Welcome to the Modern Era of metal. The two-day festival is London’s newest metal festival; taking place in the famous New Cross Inn in south London – one of the most iconic venues for the scene. It’s a barricade free venue famed for its intense pits; and the all-day nature of the affair meant for a gruelling several hours for the dedicated moshers. It also proved the hurdles that some festivals have to overcome for example; when they assembled their all-star lineup of metal talent and up and comers, the organisers probably didn’t imagine that Heathrow airport would catch fire just a few days before preventing headliner Heart of a Coward from performing on the day. It’d be a massive blow to any festival to lose such a talented act.
Thankfully, the Saturday alone was more than worth the price of admission. Virtue in Vain, a South Wales band; opened up the day at 14:40. You can tell their influences, Architects and Make them Suffer – and they deliver with a combination of low growling vocals and a mix of high/lower vocal tracks that showcase the range of lead frontman Hywel Thomas – you think there’d be two vocalists here; but Thomas is dynamic enough to cover both. The progressive metalcore atmosphere with songs like The Whispers of Sleep really got the audience moving early on; evoking an atmosphere befitting of New Cross Inn. The riffs here work wonders – focusing more on the technical side and it’s a band that betrays their emotions at their core, allowing them to be seen on stage.
Next came Assurance; Birmingham modern prog metal with a bite. They made it clear before the show started that this would be the final show playing their old material before they launched into a new era; and the frontman stepped up to the billing with an aggressive nature that was hard to resist. Jumping around the pit he decided to give the same energy back that he got; and started it by encouraging all those at the back to come forward. They’re playing a new era of material in the Sanctum in Birmingham in the summer – a hometown show; so you’d be mad not to check them out when they’re on the same docket as bands like The Five Hundred and overthrone. No wonder their star is rising – their songwriting approach to their music is captivating – and it’s clear their work ethic helps demand the audience’s attention. Their humour was excellent; with the frontman not apologising for peer pressure – and they sped through their seven-song setlist with ease.
BreakFifty came next; proving they’re a band to watch at Burn it Down festival later this year with a spark of energy inspired by their new tracks – the combination of Pillbox and Under the Dirt from their new singles brought up the energy in the room – self-described as two of the heaviest tracks they have available to date and they more than delivered on that front. Able to cross boundaries with their genre and create a sense of raw; energetic sound with ferocious visceral energy – mixing modern hardcore with 90s nu-metal music. They’re a real blend of the old and the new – and their evolution of their sound overtime has really led to a much more confident showing this time out – hailing from the south of the UK you’re getting a real variety of acts here across the country – showing the best that metalcore has to offer – delivering insane breakdowns along the way that most bands could only dream of.
Then came LOVELETTER. They’re on the rise and stylistically slick from the get go – with their backs to the audience for much of the set they were still able to get them engaged for their new EP A Place That Doesn’t Exist, barnstorming, all guns blazing and provided an instant shock to the system. 2023 started strong for the Welsh band performing with Graphic Nature and they’ve kept the momentum going at this festival – blending the lines between deathcore, nu metalcore and metallic hardcore to create what can only be described as “sick nu core”, blending melody with heavy kicks to the system for create bed. My favourite song of the night by them was Toothless, with strong Paleface Swiss energy that’s hard not to miss out on. Once you’ve become aware of this band, you’ll want to seek them down at every performance you can.
My favourite performance of the night aside from the headliner Defences was probably InRetrospect, creating energy that best resembles Architects – who leave a heavy shadow over pretty much everyone here tonight. It’s tech metalcore yet feels instantly accessible and engaging – creating a blend of intimate guitars and clean vocals that allow for the heavy hitting energy to come through. Nathan Biddles’ energy almost creates a Pintglass-type ‘geeza-core’ vibe to the setlist – and he knows how to be a frontman, goading the crowd to mosh to the point where it’s impossible to resist. There’s a bit of Skindred here too, mixing rap and metal together for an instant favourite discovery – Who Cares?! – And it’s hard not to be won over. They’re in Nottingham next for Saltbox with Hacktivist and Eschalon.
