Damnation Festival 2025 – BEC Arena, Manchester: Live Review

By Dominic Walsh on 14th November 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

We head back to BEC Arena for Damnation Festival 2025 featuring a slew of the best extreme metal acts around as the festival celebrates it’s 20th birthday.

Note: We could only attend the second day of the festival.

THE OPENING THROES

Ted Maul seek to wash away any Saturday hangovers. ‘Let’s party like it’s 2007,’ comes the cry. The five piece take the stage to a big crowd and a huge ovation. Having been invited back by the festival, it proves to be a popular booking, kicking off Sunday’s celebration of 20 years of Damnation Festival.

Hidden Mothers offer a more harmonic experience with their post rock sound enchanting the crowd. For their post rock/metal leanings, they have the ability to switch gears and take things more extreme. Dynamism is one of those things that always prospers in music.

Opening up the main stage are UK death metal behemoths, Conjuror. Having just released their third album to solid acclaim, the bands history runs deep with Damnation. They played A Night Of Salvation prior to Damnation and have played the festival before in 2016 and 2021. Their set is culled mainly from their new album Unself, with a brief trip to Mire. Surprisingly, the influence of Pink Floyd runs through the bands music with the Wish You Were Here like intro, the oil style backdrops and even an Animals (I think) era Floyd shirt being sported onstage. A wander around the main stage arena shows just how popular this band are. A massive crowd to the back gets an early bludgeoning from Conjurer.

THE NIGHT IS ALIVE

A Din Of Celestial Birds are another band who’ve been here before. In 2023 they stepped in at the last minute and knocked it out of the park. This year, there is no hurry and haste. Their simple backdrop logo flickers as people amble in to witness the ethereal Leeds outfit put on a masterclass. Whilst almost all instrumental, the band have an energy that purports itself onto its audiences. Their non-verbal interactions with each other, and the way they shift around the stage enamours. The set is culled from their sole album. It is backed by some wonderful visuals accompanying their expansive and cinematic sound that moves from the beautiful to the brutal.

Onslaught are all bluster. Their thrash is ferocious and fun. Playing a Power From Hell themed set, they waste no time encouraging circle pits and more energy from the crowd. It feels like this is a lighting of the touch paper for the afternoon. Circle pits ensue as the legendary thrashers pummel through a breakneck set. Guitarists trade solos and singer Sy Keeler continually goads the crowd. Its his first gig back with the band in six years. It’s clear that Onslaught are veterans. They drop a cover of Iron Fist in the middle of their set, to chants of ‘Lemmy!’ To finish, they play a couple of tracks from The Force, which celebrates its 40th in 2026.

ENSURING INCINERATION

If the touch paper wasn’t quite burning, then Stampin’ Ground ensure incineration. Punters, photographers and security all look like they’re getting ready for something special. Hell, there is already a space for circling open before the band come on! When Stampin’ Ground played Damnation in 2014, they produced a set that went down in Damnation folklore. The picture of a wide open pit adorns the picture banners as you make your way through the industrial corridors to the BEC Arena.

Rifling through a battering set, Adam Frakes-Sime heads into the crowd early and challenges them to see how many teeth they’re going to have to pick up at the end! If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know, then I am not sure what will! It’s a heroic return and the band put in another legendary performance; Gavin McInally reportedly hounded the band to play for the 20th anniversary. Persistence pays!

More love is shared for Swiss outfit, Coilguns. “Thanks for showing up early for us – sometimes it’s hard to find meaning in what we do but being here with you lifts those clouds.” It is a beautiful sentiment and one echoed by all and sundry. Their DIY punk noise reverberates around the stage. Their humility and work ethic is shown clearly in the queues for their merch following their gig, and by the fact they are one of the last bands standing in the merch tent.

TO HELL & THE HANGMAN

Primordial set their own tone. Choral chants echo in the ether as extraneous noise from the other stages reverberates and smoke fills the air. The Irish metallers are another legendary band; one that this writer could watch for a lot longer than their allotted 45 minutes. In that time, they take us on a journey to distant lands. “We are Primordial from the Republic of Ireland,” bellows A.A. Nemtheanga. His storytelling throughout is steeped in folklore, truth and glory.

“It is better to live on your feet than die on your knees!” he announces as the band rifle through a brief set of classics including As Rome Burns, Coffin Ships, Empire Falls and To Hell & The Hangman. Gods To The Godless deserves special mention as it was truly epic. Nemtheanga works the crowd excellently, and the entirety of the crowd give everything back on the bands fifth appearance at the festival.

From Primordial, Damnation veterans, to Psychonaut, Damnation virgins. They pack a tremendous power for a three piece. The peaks and troughs both hit equally hard. Their latest album, World Maker, is one of our favourites of the year (our review here). The band mention this being their first time at Damnation before a closing one-two punch of You Are The Sky…Everything Else Is Just The Weather; two tracks on the album; one long piece to the Belgians. It won’t be their last appearance at Damnation Festival, that is for sure.

