Slam Dunk Festival 2015 [Festival Review]

From the outside, alternative music festivals can seem intimidating. Certain corners of the media choose to portray alternative music fans as universally antisocial and self destructive. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Festivals are full of people out for nothing more than a good time. Great bands, passionate fans, and meticulous organisation are all essential pieces of the puzzle – and Slam Dunk’s organisers provided the former and latter. In Wolverhampton, everybody won.

Behind black t-shirts and often morbid iconography, the themes of the day were love, respect, and gratitude. Second stage openers Shvpes set the tone with a rapturously received hometown set packed full of nutcracking riffs and great hardcore-fuelled songs. By the time vocalist Griffin Dickinson headed into the pit to be greeted with hugs and backslaps, the bar had been set for the dozens of acts to follow.

Not to be outdone, Joel Quartuccio of Being As An Ocean was crowdbound from the off, his band working overtime but ultimately failing to connect with the crowd beyond the first several rows. Meanwhile, main stagers Pvris made the first major impact of the day via stomping electro-rock grooves, earthquaking basslines, and a fan favourite set including St. Patrick, White Noise, and My House. Although the latter band were less my thing, respect is still due to any band with that devoted an audience.

Back to balls-out hardcore with Beartooth. This band’s fans are fucking crazy; watching streams of tree-divers feed themselves to ravenous circle pits is the kind of spectacle that stays with you. Throw in tasty tracks like In Between, and you have a festival set worthy of the name.

The next few bands highlighted just how diverse Slam Dunk is. On paper, six stages hosting ten bands each seems excessive – but on the day, single-genre-show apathy was avoided thanks to a lineup with something for everyone. We Are The Ocean delivered strident, driving rock complete with the overwhelmingly epic Ark; Thy Art Is Murder packed all the extremities metal has to offer into a razor wire hurricane of a set; Lightyear dug into a fun and ska-flavoured mix; Cartel pushed out decent whoa-oh-laden pop punk; and main stage heavyweights Neck Deep strode through a confident showing met with pits, raised fists, and much crowdsurfing.

Then came an absolutely unmissable experience. Mariachi El Bronx (the latin-loving alter egos of Californian hardcore legends the Bronx) are living proof that you’re never too old to learn something new. Armed with traditional instruments, Mariachi El Bronx provided the inspiration for salsa pits, conga lines, hip-grinding dance moves, and a few hundred smiles. Awesome.

From that point, Slam Dunk got progressively heavier. Lower Than Atlantis survived a set afflicted by illness before Don Broco slayed it with one of the performances of the day. An odd but infectious mix of ’80s pop and assorted modern rock styles, Don Broco’s music is definitely a unique experience – and with solid songs like Money Power Fame and Automatic up their sleeves, these guys are clearly set to graduate to a whole other level.

Don Broco are a hard act to follow – but Taking Back Sunday barely tried, going through the motions with a passable amount of enthusiasm. Outside on the second stage, Finch let nothing stand in the way of a wicked set encompassing fan favourites Letters To You and What It Is To Burn, as well as sick new song Two Guns To The Temple. Then, While She Sleeps got stuck into another strong set-of-the-day contender.

Rocking out under strobing spotlights and powering through the likes of Brainwashed, This Is The Six, Our Legacy, and Four Walls, WSS’ set was a perfect blend of super-dense, reality-crushing metal; soul-scarring lyrics; and a handful of relatively peaceful interludes. Brilliantly paced. From here, the finish line was fast approaching.

Although You Me At Six pulled out all the stops with an epic video wall, great audience interaction, and a huge collection of winning songs, Architects proved themselves band of the day with a fucking immense second-stage-headlining showcase. Gravedigger; Youth Is Wasted On The Young; The Devil Is Near; Broken Cross; Alpha Omega; Follow The Water; Castles In The Air; Naysayer; and an unbelievably crushing run-through of These Colours Don’t Run all added up to an experience few of those present will be forgetting any time soon.

Overall, Slam Dunk is one of the rock/metal/punk world’s most hotly anticipated annual events for good reason. Great organisation; amazing bands; a relaxed and friendly vibe; and more than enough variety to keep even the most ADD-addled mind engaged. Roll on Slam Dunk 2016…

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