Harbinger’s 10-year anniversary is an emotionally-charged, furious display of what the UK’s heavy music scene is all about.
Obeyer, Hounds Of War, and Black Coast join Harbinger for their 10-year anniversary, their differing sounds testament to Harbinger’s own genre-crossing concoctions and refusal to fit in. Whether you relish the complimentary infusion of Hardcore violence with Nu Metal ethereality in the span of one night, or err on the side of predictability, the night is a turbulent celebration of a band that has never stopped working hard to be the best, most inventive version of Harbinger they can be.
Harbinger – Black Coast – Hounds Of War – Obeyer
Downstairs At The Dome, London – 26 September 2025
Words: Lucy Dunnet
Photography: Connor Mason
Progressively-minded, eyebrow-raising Obeyer wake up the Downstairs At The Dome crowd with a loud thwack. “I never thought I’d get scared by a kick drum,” chokes out one fan, as another assesses the damage they’ve done to their trousers (after a beer spillage). Ferocious, hungry, and impossible to ignore, Obeyer sound like a megaphone cuddled up next to the belly of an unfed demon, where every growl is harmonised and every riff layered with electricity.
Obeyer’s setlist is choppy, vicious, and darkly intriguing. Their scattering of melodic soundscapes and plummeting drops keep the early-evening crowd on their toes, as does vocalist Carl Brown’s repeated raising of his finger to his forehead in an act that seems like a call to Metal action, but was there more to it? You will have to see it for yourselves to find out.
Hounds Of War turn the dial on the night’s fury up so high it leaves the red zone and falls off. Their stomping energy beckons the crowd forward, and Hounds Of War spend the entire set demanding pits and two-step action. “We came here to play some fucking scary music and that’s what we’re gonna do,” announces vocalist Ben Mason.
The crowd falls under a Hardcore hypnosis that verges on terror, with Hounds Of War not offering a single ounce of letup from their beat-driven dictatorship of chaos and aggression. Before they leave, Mason reveals that there is no way Harbinger will step onto the stage until there have been at least 20 people in the pit. The battle of Hounds Of War culminates in a wall of death that knocks down a few, but is a pick-me-up to even more, as Downstairs At The Dome is warmed up and raring for more.
Black Coast offer a teasing respite from the full-speed assault with their Stoke-on-Trent-bred blend of Nu Metal. Their wickedly catchy rhythms manage to ensnare even the more reluctantly engaged crowd members, and when vocalist Charlie Hewitt utters one of the night’s favourite phrases, “this one’s for the moshers”, the mothers get bouncing. Black Coast are full of brooding, Deftones-esque sultriness and groovy riffs, which, combined with their fierce screams and outbursts of smashing drums, leave the crowd mesmerised. 
10 years of Harbinger have been a lesson to all in terms of work ethic, passionate determination, and sticking to your musical guns. No matter how many times the music industry says they don’t know where to place them, Harbinger continue being themselves and playing the music they want to hear: music that is constantly evolving, because “the self is not a constant and identity changes,” says Vocalist Dilan Alves.
But Harbinger’s respect for the roots of the Metal genre is evidenced not just in their sonic experimentation, but in their camaraderie with other bands and their support of the underground scene, many of whom came out tonight to join the Harbinger anniversary party. “The music industry may not know where we belong, but we do. In rooms like this,” says Alves. 
A rogue crowdsurfer starts the night off in a display of dogged devotion that quickly converts into a non-stop pit of movement. Harbinger’s riff-raging onslaught only sees a moment of calm when Alves pauses to share some heartfelt words with the crowd about the extent of the band’s impact on him. Guitarist Charlie Griffiths joins him and adds, “This band is a community that has been with us our whole adult lives.”
This moment of reflection and gratitude incites an even greater sense of drive in the crowd, determined to spend every second of Harbinger’s set celebrating the UK shredders – be it knocking around in a circle pit or aggressively grooving from the sides.
Harbinger hang off a melodic precipice with a torrent of savage waves lapping at every note they play. Their music is all-encompassing, addictive, and edged with brutal anticipation. As Harbinger step into their next decade of decimating intensity, it is with a growing mass of fans behind them, and a clear promise to continue searing their mark across the Metal world. 
