Rabidfest 2023: The ULTIMATE Rabidfest Headliner…?!

Taking a momentary detour in our breaking down the bands of Rabidfest 2023 series, this week we’re bringing to the table something a little different. The question is… when it comes to the crunch, who would be the ultimate Rabidfest headliner? There are always rules to every game and so logically with the capacity of the venue it would have to be a band who could play a set there and sell out the venue on their own… and lets face it, Machine Head, Metallica or a reunited for one night only Slayer would be like asking for the moon on a stick, so who would be a realistic ultimate headliner? Before we into the meat and bones of it, Here’s the line up in full for this years fifth anniversary…

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

and if you want a ticket (you mean you haven’t got one yet?!) then the links are below…

Prior to them shooting off to South Africa for some shows, back in 2018 we saw SikTh headline The Bullingdon and it was an incredible night. Guitarist Dan Ford played the set in his socks, delivering the kind of Tech-Metal riffs that should be rewarded with an award while older songs like “Pussyfoot” and “Hold My Finger” sounded as fresh as the day they were conceived. That was an incredible night and they would make for one hell of a headliner.

Back in 2021 the post lockdown Rabidfest was simply f***ing amazing, a real opportunity to let off some steam. Originally Northern Deathcore Kings Osiah were set to headline the Sunday but were forced to pull the plug at the eleventh hour due to their drummer breaking his leg. They were replaced by Exist Immortal and the rest as they say is history… so wouldn’t it be something if they could return and fulfil their promise of a show in Oxford?

A new dawn, a new day, a new album and an upcoming tour looking like it will put much loved OG Milton Keynes DJentlemen Heart Of A Coward back on the map. As a headliner for Rabidfest they tick all the boxes and if they could persuade former vocalist Jamie Graham (now in Viscera) to drop a cameo alongside former guitarist Timfy James then that would be the icing on the cake, wouldn’t it?

Over the years the powers that be at Rabidfest have brought in some serious old school heavy hitters from yesteryear like Memoriam, Diamond Head and Discharge so how about someone in the same vein? Our thoughts turn to the almighty Venom Inc who would surely go down a storm with classics from the “Prime Evil” and beyond era of Venom as well as some new evil from “There Is Only Black“?

Last but by no means least, from the sublime to the ridiculous. If we can have bands like Bound In Fear headlining the fifth anniversary of Oxford’s biggest weekender then why can’t we have Japanese culture Deathcore transcending mercenaries Within Destruction? If there is one band capable of reducing The Bullingdon to rubble and being heard across town then it would be them… looks like we’ve set a challenge for 2024 eh?

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