Damnation 2025
Damnation 2025
Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester
8-9th November 2025
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
It’s that time of the year. The clocks go back for daylight saving, Halloween decorations litter our supermarkets and homes, and the lifeless shell of brick and steel that is the Bowler’s Exhibition Centre becomes home to the largest indoor extreme metal festival on the planet! Though this year was like no other, because this would be the 20th anniversary and a special 2-day extravaganza to mark the special occasion! Gavin McInally and the team had assembled a monster of a line-up that came painfully close to selling out! Littered with festival debuts, fan favourites from previous lineups, UK debuts and exclusives, as well as featuring Corrosion Of Conformity as an EU exclusive headliner, and Napalm Death closing the Sunday on their biggest ever headline show! The festival did not disappoint, and here are the highlights from my perspective from this year, as well as scribing what made Damnation 2025 so special (though this is a minute list and the very best of what I saw, otherwise this could be a very long article)!
Oryx
Most bands opening up festivals draw a short straw and basically play to a small percentage of the festival’s overall attendees. Not at Damnation, though! And not for Oryx! A huge crowd of maybe 1500 crammed into the third arena to watch the North American sludge masters do their thing. Bah gawd this was heavy! No easy introduction to the festival, just wave after wave of mercilessly heavy riffs and crushing atmosphere! ‘Primordial Sky’ may have offered some glimpses of melody in the latter stages of the song, but there was no escaping from the headbang-inducing onslaught!
https://www.facebook.com/theeoryx
Overhead, The Albatross
The tradition of opening Damnation festival’s main stage with post-rock continued in the shape of Ireland’s Overhead, The Albatross. They looked and sounded like a main stage band, making full use of the visual aids on offer – including the gigantic video backdrop – as well as playing with infectious energy and movement. The set was largely comprised of tracks from “I Leave You This”, including the emotional rollercoaster that is ‘Paul Lynch’. This left people stunned and in tears at Arctangent a few months prior in the summer, and this day was exactly the same. The Damnation crew sadly had to say goodbye to Bri Fitzpatrick, who tragically passed away over the summer. A tribute to him on that big screen was met with huge roars of appreciation and triggered even more tears in an absolute touch of class from the band!
https://www.facebook.com/overheadthealbatross
Meryl Streak
One of the most leftfield of leftfield bookings, even Meryl says ‘you’ll either get my music or you won’t’. A last-minute decision and curiosity led me to the third arena for his set, and this truly was a surprise and major highlight of the weekend for me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any artist command a room like Meryl did that afternoon! His message is strong and full of conviction, anything but cliché and coming directly from the heart. It’s no wonder that the connection was so strong amongst the crowd, leading to pits, a wall of death, and just incredible scenes in a true ‘I was there’ moment of the weekend.
https://www.facebook.com/merylstreek
Brodequin
Curiosity and knowing this was the band’s UK debut (and rare live appearance overall) brought me to the second stage on Saturday afternoon. Nothing could have prepared me for the carnage that unfolded there and then, though! Bodies flying into each other in the pits, myself dodging many of them as they went through the air. They were absolutely savage and pummelled the BEC into near submission after a relentless onslaught of filthy slamming death metal!
https://www.facebook.com/brodequinTN
Panzerfaust
Another hotly anticipated set on that Saturday, Panzerfaust continued what Brodequin had started and laid waste to that second stage! The band’s name could not be more perfect nor descriptive, as they blasted through the BEC with a bludgeoning and sludgy assault on the senses. Goliath fronted the band with fearsome presence and demonic growls, whilst Kaizer was a force as backing vocalist, and led the charge with atmospheric yet ferocious work on the guitar. A phenomenal set and early highlight!
https://www.facebook.com/PANZERFAUST.BM.OFFICIAL
Arena Layout and Improvements
Let’s face it, the Damnation fanbase is on the older end, and not everybody can last 12 hours on their feet! Regular pleas for more seating were granted with extra places to rest your tiring legs and back than the year prior. This added upon the already impressively easy-to-navigate arena layout. The range of food vendors is always impressive and this year was no exception, making sure almost every dietary need could be met and every metalhead was fuelled up for a hard day’s moshing!
EF
Imagine having your senses smashed by an unforgiving passage of extreme metal, then getting to completely decompress to some beautiful aesthetic post-rock? This was my experience as I got down to the front for Sweden’s post-rock masters EF, as they played their seminal work “Give Me Beauty, or Give Me Death” in full! Really, this was cleansing for the palette and healing for the soul as you could find yourself being washed away in this gorgeous wave of melodic splendour. I may have sang a little too loud to the album’s finest track ‘Hello Scotland’ (apologies), but this is symptomatic of a song with a phenomenally infectious crescendo and climax! Another gem I discovered thanks to Damnation festival!
https://www.facebook.com/efmusic
Coilguns
No matter where they play, Switzerland’s Coilguns always deliver a memorable show. This Sunday afternoon was no exception, with their emotionally charged alternative metal stylings winning many over! See, it’s not so much about the music, it’s more about the connection with the artist and feeling part of something special. Case in point, frontman Louis. Traditionally, performers stay on the stage. Though Louis found himself in the crowd and making full use of the barrierless stage, whilst even climbing to the top of the speakers at one point and continuing the show from up there. Maybe metaphorical for how high the band’s career can reach with memorable performances like this?
