LIVE FROM THE PIT: The Big Outbreak Review 2025

2025 was the year Outbreak truly became countercultural, a razor-cut celebration of the sharpest edges of the music spectrum. In the overcast haze of Sleep Token headlining Download, and with it the speculation about the future of live music, Outbreak offered a lineup which was arguably the largest statement piece that European, if not global, hardcore could offer, a thrilling insight into the future of the genre, a reality where Turnstile could headline a festival the same weekend as Charli XCX.

For the first time, the festival was held over two locations, with Friday commandeered by LIDO to provide a space for some of the most innovative artists in the scene: Knocked Loose, Speed and Superheaven. Saturday and Sunday were a return to form in their industrial home of the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester. 

A cool mix of beatdown, brutality and the avant-garde makes Outbreak one of the most brutal crowds in the festival calendar. Acts like Feeble Little Horse, LustSick Puppy and Jane Remover make their misfit alliances with the band kids for the weekend. Somehow, the class of 2025 even managed to pull Denzel Curry and Danny Brown along for the ride. 

Amongst it all, it was also as much a celebration of UK culture as bands like Ikhras, No Relief, and Impunity shouted the loudest across the weekend. With some brutal debuts from bands across the pond, including xWeaponx, Contention and God’s Hate. There is no place quite like Outbreak. 

Words by Jake Longhurst (JL) and Amber Brooks (AB)

Speed

These days, it feels wrong to have Outbreak Festival without Speed, and it’s easy to know how much playing the festival means to the band, as vocalist Jem Siow pours his heart out to the hardcore scene. Travelling for 36 hours from their Sydney home, this is only a fraction of the hard work the band have undertaken over the past ten years to make a name for themselves, with their immense Only One Mode propelling the band into becoming one of the staples of the genre. To say that Speed has changed the game is an entirely true statement.

In hardcore fashion, their set was short and packed a hard punch, with a pit that became bigger and wilder as it went on. A hot and heavy air packed the second stage tent, resulting in a sweaty mess that pooled into puddles at the bottom of your shoes. The trajectory of the band is exciting, unparalleled, and the hardcore community knows it as they turned out in their masses. Finishing on their iconic ‘The First Test’, both the band and the crazed audience know this is only the beginning. -AB

Credit: Nat Wood

Superheaven

Shoegaze heroes Superheaven played twice across the weekend, once on the Friday and once on the Saturday. Both sets were glorious, especially with the inclusion of some material from their self-titled, the band’s first album in ten years. Opening their set with one of those tracks, the group kicked their UK return off with ‘Numb to What Is Real’, which was just the beginning of what came to be an absolutely brilliant show. Moving onto ‘Leach’ and then ‘Crawl’, the band showed off all three eras they’ve gone through with aplomb, keeping the love divided evenly across all three of their albums.

Whilst the London set was not necessarily quite as impressive as the Manchester set, this mostly came down to setting - the tent at Victoria Park just didn’t quite compare to the stage at the BEC. However, the set was still magical, with song four being the immortal ‘Youngest Daughter’, before the band led off a barrage of ‘Stare at the Void’, ‘Long Gone’, ‘In on It’ and closer ‘Poor Aileen’, to really ramp the crowd up. After a fair few years wait, it was an absolute pleasure to have Superheaven back for not one, but two shows ahead of their January 2026 UK tour. -JL

Turnstile

Turnstile. They’re more than a band really, they’re almost a religion. Each live show lets attendees feel cleansed, attached to something higher, a part of one great communal release of energy, stress, sadness. Their headline set at Outbreak London 2025 was therefore, rather unsurprisingly, a sensational event that will be remembered for years and years to come. As the skies darkened, and rain threatened to break through the clouds above, the band made their way on stage almost 15 minutes later than expected, and let the sounds of the lead single and title track off of their new record ‘NEVER ENOUGH’ ring out into the night at Victoria Park. The reaction was instant. Thousands of people all sung together in varying pitch, accuracy, and volume, but were all united by the colossal outpouring of emotion brought on by the evocative intro, before it swelled into the gargantuan, stadium sized anthem that the song truly is. Following that up with ‘T.L.C.’ let the crowd open up and get their dancing shoes well and truly on, and they did not come off until the set’s end. Amongst the exquisite setlist were some favoured newer tracks, like ‘LIGHT DESIGN’ and ‘I CARE’, as well as hits from GLOW ON like ‘UNDERWATER BOI’ and ‘HOLIDAY’.

