Room 2 was lit up by three killer performances for one of the Wacken Metal Battle Africa heats, and from the start it felt like one of those nights where the room does half the work for the bands. The smaller space and the turnout from the local metal community made it feel intimate, with everybody close to the stage and fully in it from the first set to the last.
Fading Gray walked into that atmosphere with the crowd already chanting their name. They were the perfect opener. You could tell they have mastered the stage, because they knew exactly how to rile a crowd up. They put everything they had into thundering drums, fast-paced guitars and an explosive stage presence, and they kept the crowd in the palm of their hand throughout the set. For the last song, they handed out plastic blow-up clubs, and of course the audience answered by whacking each other senseless with them.
Black Nature followed as another crowd pleaser, but with a whole different vibe. Where Fading Gray came in swinging, Black Nature felt polished and intense from the start. As a blackened groove metal band, they brought an infectious rhythm to the room, and that came through in the response straight away, with rampant moshing and two-stepping across the floor. Their vocals were diverse, gritty and wet, backed by slamming guitars, punishing drums and a few surprises of their own. They kept the crowd in tight control every step of the way. This is deathcore straight from the streets of Johannesburg, and the local Hate City influence could definitely be felt in their sound.
Goatboi were one of the harder bands on the bill to pin down, and that is exactly what makes them stand out in the scene. Their set moved from Japanese spoken lyrics in a song about furries to destructive breakdowns and demonic vocals. Their stage presence and energy were also top notch, and they got both a wall of death and a circle pit going to full effect. The setlist was experimental and diverse, which made them a real contender in the battle.
While the judges worked things out, guest band Hilliker took over and showed again why they earned a slot in last year’s Wacken Metal Battle Africa finals. Bloody and violent, they draw from horror films in both lyrics and appearance. If anything, they made a local band feel epic and cinematic, and they kept the crowd entertained the whole time as everybody waited for the result.
Before the winner was announced, Lana, one of the organisers from Emalyth and Wacken Metal Battle Africa, addressed the room and brought the point back to the wider picture. “The point of the metal battle is not to win, but to unite the local scene,” she said, adding that nights like this bring metal communities together across Africa and show how alive the scene really is. She also made it clear that the decision had been a tight one. In the end, the win went to Fading Gray. The band came up on stage with Sam MacKintosh, thanked everyone for coming through, and closed the night with a line that said everything it needed to say: “See you at the finals!”
