We’re clattering down the A1 towards Yorkshire, Bradford, and Infest 2017. We had to leave after work, and delay after delay is hitting us as we struggle towards the biggest, best industrial / EBM / electro festival in the UK, if not the world.

As a result, I miss the opening two bands – so without further ado let me refer to you to the talented Adam Williams and his excellent review of the festival, for his own blog amodelofcontrol.com. Just, promise me you’ll come back for the rest of my review!

I arrive in time to catch the penultimate act. Accessory are slick, confident and catchy as hell. They also have a wry and wicked sense of humour, mocking fans for not liking music if it hasn’t been manufactured by the ‘big’ names in EBM!

They’re aggressively upbeat, the very model of German industrial – pounding beats, snarled vocals and easy on the melodies! They build an immediate rapport with the audience that helps create a fantastic experience. For me, this is the perfect start to Infest, so all credit to Accessory for a brilliant introduction to festivities!

Friday’s headliners are the mighty Rotersand. These boys do not mess about, and we’re straight in with floor filler Merging Oceans. Strangely, I perceive Rascal’s vocals to be very high in the mix with an odd hollow echo on them. This issue crops up now and then through the set, but still the voice is pure and entrancing. Rotersand are professional, experienced artists producing excellent, crafted electro tunes that set the crowd alive. I am immediately transported into dramatic soundscapes that thrill and energise. Again, the band engage well with the crowd, and Rascal quips “Long time no see!” as the last time these electro-pop veterans joined us.

We’re graced with tracks from the new album, and they growl through an upbeat anthem of sparkling electronica. “It’s about… us!” he proclaims to a very engaged audience, already intrigued by the new material. Deftly, they reintroduce classics like “Waiting To Be Born” and are met with heartfelt cheers, building to an awesome climax.

I love festivals in the North – when they pause to cheer the crowd on with shouts of ‘England’, a vocal minority chants “Yorkshire!” back at them! The People’s Republic remains independent! Personally, I’m loving the Beastie Boys samples in the mix during “I Am Yours”, and it all builds up to the dancefloor smash classic EXTERMINATE ANNIHILATE DESTROY! As an inflatable Dalek is lobbed around the surging crowd, the mood is one of elation – a fantastic end to the first Infest night!