Let's kick off my Infest coverage now. Every year, on the Sunday of Infest, many, many attendees fill in the feedback form, with the second page of it dedicated to providing feedback on the bands that you would like to see at the next year's Infest. Often, it is little more than a wishlist – after all, not everyone will be able to play or won't play for various reasons, but it at least gives an idea. So, here is what I'll be putting on my form this year. Well, most of it. The last is just me complaining that I never got to see them…
Well, duh. The obvious place I was always going to start. For the third, maybe fourth year running they will be added to my list. A band that have still not made it out of North America to play live, despite the fact that as noted in my recent interview with them they have a whole legion of fans in the UK. The campaign to finally get them to the UK soon starts here, right?
I have to say, I was very surprised indeed not to see them join VNV Nation on the bill last year after touring Europe with them for a fair proportion of the year – in fact, it seemed that the UK was the only place that IR didn't play during 2007. Shame – their last album As We Fall was fantastic, and there are high hopes for the forthcoming album due in October.
Modulate have steadily grown in stature over the past couple of years, proving time and again that the success of Skullfuck was not a one-off. With new album Detonation due next month, which I have no doubt will result in them becoming even more of a live draw than they already are, I find it inconceivable that they haven't played Infest yet, and something is kinda wrong if they don't play next year at least. After all – wouldn't it be nice to see a UK band other than VNV Nation further up the bill for a change?
Another act I have always found it a little surprising that they have never appeared at Infest are these guys. One of the most prominent of the current wave of US "industrial noise", their heavy, beat-driven sound would surely go down pretty well at Infest, particularly as I understand their live show is actually worth watching.
Another US act, W.A.S.T.E's brutal sound probably puts them at a level of extremity I've only seen at Infest before in the shape of Greyhound. Obviously this probably means that they wouldn't be the most popular of acts for some, but hey, Infest covers as many bases as possible, right?
Not the best known of the Ant-Zen acts, perhaps, but I'd love to see Synapscape live. And with the fact that they rarely play in the UK (unless I'm missing something, folks?) Infest might just be my best chance.
A very different band, who despite having been around for over ten years, are only now preparing to release their fourth studio album – and, indeed, have only in the past couple of years taken the band from the studio out into the live arena. Somewhat slower paced, and with a sweeping Gothic take on industrial rock, they would certainly be a striking addition to an Infest lineup. And, they'd make a change from yet another "hellelectro" band.
Yeah, ok, perhaps I'm being a bit hopeful here. Skinny Puppy (along with KMFDM, thinking about it) are, I would think, the last of the "big name" Industrial bands not to have played Infest. Skinny Puppy are unbelievably good live, but interest in the band appears to be waning again after the lacklustre Mythmaker. So with, reputedly, a third ohGr album finally due soon, perhaps requesting ohGr for next year might be a better idea?
The only band on this list that I have seen before at Infest, and I would love to see back. I saw them at my first Infest, back in 2000, and they were brilliant (and on the other occasions I've seen them they were equally good). Since that appearance, the band have only got better, with three extraordinary albums, and with all these great songs now seeing them again in the Infest environment would be awesome.
Finally, here's the one that will never happen. The only band I really wanted to see from the first two Infests – the only two I haven't attended – and of course they split shortly afterwards so I never got the chance. A damned shame, too – a unique band who never appeared to get the coverage that they deserved.