Rabidfest 2023: Listmania: Seven Years of Bound In Fear!

Breathing a sigh of relief, the good news is that there have been no casualties, injuries or otherwise to bands playing the 5th Anniversary of Rabidfest in November due to year’s incarnation of Bloodstock Open Air Festival. Phew! The Devolution Magazine sponsored main stage at The Bullingdon in Oxford over the weekend of the 4th and 5th will see no less than twenty bands gracing it over the two days. Before we get into that, 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

After that bulls*** and what not, it’s time for the main event. The real reason you’re here is the the headline “Listmania: Seven Years of Bound In Fear” so what’s it about? Formed in 2016, Bound In Fear have built their reputation on a foundation of gold and bones with uncompromisingly heavy music that takes no prisoners. Seven years and seven deadly sins later ans the Deathcore quintet have two albums and two EPs under their collective belts and are signed to Unique Leader Records. So here are our top five cuts, five reasons you need to witness them at Rabidfest as the Sunday headliner…

We’re going to start with one that caught our attention back in 2017 when the Chug Collective ruled the roost, “Godfear” is the slab of brutality that everyone needs. It was also the first time we witnessed a reaction video from the legend that is Hardcore Kadeem…

Next up we have the criminally underrated “Mass Grave“, a cut from 2017’s “Regicide” that features guest appearances from Within Destruction vocalist Rik Rupnik and Dean Watson. Unlikely to make the set but if it did, expect mosh pit violence because it’s a colossus that helped paved their way…

Continuing the guest appearances with “The Rot Within” which finds the Downtempo Deathcore brutes joined by Alex Teyen from the vicious Black Tongue, it’s one that landed a huge 141k of YouTube streams alone when it dropped via Slam Worldwide in 2019. Statistics don’t lie and it remains essential listening from “The Hand Of Violence” album.

That brings us neatly to 2021 EP “Eternal” which gave us more of what we crave as the band infused elements of Beatdown and Death Metal into their Downtempo Deathcore brew. The results are a fatal 22 minutes and 11 seconds of crushing atmospherics and riffs galore. Our personal favourite is “Left To Drown” with those monsterous bowel clenching gutteral lows from Ben Mason.

Last but by no means least it has to be “Beyond The Mire” from 2021’s “Penance“. Another stone cold banger from blighty that feels like pure catharsis for Mason as he crawls out from his personal hell. So get your friends, family and anyone you can find in a Metal t-shirt on the street and get them to Rabidfest to witness these monsters at work. There will be blood, sweat and many many beers… probably Stella Artois…

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