There are fewer places more sacred to the UK emo scene than Slam Dunk Festival. A staple in the British alternative scene and a life changing showcase opportunity for some of the best musicians in the emo/punk/ska/metalcore/hardcore scenes.
After a little bit of rain, we’d finally gotten a dry but overcast morning that maintained throughout the day for the most part. After a smooth entrance, we got ready for an entire day of running up and down hills in the name of music.
Anyway, onto the Slam Dunk North review!
Lake Malice
We started the day seeing Lake Malice on the Kerrang stage. Lake Malice are a band that we’d seen live before and they’ve always brought a killer show with some violent tracks but this set showed them with some higher production value complete with backup dancers and choreography.
11:30AM is pretty early for vicious tracks like ‘Blossom’ but Alice and company were committed to starting the day out with a bang as they ripped through ‘Stop the Party’. Having been on site for Live at Leeds the previous day, it was nice to hear some screams and get out some aggression.
Greywind
Greywind were a band we’ve been excited to see since we delved into the Slam Dunk preview. The Key Club Stage was full of flags showing support for the Irish crew as singer Steph O’Sullivan did her unique twitchy brand of stomping across the stage through bangers like ‘Here’s Your Death Wish’ and ‘IKAMF’.
The set was full of this really sweet energy as you can tell Steph and Paul O’Sullivan (siblings) are having the times of their lives as Steph screams “DO YOU LIKE MY HAT?” before donning a lovely little nurse hat. There’s a wholesomeness on stage and in the audience between the darker tracks like ‘Swing and Sway,’ a microcosm for the emo scene in general.
Stay tuned for our interview with Steph and Paul, conducted on-site at Slam Dunk.
Landmvrks
(Review by Chris James Ryan)
To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, but this was simply a whirlwind of chaotic sound! Kicking off with ‘Creature,’ which features a French rap intro, I quickly realised that this band are part of the French metalcore scene, how exciting! It’s quite unique to encounter a band performing in multiple languages. The energy was electric and the chaos palpable, characterised by powerful guitar riffs paired with both soft and aggressive lyrics. And keep in mind… it was only 3PM, I was not ready for anything too intense yet! As soon as those drums kicked in, you knew you were about to have a blast. Let the heavy riffs roll and enjoy Florent Salfati’s fierce vocals as he enthusiastically yells and dances around. His passion for the music truly shines through, it’s an emotional rollercoaster!
Dream State
This was Dream State’s first appearance at Slam Dunk with Jessie Powell and what an introduction it was. Dream State’s recent material amps up the aggression and, despite predating their comeback, invokes modern Linkin Park. There’s a massive amount of violence in the pits and two-stepping on stage.
Vocalist Jessie Powell’s voice is fairly unique, there’s a gruff texture to it without screaming, although she can definitely belt out a blood curdling scream and the drums and guitar work do so much work making tracks like ‘White Lies’ and ‘Bittersweet Scars of My Past’.
This was yet another introduction for me and having had no expectations, it was great to get out some aggression and experience some of my first pits of the day.
Knuckle Puck
Knuckle Puck took over the main stage and despite only staying for a few songs, they made a big impression. Their brand of bright and bouncy pop punk was welcome after a morning of aggression and sadness.
Knuckle Puck’s set was where I saw my first crowd surfer so it was great to see that the people were starting to pick up energy and raged to the entirety of ‘Copacetic’. An anniversary set is always welcome because you don’t have to do any research into the band, you just put on the album and vibe and that’s what everyone at Slam Dunk did.
Imminence
Imminence were over on Main Stage East and made a grand impression with their use of violins as accompaniment for drop tuned 7 string metalcore. The violin added so much texture to the crushing riffs and devastating drums but it also showcased a brilliant amount of creativity as frontman Eddie’s Berg screamed into the mic on his violin throughout the set.
The Swedish band brought the groove and melody with their use of atmospheric tapping guitar melodies but they knew exactly when to deliver a vicious right hook as the crowd got progressively more insane. ‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’ has been on repeat since the festival ended and we’re waiting patiently for another UK tour.
This was also the first time I’ve seen a mime crowdsurf. I know it’s late in life but I’m just happy to have finally seen it.
Aquabats
On the car ride home, my colleague (Chis) asked what the highlight of the day was and without even thinking, I said Aquabats. Everyone who didn’t love this set has a broken soul and an allergy to fun.
There’s a squad of superheroes playing ska punk while sharks and giant pizza slices are thrown around the audience. If that doesn’t sound awesome then I don’t know what to tell you. The whole set was the best kind of goofy and left everyone in the Monster stage smiling as inflatable sharks bounced around the tent. Several people managed to get on the pizza slice and crowdsurfed to the front like some kind of giant sentient pepperoni.