The band aren’t remotely afraid of reconnecting with their roots though, and the run of ‘7’ into ‘Keep It Moving’ and ‘Pushing Me Away’ was visceral. However, it was the final six songs of the night that showed the still-huge potential the band hold, to one day take on stadium headlines and festival top slots. ‘ALIEN LOVE CALL’ and ‘LOOK OUT FOR ME’ finished the main set, with the former featuring Blood Orange for the full experience, before the whole crowd just let go and danced for the latter. As the encore begun, the five piece broke into GLOW ON’s opening track ‘MYSTERY’, and the energy felt near celestial, before the fade into ‘BLACKOUT’. With all the explosive power of a hydrogen bomb, the band tore the entire crowd a new one, and then finished off on two firm favourites from the new record in ‘SEEIN’ STARS’ and ‘BIRDS’. If ever there was a “you had to be there” list of the greatest hardcore sets in history, this is surely up there with the very best of them. -JL

Credit: @Ishasha_photography

Julie

Los Angeles-based indie rockers julie showed up and showed out on both Friday and Saturday. With a sound that combines rock, 2000’s American indie, shoegaze, punk, noise, pop, and even nu-metal, they’re certainly not a band to be slipped into a single drawer, content with one sound. The group only formed and started playing shortly before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, so haven’t been around very long, but formed their band with the desire of playing live, and writing music that begs to be played live. Judging by their reception, you could well say they succeeded.

Having released just one album, 2024’s ‘my anti-aircraft friend’, you may be forgiven for assuming that they wouldn’t have a set full of bangers. But with the success they’ve experienced, and the intention to always write songs for the live setting, both band and crowd were excellent. Opener ‘catalogue’ started things off well, introducing them to the watchers-on who had been unaware of the bands sound until then, whilst ‘kit’ and ‘aprils-bloom’ set them up for excitement. Their debut single ‘flutter’ is still by far their most popular song on Spotify, nearing 50 million listens at the point of writing, and was a spectacular thing to observe on such a broad stage, knowing how rapidly the band have gone from playing back gardens to Outbreak. - JL

Jane Remover

Digicore sensation Jane Remover performed at Outbreak, again on both day one and day two. Their intense, electronic sound is reminiscent of hyperpop, but distinguishes itself enough that you know something different is happening within their mind. At the age of just 21 coming into 2025, they’re not a mainstay of the industry yet, but being provided the opportunity to play Outbreak twice - as well as open up for Turnstile on their American tour - is going to give them every chance to change that. Having also played two sold out shows the nights before Outbreak, Jane Remover is not resting on any laurels - they’re in this to play music in front of as many people as possible.

Playing almost exclusively tracks from ‘Revengeseekerz’, their 2025 effort, it was clear to see that they’re only interested in forward progress. ‘Angels in camo’ was as good live as on record, possibly even better, and ‘Professional Vengeance’ gave itself ample reason to have such a raw song title. Of course, the Friday sets inclusion of a Danny Brown feature on ‘Psychoboost’ was pretty crazy, but performing it with him instead on the Saturday was an equally incredible moment to witness. Closing their set with ‘TURN UP OR DIE’ into ‘Dancing with your eyes closed’ sent off two stellar sets by a clearly soon to be star. - JL

Sunny Day Real Estate

Come ye, come ye, oh elder emo’s of the United Kingdom, come one and all - Sunny Day Real Estate played not one but TWO Outbreak sets, and if you didn’t catch them you really messed up! Their set on the Friday was a tad shorter than the Saturday set, which had a total of eleven songs prepared to treat the Manchester crowd. With more songs off of their 1994 effort ‘Diary’ than any other album, it took us back to their roots with all the energy and soul of a modern live performance.

Opener ‘Seven’ was an instant hit, and keeping with the numerical theme so was follow up ‘One’. Other particularly notable moments were the relatively early playing of ‘Song About An Angel’, before the midpoint of ‘Pillars’ led into ‘Guitar And Video Games’. The crowd was as excited as can be by this point, with the punk sound shining through more than we had anticipated within the band’s sound, and the finale of ‘In Circles’ into ‘The Rising Tide’ sounded phenomenal with this slightly more aggressive sound. We can only hope they return soon, so we don’t miss them too much. - JL

Credit: Nat Wood

Have A Nice Life

Writers of the seminal 2008 album ‘Deathconsciousness’ and surprisingly hard to pin down as a live act, Have A Nice Life are, to the discerning lover of sad music, legends in their very own right. The rarity of their live show arguably adds to this, and even though they have technically been playing since 2004, they played a total of four shows before 2017, so they’re no Frank Turner. On their first ever UK tour, they found themselves not playing a similarly bleak, nihilistic bill, but on that of a primarily hardcore festival. This might be a daunting task to another band, yet Have A Nice Life took it in their stride.

