Noizze
Dacara
Dacara opened Saturday with considerably more confidence than their early slot suggested. Bathed in sickly green light, their cyberpunk electronics and heavy metalcore gave the Shure Stage an immediate identity, while Emma Shippen moved cleanly between soaring vocals and harsher passages.
For anyone who remembered the band’s much smaller Manchester shows, the progression was striking. It didn’t feel like a sudden leap, though. More like years of work finally becoming visible. VR
Seething Akira
Seething Akira arrived at lunchtime and somehow made Victoria Warehouse feel several hours later than it actually was. Their collision of metal, rap and electronics translated brilliantly to the main stage, with almost constant movement giving the set the feel of a rave that had wandered into the wrong festival. Their take on Faithless’ ‘Insomnia’ pushed that even further, landing somewhere between affectionate cover and complete reinvention. It was chaotic without becoming messy and playful without slipping into novelty. Seething Akira understood exactly what an early festival crowd needed and, more importantly, how to drag them into it. VR
Heart Of A Coward
Heart Of A Coward provided a welcome dose of straightforward heaviness amongst a weekend dominated by increasingly technical musicianship. Their groove-led metalcore still carried enormous weight live, with every breakdown landing exactly where it needed to and the crowd responding accordingly. There was little interest in reinventing themselves for the sake of it. Instead, the band leaned into the sound that made them such an important part of the UK scene in the first place. Sometimes a festival full of odd time signatures simply needed a very large riff. Heart Of A Coward had plenty of them. VR
Protest The Hero
Protest The Hero’s long-awaited return felt immediately significant. Their songs remained as technically ridiculous as ever, with guitars twisting through constant changes while Rody Walker somehow found huge melodies in the middle of it all.
What kept the performance from becoming an exercise in musicianship was the band’s personality. There was very little of the seriousness that sometimes surrounded progressive metal, despite their influence being obvious across much of RADAR’s wider lineup.
After so long away from UK stages, the reception felt less like reverence and more like genuine affection. Complex, chaotic and still unmistakably themselves, Protest The Hero looked very comfortably back at home. VR
Northlane
The main stage is the busiest it has been thus far for Northlane, settling into their space as the band pushing the envelope of modern metalcore. Every fibre of the band is drenched in electrical charge and a futuristic personality, which has set them apart from Australia’s metalcore identity. Cutting through Obsidian and Alien tracks, which make the packed room feel like a Berlin nightclub rather than a metal show, Northlane show what makes them unique: pulsating rhythm twinned with Marcus Bridges’ exceptional vocal talent, which soars to the back of the room, backed up by the crushing instrumentation, which is tuned to new depths as it shakes the teeth of the crowd. The new track ‘CUT_it’ feels like a perfect marriage between their metalcore foundations and their electronic ambition, leaving the most requested band to appear at Radar Fest living up to their end of the bargain. AC
Unpeople
Unpeople on a smaller stage are soon becoming a thing of myth and yesteryear. The second stage is so packed the screens at the back have their own crowd. The UK’s hottest alternative band is ever-present. A personality unmatched in Jake Crawford, who is full of beans and eccentric facial expressions, sparkling from chorus to chorus. Crowds of the new and curious realise just what all the fuss and hype has been about. The ferocity of Reuben (with a cheeky cover of ‘Blamethrower’ in the set) and the pop sensibility of Weezer hold hands through a wondrous hour to see Unpeople plant their flag. Radar is yet another festival won over and will be clambering for them to headline in years to come. We went to ‘The Garden’, and we could have stayed all night. AC
Skindred
Skindred are at this stage a British festival institution; even if you don’t intend on seeing them, they will win you over with infectious energy and a lure of medleys impossible not to join in with. From the Imperial March to a Jet2 holiday sample, no moment of popular culture is left untouched. Early classics in ‘Rat Race’ and ‘Pressure’ are performed as if they were released yesterday; they feel fresh and full of colour. Benji Webb is a master conductor and personifies cool and personality. He at times borders on stand up comedy tonight with crowd participation and punchlines aplenty. His heartfelt speeches on the importance of live music in maintaining sanity are touching and help introduce ‘You Got This’. The Newport helicopter never gets old, and if you don’t like it, then you just don’t like fun. As Radar lets its hair down with Skindred, who bring the curtain down on Saturday. A feel-good ending to the night with not a single regret in the house. AC
