Carnage and Chaos: A Journey Through Offal Fest 2024
Greetings from Jay Creepy, your Severed Cinema extreme horror, metal, and wrestling addict. Recently I went to Offal Fest — a massive celebration of brutal noise. First of all, before this review I will point out the photo’s kind of suck badly. My Partner in Gore, Willow, and I were leaning over a balcony banging our skulls around and we were a bit of a way from the stage. However, the pics do catch some of the crowds in action (as does a vid or two) so might give you a feel of it all if you weren’t there. It was only two thirds of the way through that I decided I wanted to review everything, so I wasn’t actually prepared with a decent camera or whatever. My phone isn’t the hottest on the market, y’know (Willow contributed a few better pics).
Offal Fest 2024 was a huge moment in time for the Death Metal underground. Combining a lot of death, grindcore, slam, and much more. A few hundred men and women of all ages, colours, and backgrounds gathered to erupt with sheer primal energy in a building that slowly through the day and night became a sweat box brimming with body scents of many kinds.
Based in Manchester, UK (or Slamchester), bands from around the globe such as Switzerland’s Pusboil, the Italian stallions, Vulvectomy (playing for the first time ever in the UK) Kraanium — who’s members are from the UK, Norway, Finland, etcetera, and England’s own Amputated among many others, arrived to totally melt the faces of the faithful for the second year running. However, the biggest grab this year-round had to be To Violently Vomit. Basically, a fill in variation of genre giants, Disgorge (the Californian ones) since the band suddenly vanished in the mid 2000s. This line up is a mix of original and new members.
The whole beast was painfully and tirelessly sewn together by Unusual Horror’s Jack Evans (note: the same company who made the House of Flesh Mannequins t-shirt with my lovely face on (see ‘Want an Evil Clown Rubbing Against Your Skin?’ news article here) and other speciality nasty as hell garments, plus Sam Mansfield of Coprocephalic Mutation, along with Rancid Offal Promotions. Willow and I travelled over, stayed two night and spent a complete Saturday (27/7/24) in the company of misfits, mutations, Cavemen, Grindwhores, and freaks of all shapes and sizes from 11am to just before midnight. (note: there was a few hours worth of music the night before, but we didn’t go).
Band number one, Coprophagia (meaning scat or GG Allin’s onstage appetite to those who are unaware) from Manchester, are a two-man army going the Mortician way of drum machine drill hammer beats whilst the talented, Laurence Alves tortures his guitar as Lewis Rimmer (also of PivoRapist) chokes on his own tongue again and again with unimaginable words of wisdom for all. Doesn’t take long for a few ladies and gents to begin slamming into one another.
Next up stood another local duo, Type A Secreter and as heavy as they were, relied a lot on corny comedy which (for us) didn’t sit well. Saying that, vocalist Billy Clements had a couple of neat fast insults to chuck out which made me smile. Congenital Abnormalities, up straight after, man they were serious and had a drummer. I bought their EP CD plus a patch for me and Willow straight afterwards. This was apparently one of their first proper live appearances, but you wouldn’t know it. Dominating and powerful. More of the growing crowd ran around waving balloon hammers and caveman clubs (yes, they honestly did) for them. Worth noting two very lively chaps dressed as bananas slamming about (one of whom by the end of the day was totally zoned out on alcohol and just stared wide eyed slow blinking).
Ahh, the family entertainment continued with Slob, followed by Pusboil. Slob are great, we loved how the vocalist, Tom Greenwood, spoke in-between songs in the voice of a thousand choking souls, aside from one line where he named the next song, “Squeal like a Pig!” In fact, their whole act is generally tales of sodomy and rape – backwoods style! Pusboil absolutely controlled the crowd, more energy exploded from the mass of fast-moving arms and legs, building into a frenzy. We bought their album a few months back and they are incredibly tight, musically like wading through an ocean of black tar, washing over you.
Interlude 1:
Gonna take a break from the jolly festivities to widen the scope of the surroundings. So, I like to judge by the toilets wherever I go. Remember the pint of piss and dodgy DVD back in my review for RISE Wrestling’s Games of Death III? Well, here’s the review if you forgot or haven’t checked it yet (here). Anyhow, my nostrils were smothered by the sweet smell of stale urine, plus the floors were soaked. That was a good sign. Here we go, though the cubical doors were intact, no toilet seats, all unflushed and splashed without a care. Beautiful. The icing on this shit cake had to be the mirrors. Like the walls, a collage of band stickers. Fuck me, you’d have no chance saying “Candyman” even once into those fuckers!
Apologies to Cerebral Enema, though there was around twenty minutes to half an hour between bands, we needed food so heading out for a while. A bloody tasty little place round the corner from the venue, Rustik Bites, served us cheesy chips and awesome full to the brim chicken nuggets. After that, an energy drink each, plus Willow’s zombie contact lenses eyes worrying a few children in the street, we rampaged back inside. On the stage stood a big hairy man in a dress plus the vocalist wearing a balaclava. We caught their last two songs, and they were tight.
