A host of sonic extremists are set to bring the noise to Newcastle in May, as Richard Holmes reports.
Noise rock, doom and genre-bending experimentalism will be hitting Newcastle next month, with the welcome return of Leave Me Here All Day – an underground all-dayer launched in the city last year.
A slew of local, national and international acts will be hitting Tyneside for round two on May 4, following the success of last year’s event – which saw the likes of Bongripper, Conan and Divorce lay waste to Tyneside’s Star And Shadow Cinema venue.
Taking place this time at The Cluny, Leave Me Here All Day 2 will see Brooklyn’s GNAW headline an eight-strong bill, which boasts a wide spectrum of bands culled from the fringes of extreme music.
Led by former Khanate vocalist Alan Dubin, GNAW will be making a rare appearance on these shores, bringing their claustrophobic noise/doom soundscapes - featuring string, wind and home made instruments – to Newcastle for the first time.
Leave Me Here All Day’s boundary pushing ethos doesn’t stop there, with Londoners Necro Dethmort set to take to the stage in Newcastle for the second time in 12 months. The duo, whose atmospheric ‘doomtronica’ has drawn comparisons with the likes of Godflesh, have had a prolific year, with recent releases including EP1 and the Martian Cartography full length.
Also appearing are Italian sonic experimentalists OvO, North East ‘death toll bluesmen’ Haikai No Ku (featuring Bong’s Mike Vest on guitar), Anglo Scottish ‘raw’ doomsters Ommadon, new Tyneside doom/punk act BIN, Newcastle’s improvised noise rock heroes Waheela and horror-obsessed Northerners The Dead End Street Band – whose hellish synth drones are set to open the event.
John-Michael Hedley, head of programming for Leave Me Here, said: “Following the resounding and earth shattering success of last year’s all-dayer, we decided to make it an annual event.
“When the opportunity arose to book GNAW and OvO we jumped at the chance, then everything quickly fell into place after that, and with the addition of Ommadon and Necro Deathmort following shortly after we knew we were on to a winner!
“Plus, it’s on a Bank Holiday so people don’t need to worry about getting fired from work the next day because their faces have been melted off!”
Leave Me Here All Day 2 takes place on May 4, at The Cluny, Newcastle upon Tyne. Tickets are £10 advance or £12 on the door and are available from The Cluny, RPM, Beatdown Records or www.seetickets.com. More info is available at www.leavemehere.co.uk