Rabidfest 2023: Breaking Down The Bands #16: Cage Fight!

Roll up! Roll up! Read all about it! Rabidfest is coming to The Bullingdon in Oxford over the weekend of the 4th and 5th November 2023! It will be the fifth anniversary and to celebrate there is a special twenty (you read that right, 20!) band line up over the two day weekend! One of the highlights of the Festival calendar and not a porta-potty in sight will find mosh pits, beer and a variety of bands from across the spectrum of the United Kingdom Metal scene offering riffs galore! Hardcore, Metal, Groove, Thrash, Deathcore and Trad sub-genres are all represented to the fullest, the only surprise being that those reprobates in Gutlocker were allowed anywhere near it. We jest. [do we? ~ Ed] Here’s the line up in full…

Bound In Fear
Blaze Bayley
Absolva
Ward XVI
Mortishead
Tribe Of Ghosts
Gutlocker
Imperium
From Her Ashes
Draconian Reign
Monasteries
Reveller
LestWeForget
Johanna Rey
Cage Fight
Stone Soup
Second Hour
Depolarize
Indecorum
Sworn Amongst

What can we say about Cage Fight that we haven’t already said? Well… we had the pleasure of witnessing one of their early live shows which became a headliner as at the 11th hour Pintglass were forced to pull out due to plague in their camp and since then the Metallic Hardcore homewreckers have gone from strength to strength. Playing the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival and supporting Sepultura last summer were no surprise when listening to their dark, brooding and violent debut self titled album which celebrated its first anniversary in May. That finds vocalist Rachel Aspe (ex-Eths) reminding of Candace Kucsulain from Walls Of Jericho with some larynx threatening performances and TesseracT guitarist James Monteith the surprise founder. They are joined by bassist Jon Reid and drummer Nick Plews, the collective taking influence from everything from Slayer to Biohazard while raging on classic themes like racism, injustice and political corruption. As if that wasn’t enough to whet the appetite, the album itself also includes a guest vocal appearance from the late great Death Metal overlord himself, Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder fame. September will find them supporting Nekrogoblikon across the United Kingdom but Rabidfest is the place to witness their supreme power.

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

Rabidfest will take place at The Bullingdon in Oxford over the weekend of the 4th and 5th November 2023:

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

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