After a year away, Already Heard returned to the Slam Dunk Festival for a day stacked with impressive names and a healthy amount of nostalgic blasts. As someone who usually heads up North, the festival’s South location, Hatfield Park, was easier to navigate than its Leeds counterpart. This proved to be an advantage, especially later on in the day when the inevitable stage clashes would happen.
The day began with a visit to the Kerrang! Stage to witness rising Brighton-based duo Lake Malice. Despite being one of the day’s first bands, Alice Guala and Blake Cornwall’s genre-blending brand of alt.metal proves to pull with a strong crowd. Joined by dance collective Kaos Kreative, Guala’s versatile voice is complemented by Cornwell’s thick riffs with blasts of electronica throughout. With her backing dancers and futuristic aesthetic, Guala easily owns the stage, encouraging the first circle pit of the day. While, ‘Stop The Party’ does anything but stop as the Slam Dunk crowd is soon bouncing.
Over on Main Stage East, Defects are here to represent the emerging pool of UK metalcore talent. While they certainly fill the void, you can’t help but feel their style has been done time and time again, and better. Thankfully, Dream State fair much better. Returning to the festival for the first time since 2018 (albeit with a different line-up), the quartet cut through the sharp wind to deliver an impressive set, led by the powerhouse vocals of Jessie Powell.
On the opposite Main Stage West, Knuckle Puck gives us our first slice of pop-punk of the day. Performing ‘Copacetic’ in full for its 10th anniversary is somewhat ambitious, and unfortunately, the deeper cuts don’t quite resonate for a festival crowd. Potentially, fazed by the prospect of performing a 38-minute record in the space of 40 minutes, the energy levels don’t quite peak until the emotional double punch of ‘Pretence’ and ‘Untitled’.
A brief viewing of Sweden’s Imminence is next. In the final throws of their Main Stage East set, they bring a mix of beauty and brutality to Slam Dunk. Violin-wielding frontman Eddie Berg has presence and is backed by thunderous metalcore blasts. Closing number, ‘The Black’, perfectly captures their melodic heaviness. Berg’s sweeping strings provide texture before using his violin to amplify his reverberating screams.
SoCal post-hardcore four-piece Movements were as reliable as ever, providing an assured outing. Patrick Miranda’s emotional pull is paired with a melodic charge, with longtime favourites ‘Colorblind’ and ‘Daylily’ receiving the biggest response. While recent single, ‘where i lay’, effortlessly slots into the band’s setlist.
With the Key Club stage tent running behind, a quick visit meant we saw Heart Attack Man end their set with a pair of infectious and gritty pop-punk with ‘Fake Blood’ and ‘Freak of Nature’. Likewise, the Monster Energy stage is hosting The Ataris giving the first of several nostalgic blasts of the day with ‘So Long, Astoria’. In contrast, Florida up-and-comers Rain City Drive showcase a mix of modern metalcore breakdowns with slick pop-rock hooks. Although the wind affects their sound on the Kerrang stage, that doesn’t deter them from pulling a large crowd.
For a band that hasn’t been very active over the past decade, Finch probably shouldn’t be as great as they were. Nevertheless, they return in fine form, serving up a set dominated by career highlights. While two new songs, apparently called ‘Horror Island’ and ‘Palpatine,’ indicate there is plenty of life left in these rejuvented post-hardcore veterans.
The much-missed New Found Glory doesn’t waste any time reminding us of their pop-punk greatness. ‘All Downhill From Here’ sets the bar high straight away, and despite hitting some technical issues during ‘Better Off Dead’, from ‘Hit Or Miss’ through to ‘My Friends Over You,’ the Californian group own Main Stage West. Although guitarist Chad Gilbert is absent due to severe health issues, Four Year Strong’s Dan O’Connor slots in with ease on lead, with Zach Comtois from Motion City Soundtrack overseeing rhythm guitar for their 16-song set.
With The Used playing in the distance, a quick walk over to the Monster Energy tent sees Less Than Jake continue the feel-good vibes. The ska punk group is a longtime Slam Dunk favourite, and knows what this crowd wants. Classics such as ‘All My Best Friends Are Metalheads,’ ‘Automatic,’ and ‘History of a Boring Town’ effortlessly deliver infectious sing-alongs, with a smattering of material from their latest album, ‘Uncharted’, maintaining the momentum.
By now, Slam Dunk is in clear party mode, so it makes sense for Electric Callboy to close out Main Stage East with a spectacular performance. With an arena-level production, their headline set solidified their role as pop-metal leaders. Complemented by a hefty amount of confetti, pyro, and humour, the German group are thoroughly energetic and entertaining. The reliance on several covers (‘Still Waiting,’ ‘Crawling,’ ‘I Want It That Way,’ and ‘Every Time We Touch’) is easily utilised to win over casual fans. Nevertheless, they have a growing arsenal of songs of their own that amplify their sound, with ‘We Got the Moves’ being the closing example.
The Monster Energy stage headliners came in the form of Alkaline Trio. Their hour-long outing was a joyous trip down memory lane, filled with fan-favourites and past singles. Matt Skiba, Dan Andriano and Atom Willard bounce off one another, with the two founding members (Skiba and Andriano) exchanging inside jokes in between songs. While the main stage headliners are a draw elsewhere, the Chicago-founded group still have plenty of devoted fans in attendance. They’re more than willing to sing back every word to classics such as ‘Mercy Me,’ ‘Private Eye,’ and, of course, ‘Radio’. As they close in on their 30th anniversary, like many “old timers” here at Slam Dunk, Alkaline Trio still have plenty left to give.
The inevitable clashes meant that we would probably miss Scowl. However, thanks to the Key Club stage still running behind, we witnessed the melodic hardcore punks give their all to a small crowd. Rounding out their set with highlights from their fantastic ‘Are We All Angels’ record, vocalist Kat Moss is a ball of energy, dominating the stage. It may have been brief, but still satisfying.
Heading over to the Main Stage West, A Day To Remember are in the midst of their headline set. Having heard their infamous cover of ‘Since U Been Gone’ in the distance, the Ocala mob are in full flow, as they make their long overdue Slam Dunk debut. Making up for lost time with a set filled with classics, new cuts such as ‘Feedback’ and ‘Miracle’ organically fit alongside ‘All I Want’ and ‘Sometimes You’re the Hammer, Sometimes You’re the Nail’. As they end the night with ‘All Signs Point to Lauderdale,’ it’s clear A Day To Remember have proved their doubters wrong, positioning them as assured festival headliners.
Overall, our return to the Slam Dunk Festival was a success. The overcrowding issues of 2023 (albeit at Leeds’ Temple Newsam Park) have seemingly been addressed, allowing fans (including me) to see as many bands as possible relatively easily. As the festival approaches its 20th anniversary, this year’s outing delivered on hosting relevant acts at the top of their game (Electric Callboy). It’s mixed with a hefty dose of “legendary” names (New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio, and Less Than Jake) and a plethora of current names showcasing the wide breadth of rock, metalcore, pop-punk, and emo Slam Dunk Fest covers.
Slam Dunk South reassured any doubts that the festival was on the decline. 2026 is sure to be a celebration, and we’re confident that the organisers will go all out for its 20th birthday.
4.5/5
