Brighton now has its very own metal festival "Mammothfest" and from the response its clear this is just the beginning!
With the closure of 5 venues in the past year (Hobgoblin, Freebutt, Providence, Pressure point and Engine rooms) no less, paving the way for another hyper-super-duper-fast-but-expensive-(forget about local businesses)-market or bistro bar its no doubt the metal scene was holding its breath on the arrival and success of Mammothfest 2010 and what a way to start!
Mammothfest quickly became a ray of light in a darkening metal city, it gave people hope that despite current venue closures there is still an amazing array of hungry bands, promoters and dedicated fans keen to make Brighton the mecca for new forms of metal and Mammothfest was the vehicle for this new message.
Early floods of wild metal head boars descended on the Hove centre for what was to be a historic day in Brighton and Hove carrying their message of their passion for metal and determination to ensure the metal scene continues to thrive despite the current challenges Brightons music scene currently harbours.
By 4pm, 600 people from as far as Holland and Glasgow had arrived and were hell bent on destroying the nice laminate flooring the venue had to offer, Beholder, Abgott, Mutant and Ted Maul all smashing the main stage to mass roar as the crowd held their horns up to the ear bleeding music - just how we like it! The beast of Mammothfest was alive...
Then came the sad news of Breed 77s drummer, he had just broken his toe back stage and so the band were unable to play. This, following all their equipment being stolen from their tour van only 2 days before and borrowing equipment to play meant a massive dissapointment to everyone, not more the band themselves who seemingly ran out of luck the moment they set foot on their tour bus a week before. It doesnt matter who you are, shit happens and when it rains...Our hearts go out to them all.
But in true British metal spirit the show must go on with the mighty Xerath moving over to the main stage to replace Breed 77 in a swift moment that proved to be deadly, again the momentum returned!
From here Furyon, Godsized, Cilice, Malefice, Sylosis, Orange Goblin and the even heavier weight champions Entombed proceeded to desecrate the venue and its fans right up until the imminent closure leaving an eagre crowd desperately keen to find out when the next Mammothfest will be and who will be headlining this time!? (Early speculation includes Meshuggah, Exodus and or Fear Factory although nothing is apparently set yet)
Lets make this clear, metal is here in Brighton and is far bigger than you may think especially when you consider the Mammothfest team went up against the massive media machines of Sharon & Ozzy osbourn and "Ozzfest" in London on the same day. Its a TestamenT to the support from the scene and the hard work and dedication the Mammothfest team have in making this event happen despite all odds! To be honest, most people thought it would fail but how pleased we are it didnt!
Now comes the crucial time of what were their losses, can they turn this around and make a second happen? I hope so.
Only the Mammothfest team know but if you wish to show your support then you can email -info@mammothfest.co.uk- to let the team know you are out there, you want it again and who you want playing!
I raise my glass to Mammothfest 2010 and cant wait to see what the future no holds!
Jake Pike A metal fan in Brighton m/
A HUGE Congratulations to OWEN TREHARNE who won the Terrorizer Magazine - Mammothfest competition!
Its nearly the big day, we are all really excited to kick off tomorrows event!
Get down m/
We are really sorry to announce that Scamp have had to pull out of this years Mammothfest due to the guitar player injuring his finger and being unable to play guitar. Scamp are really sorry for letting their new fans down.
They will be welcome at next years event, and wish the guys the best and a swift recovery.
Mammothfest Team
Local high quality caterers Hardings will be supplying the food for
Mammothfest 2010. We are delighted to be working with such a high class
company for this years event. Have a look at their website for an idea of what edible delights will be on offer:
MAMMOTHFEST has teamed up with DEVIANT rock club, Brighton to bring you the OFFICAL PRE-MAMMOTHFEST WARM UP PARTY! With FREE ticket giveaway, and exclusive to DEVIANT the LOWEST priced tickets available at just £25! That's a saving of over £15!
