Live Review : Heriot + Grove Street + False Reality @ Rebellion, Manchester on April 13th 2025

There is a cavalcade of young British metal bands determined to break out of the underground into the open waters of the mainstream overground. Heriot are at the vanguard of that movement. Fiercely independent and uncompromising, they have their eyes firmly set on world domination, as opposed to eternal select appeal. There are two impeccable and remarkable things about this roster of new acts reshaping our music, the first is that they are diligently doing things with metal that we never thought was possible. The second is that they have broken up the macho monopoly and defused metal’s decade’s old fortress of toxic masculinity. This is metal reinvented but also simultaneously holding on to the aggression and nonconformity made it so exciting in the first place.

If Heriot are leaders in this scene, then Londoner’s False Reality are its new blood. There is a real buzz about this band, and it is rare to find so much excitement swirling around for the first component of a three-act bill. The pit is in full effect from the moment that the opening number is churned out and a bevy of photographers stand up front desperate to get the shots of the band in its infancy before they explode any further in the popularity stakes. False Reality are tight and taut. They channel the rage and indignity of prime time hardcore, but it is coupled with an intriguing level of technicality. Hardcore is usually about being freeform and jagged around the edges. However, there is a polished professionalism to them that elevates them far beyond being just another shouty outfit pissed off with the ill’s of the world. 

Rachel Rigby is an astonishingly self-assured but also reserved front person. She prowls the stage like a caged tiger, full of righteous venom, but she never overtly overexposes herself emotionally. She is measured and thoughtful as opposed to being a bundle of enthusiastic charisma. This slow-burning personality suits the music, and when her passion does boil over, it feels even more evocative. Their music is a frenzied but also a strategically compiled compendium of multiple styles. Politically charged hardcore is at the centre, but it is offset by a groove that Lamb of God would be proud of. Stunningly versatile and fascinatingly varied, the  verbose crowd reaction proves that False Reality are on an unstoppable upwards trajectory. 

Grove Street are a throwback to times before thrash became bloated and self-obsessed. They play a joyous, euphoric variant of crossover thrash that is brash and beautiful. Since their metamorphosis in 2022 from Grove Street Families to simply Grove Street, they have enjoyed a purple patch of creativity and visibility. Their evolution as a band and a concept is obvious to see. At every show they come across as a little more confident in their own abilities and a little bit more bought into the conviction of what they are doing. 

Tonight they are extraordinary. Founding Guitarist Chris Sanderson (Sandy to his mates) has dug out his City top and is soaking up both the positive vibes from fellow Citizens and the cat-calls from reds in the audience. Like the rest of the band, he contorts himself in various acrobatic shapes as he flings himself around the room. Grove Street are an ever-fluctuating catalyst of pure energy. Their sound is distinctly old skool, but is peppered with self-assured belief of youth. There is just so much raw faith emanating from the stage that it can't fail to be infectious. Vocalist Sully on numerous occasions beckons the crowd forward, keen to bath in the reciprocal energy. Grove Street remind us that thrash was meant to be fun, it was meant to be rebellious and it was meant to be redemptive. There is also a large dollop of cleverness in their stupidity. They avoid the done-to-death “birds and booze” angle and instead give us a version of crossover that is diligently self-aware and politically astute. They now resolutely own stages the size of Rebellion and it won't be long until they are headlining these affairs.

Heriot are also upwardly mobile. They note that this is their first Mancunian headline show since they topped the Star and Garter a couple of years back, and they seem visibly grateful that the room is so full. Their sound tonight is voluminous and all-consuming. From the get-go, it is clear that they are about to outgrow venues such as Rebellion and the cavernous confines of the Ritz and the Academy seem their next destination. They reside in metal's extremity with a side order of wanton commerciality. There are plenty of moments this evening when they are as heavy as f**k, but there are also junctures where Debbie’s clean vocals kick in and you could be watching Lana Del Ray or Billie Eilish at their emotive emotional best. 

Heriot have cherry-picked the bits that make metal so expansively impassioned. Watching the band weave the tracks from their debut release live makes you realise the sparse brilliance of what they are doing. Erhan and Debbie’s guitar playing is minimal and targeted as opposed to being convoluted and bloated. They harness the space between the notes to create a sound that is evocative and all-consuming. They capture metal’s passion and aggression, but they couple it to a self-aware vulnerability that sends shivers down the spine. ‘Demure’, ‘Solvent Gaze’ and ‘Mourn’ all feel like windows into Debbie’s soul, jagged and cohesive but also swirling in angst and ethereal power. Their music is powerful rather than complex but still manages to have multiple emotional layers. 

Watching Heriot over the years is akin to witnessing an act’s evolution before your very eyes. Tonight at Rebellion we start to see the emergence of the finished product. They still seem confounded by the love sweeping up at them from the floor, but they now radiate self-confidence and self-belief. They own the space, be it when Debbie is splitting the crowd in two and calling for more chaos or when Erlan is stomping around his corner like a man possessed. Everything now feels in their control. They are a band that has put their finger on their special sauce, and they are now milking it for all they have got.

The set is short, we are done by ten past ten, but you get the distinct impression that this is merely a taster for what is yet to come. Heriot are terraforming metal into previously unimagined shapes. Tonight, they are astonishing and absorbing, but it is only a mere glimpse into what is yet to come. The inclusion of relatively old track ‘Dispirit’, illustrates the distance that they have already travelled. The exciting and intoxicating point is that we are still at the foothills of where their talent will take us. They are brilliant now, a curdling amalgamation of aggression and accessibility, but the possibilities of where they will go are infinite. The future is Heriot-shaped.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Heriot + Grove Street + False Reality