TotalRock @ Takedown Festival: Artist Review

Amber Brooks takes you through their watches at Portsmouth’s finest Takedown Festival.

Autumn Fires
For the first band of the day on the TotalRock Stage, they really put on a show. Despite the technical difficulties, and being the cursed opening act, they attracted a large crowd that they won over. Easy-breezy pop punk, perfect for the beginning of a great day!

Red Method
You wouldn’t expect it to be 3pm with the amount of people attending UK firestarters ‘Red Method’. Reminiscent of everything evil about Slipknot and boasting a multitude of malevolent looking men (one even had a key-tar!), they knew how to put on a show. They looked great with their Korn-esque vaudeville makeup and the music set the standard for everyone that came after them.

Fearless Vampire Killers
A classic! Fearless Vampire Killers are the backbone of the British emo community. Recently resuming their live shows after their uncomfortably long hiatus, they brought the much needed nostalgia to the main stage. Maybe the crowd was not feeling up to having a mosh, but I certainly had a great time reciting all the words to their back catalogue. They’ve still got it- (and also the attention of Gordon Ramsay, as frontman Kier Kemp is actually a contestant on his new BBC cookery competition)

As December Falls
As December Falls we’re excellent! Their set put smiles on everybody’s faces, including the band who were loving every second of it. The best moment of the day came from this set when the crowd lifted up a very excited man and his wheelchair. A perfect atmosphere on the TotalRock stage- and it’s also well worth seeing them across their festival dates this summer.

Sunfall
Inside, on the Out of Line stage, industrial deathcore slammers Sunfall, knew exactly what they had to do to make an impact. Whilst their vocalist was a only temporary addition, he matched the band’s explosive sound. One of the most destructive finishers of the day came from their final song ‘Quiet Kid’, which was glorious to watch from the side of the pit. This band is going places, I promise. Watch this space.

Ithaca
Whilst ‘They Fear Us’ was a monumental release in the metal community, its majesty has to be fully revered live. Seeing ‘Ithaca’ in the flesh is nothing short of a religious experience. Cathartic, intensely raw and highly transcendental, Ithaca’s performances are unlike anything I’ve seen before. They put their all into their tracks, and used their time at Takedown, to exorcise their inner demons. Whilst enduring trauma can be extremely difficult, Ithaca used this platform as a space of spiritual healing. They’ve been on my bucket list to watch for a long time, so was grateful to finally see them. I also loved the hot pink crocs from vocalist Djamila!

Loathe
I’m always going to be based with Loathe because they are my favourite band. I’m obsessed with the way they create intense emotion in their rich post-hardcore sound. What I will say is its amazing to see Loathe grow to this stage. They have finally got the attention they deserve and I’m so pleased more people are feeling from their almighty album ‘I let it in and it took everything’ and I am so excited for whatever monoliths of excellence they release in the future.

Sleep Token
Highly anticipated. A band of the moment. Whilst we are all eagerly anticipating ‘Take Me Back To Eden’s’ release next month, this UK exclusive booking was what solidified Takedown (for me) as one of the best breakthrough festivals in the UK. The band were half an hour late, arguably down to the high quality performance, featuring beautiful constellations of lights and spacey strobelights. I do think their set was cut short due to this, but it was beautiful. Hearing some of the new tracks were ethereal. I don’t think I’ll ever see Sleep Token on a stage that size again. Amazing experience.

Takedown 2024 will take place on the 13th and 14th of April next year!