Outbreak Day 2 and the UKHC scene

After the utter euphoria of the first day of Outbreak, I suspected that day 2 might be a little bit bleak; half of my friend group had gone home, and my favourite band of all-time, Turning Point (who were the main reason I'd bought a ticket to Outbreak in the first place) had pulled out at the last minute, leaving only a few bands on the line-up I was interested in. However, things quickly began to brighten up. Leeds-based metalcore band Stranded were tuning up as we arrived, and although their style is not my thing, I was very pleasantly surprised by the progressive aspect of their songwriting, dealing with more than just straight-edge and veganism, as well as their vocalist's excellent, foreboding stage presence. After that, I discovered one of the best advantages of the Sunday- less people in attendance means actually having a chance to eat! After tucking into a few slices of excellent vegan pizza I marched on through the day. After an excellent, grinding set from Mizery, the final act of the weekend, the legendary Cro-Mags were on. Frontman John Joseph gave a performance with more energy than many teenagers despite being in his early fifties- although by this time even I was too tired to get up front and chilled at the back for most of the set. Overall? An incredible weekend with great people which really summed up what hardcore is about.

Something I really loved around the weekend was the sense of community and unity between everyone in attendance- there was no clique-yness or different groups making fun of eachother for not liking what they think is 'cool' which seems to happen a lot in the US scene. There are some advantages to being a part of a smaller hardcore scene- there is no room for fragmentation or being cliquey; there are so few people making true, angry hardcore music that everyone who wants to be apart of it has to stick together, which I personally think is an incredible attribute to have in a music scene- a true spirit of friendship. So thanks, Outbreak, for not only letting me see some of my favourite bands ripping, but also for making me think profoundly about how amazing the UK hardcore scene is as a whole.