Twelve years of legendary shows at the Limelight, and none of them readied Belfast for the sheer carnage of Knocked Loose’s first ever show in the city…

Words & photos by Jamie Orr (@diabolicallywicked) | June 25, 2026

---

For the past twelve years I have entered Limelight’s walls, witnessed some of the most influential, legendary bands in this venue. However, nothing compares to what I saw once Knocked Loose made their Belfast debut. This is the most chaotic, intense band that I think have taken to the stage of the Belfast venue, and for a solid hour harnessed the unbridled, unhinged, unrelenting energy of the audience. Knocked Loose without question currently stand as one of the most influential hardcore acts in the modern era, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed as, the night before the Belfast show, the band shared the stage with industry journeymen and thrash metal legends Metallica and brought their carnage to a completely new demographic of audience during their Dublin, Aviva Stadium set.

Watching Knocked Loose tonight, it’s difficult to shake the feeling that this is their world-takeover moment. The broader rise of hardcore and adjacent heavy music has undoubtedly helped create the conditions for it, with bands like Turnstile, Drain and Speed all contributing to a renewed mainstream interest in hardcore. Knocked Loose occupy a unique position within that wave, arguably standing as the heaviest band in this modern era to reach this level of cultural visibility. Tonight’s reception made it clear why.

Their ascent has never been solely about streaming numbers or festival bookings. Viral performances, crossover appeal and an unwavering commitment to their sound have transformed them into a gateway band while preserving the credibility they’ve built within hardcore itself, a balance few acts manage to strike. An ultimate force to be reckoned with.

First up to get the crowd reared up and rowdy, the boys in Worn Out. Hailing from Cork, Ireland, the four-piece hardcore collective took to the stage in an already jam-packed Limelight, delivering a blistering warm-up for the crowd, bringing infectious energy straight out the gate. It well and truly may have been a wake-up call for some of the fresh faces to this scene as singer Xander Coughlan launched himself directly into the crowd during the first song. For those well accustomed to hardcore they were definitely ready, holding him high as he surfed over the top of the crowd delivering throat-shredding screams.

Worn Out were genuinely impressive, and seeing an Irish hardcore band on a bill of this scale was a real highlight. Their inclusion further demonstrated Knocked Loose‘s commitment to bringing local acts along for the ride, giving bands the opportunity to perform in front of larger audiences and prove exactly what they’re capable of. Worn Out made sure they used their time appropriately and absolutely killed their performance. Judging by the reaction in the room, there’s no doubt their short yet intense set won over plenty of new fans. The chaos Worn Out unleashed in such a brief timeframe, and the crowd’s eagerness to dive into mosh pits, two-step relentlessly and throw in the occasional crowd kill, only reinforced my belief that this band has a seriously bright future ahead of them.

Up next were Bucket, a DIY industrial-garage punk trio from Dublin. Keeping the energy high as the crowd waited for Knocked Loose‘s arrival, Bucket delivered one of the most unique sets of the night. Their sound reminded me of Belfast industrial rockers CHALK, but rather than feeling derivative, Bucket occupy a similar space while carving out an identity entirely their own. Confident, bold and brash, they looked completely at home on the stage.

The mix of reverberating guitars and bass alongside echoing, delayed vocals felt like an audio assault, a sensory overload in the best possible way. Looking around the room, it was easy to see the excitement and curiosity the band were generating, with plenty of people fully locked into the band’s abrasive racket. Bucket more than earned their place on the bill, challenging the expectations of some of the more hardcore-adjacent fans in attendance with a set that felt refreshingly different from the rest of the line-up.

Rather than simply acting as a warm-up band, they used the opportunity to make a real impression. Their set was noisy, chaotic and unpredictable, but always felt purposeful. It takes confidence to bring a sound like that to a crowd largely pulling up for the hardcore bands on the bill, yet Bucket never looked out of place. By the end of their set, anticipation for Knocked Loose had reached boiling point, but Bucket had made sure their name would be leaving the venue with the crowd as well, undoubtedly winning over more than a few new fans along the way.

Right, the room is now well and truly warmed up, the air conditioning just isn’t cutting it anymore. Limelight is a boiling pot in this heatwave and Knocked Loose are about to step out and whip up the crowd in such a way that the entire room was about to feel like a fiery hellfire pit. It was truly a slippery struggle keeping a good grip of my camera during Knocked Loose‘s set as sweaty hardcore moshers collapsed in upon one another, myself included.

