LIVE FROM THE PIT: The Big Outbreak X All Points East Review

ALL POINTS EAST has teamed up with OUTBREAK to bring one of the heaviest lineups the London-based festival has seen. With DEFTONES set as their headliner and a stacked roster full of punk and metal bands coming from all over the planet. We were invited by OUTBREAK to come along and review the madness, so here’s how our day went.

SHOW ME THE BODY

Opening up the day at the North Arena were SHOW ME THE BODY, and there is no way you would've guessed they were first on by the crowd they pulled. The tent was about half full and gradually grew throughout their performance, bringing a bigger crowd than even some bands playing after them. SHOW ME THE BODY are an American post-hardcore band, and they came along to ALL POINTS EAST with their A game. The energy from the band and crowd was immense, with the crowd shouting every word of each song, mosh pits and crowd surfers throughout the set, as well as the band getting into the crowd themselves. It was a great lasting impression for the very opening of the festival day.

DEAFHEAVEN

Next in the same tent was DEAFHEAVEN. Coming out to cheers, a huge pit pushing out to the very edge of the crowd opened up during their set. The blackgaze metal band commanded the crowd. “Open the fucking floor now”, lead vocalist George Clark yelled, getting everyone off their feet. It was a set where you could tell that lots of people in the crowd were familiar with the band and their music, but it was also bringing in lots of surrounding people just looking for a good time to mosh, and they decided DEAFHEAVEN was just that. 

MANNEQUIN PUSSY

Playing on the West stage, which is the second biggest stage - being only just smaller than the main stage - was MANNEQUIN PUSSY. The indie punk rockers brought all their rage with them; the band are famous for their emotionally raw lyrics paired with the powerful feminine rage presented by the whole band, but mainly from lead vocalist Marisa Dabice. The multi-talented band also switched roles, with bassist Colins Regisford taking lead vocals for their song Pigs Is Pigs. Their set was littered with prominent speeches about the state of fascism, racism and xenophobia - gaining huge cheers from not just the fans but also those just casually viewing. 

JPEG MAFIA

Meanwhile, on the other side of the festival at the East stage, JPEG MAFIA was bringing an insane fusion of experimental hip hop. Bringing in samples from a huge range of genres, including of course, metal. The pits during his set were non-stop, with the crowd being the rowdiest yet; mosh pits threw up dust clouds visible from the other side of the lawn. He even added an iconic cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, which of course got the whole festival singing along and smiling. 

OVERGROWN

Behind the mainstage crowd is the smallest stage at the festival, the rising stage. OVERGROWN played one of the slots on this stage, a small up-and-coming nu-metal band from Scotland. The four-piece were the perfect fit for the DEFTONES lineup, with a sound massively inspired by the headliner and a very well-executed performance. Their vocals were clean and smooth while the distortion of the instrumental assaulted your eardrums; they had multiple mosh pits and crowd surfers despite playing the smallest stage. Passersby were drawn into the crowd as the sound of the band attracted them; they are definitely some rising talent to keep an eye on. 

ECCA VANDAL

The X-stage was graced by the mighty ECCA VANDAL, the crowd spilling out of the sides of the stage, all cramming in to try and get a good view. This South African alternative rock singer and songwriter came all the way from Melbourne, Australia, for her performance, and the crowd made sure it was worth her time. Her music drew in a large, mainly female audience, with her call-out “Any girls in here today?” gaining an overwhelmingly loud cheer. The audience was loud throughout, shouting every word and pouring their hearts out to the music while ECCA did the same, dancing, jumping, two-stepping, and even getting into the crowd herself. 

AFI

AFI having one of the biggest sets of the day on the West stage drew a strong crowd and passionate gathering. Fans from the very front all the way to the back were shouting lyrics and throwing their fists in the air in unison. AFI themselves embody everything that is rock, the lead vocalist Davey Havok being flamboyant and expressive in his performance, never staying still even for a moment. He sang every word into the crowd while fans sang them back to him, really connecting with the audience while the band rocked their instruments, using as much of the stage as possible. They played their hits like Miss Murder and Girl’s Not Grey as well as tracks from their latest album Behind the Clock and Holy Visions. 

AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS

Second to last on the Main East Stage was the legendary AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS. The band have made a name for themselves as one of the biggest pub/ punk rock names in the current day despite only debuting in 2019. “You know it's gonna be a good set when I've already lost one of my eyelashes lead vocalist Amy Taylor joked during the second song. Their music is jam-packed with unapologetically feminine rage, which was reflected heavily in the crowd. The whole of the lawn was on their feet, headbanging, dancing, screaming the lyrics as loud as their lungs could take. The whole bands energy on stage was impeccable but its vital to note that Amy really ruled that stage and took it as her own, having the perfect golden hour sunward facing set made her shine as she smiled bright and interacted with her fans for the duration of the set, not taking a moments set, her pure joy was incredibly infectious. 

IDLES

Headlining the East stage loudly and boldly was the British post-punk band, IDLES. Opening the set exactly as expected, politically, with the track Levitator and the lyrics “As if the war is won Against you racist cunts”. The whole festival was amped up with rage, fans being crowd surfing over the barricade with limps and bloody noses - we wish them all a speedy recovery, of course - but the smile on their faces didn’t fade for a moment. The band paraded the stage, multiple of them taking their instruments into the crowd with them while they played songs like Rottweiler, I’m Scum, and Never Fight A Man With A Perm. With the set being an hour long and in between album cycles, the setlist felt like a greatest hits with everything that any fan wanting to see them could expect to hear. 

DEFTONES

And of course, finally at the main Stage of the festival, every single person made their way over after all the other sets had ended for the incredible headliner DEFTONES. If you were anywhere near Victoria Park on Sunday, you would’ve seen hundreds of people gathering in the many different iconic DEFTONES T-shirts, and this is where they were all headed. The band with almost 40 years of experience have garnered such a wide fanbase for their unique sound, paving the way for other nu-metal and alternative metal artists. Pulling nearly 50,000 attendees made it DEFTONES' biggest UK show to date, and despite being so far into their career, they played with all the vitality and passion of a fresh band. 

They opened with the iconic Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) coming onto the stage to cheers that could burst your eardrums. Despite having so many oldies to play to the crowds nostalgia they also have hits like my mind is a mountain, locked up and milk of the madonna from their 2025 album private music which is also widely regarded as one of the best modern alternative metal albums. This meant no matter the next track that was spun, the crowd went wild for it all, new and old. 

Lead vocalist Chino Moreno bounced around the stage, barely pausing for a moment, portraying the desperation in the music with his body perfectly. It was also very impressive to see the band using their own controls and pedals instead of having an automated system or someone side stage controlling it, as most bigger bands do. It really shows the band's passion is still burning strong, with the love for live music and performing to fans being at the front of their priorities. The band closed the day perfectly, being one of the most metal days London has seen this summer, we hope to see OUTBREAK and the All Points East Festival team up again to give us more banger line-ups like this in future years.

Words: Amy Smyth

Photos: Ben Blissett