_edited.jpg)
Well well well - Out Of Rage has officially made it into 2025! Happy New Year! We're so glad to have been doing this for over a year now, and can't wait to see how the year progresses for us. With that in mind, there's plenty of awesome shows set to blow your socks off this month that you should be well aware of.
On January 7th, Dark Funeral's first European headline tour in eight years will steamroll London. The black metallers aren't kidding when they say it's going to be their biggest production tour to date, as they're also bringing along some seriously big names to support them, with Italy's Fleshgod Apocalypse acting as the main support act, whilst Ex Deo and Kami no Ikari will be opening the show. For a night of pure heaviness, this isn't one to miss!
There's plenty more extreme metal to doll out, as Insomnium are also heading out across Europe and are starting off in London as well! The Finnish blackened melodeath group are playing their acclaimed album 'Shadows of the Dying Sun' in its entirety, and will also have their original lineup back together on stage! They'll be joined by Omnium Gatherum in London, who are going to play 'Beyond' in full, which is looking like a night to remember.
Here's a special one for us - Reality Unfolds Festival was the first festival we covered as a publication, and we're beyond excited for this year's edition! The lineup is as mouthwateringly good as expected, with WristMeetRazor headlining on Friday 17th amongst their first ever UK appearances, Stormo headlining Saturday 18th after 16 years away from the UK, and Stormo making the trip from Italy after six long years gone to headline on Sunday 19th. Aside from them, there's a slew of our favourite bands playing - Hidden Mothers, Shooting Daggers, Vicarage, Hour Of Reprisal and so many more. The New Cross Inn will be blown to smithereens after this one, so don't miss it.
Speaking of WristMeetRazor's first ever UK appearances, they are indeed running a tour as well as playing Reality Unfolds, so the US metalcore/screamo maniacs will be playing nine times total around the UK. Taking Long Goodbye around for the first four shows in Brighton, London, Leeds and Glasgow, they'll then be taking Divine Hatred for the last five and visiting Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Southampton before they leave for likely far too long. Don't miss them!
Across the same week and a half as the last tour, Better Lovers will also be crossing the pond and playing a few of their reliably brilliant sets around old Blighty. Playing in Bristol, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Birmingham, the Puciato-fronted fivepiece are dragging the amazing pair of Frontierer and Greyhaven with them for what will no doubt be a night of pure mayhem.
Silent Planet will also be visiting around the same time in the back third of the month, when they travel across to play a string of six shows after visiting us with Polaris early last year. Playing Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, London and Manchester, they're taking 'Superbloom' all across the UK, and will be joined by Like Moths To Flames, Vexed, and Avoid, to make up an excellent four band bill.
Of course Neck Deep are back again, they're never gone for too long, and the Welshmen are bringing a three band lineup that's going to be one of the best of 2025, when The Wonder Years and One Step Closer both support them. Playing in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol, and Swansea, it's more refreshing than expected to see a band tour without playing in London.
Cattle Decapitation will also be making their return to British shores in January, bringing the Terrasitic Reconquest tour to Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Bristol, Manchester and Southampton. The madcap extreme metallers aren't alone in this, and have the stellar support of Shadow Of Intent, Revocation, and Vulvodynia to carry them around between the end of January and the beginning of February.
On the final day of the month, Leprous will be playing the only UK show on their world tour in London, as they perform an exclusive Evening With show supporting their latest album 'Melodies Of Atonement'. The Norwegians played an incredible real-time fan request only set at RADAR festival last year, and after that stunning success it's likely that this London show will be another momentous night of music.
We're also highlighting the Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium coheadline tour. Two modern metal behemoths playing their iconic 20 year old albums on the same tour? Pinch me, I must be dreaming! The mighty Orbit Culture will be opening proceedings across six nights and five different UK arenas, playing twice in Cardiff and once in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London. This will be sensational, so don't skip out!
Finally, the first round of Metal 2 The Masses will be kicking off ASAP across a slew of towns and cities around the UK. This is an amazing initiative to get involved in, and will give thousands of local bands the opportunity to play to a healthy audience, and potentially even get all the way to Bloodstock Festival! Supporting small bands is essential, so we would encourage that as much as any of these shows, if not more so. Get down and support your local!
To round off, thanks for reading Out Of Rage - here's to a brilliant 2025 for us and for you, we can't wait to see what's in store.
Words: Jake Longhurst
Cover Photo: Kayleigh Fryer (Pupil Slicer, Reality Unfolds 2024)
Comments