https://www.facebook.com/coilguns
Lineup Variety
Can you imagine having a stage with post-rock standouts EF, whilst another stage is simultaneously being carved up by Singapore’s Wormrot only 200m or so away? Could there be a lineup where the fanbase adored both Din Of Celestial Birds and Napalm Death? Does it make sense to have Nordic Giants and Spectral Wound on the same bill? The answer to all 3 questions is a resounding YES! See, Damnation delivers phenomenal variety every year and did in 2025, from beard-stroking post-rock through to the filthiest grind bands on the planet, and everything in between, providing unbeatable variation in the process and ensuring that you’re never bored or unstimulated.
Devil Sold His Soul
Damnation holds a fierce reputation for offering quality post-metal, special exclusive album sets, and the best of the UK’s metal scene. Devil Sold His Soul are the living embodiment of that, as they played a set comprised of tracks from their first releases, “Darkness Prevails” and “A Fragile Hope”. A huge wall of amplifiers and me standing dangerously close to them at the front could have been a sonic disaster. But the band were mixed to perfection, and this extra bit of artillery meant for a more immersive experience, the power and emotion in each and every note being pumped out and injected directly into my soul! It’s rare you see a metal band with two front people, and it’s even rarer to see the exquisite chemistry and telepathic harmony between Paul and Ed! Switching between soaring cleans, punishing growls, and or just hyping the crowd into a frenzy, this was genuinely phenomenal to watch. My only regret was leaving early to catch a good spot at the main stage for the next band…
https://www.facebook.com/devilsoldhissoul
Anaal Nathrakh
The great battle of Anaal Nathrakh took place on Sunday 9th November. This wasn’t just any other set. This was sheer carnage and felt like a matter of survival at times! The security team were kept busy as they were constantly under siege from a barrage of crowd surfers, whilst the pits were in perpetual motion from the get-go. Sadistic and dissonant guitar leads, demonic shrieked vocals juxtaposed with soaring operatic choruses, and surprising onstage banter ensured that this was yet another ‘I was there moment’ for the weekend. One of the least surprising but most welcome bookings, could it really have been a 20th anniversary without what many consider to be Damnation’s house band?
https://www.facebook.com/Anaalnathrakhofficial
Vibes
I remember arriving in 2023 for my first Damnation feeling shy, timid, and hardly knowing a soul in what then seemed to be the overwhelming BEC. Though since then, I’ve learned that the Damnation collective truly is one of the most friendly and welcoming out there! No agendas, just a bunch of music nerds who love music and genuine friends for life now! Whether it’s on the tram (Tramnation!!), in the seated areas, or at the barrier, you’re bound to find a friendly face to strike up a conversation with. Or just keep yourself to yourself and have some introverted time. No pressure.
Amenra
Another unsurprising yet wholeheartedly welcome addition to the lineup came in the shape of Belgium’s post-metal masterclass, Amenra. There really is no way to understand the emotional scale of the band’s fearsome and legendary live show without being there in the flesh! Whether it’s the primitive shrieks of agony coming from vocalist Colin’s very soul, the overwhelming audio tidal wave from the rest of the band, or the sheer beauty and poignant emotional cocktail that is ‘A Solitary Reign’, Amenra left the BEC speechless, in tears, or a combination of both that Sunday evening. Me being at the barrier meant I felt all of this and tested the quality of my ear protection as I felt my fragile mortal body being shaken violently! Though I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
https://www.facebook.com/churchofra
Warning
If the combined sentimental onslaught of Nordic Giants and Amenra hadn’t finished anybody off, Warning would have done…and they did. It was absolute scenes. Led by Patrick Walker, the third stage was packed to the brim as the British doom metal legends made their triumphant return. It was the sheer cavernous emotional depth in his voice and the pure and powerful tonal assault in his guitar that led to floods of tears and many clinging on to one another in desperate need of morale support. Even the most stoic of people got misty-eyed that night. “Watching From A Distance” will remain one of the most important and memorable sets in the Damnation festival folklore.
https://www.facebook.com/Warningdoom
Closing Thoughts
Let’s make this succinct; this was by far the best Damnation ever! Not many things could have made it better for me. The pain in my feet and back was more than worth it. Though I share in the sentiment with others in that perhaps things go on a bit too long and a midnight finish is both a little impractical and undesirable, especially for those depending on public transport or those who cannot book time off work (e.g. teachers). This may have resulted in smaller-than-expected crowds for Corrosion Of Conformity and Napalm Death, making them feel more like deadliners than headliners. Perhaps a more continental European approach would solve this problem, with the main stage headliners starting and finishing a little earlier (say from 9pm until 10pm) with a smaller band occupying the 11pm-12pm slot. Maybe? Maybe. But make no mistake, I’ll be back next year unless I’m bedridden or have been abducted by aliens. This festival has become symbiotic with me, and I cannot miss it!
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Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
