Photo Credit: Nat Wood
DIY hardcore festival Outbreak returns to BEC Arena in Manchester for another weekend packed full of heavy music, spread across three days. The Northern edition was reduced to just two days, as the organisers took their Friday line-up to the capital, but there was still plenty on offer in the Rainy City of Manchester.
New York hardcore punks Drug Church graced the main stage situated in the car park of the venue, performing at just their third Outbreak Fest. An already packed main stage greeted the Albany quintet, with the energy already flowing as the band made their entrance. Kindlon encouraged the crowd to stage dive before the first track had even begun, with his wishes granted immediately. An intense start to the day was rounded off with ‘Weed Pin’, where almost everybody from the front section poured on to the stage, climbing on top of each other while Kindlon still managed to hand the mic to people amongst the chaos.
Fellow New Yorker’s Pain of Truth took on the second stage inside the BEC Arena. Movement began immediately in the centre of the room, with ‘Lifeless on the Ground‘ and ‘In Your Heart‘ being met with circle pits encouraged by vocalist Michael Smith. As the set progressed, more and more people got involved, with the bands’ fast paced songs ensured their set was filled with plenty of tracks. Those stage diving were left with no choice but to fall into an empty space as the room had spread that far apart those moshing were some distance from the stage, an all out brawl for the Long Island band.
Rumours began to flow around the site as to who the secret set was. As the time came around, everyone had flocked to the main stage to witness who would be making their grand appearance at Outbreak. It was none other than Liverpool metal quartet Loathe. The bands’ logo flickered on the electronic back drop and cheers greeted the band as they walked out on to the stage. Kicking off with their unreleased track ‘Revenant‘, the crowd were all in from the start. Arms were flying everywhere as people dashed across the lower section of the stage. More familiar material came out in a flash though, with ‘Aggressive Evolution‘ showcasing the chemistry of vocals between Kadeem and Erik, but allowing the crowd to singalong to Bickerstaffe’s clean sections. Static Dress frontman Olli Appleyard made a surprise appearance for ‘Heavy Is the Head That Falls With the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts‘ as the Outbreak audience cheered once he stepped out on stage, adding much more ferocity to the track as he and Kadeem dipped in and out of each other. Loathe concluded their third Outbreak appearance with ‘Gored‘, a track that clearly remains a favourite amongst their fans but also a heavy hitter to bow out of their hat trick with.
San Jose hardcore band Sunami took over the second stage, with the crowd pouring in from the courtyard right off the back of Loathe’s set ending. The face paced riffs, vocals and drums collectively create songs that fly by, which gives fans the experience of hearing plenty of material in just thirty minutes. As each track passed, the next one was just as heavy hitting. ‘Doubt‘ saw a sea of stage divers taking over the lower platform, with the odd cartwheel appearing during the breakdown. ‘Contempt of Cop‘ saw a flurry of people storm the stage and crowd Alfonso to the point he could not be seen until the crowd dispersed. The same occurred for the final track ‘Weak Die Fast‘, this time with the frontman staying back to witness the carnage take place below him.
Australian hardcore outfit Speed impressed massively during Outbreak Autumn last year, so the invite for 2025 was surely the first in the post. As soon as vocalist Jem screamed “Outbreak! This is it!” the entire front section opened as wide as it could possibly go. The bands’ energy was unmatched, certainly one that is near impossible to replicate as consistent as Speed deliver. In the midst of the crowd carnage during ‘I Mean It‘, Jim let loose and this wasn’t even 5 minutes into the set. Jimmy from Higher Power came out for a cover of his bands own track ‘World Gone Mad’. Jem and Aaron swapped positions for ‘Big Bite’, with the younger sibling unleashing a whole new burst of energy that the Outbreak crowd thrived off of as he dodged between stage divers before getting up in the faces of those on the front row. As the final song came around, ‘The First Test‘ had both Siow brothers as well as guitarists Joshua Clayton and Dennis Vichidvongsa two-stepping. The lowered stage was filled with people and once Jem pulled out the flute, the crowd erupted and gave it one last shot at throwing down before Speed exited the stage while thanking the crowd for their participation and love for their set.
