The Ghost Of A Thousand
One of the weekend's most anticipated sets, the Saturday of Hevy Fest sadly marks the final performance from Brighton hardcore n' rollers The Ghost of A Thousand, a band much loved and acclaimed over the past five years, emotions are high but this is far from a eulogy, it's a celebration and the quintet absolutely kill it.
Garnering one of the biggest crowds of the weekend in the late afternoon sunshine, the opening one-two of 'Left For Dead' and 'Running On Empty' delivers a gleeful punch to the face followed by a swift, yet no less enjoyable, kick to the gut, sing-a-longs resound around the site and the band look utterly thrilled to be on the Jagermeister stage rocking out and showing just how happy they are to share this special moment with their fans.
Frontman Tom Lacey's endearingly friendly stage banter is wonderful with calls for a conga and a hilarious 'wall of hugs' putting a smile on the faces of all those assembled, it also provides a striking juxtaposition to the fierceness of modern hardcore anthems like 'Bright Lights' and 'Knees, Toes, Teeth'. Guitarists Jag Jago and Andy Sultan scissor-kick like their lives depend on it while the staunch rhythm section of Gareth Spencer and Memby Jago is pretty much invincible, the audience are totally blown away and it couldn't happen at a better moment.
A rollicking cover of AC/DC's 'Back In Black', complete with an uncanny Brian Johnson impression from Lacey, closes the main set on a total high before the band return for a final turbo-charged tag-team encore of fan favourites 'Black Art Number One' and 'Bored of Math', both of which are incendiary and burn out the band's star like a thousand fireworks.
It's an incendiary end to one of the weekend's best performances and a bittersweet farewell to a great British band and a certain indicator that they're not going to be forgotten anytime soon.