Join us this Friday at Deviant, New Hero Brighton, Entry just £3 all night with great drink promos! check out www.deviantclub.co.uk
We are having a BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL SALE!
Until the 1st of September we are offering you the chance to get your ticket for £30, either you can collect them from us to save postage, or we can post them out or pick them up on the day.
This is the last opportunity to get your ticket cheap, as on the door they will be full price as normal.
Grab your tickets after payday and secure your place at the South Easts best metal festival!
Lithurgy blasted their way from 50 bands to no1, securing their place at Bloodstock and potentially Waken Festival. We are Delighted to have Brighton Prog Metal masters on our lineup, check them out here:
After releasing their debut album at the beginning of 2010, local Progressive Death Metal band Stone Circle are playing Bloodstock, and then joining the lineup at Mammothfest! Another example of local Brighton talent making their way nationwide and kicking ass along the way.
Candlelight's Xerath are one of the finest Progressive Death Metal bands in the country, bringing Meshuggah style riffs with symphonic keys, and they will be kicking some major ass at Mammothfest this September!
It is our absoulute pleasure to announce Scamp onto the Mammothfest Lineup Check them out because they are amazing!
"Hailing from Denmark, Scamp have so far performed alongside Mnemic and Mercenary, Stonegard, Darkane and Everygrey (among others), we are delighted to welcome them to our shores to play Mammothfest.
While having developed their own unique style, Scamp have been described as a mix between Meshuggah, Fear Factory and Chimaira incorporating intense melodic passages that adds to the atmospheric feel of the music."
This band has toured America and Canada with one of the biggest metal bands on the planet Metallica, who call Mnemic their favourate band to tour with. We are really excited to be bringing them all the way to the UK to play Mammothfest for our first year!
Our Dutch friends across the channel have produced a CiLiCe, technical metal at its very best. This band has toured most of Europe and even Brazil, a testament to their talents and popularity!
We are really pleased to announce that MUTANT will be gracing our stages at Mammothfest this year!
Check out more information about the London Thrashers HERE
We are really excited to announce that London Death Metal band Infestation will be joining our lineup! With nearly 15 years of Infestation in various forms, the band are finally on their feet and kicking some ass, and are very welcome to grace our stage in September. Check them out!
Check out Metal Music Online which is the new home for Metal Heads on the net! Check out videos, bands, articles and loads more on there!
Totally worth checking out if you want to talk or get in touch with new metal heads!
Team Mammothfest
It is our honour to announce ENTOMBED as our headliner! After 20 years of Death Metal from the Scandinavian legends has lead them to Mammothfest to headline our first year here in Brighton & Hove.
48 bands, over 4 months, and after a grueling final with 6 of the very best unsigned acts battling for their place for Bloodstock, we are absolutely delighted to announce LITHURGY as the champions of the competition.
Brightons own Lithurgy blasted us over the period of the competition with progressive riffery and stunning vocal performances that got them a place at Bloodstock!
We are also delighted to be having Lithurgy with us now at Mammothfest this year, and we will also be welcoming those crazy chaps Massai who came from no where (well, the Forest of Dean to be precise) and blew us and Simon from Bloodstock away with their reggae/metal earning themselves second place in the competition!
Commiserations to the other finalists, who were all incredible, the calibre of the final I know for a fact was really hard for Simon to judge (and he might even be bringing more bands to Bloodstock if he can they were THAT good!). XVLTR, Here There Be Monsters, Wreckhead & Blind Eye Fury were all awesome, and all deserved their place in the final!
Keep tuned in, as we will be announcing our headliner very soon, as well as lots of other news coming up!
Mammothfest Team
We never knew the Jonas Brothers we so awesome?!
It is with our regret to inform you about the following bands being pulled from the Mammothfest 2010 lineup, this is the official statement from Steve Dickson - Mammothfest Director:
"Due to unforseen circumstances we regret to inform Basick Records of our
decision to pull Bury Tomorrow, Monuments and Between the Screams from
our line up for 2010.