Hardcore titans Terror returned for their third Outbreak appearance. Having debuted back in 2016 during the Leeds era of the festival, the Californian’s also performed at the very first Manchester event in 2022. Three years on, they returned and showed no signs of slowing down. Kicking off with ‘One With the Underdogs‘, within seconds Scott Vogel was fighting off people trying to grab the mic. Isaac Hale (Knocked Loose/XweaponX) joined in for vocal duties and the special guests continued to keep coming. ‘Spit My Rage‘ saw Twitching Tongues’ frontman Colin Young feature and Brody King (Gods Hate) appeared for ‘Keep Your Mouth Shut‘ where he was mobbed by a wave of people climbing upon each other before the grand finale in typical Terror fashion came around with ‘Keepers of the Faith‘ to round off an impressive and true hardcore performance.
Pennsylvania emo quartet Superheaven made a rare UK appearance on the main stage. Having previously performed at Outbreak back in 2022, the band are back with new music in the form of their third record as well as celebrating 10 years of the timeless ‘Ours in Chrome‘. Opening with some fresh material, ‘Humans for Toys’ and ‘Numb to What is Real‘ eased the crowd into the set. Despite the true Superheaven sound to these new tracks, it was ‘Leach‘ from the bands sophomore release that saw people getting involved. There was still more to come, as once ‘Youngest Daughter‘ began, the stage was flooded with people. The same occurred during ‘Life in A Jar‘, but with much more intensity. Jake, Taylor and Joe were all shredding away at this point, thriving off the audience being up close and throwing down. Another stage invasion came during ‘In On It‘ and remained until the end of ‘Poor Aileen‘ to welcome Superheaven back to the UK.
Finally, it was time for the headliners to close out Outbreak Fest in style. Kentucky heavyweights Knocked Loose topped the bill for the second time in their history, having previously headlined in 2022. Darkness began to loom over the outdoor area, and as each member stepped out onto the stage, fists were raised in the air. The ferocious ‘Blinding Faith‘ kicked off the set and there were plenty of kicking going off from the crowd. Isaac Hale’s pig squealing vocals alongside Bryan Garris’ high pitched screams were enough to encourage the Outbreak crowd to brawl. After an impressive opening track, the tempo continued for the next hour. Garris then decided to get amongst the mayhem for ‘Don’t Reach for Me‘, where the frontman shouted “Now fucking kill each other” as the breakdown kicked in. Special guests then started to come bounding in. Boston Manor frontman Henry Cox joined in for ‘Belleville‘ followed by Jem Siow (Speed) for fan favourite ‘Deadringer‘ and then Deafheaven’s George Clarke for ‘God Knows‘, all laying down the hammer with their guest spots. There was still time for one more, saving the best until last was during ‘Billy No Mates‘ as Kadeeem (Loathe) and Olli (Static Dress) joined forces once again to deliver a perfect display of duel vocals that worked so well, it was like this was their own song and certainly did Brendan Murphy’s verse proud. The dog bark during ‘Counting Worms‘ could certainly be heard by those exiting the Trafford Centre further up the road, it was that loud surely the RSPCA were called once or twice. Now barreling into the final portion of the night and the festival as a whole, Knocked Loose weren’t going out quietly. Isaac Hale ordered the Outbreak crowd to spread out from the stage to the sound desk and as wide as they could possibly go before shouting out UK hardcore names such as Higher Power and Splitknuckle. As the crowd parted down the centre of the courtyard, the moment Bryan and Isaac gave the word go, one of the most chaotic wall of deaths the UK has ever seen unfolded. The lights were flashing from white to darkness, but that didn’t stop people trying to fight their way through. The band still had time for one last hurrah, in the form of XweaponX’s self-titled track to bow out of one of the most hectic Outbreak performances to this date.
Outbreak Fest returns to Manchester Bowlers Exhibition Centre Friday 26th – Sunday 28th June 2026.
Taped Magazine 