BarricadeUK

This Easter weekend, Takedown Festival returned to the iconic Portsmouth Guildhall for a weekend celebrating all things punk, rock and metal. 

With the Friday being a day for the more classic, riff-filled, statement heavy metal and classical rock, and a Saturday dedicated to the newer kids on the block, the weekend packed out devoted fans, curious kids on their first metal festival and everything in between. 

With the likes of Therapy?, Wargasm, As it Is and the ever elusive PRESIDENT making their festival headline debut, it’s no surprise that this was a sold out festival that turned the south-east coast into a celebration of all things metal. 

Friday

For first timers, the Portsmouth Guildhall can be a bit of a maze to navigate, however, once you get used to it, you’ll find yourself in a Nirvana of punchy sound from all corners. 

Kill the Lights open the Kerrang Phil Cambell stage, renamed after the late Phil who sadly passed away not long after the band pulling out of headlining the festival due to health reasons. The band definitely earned their spot on the main stage, with a talented bunch of musicians, technical riffs and strong vocals, they set the tone what what’s to come.

Londoners DeVere take a similar approach on the Metal for Good stage, covered in haze and leather, they turn the room into a shrine for all things heavy, with a touch of glam, throwing back to the 80s and 90s with their blend of classical heavy riffs and clean vocals.

Back on main stage, emo-goth-heavy metal infused South of Salem, ever so slightly plagued by technical issues, launched straight into “Vultures” and had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Cheerleaders joined the church-and-graveyard themed stage, bathed in neons, and it was by far the busiest the room has been so far.

Saturday

The Saturday comes in the form of a different beast. An earlier start, a longer queue eagerly waiting for the doors to open.

Leeds born alt-rock piece Artio open up the main stage with a punch, in spite of suffering from “festival opener” syndrome, and a not too responsive crowd, they give their all. They pull mostly from their newest release Soul Rot, and a surprise appearance from As It Is frontman Patty Walters seems to do the trick and get the crowd in the palm of their hands.

Speaking of As It Is, their later set on the Kerrang stage was definitely one not to miss. Slightly swallowed by stage haze for the start of their set, but quick to recover, the four piece brought back the ever so nostalgic pop punk anthems of the early 2010s, with the likes of “Hey Rachel”, “The Stigma (Boys don’t Cry)” and a live debut of the melodic “Marilyn”, their set felt more like a catch up between old friends.

Metal for Good sees openers metalcore outfit Monochrome open up with high energy and on the Total Rock stage the self defined as Nu-Grunge four piece Overgrown tear through their opening set.

Gothic heavy-metal shoegaze duo Zetra are another standout on the Kerrang main stage. Synth-filled riffs, slower paced, electronic components mixed with long leather coats, 80s heavy makeup, they brought something entirely different to the stage, and most welcomed!

Waterlines brought the heavy stuff out early in the day, and it seemed like everyone got the notice that their set is not one to miss, the room being absolutely packed out and resulting in the first performance with closed doors due to overcrowding, even with frontman Ben Mars saying that he simply “will not accept this level of movement”. Which does do the trick as the pit opens up instantly. Their set is raw and heavy, and it’s clear that they’ve surpassed the small room capacity. Next time the wall of death proceedings are definitely happening at main stage!

If we’re talking about newer bands that have been on a consistent rise, Mouthculture are another one that was not to be missed. Currently on their UK headline tour with Overgrown, their stopover at Takedown’s main stage was very well received, with frontman Jack Voss’ showmanship leading the pack, they had the crowd jumping, dancing and singing along for their entire adrenaline fuelled set.

Taking a small breather from punchy riffs and downbeats, we move to the main stage where Lastelle are taking over with their more emotionally raw side of post-hardcore. It is always a pleasure to see these guys. And it’s exactly that blend of raw, emotional and heavy vocal punch from frontman Adam Rigozzi and their emotionally heavy themes that make them one of the strongest modern bands. It’s always a pleasure seeing new people discover Lastelle, especially as you never quite know who’s going to be singing next, as Adam passes the torch back and forth between drummer Mike Hayden and bassist Freddie Whatmore (who also pulls out a trumpet from time to time, making their set even more special). Their song “Breathe Me In” is always worthy of a special mention, and their Takedown set was no different.

Keeping up with the punk and grunge themes, BEX took to the Total Rock stage and in spite of some serious sound issues (this year the attack seemed to come through in form of click-track mishaps) she and the band pushed through, facing the tech issues head on and with a little bit of banter with “Mr Soundman”, they showed that as long as you want to, you can put on a show no matter what. Their Nu-punk themes ringed out loud, moshpits opening quickly especially after BEX advised the crowd to give us all photographers on the front line a hard time! Happy for the ones that obliged and turned it to 11!

Tropic Gold keep the momentum going strong, the trio get the room to full capacity before they even take the stage, enforcing a “one out-one in” door system. The moshpits for this one were not to be missed as vocalist Jacob Parris encouraged the chaos to come in all forms possible, from moshing to walls of death, and drummer Amy Barnett showcased her incredible skills behind the kit while guitarist Joshua Lee signals for more circle pits. They’ve been on a steady rise, and if you’re attending Download Festival this year, you do not want to miss their set.

As the evening’s end starts to rear its head, so do the festival closers. On the Total Rock stage, The Hara brings out the dance moves, the leather coats and smoky-eyes whilst the crowd is still not showing signs of slowing down. We’ve spoken with The Hara about their latest release, The Fallout, and their biggest UK tour to date which was a phenomenal success, interview coming soon!

Metal for Good sees Kent born Graphic Nature close the stage, following the quickest setup and changeover we have ever seen, with their adrenaline infused NuMetal and hardcore and their consistent themes around mental health, trauma and societal pressure. Harvey Freeman described 2025 as their biggest year to date, so it felt a little strange but also really good to be back on stage, Takedown being their first show back in over 5 months. They’ll be playing at The Dome on April 30th, and they have just released a new single “Faceless”.

Ever elusive PRESIDENT closes down the ceremonies at the main stage, following a changeover from high impact, high energy wargasm, the crew seems to be setting up in the dark, building up the atmosphere before the masked band takes to stage. Unfortunately we couldn’t photograph them, so this one was more of a “you really had to be there” to see it happen moment. Their neon cross sat huge behind the now famous lectern as the President rallied on stage, going straight into fan favourites “Fearless”and “Dionysus”. A surprising cover of Deftones’ “Change (In the House of Flies)” and a live debut of newly released “Mercy” sent the crowd into a frenzy and their most popular “In the Name of the Father” closes out the festival on a high. Their first festival appearance has definitely been a success and love them or hate them, they are clearly doing something right, and more headline slots are coming their way.

Interviews and individual band galleries coming up soon!

Thank you Takedown for letting us be part of this year’s festival!