Live Review : Hatebreed + Impunity @ Star and Garter, Manchester on October 14th 2025

What to do on a boring Tuesday night? Go to a secret gig you say? By a seminal, genre-defining band? At the Star & Garter? Well how could anyone pass up such an offer! And so we find ourselves queuing up to grab a can from the bar and go up that narrow staircase to a venue that holds around 200 people. To see the mighty Hatebreed. Oh yes, the kind of thing you dream of experiencing and we’re there for it!

Support tonight is from Yorkshire’s young up-and-coming UKHC crew - Impunity. They hit the stage like a clenched fist to the jaw with a raw, relentless energy and utterly unrepentant. Their sound channels the chaos of grindcore but with a more classic hardcore swagger, landing somewhere between artisan hardcore and the unfiltered rage of Knocked Loose. There’s no technical noodling here, just furious energy. Think Employed to Serve stripped of gloss and set alight. Their singer commands the mic with a snarl that’s all venom and confidence, her voice a serrated edge that slices through the hardcore barrage. It’s not just aggression but clearly a cathartic experience for her.

Behind her, the drummer is the unsung hero, injecting nuance into the fury. His thrashing hits keep the chaos from collapsing in on itself, adding texture and tension to the onslaught. The guitar never lets up, downstroking at breakneck speed, yet still managing to sneak in pauses that elevate the songs beyond mere brutality. Tonight’s set is short, sharp, and perfectly formed. The tracks fly by at probably under two minutes apiece, but each one lands with the force of a fist to the face. There’s no filler, no compromise just riffs, snare-driven urgency, and a nod to the fact they know what they’re doing with their controlled chaos.

And so to Hatebreed who rip apart the Star & Garter like a hardcore juggernaut. The room is already boiling over with anticipation, and the moment they launch into their set it’s pure chaos. Their trademark blend of hardcore grit and thrashy metalcore hit hard from the start and the crowd responds in kind - windmilling, shouting, surging forward until bodies spill out the door at the top of the stairs. There’s no space left to breathe, let alone re-enter the pit. Frontman Jamey Jasta grins mid-song, noting the madness of playing here tonight and Wembley the next. The contrast is absurd, but the energy will likely be the same - feral, grateful, electric. Behind the kit, Matt Byrne is a thunderous engine that drives every track forward. His double bass work and snare precision add a further layer of frantic power to the band’s already brutal output.

Guitarists Wayne Lozinak and Frank Novinec are a masterclass in controlled fretboard carnage. Their riffs are razor-sharp and the beatdowns crushing. Of course, in Jasta they have a charismatic force of nature. His voice swings from guttural roars to barked hardcore hollers, each lyric delivered like a personal manifesto. He doesn’t just sing he commands the entire room and conducts the furious madness of the pit. Circle pits in this venue? Practically unheard of. But tonight, it’s happening. The band are clearly relishing the intimacy of the space, especially with their guitarist back in action after a harrowing recovery from a brain tumour. It’s a rare chance to play a room this size, and they make it count. Tracks veer between thrashy metal grooves and hardcore urgency, with massive choruses that turn the crowd into a choir of defiance.

There’s a big shout-out to Outbreak Fest, to the punters who’ve stuck with them and the scene, and to the camaraderie of bands like Killswitch Engage who helped make this show happen. All the favourites are rolled out with awesome renditions of the classic ‘Looking Down the Barrel of Today’ and ‘I Will Be Heard’. Even a track set to appear on their forthcoming new album gets an airing, and “Live For This” (a rarity in more recent sets) makes a triumphant appearance. By the end, the room is a mess of sweat and bruises, but the energy is electric. Hatebreed leave the stage with the crowd begging for more, and it’s clear they’ve just carved their name into the legends of yet another venue.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Hatebreed + Impunity