The venue lights cut off, darkness fell, as rumbling audio came through the speakers, the audience roaring, cheering and screaming. The Kentucky five-piece took the stage under the veil of darkness engulfing the stage, a true goosebump moment. From the photo pit I could already see the forming mosh pit within the middle of the floor, and as soon as frontman Bryan Garris said, ‘What the f**k is up Belfast?’, I knew absolute anarchy was about to be unleashed.

Coming out swinging, Knocked Loose played Blinding Faith, sending the crowd spiralling. Bodies start pouring over the barrier right from the first song, straight into an already chaotic photo pit. Security fully lined across the metal railing; I have never seen this amount of security at a concert in Limelight before. You could tell that the atmosphere was tense, insane, the crowd ready to embrace the full-scale fury of Knocked Loose.

There is no calm, no respite from what has begun. Knocked Loose continued the onslaught, launching into Don’t Reach For Me; at this point anyone standing in the pit area had their head on a swivel. I perched myself on the metal platform of the barrier to get a full idea of how the crowd is reacting as another wave of crowd-surfers meets security at the barrier. The size of the mosh pit and its unrelenting nature were impressive. I’m so accustomed to hardcore gigs in our more underground venues, so to see this in one of Belfast’s more prominent venues felt so alien, so exciting. This felt like a moment for Limelight to fully embrace hardcore culture and hopefully host more bands from that community in the future.

Mistakes Like Fractures made its appearance next, with a speeding circle pit swallowing the room. The room was in non-stop motion and this was only the third song in! As I left the photo pit, fan favourite Oblivion’s Peak reared its head, and from my vantage point at the pit exit I witnessed an audience member scale the venue’s bar and launch himself into a crowd surf, much to the shock of the bar staff watching on. It’s certainly one way to get a bartender’s attention if you’re looking for a drink.

Knocked Loose refused to let up, playing Belleville and Piece by Piece, two violently aggressive songs that kept the audience focused on causing as much chaos as possible. Positioned in the pit, the reality of just how feral the punters in the building were tonight set in pretty quickly as I found myself smack bang in the middle of the sweaty battleground, egged on by the band.

Moss was played as guitarist Isaac Hale commanded the audience that he wished to see a circle pit. He exclaimed, ‘Keep going, go for as long as you can,’ as the band left the stage, the crowd continuously keeping up the pace for a solid minute or so. At this point I’d been headlocked and dragged around the circle pit with my screaming captors leading me around and around, shouting, ‘Protect the camera man, get down Mr. President.’ Sometimes you just have to embrace the chaos.

Knocked Loose finally appeared again, coming back from behind the stage. Speculation surrounded why they had left for a brief time: did they get a scolding to try to calm the room down? Or was it the current rumour that they managed to blow the power? We’ll never know.

Hive Mind finally appeared, one of the most exciting releases this year, which feels like it has massive implications for the direction Knocked Loose are taking their music, especially with featured collaborator Denzel Curry on the track. The audience all barrelled towards the barrier, crushing everyone against it while thrusting forth hundreds of middle fingers and screaming the words back to the band. There’s no doubt the impact this song has had on Knocked Loose‘s current upward trajectory as they reach new demographics.

As the night drew to a close, the fan favourites were pulled out of the bag. If you’ve seen any viral videos of Knocked Loose online, then you know the drill: the famous ‘Arf Arf’ from Counting Worms encompassed the entire room while the massive lead-up to the wall of death approached. Everything Is Quiet Now was the audience’s final chance to burn whatever energy they still had. The crowd parted and everyone knew what was coming. Once that ‘Everything is quiet now’ came out of Bryan Garris’s mouth and the breakdown dropped, everyone knew what part they had to play. The audience charged, colliding in an ultimate clash that sounded out the night and showcased why Knocked Loose‘s shadow looms tall and mighty over modern-day hardcore.

Knocked Loose currently stand as one of the hardcore movement’s defining acts. While they continue to skyrocket beyond the boundaries of hardcore into mainstream appeal, the band remain every bit as ferocious, dangerous and authentic as the one that first emerged from Kentucky. If their current trajectory is anything to go by, Knocked Loose aren’t simply participating; they are here to conquer.