Began in 2011, the festival prides itself on featuring diverse, up and coming bands within progressive and experimental metal that are noted for their innovation and creativity. The festival offers a fully inclusive atmosphere where bands and fans alike have the opportunity to network and share ideas.

Speaking on the future of the festival, the event said, “we are taking this opportunity as a new beginning. The main even will return in a different form down the line.”

Pulling a headlining slot represents a huge opportunity for Loathe who are often cited as one of the most exciting new bands within the UK scene and beyond. Formed in 2011 by guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe, the band signed to SharpTone Records in 2016, re-issuing their first EP Pepare Consume Proceed. From there, the group began grabbing the attention of critics and fans alike, with many praising the sound and experimentation of songs.

Nominated for awards from the likes of Metal Hammer Magazine and featuring on festivals such as Slam Dunk and Download, the band looked set to explode as a major force within the scene when the Covid pandemic struck leaving many bands considering their survivals. The band persevered, releasing songs and projects that sustained interest for listeners before the band had a chance to get back to performing live.

Loathe, often a difficult band to pigeon-hole into one particular genre or sound, have been praised for incorporating elements of electronics to boost the atmosphere of certain songs which many critics have cited as an effective accompaniment to their djenty, industrial sound. This has proved a real positive for the band, allowing them to fit seamlessly on bills with a number of different acts within a variety of genres.

Loathe are now in the midst of working on their next full length release while having recently announced a run of tour dates in the US with Chevelle and Three Days Grace.

Tech-Fest will take place from Thursday, 29 June to Monday, 3 July. Find tickets to UK Tech-Fest here. Find tickets to Loathe in Europe and the UK here.

Loathe UK Tour:

19/06/2023 – Hole 44 – Berlin, Germany
20/06 – Backstage (Werk) – Munich, Germany
21/06 – Gebäude 9 – Cologne, Germany
22/06 – Jera On Air – Ysselsteyn, Netherlands
23/06 – Outbreak Fest – Manchester
24/06 – Full Force Festival – Gräfenhainichen, Germany
05/07 – 2000Trees – Cheltenham
13/07 – The Roundhouse – London
28/07 – Radar Festival – Manchester
16/08 – ArcTanGent – Compton Martin

Our new album ‘House of Sand’ is out now!

“Beautifully foreboding”
“Dreamy, luscious but with a dark undercurrent”
“There is no band that sound like Dawnwalker ”

Check it out now!https://t.co/RVzEi1bUrN

DW x#postmetal #prog #postrock #metal

— (@dawnwalkeruk) August 19, 2022

Addressing the mercurial nature of their process, the band said in the press release for the album: “House of Sand marks a significant change away from the post and folk metal influences of Dawnwalker’s last LP Ages for something darker and more difficult to pin down”. Watch the video for the first track off the album, “R.I.P“, below.

Addressing the pastoral album cover, they continued: ”As pictured on Mitchell Nolte’s cover painting, the album is set against a backdrop of idyllic suburbs and the darkness that may be lurking beneath”. References to the darker side of the human psyche and of human nature run throughout the album. Talking about, “Demon of Noontide”, the second song of the album, they say once it is “contracted gradually destroys all in its path”.

Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and Mansun’s 1998 prog opera “Six” are just a few examples of musical touchstones from the British indie and progressive rock canon, yet these influences are combined with a contemporary heavy sensibility to create a distinctive sound all of its own. The band saying, “It might be thought of as something akin to the lovechild of Opeth and Kate Bush”.

Coming in with a run time of 43 minutes, this is their shortest album by a long way, but that doesn’t mean that each of the thirteen songs isn’t packed with the band’s usual flair for inventiveness.

Talking about the sound they wanted for the new album, the band revealed in the statement: “Together with Joe Clayton of No Studio, they wanted to get away from the overproduced sound of modern metal and computer-generated artifice. As such, no click tracks or synthesized instruments were used at all on the album. Instead, an ensemble of eight musicians wielding acoustic guitars, piano, violins and four vocalist performed whole takes live in the room, choosing to make a feature of their imperfections rather than airbrush them away. The end result is Dawnwalker’s darkest but most human and affecting album to date”.

Metal Injection gave the album 8.5 stars saying: “House of Sand is a mesmerizing journey brimming with countryside chaos and literary meditations…There’s a classiness and scholarliness to it all that keeps you coming back for more, allowing the group to sustain their place amongst the top acts in their field”.

Dawnwalker are:
Chris J. Allan – Drums
Matteo Bianciotto – Guitars, Vocals
Dane Cross – Vocals
Mina Jackson – Piano
Robin Melinda Koob – Violin
Mark Norgate – Vocals, Guitars
Roisin O’Toole – Vocals
and featuring Alastair Mitchell as “The Master”

The band have commented saying although the video is free to download, donations are welcome. “Playing live is an expensive thing for bands at our level, and your donations really help us pay off the costs of playing live. But not to worry if you can’t or didn’t donate, but how about sharing the video and download website with your friends instead? Thanks everyone!”