The Aquabats whole set was full of magical high octane fun and shenanigans and they even acknowledged that Yorkshire is indeed the best part of the UK. “They say this is Leeds… But we know it’s Yorkshire” kickstarted chanting for the greatest place in the North: Yorkshire. ‘Pool Party,’ ‘Pizza’ and ‘Shark Fighter’ were all brilliant lively tracks that made me want mozzarella sticks but we had to settle for a Yorkshire pudding wrap.
Noahfinnce
As the crowd gathered for the millennial national anthem (The Hannah Montana theme), Noahfinnce made his way to the stage armed with a cheeky smile and a guitar and got ready to hit the audience with a highly relatable brand of pop punk. His performance is highly energetic and fairly intense at times as the opening song, ‘I know Better,’ amps up in intensity and speed.
Noah’s YouTube channel is a wholesome collection of anecdotes about his experiences on the internet as well as navigating the world as a neurodivergent person. His music feels like an extension of that as tracks like ‘Growing Up On The Internet’ gives insight into just how easily it can skew your perspective from a young age. It did feel a bit daunting and unsettling being part of such a young audience but the great thing about acts like Noah and this whole wave of progressive punk acts is they don’t care who you are as long as you’re a good person, which should be what punk is about.
I See Stars
(Review by Chris James Ryan)
Among the many incredible bands on this lineup, a few truly caught my attention, and I See Stars was one of them. I could hardly believe they were performing! It’s been 12 years since ISS last graced the UK stage, and as someone who has been a fan for 11 years, finally seeing them live felt like a dream come true! A significant highlight is that brothers Devin and Andrew Oliver have taken on more prominent roles with the heavy unclean vocals. This shift comes after Zach Johnson handled programming and harsh vocals in the past. While Devin still delivers the clean singing, hearing him tackle those intense growls is fantastic! Meanwhile, Andrew transitioned from drumming to programming while also contributing to the heavier vocal parts to amplify their sound.
Even though their set was relatively short, it felt like an exhilarating fever dream filled with raw energy. Honestly, if I hadn’t mentioned any lineup changes, you probably wouldn’t even notice them. The band functioned seamlessly together to deliver an unforgettable performance. It was great to see both new fans and long-time listeners in attendance.
We caught up with Devin Oliver at Slam Dunk South, he opened up about being vulnerable in songwriting, and discussed the lyrics for new track ‘D4amage Done’. See the interview on RAMzine here.
Delilah Bon
With a stage adorned with signs like “trans rights”, “pride was a protest” and my personal favourite “dead men don’t rape”; you could expect a set full of progressive talking points, inclusivity and most importantly, pure undiluted rage.
Having caught Delilah opening for Scene Queen back in 2023, I knew that her set would go down incredibly well at Slam Dunk. Delilah Bon’s whole set was fueled by righteous aggression with tracks like ‘Dead Men Don’t Rape’ and arguably the best song about killing predators and getting your own justice ‘I Wish a Bitch Would’.
The interpolation of ‘Money’ by Cardi B on ‘I Don’t Listen to You’ shows a flawless ability to blend hip hop and metal without resorting to dated gimmicks while still keeping it fresh and interesting. Delilah performed a new track, ‘Princeless Princess,’ with her band for the second time which perhaps signals the beginning of a new album cycle. Be sure to get tickets to her UK tour in November.
New Found Glory
I’d spoken to a handful of people who said New Found Glory were their most anticipated set of the festival and after just a few songs, it was crystal clear why they were excited. The whole band was bouncing around and doing crazy spin kicks and generally going crazy on stage as they came on to ‘All Downhill Hill From Here’.
You’d struggle to find a better experience of classic pop punk as the band showed that despite being almost 30 years into their career, they still had the energy to keep up with the whippersnappers. Seeing New Found Glory is worth it just for ‘My Friends Over You’ but there’s so much more amazing pop punk in their set full of bootcamp drumming and gnarly tracks that make you want to do sick kickflips.
The Used
The Used were over on Main Stage West and their set included the entirety of the self-titled album. Their set was fantastic and featured huge anthemic sing-alongs on tracks like ‘Taste of Ink’ and some thoroughly heartbreaking tracks like ‘Bullimic’ as well as an appearance from Sean Smith of The Blackout on ‘A Box Full of Sharp Objects’. There’s no telling where Sean Smith will appear at Slam Dunk but you should always assume he’s out there, plotting.
The turnout was amazing but it established a new problem: the sound bleed from other stages was getting worse. The layout of the stages was somewhat close together, but didn’t really matter earlier in the day with the smaller bands. As the crowds got bigger, you had to move back towards the other stages and at times, it became a garbled wall of noise. If you were close enough to the stage, it wasn’t really a problem, as the mix, like most sets at Slam Dunk North, were really good. There was a solid bass and the drums were punchy without overpowering the guitars, which featured the perfect amount of crunch.
Besides the sound issues, the band put on an amazing set comprised entirely of their landmark Self Titled album, which some members of the audience would consider a bucket list experience. There are bragging rights afforded to hearing such an iconic album in full, even if it means some setlist mainstays are unfortunately absent.
