Live Review - Takedown Festival - DAY 1

Review by Mikki Daniels, photos by TJ Meadham

This was my very first experience of Takedown Festival and I was very positively blown away by the great amount of forethought and organisation that went into putting this event together.

Once we had arrived and touched base with our contact; Jordan it was clear we were in for a busy weekend as it was all systems go from there. 

After getting in and finding our way through the maze of corridors and hallways at The Guildhall and into the press areas TJ and I sorted through our equipment and itinerary for the weekend. 

Whilst TJ knew his way around the building and made his way to check out SOS, i had embarrassingly gotten myself lost more times than i should probably admit due to my poor sense of direction and complete ignorance of the very helpful maps that Divergent Promotions had placed around various areas of the building.

Once I had got my bearings I made a beeline to the We Are Trash stage to check out Thuum who kicked things off there and set the standard for the weekend! 

Super heavy riffs filled the room throughout their set and it was clear, Thuum had put us all on notice that the weekend had only just begun as patrons were still flooding into the building.

Shortly after Thuum finished it was time to track down Ferocious Dog for my first scheduled interview over the weekend. They couldn't have been any nicer to talk to and set my nerves at ease as a radio host who was very clearly still not used to conducting in person interviews.

Next on the agenda was to head over to the Laney Stage to finally wrap my eyes & ears around The Raven Age who I've heard so much positivity about in recent months. The band came out to an initially small but steadily growing crowd as people were still making their way into the building. By the time they were half way through their set it seemed like most people who had come for the event followed the sound of highly skilled guitar playing and melodic vocals. These guys absolutely lived up to their reputation during this set showing amazing stage presence and skill throughout. I can absolutely see how they've earned their headlining slots for the likes of Mangata and Hammerdown Festival taking place later this year.

As TJ made his way to watch Ferocious Dog I couldn't resist heading back over to the We Are Trash stage as i found myself and many others being lulled into the room by some of the heaviest groove riffs of the weekend that the guys in Sunk had brought with them and 

their maritime themed songs that fitted this Portsmouth seafront venue perfectly.

Skarlett Rebels were next up for me and as to be expected, they pulled off a hell of a show while simultaneously managing to fill the entire room with old and new fans alike, clearly winning over anybody who had ventured over to the Metal 4 Good stage in time for their set with their brand of high energy music and unwavering confidence on stage which has come to be expected by these veterans in the industry 

After interviewing Thuum but before finding myself with an impromptu interview with MJ from The Raven Age, Urne was my last major port of call to make my way round to see for this first night of Takedown 2025 and they did not disappoint in the slightest. Fast yet technical riffs again filled the room and set the tone and pace of their set throughout. If you’re a Mastodon fan you need to do yourselves a favour and get these in your playlists ASAP and keep your eyes out for any of their shows in your areas! These are an absolute stand up and pay attention kind of band who can be appreciated by even the pickiest of metal fans, do yourselves a favour and check out Urne!

See below for photos of: Desert Storm

Kris Barras:

Ferocious Dog: