At Bloodstock 2021. Also, we’ve been trying to tell everyone with ears about them since the release of 3.6.2.4. So, it might seem a bit unfair to put them on this list but fuck it, we love Ghosts of Atlantis.
