Earlier this month, the legendary drum and bass imprint Metalheadz celebrated 25 years at London’s famous Printworks, brought together by Lock N’ Load Events and Free From Sleep. Founder of Metalheadz and label-boss, Goldie was joined by an extensive line-up of hugely influential artists from within the scene, for an eleven-hour celebration in the iconic Press Halls, which equaled to an unforgettable event.
The Press Halls
Printworks’ doors opened at midday. The promoter’s decision to have the headliners play from the first hour onwards went down well as there was a mass of early bird ravers flooding in to catch the start of Om Unit and Randall. By commissioning opening sets for two of the biggest drum and bass artists demonstrated that Metalheadz were running things differently for their 25-year anniversary.
Two hours in and the first special guest David ‘Ram Jam’ Rodigan took to the stage. Rodigan is known for his significant contributions to reggae and dancehall music throughout his prolific DJ career. This time round, his performance consisted of strictly bass-heavy ragga, old school rhythms and crowd-hyping over the microphone. Next up was another legendary UK DJ, Zinc. While he is a staple in garage and house nowadays, Zinc’s jungle set showcased his true origins as a jungle and drum and bass veteran, native to London’s pirate stations from the mid 90s.
My Nu Leng and Dread MC were the second of the special guests to grace the decks. They entered the drum and bass scene with a solid release on Shogun Audio which included a collaboration with Friction. Their distinctly futuristic sound carries with it their fluid garage and bassline flavours, and this was on full form during their performance. Following on from this, was the third special guest, the infamous Skream. The dubstep and disco artist rolled through with an exhilarating hardcore special set, which recreated an atmosphere similar to the UK’s illegal warehouse raves from the 90s.
As the event reached its mid-point, Manchester bad-boys Dub Phizix and Strategy switched things up with aggressively dark minimal rollers set, spun at an upbeat tempo. The quick cuts and varied selection kept the sounds fresh and the crowd dancing. For the remaining hours, the agenda was strictly Metalheadz artists. Blazing through old-school 170bpm sounds, Storm and DJ Flight took on a back to back. Both legendary females in the UK rave scene, their selection of deep and atmospheric rhythms captured the true sound of Metalheadz. Next up were the world-renowned pioneers Fabio & Grooverider, who followed suit with a 90-minute journey that showcased the sounds of heavier, hardcore-influenced drum and bass and jungle.
Fittingly, the night rounded off in the closing set by Goldie and Doc Scott. The pair rolled through their usual selection from the label’s back-catalogue, combined with many new unreleased tracks. This performance started off with sounds of Metalheadz at its inception and moved to its forthcoming releases.
The Dark Room
While the heavyweight artists were designated to the Press Halls, it was in Printworks’ smaller and more intimate Dark Room space where the underground Metalheadz affiliates were based. The overt lack of lighting was compensated for with a weighty sound system, which made for a totally different experience to the main room. The only areas lit were the stage and emergency exit signs, leaving no distractions from the music.
Appropriately, the Dark Room selectors rolled through with 'techier' rollers which encompassed the wider reach of the Metalheadz sound from Grey Code, Diverge, Zero T, Scar, with a brief diversion towards liquid by Artificial Intelligence. The rowdiest sets were without a doubt the sub-bass heavy triple back to back from Dispatch’s Ant TC1, DLR and newcomer Nymfo, followed by the award-winning foghorn blaster Benny L, who had the Dark Room’s queue on a ‘one in one out’ basis.
As expected, Metalheadz put on a stellar show at Printworks. The line-up represented artists that have been involved with the label from the start in 1994, to where it is now. Metalheadz brings raw talent and timeless music to the scene, and the celebration left an impression that the future of the label looks (and sounds) stronger and bolder than ever.
Check out Metalheadz upcoming events and releases here.
Photography - Hungry Visuals
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