Oli’s Top 10 Live Shows of 2025
Oli’s Top 10 Live Shows of 2025
2025. It’s been a crazy year. From breaking new ground at festivals in Germany and Belgium, seeing small start up bands in tiny venues through to seeing Gojira headline Bloodstock’s main stage, I’ve seen bands of all shapes and sizes. To cram the best of these down to only 10 has been a Herculean feat, but here we are…
10. Blood Incantation – Saturday 4th May, Incineration Festival, London
The Progressive Death Metal act shook up the music industry with their storming effort “Absolute Elsewhere” in late 2024. It took me a while to truly appreciate this and I was skeptical as to how this would sound being performed live in the English capital. Well, long story short, they sounded absolutely phenomenal that day as they played the entire record in full and surpassing the quality of the record as you feel the full blistering intensity and appreciate the intricate psychedelic elements live there and in the flesh. Seeing the band live has made me fully appreciate what a true masterpiece this is!
https://www.facebook.com/BloodIncantationOfficial
9. Brodequin – Saturday 8th November, Damnation Festival, Manchester
Damnation Festival always serves up surprises and new discoveries. 2025’s edition was no exception as I got to see the Brutal Death Metal legends tear up the BEC arena on this Saturday afternoon. Like many in that second arena, I was seeing them for the very first time. They tore up the arena showing no mercy to our ear drums and senses, inciting the most vicious circle pits and an unprecedented amount of crowd surfers!
https://www.facebook.com/brodequinTN
8. Dragged Into Sunlight – Sunday 30th March, Samhain Antwerp, Belgium
Scarcity sure has value, whether it’s precious jewels, cars, or in this case live musical performances. This applies to Dragged Into Sunlight too, as they made a return to the live stage with a second stage headline slot at Damnation 2024. When announced to play Samhain Antwerp in Belgium, knowing that this could probably be the last time they ever play “Hatred For Mankind” in full sent me from on-the-fence to instantly booking my maiden trip to the north of Belgium. This was every bit blistering and intense as I had expected as they tore through this seminal work. This was not pretty; raw, visceral, and drenched in primitive angst, there’s no show like a Dragged Into Sunlight show.
https://www.facebook.com/draggedintosunlight
7. This Will Destroy You – Friday 14th March, Band On The Wall, Manchester
Whilst I love my music heavy and weird, I also love my melodic post-rock. This Will Destroy You entered the chat. A set of two halves; the first was a treat with an entire playthrough of “S/T”, a seminal work in the genre and features ‘The Mighty Rio Grande’ which sounded more full and beautiful live than it ever could on record. Then, some classics from the band, including one of my all time favourites ‘The World Is Our_’. We got treated to tracks from the side project of some members, You Infinite, being among the first in the world to hear these live too! This Will Destroy You leave no stone unturned with their live sound and this night was no exception. What a privilege.
https://www.facebook.com/thiswilldestroyyou
6. Saor – Saturday 15th February, Fulford Arms, York
Having seen the band perform “Aura” in full around 8 months prior, this night would be entirely different with all the tracks from their album “Amidst The Ruins”, which had released only days before this night in York. A packed out (nearly) sold out venue was a nod to the band’s popularity. The fresh injection of Ella’s backing vocals and prowess on the pipes and whistles added to the already fierce atmospheric black metal sound they had spent a decade crafting, and demonstrated that the band are more than capable of evolving their live sound.
https://www.facebook.com/saorofficial
5. Kataklysm – Friday 8th August, Bloodstock Festival, Burton
Imagine waiting 18 years to see a band and finally getting the chance? That was me on this night! It didn’t matter that I was at the barrier and had to dodge a barrage of crowd surfers during their hit ‘As I Slither’. It didn’t matter that some of my favourites ‘To Reign Again’ and ‘Taking The World By Storm’ didn’t make the cut on this night’ Nothing else mattered other than getting my senses smashed by a truly world class melodic death metal act!
https://www.facebook.com/kataklysm
4. Schammasch – Saturday 25th October, Samhain Maastricht, The Netherlands
If you’re desperate to see a band live and they hardly ever come to your country, sometimes you have to leave yours to see them perform. Samhain Maastricht was the event and The Netherlands the country for this absolute clinic in Atmospheric Black Metal! Everything the band writes is designed to sound huge and grandiose in the live theatre. This is exactly how the huge chorus of ‘They Have Found Their Master’ and the stunning crescendo to ‘Golden Light’ felt, far surpassing the quality possible on record!
https://www.facebook.com/SCHAMMASCH
3. Wormed – Sunday 27th July, Offal Fest, Manchester
A complete dive into the unknown world of Slam and Extreme Metal resulted in discovering this absolute pearl of a band in Wormed! As technical and refined as it was brutal and raw, this was by far the set of the weekend at Offal Fest. The sound engineer deserves a raise as the sound was absolutely pristine and mixed perfectly. They knew one speed and one speed only; mercilessly full throttle!
https://www.facebook.com/wormed
2. God Is An Astronaut – Saturday 16th August, Arctangent Festival, Bristol
Described as ‘so demanding’ by the festival organiser, you’d better perform if you’re getting that kind of reputation. Trust me though, these guys can PLAY! All this attention to detail leads to one of the finest live performances I had ever seen. The raw beauty and sheer emotional intensity was extracted elegantly from the lifeless inanimate blocks of wood that are their band’s guitar and bass. Their performance of ‘Fragile’ left many in floods of tears, especially knowing the reason for it being written. A guest appearance from world class cellist Jo Quail only added to this spectacle.
https://www.facebook.com/godiaa
1. Wardruna – Monday 17th March, Liverpool Philharmonic
Post-concert blues. You’d think I’d be over them by now or at least know how to cope with them better by now. Though even after all my years of gigging, seeing the majesty of Wardruna for the first time left me in a low for days after, simply because I needed to relive that magic I experienced that night. See, I had heard they were good live. I just wasn’t expecting one of the most enchanting musical journeys of my lifetime! How Einar Selvik captures the raw beauty of the ancient pagan ways in the medium of music is incredible, and even if they sang entirely in Old Norse, I understood not one word but felt every single drop of sentiment oozing from this. The traditional instruments – lyres, pipes, horns etc – add to this raw authentic experience that just cannot be recreated digitally. If you get a chance to see Wardruna play live, make sure you do.
https://www.facebook.com/wardruna
Honourable Mentions:
Amenra – Sunday 9th November, Damnation Festival, Manchester
Groza – Sunday 30th March, Samhain Antwerp, Belgium
Maybeshewill – Friday 15th August, Arctangent Festival, Bristol
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.
