Maid Of Stone – Sunday. As Dinah Washington once sang, “What a diff’rence a day makes.” With the crowds having survived a day of torrential rain and winds on Saturday, Sunday found itself bright and sunny with the need to slap on sun cream while we watched Death Ingloria and Florence Black.
It was a day of musical contrasts, too, where you could get your fill of mind-boggling prog and straight-ahead boogie with equal delight, with everything in between.
Death Ingloria
The former of those two ends of the spectrum, Death Ingloria kicked off the day in the Maiden Stage in a welter of riffs of gloriously Bladerunner sci-fi future prog.
With dystopian concepts around a world in chaos, the visual artistry and invention of singer/guitarist Galina Rin is a technicolour blast bright enough to wake anyone up.
Playing in front of comic book animation video screens and with narration introducing each new section, the set was both aurally and visually dazzling.
Florence Black
Over on the Jeff Beck Memorial Stage, Florence Black displays a sledgehammer impact that’s been honed by their constant time as road warriors.
With a scintillating take on Budgie classic Breadfan and the stealthy psychosis of unsettling rocker The Ride, the Welsh outfit put on a show as blistering as the weather.
Maid Of Stone Festival 2023 was held over the weekend of 21-23 July 2023. MetalTalk’s Adrian Stonley, Paul Monkhouse and Robert Sutton were reporting from Mote Park.
All Photography: Robert Sutton
Early Bird tickets are available for next year’s festival held over 19-21 July 2024. Tickets are available from here.
All MetalTalk Maid Of Stone 2023 coverage is at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/maid-of-stone-festival-2023
