“Scattered like petals, burning from my grasping hands.“
Words by Jack Walker, photography by Rees Thorp-Mason – please contact Rees prior to any image usage.
Celebrating the release of their sophomore EP, THE SUICIDE OF HEAVEN, Stoke-on-Trent’s very own hardcore heroes Smother took over Riff Factory, flanked by Liverpool’s Stuck in a Rut, and Northwhich’s Heel Turn. Initially set to also host Nottingham’s very own Mindhold, they sadly had to drop due to personal issues – we wish them all the best. With that said, the lineup remained absolutely stacked by all accounts, and it was a show we absolutely could not miss.
Heelturn
Kicking off the proceedings, WWE themed HC act, Heel Turn, exploded onto the small stage, their energy instantly spreading throughout the venue and capturing the attention of all. A sample of The Undertaker’s intro music led the band in, and from there on out, their set can only be described as one thing – ruthless aggression. As a WWE fan, I was already hooked, but to add to this the band put on one hell of a performance. In fact, if you didn’t know that they had a gimmick, you’d still be just as happy two-stepping and crowd-killing to their enormous anthems. Riffy hardcore by all accounts, their sound may not be doing anything new, but damn do they do it well. Chocked full of breakdowns and plenty of shout-at-the-stage vocals, there’s nothing not to love, and given they’d only released their initial demo in December, there’s plenty of potential to be tapped into going forwards. A peculiar pick for the lineup, but one that absolutley paid off, Heel Turn are everything we love about hardcore, and we hope to catch them again soon.
Stuck In A Rut
Liverpool’s Stuck in a Rut followed things up, another relatively fresh-faced act looking to make their mark on the scene. Taking inspiration from NYHC, their set was non-stop riffage and energy. Having also recently put out their debut demo back in August of 2025, they were shockingly tight. Calling for the crowd to warm up the room before exploding into the first track, their request was quickly met. Two-steppers and dancers emerged from all around, and the space quickly became a sauna, with limbs flailing and dancers showcasing their best moves. Quickly expressing their gratitude for the audience, and emphasising the importance of small venues like Riff Factory, they continued at a blistering pace through their set, throwing in a new track dedicated to the vocalist’s wife for that signature Valentines day charm. Despite it’s short tenure, their set left a lasting impact, and given the quality of the unreleased material, we’re expecting big things from this band in the near future.
Smother
Rounding out the night we had hometown heroes in Smother, celebrating the release of their sophomore EP, THE SUICIDE OF HEAVEN. Pulling out all of the stops, the lads weren’t messing around, and made light work of geting the room moving once more. Side-to-sides, cartwheels, and plenty of two-steps synced with the band’s set, which consisted of all of their material to date, both new, and old, along with a handful of additional unreleased tracks for good measure. Vocalist Jacob Morgan’s vocals were utterly huge, an insurmountable wall of sound commanding attention in one moment, before transitioning into a deranged growl the next. Of course, this alone means nothing without an extremely tight instrumental unit, and they brought their A-game here as well. Everything sounded incredible, honed, practiced, and perfected. There’s a lot to be said for a band so young sounding this good, and given their past having won Metal To The Masses, it’s clearly been recognised to some extent already. A fantastic showcase of what this city is capable of, Smother’s EP release show was nothing short of brilliant. A once flourishing local band having now cemented themselves as the top dogs, all that’s left is for them to hit the road and dominate the rest of the UK scene.
You can check out Nick’s review of THE SUICIDE OF HEAVEN here.