So Outbreak Fest, being organised for the first time this year and has already managed to attract a lot of attention to it, managing to bring people in all the way from Germany for it! This year touting itself to have brought the ‘finest’ in Hardcore from the UK and Europe; including UK’s favourites like Hang The Bastard and Brutality Will Prevail, alongside some of the newest of the new bands like War Charge certainly solidifies it as being true! This year being held in a community centre definitely gives it the vibe of the American DIY gigs; with no bar, definitely no barriers, and most importantly being set up by people who love Hardcore and doing it not for money but to do something amazing for everyone in the scene.
So onto the first band, after a delay getting everything in and set up Think Twice finally get to start playing! Playing fast and heavy brand of Hardcore mixed with lots of movement. This led to an almost instant break out of mosh from the crowd which lasted for pretty the whole set, impressive for an opening band! With plenty of usual antics like stage dives, mic grabs and the general flailing of limbs it all went down brilliantly with everyone.
Following up such a good opener were Iron x Curtain. Straight Edge Hardcore from London, and what they brought with them was sheer chaos! From the opening riffs there were stage dives and mosh galore which most headliners would be in awe of receiving such reaction! With some great playing and tonnes of energy made sure the bar was set high for the rest of the day.
From mayhem to something far more subdued now with Allocation, Doomy Hardcore from Belgium with an almost Holy Terror sound feel to these songs. Whilst there was a bit of mosh it in fairness wasn’t the style of Hardcore most people to mosh to, this was dark, heavy and brooding Hardcore to just listen to and watch. All the members of the members were all stomping and moving around to their music made for still an enjoyable set.
Next up was Cornered, back to the standard Heavy Hardcore to make you want to stage dive and mosh till your clothes rot out from far too much sweat! Instantly heckling the crowd with ‘come on you cross dressing faggots’ to make sure every person in that crowd lost it in the most moshable way. This added in with great playing, a mint stage persona meant that didn’t change throughout the set, and many sing a longs and mic grabs this set went down a storm.
Now, onto the newest of the new bands today; War Charge. For these Scottish lot is was the first ever set, and the reaction to their set you wouldn’t ever have believed it. From the very start the crowd went off, with plenty of stage dives, singing along and moshing to boot. Though they admitted to a few mistakes you wouldn’t notice it in between the energy and intensity of their set. As a taster to what their future sets are going to be, these will be a band to watch out for, mainly as it’ll probably include a few stage divers gunning for somewhere above your head!
2 sets, 1 day. Hang The Bastard, being Hardcore as ever by having to dash to Milton Keynes for their second set from their set today in Sheffield. With the crowd moving up the front of the stage, waiting in anticipation for the onslaught of riffs, heaviness and the generally moshable music of Hang The Bastard. Needless to say it all kicked off in the opening seconds of their set, with Chris crying out for circle pits and everyone duly obliged! As usual the stage and the floor were shared by everyone, plenty of people heading for the stage for to go for the mic and to stage, whilst Chris would head into the crowd to swing the mic around like a mace or another deadly weapon. This set proved why they are at the forefront of British Hardcore, and will most likely stay there for a long time to come!
So with new material just being released the week before on TDON; Crossbreaker had many people waiting in anticipation to hear the new EP Lows played out live. Using Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove It) riff as an intro for the set before kicking into their set. With a largely sedate crowd however there was a core contingence screaming along and moshing to the set. With vocalist Josh stage diving into the crowd to try and liven up some more of the sedate crowd you could see they were going all out to get people into it. With their usual brilliant stage presence and tight playing the set was enjoyed those watching.
So from Wales to Ireland now with a set from Bang Bros, knocking out some fast paced Hardcore with an attitude that can be best described as ‘hyper’. This meant the mosh and stage dives were even faster than ever as everyone in the pit tried to keep up. Breaking up the songs with lots of banter, including time to declare love for Joe Latham of Wardogs meant everyone enjoyed this set.
Staying with the Irish now for Frustration, keeping up appearances by playing some good Hardcore, getting a lot of people going for the mic, stage diving and moshing. With tonnes of energy whilst playing and keeping the crowd engaged and going for the set. With the only issues was breaking the bass drum skin at the end the set overall went really well for these lads.
Now onto Bays, which unfortunately was going to be their last ever set, after 3 years of playing and being a main part of MHC makes it a loss for the local scene but for the UK scene in general. However onto the set at hand, with the crowd just mobbing the stage for the mic and generally going ballistic for pretty much every second of the set. With the usual top performance from the boys they ended on a high with this set, it made for a great way to end with their time together as a band.
From one band ending, to yet another one with Wardogs. With this being the last ever Northern date, it was going to be absolute chaos all over again. With the 90’s style NY Hardcore, with lots of speed and Youth Crew style breakdowns it no wonder there was near constant stage dives and moshing throughout the set. With the whole band putting in plenty of energy into they managed to get the crowd to ask for what could only be called an encore, something you rarely seen in Hardcore! Again, this will have been a great way to end the their time together playing as a band.
So from an end to a band that hasn’t played for 3 months! So the first time around in a while Deal With It, Crossover Thrash mad men with a mixture of both serious beliefs, and deranged comedy fuelling their sets leads to all kinds of fun. With half of the crowd breaking out into moshing, going the mic and stage diving meant the set kept the chaos running which has been happening throughout the whole day. With Posi Mike going breaking up the songs with mad banter from the themes of the songs to how the Jews are his favourite race of people it made for their usual bizarre set that is can only be loved, perfect!
With the show running late some people inevitably had to leave early to dash for trains, so By My Hands crowd was a bit emptier than previous sets. However, they still put on a good show, and the people who were there still moshed, stage dives and mic grabbed to t sounds of their heavy slowed down chugged out Hardcore! Overall it was a class set from the Glaswegian lads!
Next up was Manchester’s hardest Broken Teeth, who regardless of the fact that Dale has snapped his ankle the night before still insisted that they played. The injury did not hold them back from the usual insane set that ensues when they play. It was as if people wanted the microphone they went that little bit further to get it themselves before diving off the stage. They finished off the set with the title track off their 7”, people got hurt. They’ve started work on their full length that will be out on Reality Records so get ready for that.
Over two hours after they were meant to play, Brutality Will Prevail finally hit the stage along with the feet of pretty much half of the crowd that were left. Opening the set with a cover of Seek And Destroy by Metallica then running straight into Trapped Doors, it’s safe to say that they were definitely worth the wait. As was said before quite a lot of the crowd had left by this point so that they could get home but this definitely had no effect on the crowd reaction because as per everyone went insane. At around 12.20am they finished their set with Lost And Alone which put an end to a very long day, but a very successful one no doubt about that.
This weekend, even with all the delays and switching around was still a great weekend for all those who came down, with so many great bands put on and with a good attendance hopefully means next year will bring in more bands and even more chaos to get involved in!
Words and photos: Jon Andrews and Sam Wilkinson