As it turned 7PM, the inside of the BEC arena’s main room was packed fit to bursting with lovers of misanthropic music. The set was stacked, as would be expected, but it was ultimately closing the trio of ‘Bloodhail’, ‘A Quick One Before The Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut’, and ‘Earthmover’ that drew the largest cheers from the packed out BEC. With arguably their three largest songs being played in a row, the entire crowd was full of emotion and excitement in equal measure, thrilled to be watching an iconic act upon such a momentous show. -JL

Slowdive

To all but close off the day’s light, who else could fit on such a bill but the almighty Slowdive? With an album as genuinely legendary as ‘Souvlaki’, they were perfectly poised to deliver a sensational show, with an outpouring of feeling from the crowd all but guaranteed. As they took to Outbreak’s outside stage with a shimmering green and black graphic behind them, the excitement was near-visible in the air, as crowdmembers whooped and cheered and gasped and even started crying, all in somewhat equal measure.

As you might expect, the most excitement was saved for songs off the aforementioned icon of shoegaze, ‘Souvlaki’ - yet this didn’t stop the band, nor the crowd, from revelling in each and every moment of sweet sonic substance. ‘Avalyn’, ‘shanty’, and ‘Star Roving’ plucked at the heartstrings early, before a seriously potent midsection kicked off with ‘Catch the Breeze’, then went into ‘Pygmalion’s big track ‘Crazy for You’, the semi title track ‘Souvlaki Space Station’, and ‘Sugar For The Pill’. By this point, the overwhelming feeling was appreciation and enjoyment with a solid dose of bittersweet emotion - the sadness of the music touched the hearts and souls of every listener, yet happiness reigned supreme with each onlooker desperate for more. Finally, the unbelievable three-peat of ‘Alison’, ‘When the Sun Hits’ and ‘She Calls’ washed over the Outbreak loyalists, who promptly found themselves stood in puddles of tears, and feeling all the beauty of life in a moment. -JL

Credit: Nat Wood

XWeaponX

Would you like some mosh pits with your Cheerios? For those hardcore greebos, there are plenty of exciting ways to start your day, but arguably, for the crowds at Outbreak Festival on Sunday, watching the first UK performance of xWeaponx was definitely up there.  For those in the know, the second stage was immensely packed out, well beyond the confines of the infamous front section. For an opening band, this was impressive. Even more so was the setlist artillery, as the band fired round after round of explosive choruses and sharp set gang callouts, the entire audience could get behind. 

Whilst the band comprises members of Knocked Loose, Harm’s Way and Dare, the band is no nepo baby; it's a well-kept secret that deserves to be played on European soil. With the surprise release of their latest EP back in April, and nine whole minutes of abrasive fun, there’s something excitingly dangerous about being at a Weapon X show. Seeing the band was a moment to get giddy, and ultimately, the unparalleled hype you get watching a set at Outbreak. - AB

Credit: Nat Wood

No Relief

Brighton hardcore is as good as it’s ever been. Representing the BN1 scene on one of hardcore’s biggest stages, No Relief set the crowd alight with their riveting performance and tighter than tight musicianship. The anger within their riffs was palpable, and the crowd responded in due course with plenty of spins and dives. Whilst the band were only onstage for twenty minutes, they made every second count, and showed up a number of the larger bands across the weekend with the sheer commitment and effort they displayed. No Relief, we salute you. - JL

God’s Hate

The first ever UK set by God’s Hate was always likely to be hectic. But you want to put that first ever show at Outbreak though? Well, open warfare could be considered more peaceful. Tracks like ‘Be Harder’ and ‘God’s Hate’ received exactly the reaction you’d think, with every single person even vaguely near the stage sending every ounce of energy and rage into either throwing themselves off the stage, or into other people. They played a full ten songs, and included two excellent covers of ‘Master Killer’ by Merauder, and ‘Take ‘em All’ by Cock Sparrer that riled the audience up even further. In a choice that shocked no one, taking the very fitting final slot on the setlist was the song ‘Finish the Job’. Not one soul let the band have even a moments respite until they’d left the stage, and they did that to rapturous applause. -JL

Credit: Eddy Maynard

Loathe - Amber

Well, this was special. Whilst we were not expecting a set from Loathe this year, it was greatly appreciated. The band will always have Outbreak as their home, even if they're from Liverpool. 

Loathe are a band in that dark purgatory between albums, and sometimes they offer a smidgeon of hope that there is a new era on the way. Opening with an entirely unknown track (yeah, that one wasn’t escaping us), they made their presence known on the outdoor stage. The turnout for their set was immense, moreso the energy given at the front of the pit. The set itself felt fresh, opting for classics ‘Is It Really You’ and ‘Aggressive Evolution’, alongside deeper cuts like ‘Dance On My Skin’ and ‘Gored’. We were treated to a new track, ‘Gifted Every Strength’, as well as a welcome feature from Static Dress’ Olli Appleyeard for ‘Heavy Is The Head’. 