Incredibly at this point – we still had four bands left to go even with the cancelled headliner. After Smoke Clears debuted their new album Intentions with unmatched ferocity and stage presence, fast-paced and spiteful in their energy at creating malice throughout. It turned out to be a real “mates’ show” and a treat for everyone in the audience as they got to see Stephen MacConville from Confessions of a Traitor step up to collaborate for Animal, whilst Jimmy Dahmer joined them on stage for the beautifully visceral Serenity. It’s a belter of an album across the board – and it was so much fun seeing much of it performed live. If InRetrospect were my favourite non-headliner of the night, After Smoke Clears were an instant new discovery of pure, unrivalled metalcore at its best.
Dahmer was on double duties as he launched into Asleep at the Helm for his next act; new age metalcore from Manchester this time. For their album Keepsake, the pit was started, and someone lost an oyster card – easily the most peak London concert thing you’ll ever see. By this time of the evening everyone was pitting for every song – and it was hard to keep the energy up. Yet keep the energy up everyone in the room did – and Tarnished was there to “explore the end of friendships and relationships damaged by ignorance”. It felt especially relevant in the current era and highlighted the core values that the band stood for – delivering biting energy throughout their set with the bonus of a guitarist with an all-covered white mask. The breakdowns were ferociously good – and you’d be hard pressed to miss them when they tour again.
We returned to the Southwest for Continents that blend the old and the new perfectly for a bombastic evening. Powerful and ferocious they even had time to bring out Cherry, Defences’ frontwoman, to get the crowd hyped up for their new single Corrupted, full of energetic, lively breakdowns and a collaboration that gave real voice to their set. It’s easy to see why both bands are paired together – they’re excellent. Like all their songs you’ll get an assault on the senses at every turn and their triumphant success can shake the entire New Cross Inn to the ground. Abrasive and crowd-propelling they’re sending the audience into the stratosphere long before Defences get on stage.
And to cap off the night was London’s finest up-and-comers, Defences. Much like Continents that brought in ambient lighting, they brought their own decorations to make the stage feel truly unique with rose vines arranged around the stage. The Hertfordshire band have been eating up the scene since their emergence and the fact that they delivered so much raw energy live it’s impossible not to become a fan if you didn’t know who they were already. They were touring their third studio album, Shadowlight, released last year – and it’s a corker – Breathe It In is such a memorable tune about acceptance and finding who you are. Cherry’s stage presence is unmatched – able to really make her presence felt. Dynamic and centre-stage amidst the rest of the understated dress-code of the band, delivering an entertaining and well-crafted performance that showed their experience on the scene. Calum Wilmot on guitar, Kyle Parke on drums, and Owen Hughes-Holland on bass all delivered a stirring atmosphere that made the evening really entrancing. It’s rare that you know you’re witnessing a special evening before the day starts yet Defences make that impression instantly – they’re destined for the big time and they will get there sooner or later. Whether it was Breathe It In or In the Black – a song about resilience and optimism in a post-COVID era of recession – their ability to connect with the crowd remains unrivalled. Look for them on Saturday 24th May at Uprising festival in Leicester – perhaps a brutal clash with Slamdunk – but it’s something that you should be very much considering make an exception for.
Modern Era made an instant impression as a smoothly run festival making the most out of a small venue with an eager crowd of devout metalcore fans that showcased the best and brightest of the genre across the Saturday. I couldn’t make the Sunday – as much as I wanted to – for bands like Glass Grave and Overthrown were among the many highlights of the day – but to get the chance to witness nine bands perform across the day is a rare treat, and to have them all be mostly excellent is an experience not to forget anytime soon. Banger day – and as a second festival for myself of 2025 it set the bar very high indeed. For metalcore in the UK you can’t get much better of a curated selection than this – and to get a crowd that were into it at every turn, it’s hard not to turn down. I’ll be back next year.
Modern Era Fest took place at the New Cross Inn in London.
Learn more about the event at the official website.
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