Colpocleisis from England were the highlight so far (yes even more than Pusboil) Their set shook the edifice, growler Jon Burr encouraged a mass gaggle of the crowd to jump on the stage with them and bang their bodies brutally (later on, a hungry Jon was directed to Rustik Bites by us). We got their album and patches. Sheer fucking ear annihilating madness plus additionally they instigated a Wall of Death (see vids below)! After that, sorry but Imperial Execration and Begging for Incest, as good as they were, I just couldn’t concentrate on them as much. We bought a load more merch, supped more energy drinks (we don’t do alcohol) and Willow chatted to a few people who complimented her eyes and glowing green hair.
Interlude 2:
Let’s be honest, you can be an amazing band, but if the crowd is wrong, you’re basically fucked. Offal Fest drew the best of the best like moths to a blood red flame. No idea names, I spoke to a few folks, saw them doing their things, but like I said before, this wasn’t a planned review originally. So, aside from the bananas, regular participants in the orgy of slamming chaos was a long haired fella in a mankini, a brute of a man owning a beard bigger than a babies torso with a Hi-Viz jacket, a girl throwing elbows at everybody, a lad that looked about 15, a young girl who I think had nicked her boyfriends battle vest or it was hers, either way it looked a few sizes too big, a geeza in a cap, built and ready for war who bounced off the Hi-Viz lad violently most of the day and night. Beach balls were also used all the way through.
Public Announcement for Those Who Are Unaware:
As insane and as stupid as this style of dancing sounds, it is exactly each of those things! However, whilst participants shove, collide, and violently power into each other (also run around in circles throwing out kicks) anyone falling are helped up, hugged and set out to do it all again. This is a tribal bonding of like-minded nutters. My days are past now I’m nearly fifty years old. As strong and as big as I am, I wouldn’t be able to keep my balance so much, and Willow had zombie contacts in so she didn’t want to risk having them knocked dangerously (she used to be a crowd maniac a few years ago) It was good to observe.
At 19.00 hours, UK behemoths, Amputated took to the stage and the crowd were in a new frenzy. How can anyone follow that? Leave it to multinational collective, Kraanium. Chugging bone smashing music and the soulful sweet words for songs like Diarrhoea Induced Gag Reflex. One for yer grandparents I’m sure you’ll agree (Hahaha, nice try attempting to get me to buy red tight shorts, by the way. I settled for a CD instead — they had no patches though… grrr)
Look, I don’t like chirrupy vocals, just not my thing. When I first heard Putrid Womb it totally put me off, it’s just someone sounding like a twat making noises. If there’s lyrics they sound like shit! Unfortunately, the Italians, Vulvectomy have something close to that style and it just switched me off. Willow was well into them but I’m only a growl scream guy myself.
Finally at 22.30, To Violently Vomit gave us a full hour of fuckery. Intense and primal. Angel Ochoa and Diego Sanchez especially looked a bit bewildered when an onslaught of admiring henchmen and women stormed the stage to head bang. “Wow, you guys are crazy. This wasn’t even the last song!” Angel laughed as he was embraced by a few.
Rebellion Club was the perfect location, not too big or too small. Enough to fit a few hundred rabid stinking psychopaths inside (oh yeah, because we were on the balcony a few feet above head levels, we had the joy of farts steaming up a few times) The atmosphere had it all, helped by the right levels of filth of course. Staff were fun, security did their jobs, only having to escort one person out all day and night. Willow wasn’t pleased with one security guy who would not listen when we were telling him she had a plastic glass of energy drink as we chilled outside. “Licensing laws, you can’t have alcohol outside.” Fuck it, she necked the whole lot in front of him with a smile.
Offal Fest has the potential of becoming a world leader in these music genres. The 2025 lineup has already begun taking shape with NYC’s dealers of the extreme, Skinless, 55Gore, Thy Flesh Consumed, and one of my personal faves, Basement Torture Killings (see Basement Torture Killings: Lessons in Murder Album review here) among many others.
Thoughts on Manchester for Potential Visitors:
Manchester is the best city in the UK that we’ve visited. A couple of years ago we went to see Mayhem live and whilst adventuring afterwards into the early hours realized how chilled out the city actually is. We found this again, plus there’s so much to see and do, incredible metal and horror places, a wonderful museum, tasty food outlets and so much more. Big metal community. As much as Manchester felt like a second home, after a load of train delays and arriving at our city of Hull after 11pm the Sunday, it was good to be back. Five minutes after stepping off the train, walking outside of the station, a fella got punched in the mouth by two men — blood pouring everywhere. Ahh, home sweet home. Hull is a great place.
Here are some links:
- Unusual Horror Store – fb.com/UnusualHorrorStore / instagram.com/unusualhorrorstore
- Rebellion Blub – Rebellion
- Official Offal Fest 2025 FB page – OFFAL FEST 2025
- Rancid Offal Promotions – fb.com/RxOxPromotions / instagram.com/rxoxbookings
- The official Offal Fest 2024 page incase you want to check some of the bands I’ve mentioned – OFFAL FEST 2024
Produced by: Jack Evans, Rancid Offal Promotions, Sam Mansfield
Music by: Various
Year: 2024
Runtime: 12 hours