It was our original intention to provide a diverse range of metal
genres present at Mammothfest 2010 which is why we booked these bands in
the first place!
However It has become clear through a lack of ticket sales in
certain areas we deem it necessary to be more genre specific and focus
on the bands/genres selling tickets.
Also due to the recent announcement of our direct competitor,
Ozzfest and their line up on the same day there is the heightened need
for Mammothfest to make changes to ensure we remain a successful
business enabling us to grow to provide the diversity we have always
strived for, in the future.
We have great respect for Basick records, the bands and their fans
and sincerely apologise for any dissapointment this may cause. We very
much wish to maintain and grow our relationship with Basick records and
hope to bring you a Basick records stage at Mammothfest in years to
come, for now we admit the need to streamline our line up to maximises
our product value to the majority of our customers.
We thank you for your understanding."
Steve Dickson - Mammothfest Ltd
Steve will be doing a live interview on Total Rock Radio to talk about the decision and talk about the festival.
Check this guy out, what a hero!
XVLTR Kicking some ass at the Battle of the Bands Semis!
After two intense Bloodstock, Waken and Mammothfest battle of the bands heats, a well deserved congratulations go to:
Inner Fire Some Will Be Saved Here There Be Monsters Lithurgy XVLTR Funeral Hag
These six will be joining 6 others to be decided in the next two heats.
Funny Metal Video of the week..... The Death Metal Chicken! Talons up...
Markbass
have been making top of the line bass audio equipment for the last 10
years. We are delighted to have them Sponsor Mammothfest 2010 and they
will be supplying Markbass equipment for the main event, as well as our
other events.
BAND OF THE WEEK - GODSIZED
This week, we are focusing on southern rockers Godsized! These guys have played their southern style, and souring vocals all over the country!
As British hard rock acts go, you'd be hard pressed to find many bands
more dedicated or promising than hotly tipped southern newcomers
Godsized. Described by Malcolm Dome (Total Rock/Metal Hammer) as
'contemporary, cutting edge hard rock with a seismic power', this UK
quartet's gritty, balls to the wall delivery never fails to impress, and
with a number of huge things in the pipeline for them this year's
Mammothfest is a great opportunity to check these guys out in the flesh
before they go stratospheric. Definitely not to be missed!
Check out more info on their band profile: Godsized
New Poster! Check out our new poster for the main Mammothfest 2010 event, with the most up to date version of the lineup on!
BAND OF THE WEEK - MALEFICE
Every week we are planning to bring you a band that is playing the festival, so we are starting this week with Malefice, who are joining us in Brighton at the end of the month in Hectors House with Lithurgy, Blind Eye Fury and Stone Circle for another Mammothfest event!
Metal Blade Records Malefice have answered the call of a return to true
British metal, like the godfathers of metal themselves, Black Sabbath,
Motorhead and Iron Maiden. Malefice have shared the stage with some of
the biggest modern metal bands (Sepultura, Devil Driver, Morbid Angel
etc!) and are another one of the most acclaimed UK metal bands,
specialising in a distinct brand of no nonsense metal. It is very exciting to have them joining us at the end of the month, as well as gracing our stage at the first Mammothfest in September.
Check out more info on their band profile: Malefice
It is a pleasure to announce Marshall Amps will be providing guitar amplification for both stages at Mammothfest 2010. With nearly 40 years of making guitar amps for some of the biggest metal bands and rock stars all over the world we are thrilled to have them working with us to bring metal to Brighton & Hove.
BOTB Scoresheet You can now see the current rankings and line ups for the Battle of the Bands on our Bands Page. Click here to view >>>
Bloodstock BOTB We have been hosting weekly heats with 48 bands, all competing for the final on the 3rd of July for a chance to play Mammothfest, Bloodstock, Wacken Festivals as well as band equipment.
So if you want to see some of the best metal bands in the south east battle it out for supremacy then this is the place to be!
FREE entry, amazing bands, what more could you want?
