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This is what went down at Krank'd Up 2016

Cape Town - Krank'd Up Festival 2016 rocked Johannesburg at the weekend at Sundowners in Alberton.

The venue opened its doors to metal heads at 12:00, and the venue filled up quite quickly. The grounds were soon filled with people from all walks of life, mostly dressed in black. It was a scorcher of a day, and there were lots of stalls to sell food to the masses.

Krank'd Up featured two stages, and the time slots were arranged well enough so that you could at least get a taste of every single local act without missing much of their sets.

All in all, there were 20 local bands that played throughout the day. These artists were: Thundermerwe, Cadillac Sun, Adorned in Ash, Set for the Sky, Riddlebreak, The South Shore Ramblers, Hope is for Heroes, Truth & Its Burden, Art Snakes, Boargazm, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend, Crossfire Collision, Juggernaught, Climate Control, Poverty of Ideals, Man As Machine, Only Forever, The Slashdogs, Facing The Gallows and Newtown Knife Gang.

The sound for each stage was superb, and the local bands really held their own. Some of the acts that stood out for me were Adorned in Ash, Boargazm, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend, Only Forever, Facing the Gallows and Newtown Knife Gang.

It was important to stay hydrated throughout the day, as it was so hot. People were flocking to the bar to satiate their thirst. But it was worth while spending all day in the hot sun, because in the end, most people were there for one thing: The international bands.

First up was Norma Jean, or as they like to call themselves, the Almighty Norma Jean. The grounds filled up quickly as they were setting up, and soon all you could see was a sea of people chanting "Norma Jean, Norma Jean". The time had finally come, Norma Jean had arrived.

They played a lot of older material, and fans of the band shouted along all the way. Unfortunately they did not play one of my favourite songs of theirs (Sword in Mouth, Fire Eyes), so I was left feeling a little bit disappointed. Alas, their set was still amazing, and they played a couple of songs off of their new album. My favourite part of the show was when they played 1,000,000 Watts. I lost my shit while jamming out to that tune.

Up next was Periphery, the band I was most excited for. I had a chance to see them right before the show, and they told me that they were really enjoying their time in South Africa, and that they were really amped for the show.

As they were setting up, there seemed to be some trouble with their gear, but it was quickly dealt with by the staff at Krank'd Up, and all of a sudden I was listening to one of my favourite bands live. They played songs off of Periphery II: This Time It's Personal, Periphery: Juggernaut and off their latest album, Periphery III: Select Difficulty. They stayed away from playing anything from their first album, but none the less, their show was immaculate. They ended their show with my favourite track off their latest album, Lune, and it's a memory I will cherish always. Before walking off, Spencer Sotelo, lead singer of Periphery, asked the crowd not to drink and drive. He then said: "Don't be a masepoes and drive into a robot. I've seen too many robots here in South Africa." The whole crowd was in stitches and cheering them on.

At the time of writing, my body is still sore from being in the mosh pit and head banging so much. I also spent way too much money on merch, but at least I'll never forget the experience I had there. In summary, Krank'd Up 2016 was legendary, and I'm already looking forward to 2017.

(Photos: Neville Lennox, Channel24)

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