Rabidfest 2025: Breaking Down The Bands #13: Collapser!

We’ve reached the thirteenth reason of twenty as to why you need to get your mother, your brother and your lover each a ticket for Oxford’s biggest Metal Weekender otherwise known as Rabidfest. Before we get into that, let us take a moment to remind you what the festival is all about. Taking place over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of November at The Bullingdon the event will raise money for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation while offering you the opportunity to witness twenty bands on the Devolution Magazine sponsored main stage over two days of wall to wall riffs, thunderous percussion and rumbling bass. You may choose to add to that stage dives, high fives and drunken debauchery but we’ll leave that one up to you!

The Rabidfest team are so damn cool that they have announced a warm up show! Subtitled Sheri’s Birthday Black Mass, the event will see four bands on stage celebrating the birthday of Rabidfest Director and iconic scene queen Sheri Bicheno. As with the main event, all proceeds will be going to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation!

Saturday 20th September Sheri’s Birthday Black Mass at The Jericho Tavern:

Tribe Of Ghosts
Grove Warden
The Blade Itself
Kulan Gath

Here’s the line-up in full!:

Friday: The Fight Before Rabidfest on 31st October at The Jericho Tavern:

Confessions Of A Traitor
Ocean Planet
Imperial Avenue
Along The Pines

Saturday: 1st November at The Bullingdon:

Raging Speedhorn (headliner)
Kill II This
Raised By Owls
Arimea
Komatsu
Thrashatouille
Korrupto
Talassum
Break Them
R.P.C

Sunday: 2nd November at The Bullingdon:

Red Method (headliner)
Seething Akira
Redeemon
Froglord
Until 9
Collapser
Lethal Evil
Liquid Dogs
Æi-Fierlen
Mondegreen

When you’re bold enough to describe yourselves as creators of “Big Doomy Riffs that your mum won’t like” its almost inevitable that you’re going to casually admit to shared influences in bands like Gojira, Sabbath and Mastodon, all of whom specialise in riffs fit for worship. Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, Melodic Groove Metal quartet Collapser was forged in the fires of Valhalla and birthed in the year that was 2020. They began their hunt for Red October in earnest, drummer Neil Higgs, bassist and vocalist Sam Rawlingson, guitarist Dan Ryder alongside lead guitarist and vocalist Steve Pickin unleashing a string of singles to capture the imagination. A dual vocal and a DIY or DIE approach have been essential thus far, the band often recording, mixing and mastering their own cryptic writings with Acle Kahney at 4Dsounds and Steve Smith of Lethal Audio lending a hand. There is no doubt that performances of thunderous tunes like “Witch Hunt” or “Iron Lung” will cause the foundations underneath The Bullingdon to shake at Rabidfest, while the bands mash-up of “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin and “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath will be a sing-a-long moment in tribute to the much missed Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne.

We’re proud to be a Media Partner of Rabidfest again this year alongside Red Death Media, Moomin Merchandise, Moshville Times, Moshville Radio, Metalplanetmusic, GraphicsFix, TwoFace Promotions, Blackstar Amplification and main stage sponsor Devolution Magazine. The Festival is all for charity and this year the profits will be going to the The Sophie Lancaster Foundation!

Rabidfest will take place at The Bullingdon in Oxford over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd November 2025:

Get your tickets -> https://www.rabidfest.co.uk

Get your merch -> https://shop.rabidfest.co.uk