YULE FEST 2 – The Old Pint Pot, Salford; 7th / 8th December 2024.

This weekend in Manchester well if you want to be pedantic in Salford, we had the opportunity to attend Yule Fest 2 2024 at The Old Pint Pot. I first picked up this weekender on my radar early November and unfortunately due to personal circumstances was only able to attend the Sunday but let me tell you this it was an absolute nostalgic throwback to the feeling of old hardcore shows I use to attend in my early 20’s. Back when bands such as CDC, Knuckledust, Six Ft Ditch, Reign Supreme, First Blood and other of the likes were floating around, oh and oddly Preston use to seem like a hot spot for most ‘hardcore’ gigs – Still never worked out why…

It was one of them days in Manchester that was grey and sucked the living energy out of you being outside in the harsh cold however in the venue the energy levels were high and you almost forgot that there was a potential storm risk outside.

It’s been a while since I’ve attended an ‘all dayer’ when you get older you get the crippling though of “7 hours stood around watching music, hell yeah but my back will not like that” but I would like to note to the venue a big shout out for the fact there is actually comfortable seating around the venue that is perfect to rest your ass every now and again so this made the day very pleasant (Shout out to The Old Pint Pot for this!). Due to the large amount of bands featured throughout the day I’ll keep my descriptions and reviews of the bands short and sweet (or plan too… let’s see how we get on).

The day started out with openers and local band, Lure In at 3:30pm. I feel this band were a great band to set the pace and bar for the rest of the day. With the vocalist proclaiming they were the “weird band” for the day I feel that this also showed this band had a great sense of humor which I personally love to see when bands perform, alongside being able to deliver high energy, fast pace music.

It was a nice addition to see mosh games played at a gig, however reminded me of the incident with xTyrantx back in the day, jeez I tell you something I hadn’t thought of that for a while. If you don’t know of it, just search up “murderball” you’ll find enough posts about it – gigs that warrant a hospital trip after however are not really my scene so never got the ‘pleasure’ of seeing that in person. If you would like to check out Lure In click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

Following on from Lure In was Prozpekt. I absolutely adored their set and the crowd clearly did too as the energy that was given replicated that of which was being put out. The music itself was well structured, had aggressive bite and was a general a good audible experience.The crowd appeared to be lapping up every minute these guys had performing whilst on stage. If you would like to check out Prozpekt click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

 

Next on the line up of the eight bands on today’s line up was Nylon. From the day there were three bands that really stood out to me as memorable bands and these were on of them. Their stage presence was definitely something to be noted with all members using the space available to them, the music was tight and high tempo, rather did enjoy this set.The band displayed catchy hooks and hard hitting tracks.  If you would like to check out Nylon click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

At this point the fatigue from being over 30 has slowly set in so I took a bit of time to get hydrated, pop some ibuprofen and soldier on… The day is still young and we’re only at the 4th band on the line up that’s half way there.

Lethal Minds took to the stage and these were another stand out band for me for the day. Their music was pure aggressive, punchy and intense just as hardcore music should be. I felt the engagement between the artists and the crowd was phenomenal and you could really see the connections whilst they played.

It was great to see some collaborative vocals from these guys and Hour Of Reprisal, the synergy was beautiful to see to say the least. If you would like to check out Lethal Minds click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

Next in the spotlight on the line up was Hour Of Reprisal and they absolutely blew the roof off, killing it. Within their opening song they managed to break equipment which luckily was to be able to be borrowed off another member of one of the bands playing tonight otherwise that could have been possibly the quickest set I’d seen in my whole entire reviewing career.

The music was on-point, tight and you could feel the passion these guys had when they were performing. Hour of Reprisal were among the three main bands that really stuck out for me on the day, if not if I dare say the best band of the day in my opinion however all bands on the line up played fucking great. If you would like to check out Hours Of Reprisal click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

XAPOTHECARYX gave clear signals of their passion for both straight-edge and veganism throughout their work and it was great to see this passion being put forward in their performance. As member composition goes it was nice to see women involved in music especially as a drummer which isn’t that common. I know I didn’t mention it before in Lure In’s review but having a female guitarist too really makes me so happy to see. Big hype up to both these ladies!

But… Back to XAPOTHECARYX getting slightly side tracked there I loved their stance, their music and the way to band presented themselves. You could tell through their movements they were a band that were proud and confident of their sound and honestly, they should be I feel that they absolutely nailed it.

Coming up to the last two bands of the evening, Out Of Love kept the momentum of the show going. Possibly one of the more varied bands to take the stage this evening but the vibe they had was great.

It was a shame to note that at this point the crowd did start to filter out a bit just before their set so it’s very hard for me to include crowd interactions but there is a highlight I would like to mention is that there was a woman stood not to far away from me who was absolutely living her best live during their set and was dancing throughout it all. It goes to show that Out Of Love are crowd pleasers even if on this day the circumstances were not in their favour. Musically not usually what I’d listen too but their stage presence and sound was very easy to listen too. If you would like to check out Out Of Love click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

Finally the end of the evening approaches and the final band Street Soldier close the evening. Previously in the year I have managed to catch these guys three times most recently with Party Cannon on their Vomitour at Rebellion Manchester where I was completely unfamiliar with the band or their music since then it’s been great to actually see them knowing their stuff it definitely added to the experience of seeing these guys live and honestly every time they have performed it’s been amazing. (If you haven’t read our review you can check it out >> HERE << ) I did feel a bit sorry for the guys as by this time the crowd was a lot smaller which I did not expect to be honest with the crowds that these guys usually bring in but they did not let this dull their explosive energy. Combining both a northern rap/grime style with guttural screams they are a band that appeals to both hardcore enjoyers and deathcore/metal alike and do phenomenal job whilst doing so.

Although I’ve not categorically put Street Soldier in my top three of stand out bands, I think it goes to say that if I’ve seen them multiple times in a year it goes without saying I’d highly recommend to catch them near you if you have the chance. If you would like to check out Street Soldier click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

Overall I’d like to comment on how professionally this event was ran by organizers, sound techs and to all the team and bands who were involved. All dayers can sometimes be hectic but everything went smoothly with no set backs or delays and all bands were on stage at their designated line up times. A big shout out to the organizers of this event and a massive thank you for allowing us to come and check out Yule Fest. I am for one sure looking forward to next year already, definitely recommend this event for anyone who is a fan hardcore music who fancies a nostalgic journey to how gigs were back in the day along side being able to checking out some great underground and upcoming talent that is currently out there, another kudos to the organizers for bringing together these bands for a great weekend.

Although as mentioned at the start I was unable to Saturday due to illness I feel that credit is needed to be paid for all bands that played over the weekend. If you would like to check out any of the bands that were involved throughout Yule Fest simply click the links below.

 

If you would like to check out Going Off click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Overpower click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Perp Walk click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Mindless click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Blood Feud click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Predeceased click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Afterburn click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.
If you would like to check out Slowmove click >> HERE << for a direct link to their music on Spotify.

 

For more photography from the evening visit my INSTAGRAM >> HERE <<