Aberdeen is set to host an all day music festival with the event organiser hoping it will be the first of many in the Granite City.
The event, called Aberdeen Metal Fest, will be held at the city’s Tunnels venue on Saturday, August 3.
Organiser Drew Cochrane was inspired to bring the festival to Aberdeen having experienced success with similar events in Dundee.
Drew, who will perform on the day with his band Catalysis, aims to provide an environment for metal fans to be exposed to as many new bands as possible.
He insists there are many underground bands that are as good as established acts charting £100 a ticket.
Fans will get the opportunity to see that talent at Aberdeen Metal Fest.
Drew said: “The appetite for metal is definitely there.
“I see that when I walk down the street and there are people wearing Metallica and Slipknot T-shirts.
“The people that like this type of music are there but it is just about finding a way to get them into these local gigs with slightly more underground bands.
“I know from playing in a band that there are sometimes bands I’ve have never heard of that we play with.
“And when I watch them live they are every bit as good as some of the big bands you pay £100 a ticket to see.
“It is about trying to convince people to come out and pay their hard earned cash to see bands they have maybe never heard of.
“So we pull in some of the heavy hitters from the local scene as well as some of the best bands from around Scotland and the UK.”
Lokust headline Aberdeen Metal Fest
Aberdeen Metal Fest boasts a line-up that spans the whole range of metal from Metalcore through to hard rock and black metal.
London based Lokust headline the event and released the acclaimed album Infidel last year.
Also performing are Deadfire (Aberdeen), Catalysis (Dundee), Dog Tired (Edinburgh), Drevakac (Aberdeen), Vows (Aberdeen) and Aklias (Inverness).
A packed line-up at the all-day festival also includes The Julian Year (Aberdeen), H8teball (Kirkcaldy) and Maryth (Aberdeen).
Also confirmed are Beneath The Breakwater (Aberdeen) and Volupta (Aberdeen).
There will also be an official after-show party at the venue in conjunction with popular metal night Heavy Resistance.
Drew said: “I play in a band as well as organise this festival.
“The background to the Aberdeen event came from my frustration of going up there to play.
“The shows we were playing were not great as the support band didn’t really fit with the headline.
“I thought there are not many of these all day metal events in Aberdeen and if it has worked in Dundee why not do it there as well?
“I have filled the line-up enough strong local bands that will bring in interest for any bands from outwith the city.
“That way there is a great crowd and atmosphere.”
Helping venues, audiences and bands
Drew organised the first Dundee Metal Fest last year and the event exploded in popularity.
He has organised three successful Metal Fests in Dundee with the next scheduled for December 7.
He said: “Last year year one of my friends said to me it was a real shame there wasn’t anything happening like that in Dundee anymore.
“So I put the first event on in Dundee last April.
“Initially I put 150 tickets on sale thinking I would never sell any more than that.
“It ended up selling 190 tickets in advance so I had to release more.
“The venue had the capacity for more but I just never thought there would be the demand for it in Dundee.
“There was another 50 walk-ups so the first one was a big success with a lot of people travelling from various parts of Scotland to attend.
“Off the back of that I organised another two which did really well.
“Now there is one in Aberdeen.
“If I can bring good quality shows to help the audience, bands and venues it would be great to continue doing that in Aberdeen.”
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