CORE FESTIVAL, GLASGOW, DAY 1, SEPTEMBER 12 2025

Glasgow's premier underground metal festival, back for a third year.

'No plan survives first contact with the enemy' - attributed to Gen. Carl von Clausewitz, amongst others.

FRIDAY:

Right, here we are in Glasgow, waiting at the front door of the Woodside Halls, and getting nervous. GOD ALONE are due to start shortly, but the box office, where we're supposed to pick up wristbands and press passes, won't open until 7:00pm at the earliest. This is awkward, and needs to be sorted for future events. Opening the doors 30 minutes or so earlier surely can't be impossible.

The quotation above will prove to be relevant.

We are already presented with a major clash, with headliners TORCHE directly up against math-rock legends AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR. It's a tough choice, but I've seen ASIWYFA recently in Leeds, so I opt for the resurrected Torche up in the main hall. It's still a bit annoying because it would be good to see the Irish lads in their natural environment of a small venue, but it's going to be really hard to get in if you're not there VERY early. It will be, and indeed IS, rammed.

Line-up:

GOD ALONE( Hug & Pint): Hyperactive Cork math-rock lads, out on tour with And So I Watch You From Afar. Very twiddly, very dancey. A fine selection of horrible shirts.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/2FAWOOoBgcU   https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork

OMO: Enigmatic doom/sludge combo from Glasgow, featuring current and former members of a number of other bands from Glasgow. Which bands? Various bands.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/K537THIjWqo    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571640149538

HELMS ALEE: Seattle thundersludge trio touring with TORCHE and playing their first ever gig in Scotland. A band I've wanted to see for many years and they do not disappoint.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/i-RoWcRtEDU   https://www.facebook.com/HelmsAlee

TORCHE: Stoner-sludge/pop quartet from Miami, they 'retired' in 2022 but CORE persuaded them to come back to play a few gigs with CAVE IN, and here they are. Nice to see them back in Glasgow for what proves to be the best gig I've seen them play. Quality.

Singer/guitarist STEVE BROOKS now has a lot more hair than he had last time I saw them.

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/G42l23j17fA   https://www.facebook.com/torcheofficial

CORE FESTIVAL, WOODSIDE HALL/HUG'N'PINT, GLASGOW, DAY 3, AUGUST 4 2024

CORE 24, Day 3. In which we summon up whatever energy we have left and head out to do it all again. With different bands, obviously.

Venues: WOODSIDE HALLS/HUG'N'PINT

Line-up:

K Yalo

THE RHUBARB: Seen these before, but they were missing one member - I forget which, it was a long time ago - so I'm glad of the opportunity to see the full band. Psychedelic doom kind of thing, in the vein of Sabbath and Sleep but with shorter songs. Bass player somehow managed to break a string halfway through the first song - how the heck do you break a BASS string? - but, lacking a spare, had to carry on regardless. 

Like MACHUKHA yesterday, and more bands later, they suffer from a surfeit of daylight due to the overhead skylight. Doom and black-metal do not fare well under bright light. And it gets VERY warm very quickly in that room. At least they're now providing free water at the back for those who need it.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/y9BW9fZovac   https://www.facebook.com/TheRhubarbband

GOUT: From the fiery furnace of Room 2 to the darkness of the HUG & PINT for new boys GOUT. I have no idea what they do and, for some reason am expecting some kind of indie/alt-rock thing. But, no. Gout do sludgy doom with a fresh, youthful twist, and they do it superbly well. And then, halfway through their set, they drop in an absurdly good FOLK ballad, three part vocal harmonies and all, and it's just amazing. I don't know if anybody from Gout will see this, but I REALLY want to see them again. If you know them, please pass on that message.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/UFXHFkQCXJA

GRAVIS TRISTUS: Another new band in the sweat box. Funeral doom quartet, this time, monks' robes and everything. And a trombone. I'm prepared to bet that they were perspiring like champions in those robes.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/-a4OBX-L7yQ

Kaonashi

DVNE: I've known DVNE since before the V, and, indeed, since before they were called Dune, and they just keep on getting better and better. Top quality progressive metal, and a recent new album to promote. Which they do.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/1jIEN_9G3ag

HEXIS: Danish blackened hardcore next. Hexis have, I'm told been around for ages but seem to have lost none of their youthful ferocity. They are, however, very hard to photograph, relying as they do on only a few strobe lights on stage. Intense.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/ukugv1-4pYw    https://www.facebook.com/Hexisband

False Hopes

THE FALL OF TROY: Punky post-hardcore from somewhere called Mukilteo in Washington State, USA. If it helps, I looked it up, and it's not far from Snohomish.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/jaGKn8ACDwA    https://www.facebook.com/thefalloftroy

Trauma Bonds

UNDERDARK: I was looking forward to UNDERDARK, and they did NOT disappoint. Fearsomely good blackened post-metal of the highest order. Vicious and uncompromising, despite the light room. Go see them, immediately.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/2NM2d85xPjQ     https://www.facebook.com/Underdarkuk

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: One of the acts I'm looking forward to most at this year's fest. But I wasn't expecting the guitarist.

Pummelling industrial beats with added stabby metal noises. Fine stuff, but really hard to photograph. I particularly like the slidey/punchy machine at his right hand. Yes, that IS the technical term for it.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/6_k-j771ukU   https://www.facebook.com/AuthorandPunisher

Tyrannus

OMO: Their first ever gig. Nobody has any idea what they sound like. Even THEY don't know what they sound like. Featuring ex and current members of the likes of MOGWAI, AEREOGRAMME, TWILIGHT SAD and DESALVO, we surely can expect something noisy. And, yes, that's what we get. Sludgy and angry and loud.

Singer P6 declares himself a 'happy old fruit' to see so many people prepared to come and watch something they can never have heard before. Crowd declares itself happy to know now.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/t3PXd7cotvg

Brasser

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD: Last up for me, and it's ESB's last gig for the foreseeable future. No Dave Lombardo for this gig, but the Slayer influence is still in evidence. Obviously, Biffy's Simon Neil is the focal point here, but guitarist Mike Vennart is astonishing, out-metalling many in his beautifully ugly shirt(Not pictured here).

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/NqwkTPHFNkA   https://www.facebook.com/empirestatebastard

Coffin Mulch aren't due on for another hour, and I'm knackered, so I'll have to pass and head back to my hotel.

So, to conclude. That was fun. Many peaks and few troughs. Low spots were down to my personal taste and NOT the standard of the bands. If I wasn't keen on, say, Employed to Serve, that was MY problem and no-one else's. Highlights for me were, in no particular order, UNDERDARK, SHOW ME THE BODY, MACHUKHA, GOUT and PART CHIMP, but if you were there, I'm sure you've got your own.

Last year's fest had a few issues which needed addressing and, for the most part, that's been done. 

  The new venue is an improvement, particularly the higher stage and better lighting. 

  The merch/market area is now in the main venue and not away in a separate building.

  There's still a problem with daylight in the new second room which, while not disastrous, does distract somewhat from the performances. Makes taking pictures easier, though. Also, some effective air-con in that room would be useful.

Finally, a reminder. If you are in GOUT, please come to Edinburgh and play a gig very soon. If you're not but know somebody who is, please pass on the message.