Especially for a secret set, where the wild rumours about who would be performing seemed to rage on throughout most of the early afternoon that day, this set was a masterclass on how to show up and create massive waves, even on a hardcore lineup that doesn’t entirely fit into their sound. When Loathe played Outbreak in 2023,  guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe described the set they played as their “Woodstock”, but this was the set was truly their moment that topped it all.  - AB

Contention

Artillery from Heaven? It certainly felt that way, as moshers piled onto the front of the stage with some pent-up aggression. Florida metalcore outfit Contention headed to the UK for the first time, a much-needed trip after the release of their monumental debut album. Fast whirlwind riffs and piercing screams, the band scattered ammunition into the swirling pit. Starting as they meant to go on, the set was short but packed an intense amount of energy, with a sea of flailing arms, crowd killing and a sweet sense of victory for the band. 

Ultimately, Contention was one of the best sets of the weekend. There was the right amount of people making a truly immense statement piece in the pit, the sound was unmatched and feral, and there was untapped potential brimming from this round of UK shows. A military expedition with an intent to thrill, Contention is immense, and Outbreak well and truly made this set happen with an amazing atmosphere. -AB

Credit: Eddy Maynard

Deafheaven

As Outbreak becomes more and more open to shoegaze being included, Deafheaven feel increasingly perfect for their lineups. A band formed by predominantly former members of metalcore and hardcore bands, they’ve never been one for the kvlt black metal side of things, preferring to keep their brand of heaviness stood firmly in the breathtakingly beautiful and devastatingly emotional end of the genre. With the live experience and songwriting expertise the band have, it’s always a wondrous set from the band whenever they play live.

Having already released a flawless album this year, Deafheaven marked their return to the UK with a crushing performance that included some of the hits from ‘Lonely People With Power’. Opening with album intro ‘Incidental I’ into ‘Doberman’ and ‘Magnolia’ was a real mission statement, stating their huge belief in their latest, phenomenal, work. Indeed, out of the seven songs they played, only two weren’t from the latest album! ‘Incidental II’ also featured, and the glorious ‘Winona’ closed their set off. The two other tracks were ‘New Bermuda’s own ‘Brought To The Water’ and then the seminal ‘Dream House’, a bonafide classic of the 2010’s and legendary live song even now. They can do no wrong, and this set just further proved exactly that. -JL

Knocked Loose

Are Knocked Loose truly hardcore? For their recent releases, their expeditions into the gnarly and the extreme haven’t always made it feel that way. Their latest release, ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’, felt more akin to metalcore, opting for horror-filled haunts straight from their Louisiana suburbs. 

Knocked Loose’s sound in 2025 may feel like a world away from the guts of ‘Pop Culture’ and ‘Laugh Tracks’, but they are still a monolithic cornerstone of the hardcore community. Arguably, the band possess even more of a compelling argument through their dedication and respect to the scene, performing at a no-barrier set that screamed with compassion and community, scattering guest vocalists and name-dropping as many bands playing that day as they could. 

Deafheaven’s George Clarke elevated ‘God Knows’, throwing an ethereal dimension to the track, impressively screaming an entire octave above Bryan Garris - if that’s even possible. Speed went to town on ‘Deadringer’, whilst the dynamic duo of Kadeem France and Olli Appleyard represented the UK on ‘Billy No Mates’. Boston Manor’s Henry Cox confronted the Manchester crowds with a cerebral rendition of ‘Belleville’. 

All together, the band sounded immense, grimy and gross in the best way possible. Tracks from their latest release like ‘Blinding Faith’ and ‘Don’t Reach For Me’ cut their teeth so sharply amongst established fan favourites like ‘Counting Worms’ and ‘Where The Light Divides The Holler’. Splitting the crowd from stage to sound desk offered one of the most gory sights in Outbreak history, but from a distance, it was a moment of art. Michelangelo couldn’t paint the brutality of bodies slamming against bodies. 

The final nail in the coffin was finishing the set with a ‘Weapon X Outro’, a damaging embodiment of the true meaning of Outbreak culture. As both Bryan and Isaac debuted their other project, xWeaponx, to the masses that morning, they opened and closed their set with ferocity, enthusiasm and an undying respect for the hardcore community. 

Acts like Knocked Loose and Turnstile, who both headlined Outbreak this weekend, have arguably, with their success, moved away from the traditional hardcore sound; they both embody its spirit and tenacity that the underground community truly respects and nurtures. Whilst we are so focused on the future of heavy, Outbreak weekend has been a point of reflection. Why care, when Outbreak has some of the best crowds and the best people on the planet? -AB

Credit: Nat Wood