The Rage Network Preview - March 2024

Coming a little later than usual, here’s the Out Of Rage March preview! We’ve still got bags of awesome gigs happening over the next month or so, have a read to see what might interest you!

First up is the almighty Skindred, who are roaming the UK this weekend in pursuit of selling out not their first arena as a headline band! Having been staples of the UK live music circuit for two decades and counting, it’s a beautiful moment to see a band so loved get to finally take that next step and cement themselves onto the next echelon. Having already sold out both Manchester and Birmingham, the London Wembley Arena show is not far behind, so any ‘Dred fans who somehow haven’t got a ticket need to get that train booked to the Big Smoke and get your T-shirts ready for the biggest indoor Newport Helicopter ever!

Not the only brilliant metal tour of next weekend, Conan are taking Wallowing on a sightseeing trip around the UK with local support at every stop. Combining the battle-axe stylistics of Conan’s brutally heavy doom with the demented sci-fi beekeeping of Wallowing’s abrasive sonics, the need for earplugs is going to be high. However, that should not stop anyone from going to see this exquisite tour lineup, as both bands are masters of their craft and excellent live performers to boot. Combine that with some stellar local acts and you’ve got yourselves an amazing night of crushing live metal that will not disappoint.

To top off next weekend’s craziness, Hitchin’s own queer hardcore band and dear friends of ours Death Goals will be playing their only headline show of the year on Sunday 17th at Camden’s Black Heart in order to raise funds for Mermaids, a charity supporting trans and non-binary children and young people. Joining them on the lineup is the devastating one-two pairing of Good Cop and Victim Unit, two other queer bands penning riotous heavy music. The show is guaranteed to cause absolute chaos and if you are even remotely into your hardcore then you need to be in attendance. Get to the Black Heart this Sunday to see some awesome bands and support our trans and non-binary youth!

For a slightly less intense, but no less fun show, the legendary DragonForce are making a return to us. Playing a coheadlining tour with Amaranthe, and being supported by Infected Rain, it’s the kind of tour that’ll have your fist in the air and head swinging back and forth whilst plastering the silliest grin possible right into the middle of your face. Aside from the Guitar Hero 3 infamy of Through The Fire And Flames, the bands have a huge back catalogue of brilliant music that is just waiting for tons of quite tipsy Brits to sing along in not so perfect harmony.

Upping the intensity once more will be deathcore heroes Carnifex, who are taking a long weekend trip to visit our little country for a brief jaunt around the place. Rounding out the rest of what is a very heavy bill is Aborted, Revocation, and Vexed! All four bands bring something a little different to the table, with Vexed’s nu metally bounce being the most left field on this tour, whilst Revocation have a more progressive style of death metal compared to Aborted’s more technical and grinding style, and Carnifex’s blackened deathcore sound is a whole separate beast here. If you want maximum chaos, this is a tour you won’t forget quickly.

For something that covers the punkier side of things, at the end of the month Manchester Punk Festival will be happening in, of all places, Manchester! Between the 29th and 31st of March, across seven of Manchester’s best small gig venues, there will be a slew of amazing artists playing all sorts of different styles of punk. Such bands as The Bar Stool Preachers can keep you smiling and bouncing with upbeat ska vibes, Witch Fever will get you headbanging to their uniquely grungy and Sabbathian version of punk, and incaseyouleave will give you all the room you need to scream and cry to their delicately powerful emo punk whilst Ikhras will pummel your eardrums into submission with some of the best new hardcore you’ll have heard in this country.

Last on our preview for this month is the upcoming Dream State tour, which is happening from the end of this month into the beginning of next all the way through to the middle of April. They’re taking the sensational Graphic Nature with them around the UK, and they’re stopping almost everywhere other than London, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see them! Both acts will put on an awesome show, and the melodic Dream State will be a brilliant foil to their heavier nu-metally support.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Cover Photo: Kayleigh Fryer