Live Review: Uprising 6 at The O2 Academy, Leicester (29/04/23)

Taking place at The O2 Academy in Leicester, one of the UK’s best kept secrets is Uprising and this year, Uprising 6, we decided to jump in our car and see what all the fuss was about.

Featuring a varied and exciting blend of rock and metal bands, Uprising 6 was a spectacular day of music. The three stages played host to young up and comers, legends of the scene, and everyone in between. We saw a ton of bands and left immensely satisfied with the entire experience.

Uprising 6 was one of the most well-run events we’ve ever been too and we have nothing negative to say about the overall experience. Putting it as a simply as possible, it was one of the most positive atmospheres we’ve had and we will be back again based off that alone.

You can listen to our hungover selves talking about that and more below:

First up, it was Internal Conflict on the Academy 1 stage. Being the first band and only band playing, they pull in an immense crowd hungry to head-bang, and head-bang we do. Internal Conflict make use of every minute to get this party started. Fully energised heavy freaking metal, it’s a triumphant start that sets the bar for the entire day.

A bar that Blood Oath took one look at and smashed through. Playing the Academy 2 shortly after (it’s upstairs – 30 seconds walk away), this is an on-form Blood Oath. Although, we have no idea what an ‘off-form’ Blood Oath is like as we’ve never seen them deliver anything but gargantuan death metal that makes you grin and gurn in equal measures. Immense noise that leaves us feeling that little bit deafer afterwards.

We then checked out a handful of tracks from the alt-metallers Hawxx, not enough to give them a score (sorry!), but enough to say that they’re one to keep a close eye on. Especially as the crowd is certainly going wild for their riff-heavy energy.

In the Green Room, it’s time for MuddiBrooke. An up and coming alternative rock outfit that bring a bevy of catchy tunes that fit the feel of the space we’re in. We’re watching a band grow in confidence, encouraged by the ever-growing crowd that is taken in by the anthemic qualities the band has.

Though, if we’re talking about anthemic qualities, the outright winner of that description is Skarlett Riot. A hard rock/metal crossover band that have grown in size, confidence, and ability since we last saw them. They’ve proven themselves to be a great band live in the past, but this is something else. They seem made for the stage size that is Academy 1, delivering a spectacular show that puts stupid smiles on many faces.

It’s back to the Academy 2 for Damim, a band we’re less familiar with, but excited to see based off their excellent new single, and a band that simply blew us away. Their enthralling style of progressive black and death metal is a tsunami of noise that leaves us feeling breathless. Where time seems to stop, and suddenly, it’s over. Stunning.

Speaking of stunning though, it’s Boss Keloid and once they’re on a bill, you can be assured that they will likely be the band of the day.

Guess what?

We’ve never seen a bad Boss Keloid show. Hell, we’ve never seen an ‘alright’ Boss Keloid show. They are just that good. A band that simply hypnotises us through their genre-defying music and incredibly charismatic performance. They could have played for two hours and we’d still be asking for more. One of the best bands in the entire world, let alone the UK.

How the hell does any band follow that? Well, Saor are not just any other band and any concerns we had that we might struggle to connect following Boss Keloid was well and truly blown away with the opening title track of their latest album, Origins. One of, if not the best tracks Saor have ever written. Tears? You bet. Saor’s heart-wrenching and heavy sound is simply stunning in the live environment and their entire show is captivating.

Are we tired? A little. Are we drunk? A lot. Who cares though, it’s time for one of the UK’s finest young bands in Recall the Remains who lay waste to The Green Room. Every time we see this band, we’re impressed and they just seem to be getting better and better. Especially as they have some beastly new tracks and they sound freaking great live. The more they perform like this, the more people pay attention, the more we know that bigger stages are guaranteed for this band. They don’t just deserve it, they’re earning it bit by bit.

That, when we talk about the best bands of the day, Recall the Remains comfortably sit alongside the likes of Boss Keloid, Skarlett Riot, Blood Oath, and Saor, you know their doing something right. Hell, they’re comfortably sitting alongside the headliner, who just happen to be the legends that are Paradise Lost.

Who simply do what they do so well, and that’s blow everyone away who is still standing upright and not feeling absolutely exhausted. Which should mean the gothic doom sound of Paradise Lost saps the energy but that’s not the case at all. It’s a strong set with body-movers, head-bangers, and pit-starters galore, that shows you exactly why so many decades into their careers, they are still going strong. It is a very satisfying end to an immeasurably satisfying day.

We’ll be back, that much is for sure. If only to see what garish delight organiser Simon Yarwood is wearing next year. Will you? A limited amount of early bird tickets for next year are now on sale here.