Next Stage: The Devil’s Trade x John Cxnnor
Brothers Ketil and Rasmus G. Sejersen make up half of Denmark’s LLNN, however, they also have a side project; John Cxnnor, an industrial project which draws its inspiration from the Terminator franchise. Last year they covered a track by doom-folk artist Dávid Makó, aka The Devil’s Trade, so them teaming up for a one off Roadburn performance seemed inevitable. Dávid’s soulful voice soars alongside crackling, Skynet influenced beats. It’s weird, it’s heavy, it’s everything you could want from a midafternoon festival performance.
Main Stage: Lingua Ignota
Stood atop a raised platform, surrounded by light tubes, Kristin Hayter cuts a powerful silhouette in a flowing green dress. Her operatic vocal range cuts through the hush of the crowd like a hot knife through butter and every track from SINNER GET READY, which she performs in its entirety, it’s elevated by the visuals of US evangelical baptisms being projected on a loop behind her. She slips in a performance of DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR, the opening bars causing shouts of excitement from an otherwise silent crowd. It’s wholly deserved. Lingua Ignota is theatrical, raw and simply unmatched by any other performer.
Main Stage: Hangman’s Chair x Regarde Les Hommes Tomber
This pairing was originally part of James Kent’s (Perturbator) 2020 curation that never came to be. Thankfully, this particular coupling has resurfaced for this year’s edition to perform a piece that was originally commissioned by Redbull and has only ever been performed live once before in Paris back in 2019. The sludge infused black metal of Regarde Les Hommes Tomber complements the upbeat, luminescent doom of Hangman’s Chair perfectly, creating an experience that feels almost decadent in its heaviness.
Main Stage: Full Of Hell ft. Spiritual Poison
For Full Of Hell’s fourth and final performance of the weekend they’re joined by Ethan McCarthy (Primitive Man) aka Spiritual Poison for a playthrough of 2021’s Garden of Burning Apparitions. Once again, using just half of their allotted 40 minute set time, they push the limits of experimentation while still managing to sound like the soundtrack to what it would feel like to crumble into infinity. As the day is drawing to its close, and emotions are running high that it’s all nearly over, this little slice of silliness is the ideal pick-me-up.
Next Stage: Green Lung
London doomsters Green Lung have hopped the channel to perform latest album Black Harvest in its entirety. While most performers over the weekend have opted to just crack on with their set and offer a polite thanks once finished, vocalist Tom Templar’s interaction with the crowd is consistent as they move from track to track, eager to see people move and sing along. Whether or not the onstage bravado is appreciated, it’s clear that their quintessential Sabbath inspired riffs certainly are.
Pic: Niels Vinck