Less Than Jake
Everyone has that one band they associate with Slam Dunk, for me it’s Less Than Jake. Less Than Jake are the quintessential ska pop punk band, they’ve featured on the soundtracks of several Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games (we had to mention this somewhere).
Less Than Jake are a legendary band and Slam Dunk always treats them with the respect they deserve. They played in the Monster Stage tent this time which could have been a choice made by the band as it made for a more intimate experience. Despite it being 7PM and everyone over 30 was exhausted, they still got fired up for ska national anthems like ‘History of a Boring Town’ and ‘All My Best Friends Are Metalheads’.
Some have made the argument that Less Than Jake shows up at Slam Dunk too often and that it’s just expected for them to play and, to that, we say: shut up and eat your Ska. Less Than Jake are always amazing at Slam Dunk and the sun always comes out when they play.
Electric Callboy
If you were to ask 100 people who they’re most excited for at Slam Dunk, the majority would say Electric Callboy. A German band who have absolutely exploded over the last few years.
Their set was overrun with fun-filled gimmicks, pyrotechnics and comedy as they included modern classics like ‘We Got the Moves,’ ‘Hypa Hypa,’ ‘MC Thunder’ and ‘Spaceman’. You’d be hard pressed to find a band that takes being goofy as seriously as Electric Callboy.
It wasn’t all fun and games as it became clear very early on that Electric Callboy were too big to play this stage and the crowds grew to a ridiculous size, luckily no one was properly injured but it was a stressful experience for some including festival goer Vince who called the crowd “an unmanaged mayhem of drunkards”.
It seemed to settle down as time went on and security did everything they could to disperse the crowd a bit and create a safer environment. The set calmed down as Electric Callboy played a series of acoustic covers, complete with a campfire, including ‘Crawling’ by Linkin Park and a raunchy cover of ‘I Want It That Way’ by The Backstreet Boys.
You could make the argument that it was a bit heavy on covers but being able to hear a cover of ‘Everytime We Touch’ by Cascada and ‘Still Waiting’ by Sum 41 in the same set is something you’re never going to experience anywhere else. Seeing as Frank Zummo from Sum 41 was on drums, it’s also the most authentic version you’ll hear now that Sum 41 have retired.
A Day To Remember
As we reached the final stretch of the day, everyone turned their gaze skyward as a series of dark clouds appeared, threatening to turn the final set of the entire festival into Slam Drink. After a few anxious moments, it finally hit and it began… ‘The Downfall of Us All’. There could be acid rain over the fields of Temple Newsam and nobody would care as A Day To Remember hit everyone with that acapella breakdown before hitting the crowd like a sledgehammer.
As someone with a fairly limited experience of A Day To Remember, I was surprised to hear so many familiar tracks including ‘I’m Made of Wax, Larry, What are you Made of?,’ ‘You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic’ and of course the song that made me lose control of my middle finger, ‘Mr Highway’s Thinking About the End’. Everybody in the audience followed instructions beautifully as they did nothing but disrespect their surroundings.
A wildly unexpected event occurred on stage, vocalist Jeremy McKinnon acknowledged their legendary cover of Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ which was preceded by a cheeky little cover of ‘Walk’ by Pantera.
The set was full of hectic motion on stage and in the audience as well as a whole arsenal of confetti canons and pyrotechnics as well as a giant inflatable penis because, why not? The whole experience capped off a brilliant day, which left me with a newfound appreciation for A Day To Remember as well as respect for their newer tracks like ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘All My Friends’.
Heavy tracks like ‘2nd Sucks’ made a beautiful juxtaposition to lighter tracks like ‘Faith In Me’ and ‘Right Back At It Again’. These songs showed a versatility that not many bands of this genre can pull off and speaks to how they’ve managed to maintain relevance over the past 20 years.
The crowd slowly started to dissipate as ‘If It Means A Lot To You’ filled the brisk Leeds air and as the last few songs played, we all reflected over a brilliant day of amazing music from people we’ve loved for years. The exit to the car park was also really quick, so we don’t even have to talk about that, it was just awesome.
Slam Dunk has a good track record of addressing criticisms with improvements being made every year RAMzine has attended. It’s a festival that is big enough to feel like a grand spectacle but still small enough to feel like you, as an individual, matter, which can easily get lost at big festivals. The crowds this year flowed well, the sound mixes were great, the food was brilliant (if a little expensive, but it’s a festival innit?) and the only real criticism I can make is about the sound bleed, but what can you really do about that?
Next year marks 20 years of Slam Dunk and people are already trying to predict how they’re going to celebrate this massive landmark. With a year left to speculate, there are so many questions people have;
Who will headline? Will it be Weezer?
Will the Yorkshire pudding wrap place be there?
Who are those weirdoes in the car park?
Where is Sean Smith?
All of these questions and more will be answered next May and with any luck, RAMzine will be there.
Who do you want to see at Slam Dunk 2026? Tell us in the comments!
