Rabidfest 2025: Breaking Down The Bands #17: Kill II This!

If a man with no arms and a gun in his pocket, is he armed or unarmed? While you muse on that one, lets issue a timely reminder. Rabidfest is Oxfords finest Metal Weekender and will take place over the weekend of 1st and 2nd of November at The Bullingdon. There will be twenty bands playing the Devolution Magazine sponsored main stage across the two days so you can witness some of the finest bands this green and pleasant land has to offer while having a drink or two. There will be vocalists leaping the barrier for high fives with the front row, pounding percussion, groove laden riffs and mosh pits galore so what are you waiting for? Put down your pumpkin spiced latte for a second and book a ticket for you and yours! You won’t regret it!

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
Wall
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

There will be few Metal heads of a certain vintage who haven’t loved the cryptic writings of a band but missed the opportunity to witness them live before they disappeared and for this writer, until the announcement of their participation in this years incarnation of Rabidfest, Manchester Industrial Metal masters Kill II This were one of those bands. Originally formed in 1995, the outfit enjoyed a first almost decade long run with a pair of albums in 1998’s “Deviate” and 2000’s “Trinity” being their biggest. It was during that period that the band would share stages with every household name you can think off, from Slipknot to Fear Factory and Soulfly to Machine Head making ears bleed with classics like “Figure of Eight“, “Kill Your Gods” and “The Flood“. Elements of Groove orientated Thrash Metal had been bastardized with cold Industrial sounds, some of the more introspective lyrics having the and misplaced by the journalists of the time on the edge of the Nu-Metal spectrum. Championed by Terrorizer and Metal Hammer Magazines and appearing on those cover mounted compact discs that used to be the norm. However having endured regular line up changes in that time they went on a decade long hiatus between 2004 and 2014, which means some of those who attend Rabidfest might not have even been born while drummer Jeff Singer, guitarist Mark Mynett and bassist Caroline Campbell were touring Europe. In 2014 those three were joined by vocalist Simon Gordon, that line up eventually giving us EP “Coma Karma” and album “Variant” in 2024. Their second decade may not have been as productive but when you’re trying to balance a day job with this Metal life, the fact that they’re even taking to the stage these days is something to be applauded. So join us, reliving our youth and raising a poison chalice to a band who have paid their dues and lived to tell the tale!

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