DAMNATION FESTIVAL
Enslaved unleashing their inner beasts.
VENUE BEC ARENA, MANCHESTER
DATE 03/11/2023-04/11/2023
Almost 20 years since it was founded, Damnation Festival has long been a champion of metal’s underground. But a move to Manchester’s BEC Arena (formerly Bowlers Exhibition Centre) in 2022 expanded both the festival’s capacity and scope for programming, and even its preliminary evening, A Night Of Salvation, has expanded to bigger bands this year. The line-up boasts a litany of exclusive album-in-full sets covering a spread of subgenres and styles that, while not all progfriendly, certainly adhere to a principle of progressive, challenging music.
By the time Enslaved released 2003’s Below The Lights, they were well on the way to embracing the prog sensibilities that would let them slip the bonds of black metal. Playing the record in full, the shift has never been more apparent. The Dead Stare introduces a Voivodlike dark psych freak-out, while The Crossing intertwines blast-beats with nimble acoustic guitars à la Blackwater Park-era Opeth. There’s a sense of ponderousness to the set, however, as the record doesn’t fully hit the highs of its successor, Isa.