Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 / Sunday Review, Part One

Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 – Sunday Review, Part One. The final day of Maid Of Stone is upon us, promising, and indeed delivering, another batch of heavy delights, all seasoned with a bit of drama.

Maid Of Stone Festival

Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent – Sunday 21 July 2024

Phoenix Lake

Opening matters with a bang on the Phoenix Stage and no uncertain style, Nottingham-based outfit Phoenix Lake look ready to take on the world and are determined to make the most of the slot.

There is an air of big, bold ideas and ambition, and, happily the band have both the material and star power to pull it off, anthemic rocker Fractured Wings kicking things off with venom.

Vocalist Lana Phillis and guitarist Ash Wilson are a constantly moving blur around the stage, covering every inch in a display that blazes like the midday sun that scorches the crowd, the muscular riffs and hard-hitting rhythms balanced by a sharp melodic sensibility that shows that they are definite contenders.

Blistering older numbers like Reflections and Faithless, faultless new single Serenity and the slower Against The Tide are equally well received, and it would not be a surprise to see this crew on big stages like this for the foreseeable future.

Preacher Stone

Over on the Inferno Stage, it was left to Preacher Stone, the boys from North Carolina, to lift our spirits. It is Sunday, after all, so we got our sermon of righteous fire-and-brimstone lyrics in good ol’ southern style rock ‘n’ roll, which went down a storm.

The band were playing their final gig in the UK before heading back across the pond, and they made the most of every minute. The song Old Fashioned Ass Whoopin Sum Bitch (yep, that is as good as it sounds) was dedicated to the founder member Marty Hill who passed on earlier this year.

One of the most personable bands on the scene, packed full of witty lyrics such as, “Well I tried to drown my troubles but the bastards learned to swim,” from Horse To Water. Declaring that they wanted to take the crowd back home with them, there would be no shortage of takers here.

Seething Akira

Some of the wildest action of the weekend happened on Sunday, too, with a ferocious set by Seething Akira, the South Coast Electronic Nu Core crew seemingly having neither decorum nor restraint in their dictionary.

Possibly the loudest thing to come out of Portsmouth since the guns on HMS Victory, the twin vocals of Kit Conrad and Charlie Bowes twist and turn with dizzying speed as Si Williams and John Corney smack everyone in the face with visceral fretwork. Big, brutal and beautiful, this is music to destroy worlds.

As December Falls

Proceedings remained loud and with the glorious punk-pop party of As December Falls. It’s all about vocalist Bethany Curtis fronting the band with the force of a hurricane and seriously impressing with her high kicks and back bends – I mean, crikey, that is some serious spinal flexibility.

Nothing like a bit of afternoon pogoing to consolidate that festival feeling, and there were plenty ready and willing to join their club. No surprises there, the Nottingham band are known for their dedicated fan community who were out in force today and most certainly added to their ranks.

Oli Brown And The Dead Collective

An almost literally eleventh-hour substitution was made as Oli Brown And The Dead Collective replaced These Wicked Rivers, who were unable to play due to a family emergency.

Oli was already on site selling his spectacular jewellery, Black Feather Design. A call was made to Sam Wood, who had left the site after appearing with Wayward Sons, and he promptly turned around and made his way back. With drummer Wayne Proctor arriving in the morning, the Dead Collective was complete.

And what a set it was. Paying tribute to These Wicked Rivers with one of their trademark lampshades on stage, the collective took us on an emotional journey with some of the most powerful, searing, heartfelt and original atmospheric rock around today.

With several of the crowd coming over to check the band out of curiosity and leaving as firm fans queuing up for merch, you cannot really ask for more than that.

Jared James Nichols

With Preacher Sons on their way back to the States, Jared James Nichols had just arrived, touching down mere hours before his set, kicking off eight days of blues power across the UK.

Paul Anthony introduced him saying it was amazing what this guy can do with his fingers – and he’s not wrong. With no need for a pick, Nichols thrilled with a demonstration of almighty power mixed with elegance and occasional restraint.

Jared has brought Dorothy with him, his 1952 Les Paul Gold Top, who literally survived a hurricane. Restored after landing battered in a backyard in Illinois, she is now certainly living her absolute best life. With his rhythm section providing the perfect foundation to lay down these almighty grooves, we were treated to a set largely taken from his essential eponymous album and a ferocious version of War Pigs to close proceedings on a high.

Firestarter Stage

As with Saturday, there are a head-spinning number of great bands to catch, so once more, the Firestarter stage was a quick dip in and out affair. There were so many treats on offer, though, from Black Roze’s compelling and filthy Glam-infused Metal to the soulful groove and fire of Darnell Cole and the Vibe, there was genuinely something for everyone.

Laden with an almost indecent amount of hooks, Twister once more prove that they have got the chops and moves to make mountains move and following constant touring a razor-sharp The Karma Effect and the incandescent Skarlett Riot have seemingly set their eyes on the stratosphere, both bands tighter and jaw-droppingly good than they have ever been.

Over in the VIP bar, Sons Of Liberty got the tentpoles shaking with full-band acoustic southern rock while blues goddess Chantel McGregor delighted with a perfectly formed guitar and keyboard set.

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MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL 2024

The Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 edition will find 39 bands gracing the stage at Mote Park between 19 and 21 July 2024. Gun, Wolfmother and Mr. Big are the headline acts on what has become, over the years, a must-attend event for music lovers.

MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2024 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2024.

This year’s MetalTalk team is:

Liz Medhurst

Paul Monkhouse

Photography: 

Robert Sutton

For MetalTalk’s Maid Of Stone 2023 coverage, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2023.

Maid Of Stone Website – maidofstonefestival.com

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