HELLRIPPING HIGHLIGHTS

A genuine highlight of the day is Hellripper. The Scottish speed metal supremos whip the crowd up into a frenzy. The live quartet, augmenting the solo works for James McBain are a tight outfit. Each ripping solo is note perfect and when the collective lock into their speedy groove, it’s irresistible. On the front rows, you can see the emotion of some as they feel everything. The crowd surfing count also ticks up. They bound around the stage swapping mics and throwing poses to the adulation of the masses. It is safe to say that Hellripper absolutely nailed it. All hail the goat!

Anaal Nathrakh are part of the furniture at Damnation Festival. Naturally, their draw is never in question. There are those that might baulk at a band returning so much, but when you’re as good as Anaal Nathrakh, it is hard to complain. They dedicate Feeding The Death Machine to Tomas “Tompa” Lindberg who himself graced this very stage a mere few years ago.

Continuing the abolsutely skull crushing assault are LA’s Author & Punisher. ‘These Machines Kill Fascists’ is the slogan emblazoned on Tristan Shone’s industrial workstation. To the right is live guitarist Doug Sabolick, giving an extra crunch to the devastating sound that Shone creates.

In a complete about face, Nordic Giants are the other end of the extreme. They make people feel something they don’t usually feel through their music. Their sound is progressive and thought provoking, enhanced by stunning visuals that bring their compositions to life.

SPECTRAL HAUNTINGS

Marco Aro cuts an intimidating figure as he takes the stage with The Haunted. The famed Swedish death group have renewed impetus after a new record saw their hiatus end. “Who wants to hear some old shit?” asks Aro. He needn’t ask twice. He heads down to the barrier at the front of the main stage building a surefire rapport with the front rows. The Swedes deliver a career spanning set that takes in all points of their discography from their 1996 inception, post At The Gates.

Canada’s black metal scene is one that is rife with incredible talent. There are more vintage acts like Blasphemy, and then there are more modern bands like Forteresse and Conifere. You can add into that mix, Spectral Wound. The Montréal natives take the temperature down with their raw and icy sounding black metal. Jonah is an indelible force as singer. He cavorts around the stage cutting shapes and eyeballing those in front of him. Around him, the band are energetic and meticulous in how they build their set. They draw a huge crowd and deliver in spades.

AMENRA

Whilst Napalm Death are atop the pile on Sunday at Damnation, it very much feels like Amenra could and should be up there. There is a flood of dry ice in the arena with no music to on the PA. Like Primordial, they set their own mood. Damnation’s huge video wall at the back is covered with a white sheet to allow for Amenra’s visuals to be projected. It gives a different look and feel from most of the sets. Whilst the band remain in the shadows, they are illuminated with the projections across their figures.

Colin van Eeckhout strains every sinew in his vocal delivery, largely with his back to the crowd. Mathieu Vandekerckhove and Lennart Bossu add dense layers of guitars to the ungodly mix with Amy Barrysmith on bass and Bjorn Lebon on drums keeping tempo. A Solitary Reign is a mid set highpoint as the opening notes of the song are met with huge cheers. It is one of Amenra’s most distinctive pieces. Their sonic battery is special and the way this band takes things to a spiritual plane is awesome. They will be back at Damnation, and you have to think they will be headlining if they do return.

HEADLINERS

In a dose of classic English doom, Warning deliver a full performance of their 2006 classic, Watching from a Distance. Naturally, there is an overwhelming sense of emotion in the room. And next door, Wiegedood embark on an epic run through their De Doden Hebben Het Goed triptych. Three albums back to back. It again shows the diversity in the line up that there are two bands delivering two contrastinc styles of extreme.

Napalm Death are top notch. They always are. As one of the most distinctive and recognisable extreme metal vocalists of all time, Mark “Barney” Greenway always rises to the occasion. He bounds around the stage, oaflike dressed in black jeans and tee with blue braces. The grind legends fly through their set with pointed aggression, taking aim at those that deserve it. Those that ramp up hate, bring division, fester resentment, and anywhere inbetween.

You Suffer is obviously a party piece, and a song that has gone down in the annals of musical history. Then there is there quite stupendous cover of Nazi Punks Fuck Off. Prison Without Walls and Scum tick boxes for the OG fans, as well as Suffer The Children. Then, there are latter day tracks like Resentment Always Simmers. It is preceded by an impassioned speech from Barney. Overall, the set is a winner. There is something for everyone in the set and they bring the curtain down in fine fashion.

Damnation Festival delivered once again. It is exciting to see what they pull off for 2026, with a two day event already scheduled.