JERA ON AIR 2024: A Metal-Infused Saturday With Sublime Architects Headliner

Day two of the festival promised a diverse lineup featuring both iconic bands and fresh talent, and it did not disappoint. The stage was graced by ERRA, Escape The Fate, Fit For A King, Crosses, While She Sleeps, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Bury Tomorrow, and the headlining Architects, and so many more, each delivering dynamic performances that kept the crowd buzzing with excitement.

Despite the weather forecast predicting only sun, the festival faced an unexpected pause due to a sudden heavy storm. Fortunately, the storm passed in about 20 minutes, allowing the festivities to resume without further interruptions. This brief intermission did nothing to dampen the spirits of the attendees, who eagerly continued to revel in the music and camaraderie that define Jera On Air.

The second day (for us) proved to be as memorable as the first, showcasing the festival’s commitment to delivering a varied and exhilarating musical experience. With a perfect blend of established and emerging artists, day two was a testament to Jera On Air‘s enduring legacy in the alternative music scene.

ERRA:

Our day kicked off with ERRA, a metalcore band who have been making significant waves in recent years. After a European headliner tour and a support slot on the massive Bad Omens tour throughout the US of A, it came to no surprise that ERRA had the opportunity to play the mainstage on this year’s JoA edition. With their blistering heavy music combined with the catchiness of solid metalcore choruses, ERRA treated the fans to a setlist that mainly consisted of the self-titled album ERRA as well as the band’s latest effort CURE. The day was off to a proper start.

Escape The Fate:

Escape The Fate‘s performance at Jera On Air was a testament to their legendary status in the post-hardcore and metalcore scenes. The band delivered a powerful set that captivated the audience, starting with Gorgeous Nightmare and seamlessly moving through a series of fan favorites including Low, Broken Heart, and The Flood. Each song showcased their ability to blend melodic hooks with heavy riffs, creating an intense and engaging live experience. The band’s energy and connection with the audience were as clear as the sky still was at this point, as they performed hits like This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II) and Cheers to Goodbye. The set concluded with the high-octane anthem One for the Money, leaving the crowd thoroughly satisfied and craving more. Throughout their set, Escape The Fate demonstrated why they continue to be a dominant force in the genre.

Fit For A King:

Next up was Fit For A King, who shared at Rock Am Ring that this was their first trek through the European festival circuit. The band focused on their more recent material for their Jera On Air performance, with fan favourites from The Path, Dark Skies & most recently The Hell We Create being performed live. The iconic Backbreaker and God of Fire, which they performed with Alpha Wolf, had the fans particularly roaring. Check out some shots from their set below:

Crosses:

Crosses were among the festival’s very last additions, as they replaced one of the acts that had to pull out at the last minute. We were very excited about this news, as we missed the band’s set at Rock Am Ring and again their headliner show in Utrecht due to overlapping schedules. Crosses are a duo that create unique music, led by Deftones vocalist and frontman Chino Moreno. Their music is an intriguing blend of genres, combining elements of shoegaze, industrial, new wave, and dream pop to create a distinctive and atmospheric sound. A vibe that translates well to the live performance of the duo. Atmospheric and often low lighting, Moreno running across the stage in all black, the live performance and the music complemented each other extraordinarily well. While the audience enjoyed the set thoroughly, the photographers were less enthusiastic about the light show the duo decided on. Our attempt at photographing the Crosses set can be seen in the gallery right below.

While She Sleeps:

No time to relax, as the Sheffield-based metalcore band While She Sleeps were up next on the mainstage. Since their album Brainwashed, While She Sleeps have been getting more and more popular, and are currently sitting on 870k listeners a month via Spotify alone. Armed with their new record SELF HELL, While She Sleeps are now back on the road, playing festivals to support this release. If we say While She Sleeps, pyro is one of the first things that should come to mind, and their JoA set reinforces that association once again. While She Sleeps was also one of the most high-energy sets of the day and all rules are thrown out of the window. Joining the crowd for a moshpit is too boring for frontman Lawrence Taylor. Instead, why not climb on a 5-meter-high tent pole and jump into the crowd from there. If you missed them this time around, or simply want to see them again, the band is coming back for European headliner shows in November, with support provided by Malevolence, thrown, and Resolve.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes:

Next up were Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, which is guaranteed to be a crazy show. Those who have seen a Frank Carter set before, know that it is absolute mayhem, with the band members running and jumping around all over the place. During the second song Wild Flowers, Frank Carter made his way into the crowd to start a very special mosh pit, one just for the girls.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have an incredible discography, with many epic songs such as Lullaby, Go Get A Tattoo and Kitty Sucker, but honestly the highlight of the show is the crazy shenanigans that Frank Carter and his bandmates are up to while playing their show, even if you don’t enjoy their music, you’ll have a great time attending one of their shows. 

Bury Tomorrow:

Today was a ‘heavy metal’ kinda day, as the next act on the list was Bury Tomorrow, another metalcore act from the UK that have been making some serious waves in the last couple of years. With some incredible singles on their discography such as Choke and Black Flame, as well as new songs such as the latest single Villain Arc and Boltcutter from the 2023 album The Seventh Sun, Bury Tomorrow played a beautiful mix of old and new.

Architects:

After pulling out of Jera On Air 2019, this year, Architects finally played the headliner slot at Jera On Air’s 30th edition. Late in the evening of the festival’s third day, the masses gathered at the Eagle stage to watch one of the best do what they do best.

Earlier this year, we saw Architects grace the stage of Amsterdam’s AFAS Live, but for their headliner slot at Jera On Air, the band wanted to pull out all the stops in the form of pyro. In the yesteryear of 2019, the band’s repertoire leaned heavily on the side of heaviness and aggression. Fast forward to 2024, and the band has seamlessly woven melodic elements into their musical tapestry, resulting in a dynamic and enthralling sound that now resonates with a broader audience. This transformation proved to be a triumph, evident in the current Spotify charts where the majority of Architects‘ popular tunes hail from their latest releases, namely, the albums For Those That Wish To Exist and the classic symptoms of a broken spirit. The setlist, a testament to this shift, heavily favoured the new material, featuring 5 out of 12 songs from For Those That Wish To Exist and two from the classic symptoms of a broken spirit.

Just like every year at Jera On Air, there were a number of surprise guests during the sets this year as well. During their performance of Impermanence, Architects were joined by While She Sleeps frontman Lawrence Taylor.

Eva van den Bosch Head Editor, Photographer

Eva van den Bosch combines concert photography with a prominent editorial role at Strife Mag.

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