Photo Credit: Maryleen Guevara
The excitement is in the air for the 40th anniversary of this legendary festival! Nürburgring is being blessed by the sun despite an adverse forecast, but we don’t let it discourage us. Massive square towers holding screens on all four sides have made an appearance in the arena, making the festival site look even more intimidating and vibrant; an addition that we think the festival should stick with. Opening the main stage is a surprise act that we at Bring The Noise know well, having just seen them perform at Slam Dunk festival a couple of weeks ago.
To celebrate their 40th anniversary Rock Am Ring opened the iconic Utopia stage with a series of surprise sets, the first of which was from local heroes Electric Callboy. Their mix of metalcore with euro-pop might be a bit more niche in the UK, but in Germany the band are received like megastars. Bringing confetti, pyro and costume changes this is a full headline level show at 13:30 pm and proves to be the perfect way to start the festival. The band is also joined by Sum 41’s drummer, Frank Zummo – a surprise within a surprise. 9/10
First on second stage, the Mandora stage, are Californian duo and former FEVER 333 members Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison now under the House of Protection name. Vocalist/guitarist Stephen Harrison makes the most of the space by playing the second song out in the crowd with a three rows circle pit around him. From there the crowd starts to grow and become more receptive to the electro-hardcore sound. They’ve been impressing the industry with two EPs with leading singles It’s Supposed To Hurt and Godspeed. This is their first time playing the festival and start of a packed summer where they hit almost all the most influential fests in Europe. You can see them later in the year supporting Architects on a couple of dates. 7/10
Knocked Loose are the next special surprise this generous festival has gifted to its already sold out audience! Kentucky born and bread Knocked Loose deliver easily one of the heaviest sets of the weekend – at a festival headlined by Slipknot that’s saying a lot. Knocked Loose have broken out over the last couple of years and they are on their way to being one of hardcore’s biggest stars. This set was a reminder of exactly what they offer and why even the mainstream is starting to take notice with Grammy nominations and Jimmy Kimmel performances. The crowd is complete chaos from start to end with the only (slight) grumbling being when Poppy doesn’t join the band to perform their, Grammy nominated, hit Suffocate. Multiple circle pits form in every section of the vast crowd under command from the band to push everyone next to them. It’s a triumph. 10/10
The pop metal star herself was up next on the Mandora stage. Poppy’s career trajectory has certainly been an interesting one – starting as a YouTuber and ending up as a metal singer with some acting work in between – so we approach this set with curiosity more than anticipation. The result is a set that feels as artificial and manufactured as you might expect and does little to suggest this is a true passion project rather than just her latest art piece. It’s impossible to deny that she has built a loyal following though and Poppy gets a huge response from the dedicated fans down at the front. 6/10
SOFT PLAY played Rock Am Ring twice before and looked to be building a lot of momentum with the German audience. In 2022 the band re-branded as SOFT PLAY and this is their first time returning to the festival under the new name. It seems like the German fans have stuck with them through the changes though and they gather a good crowd of loyal fans at the Orbit stage. The Tunbridge Wells duo bring an unmatched energy and own the crowd with their two-piece punk sound and intense charisma. They also bring the best banner of the weekend, which we won’t repeat, so get extra point for that. 8/10
It was back to Mandora stage for Frank Turner’s first appearance at Rock Am Ring since 2015! In the UK, if you walk into any venue or festival at any point in the year there is about a 60% chance Frank Turner will be playing. He’s so proud of the fact that he tours more than anyone else that he announces the number of shows he has played every night (Rock Am Ring was number 3048). So it’s a surprise to find out that this is his first time at Rock Am Ring in a decade. To start with the crowd are a little unmoved by Franks blend of folk punk but you don’t play that many shows without learning how to win over an audience. Frank spends much of his set trying to speak German (even singing a German version of 2024 single Do One) and in doing so earns a lot of good will from the crowd which he uses to turn the set into a big success. 9/10
Florida based pop-punk band A Day To Remember are next up on the Mandora stage. ADTR have long been festival favourites and receive a warm welcome for their sixth appearance at Rock Am Ring. Those who have seen ADTR across the years, including last month at Slam Dunk in the UK, would know exactly what to expect from this set. All the old tricks are present – confetti, co2 cannons, inflatable balls, toilet rolls being shot into the crowd – if you like ADTR it’s everything you could want. Where the set might be short on surprises it’s filled with huge choruses and even bigger breakdowns. A perfect warm up for tonight’s headliners Bring Me The Horizon. 7/10
Scottish gods of alternative rock Biffy Clyro grace the main stage before BMTH’s headline slot. Similar to Frank Turner, Scottish icons Biffy Clyro are such a staple on the UK festival scene that barely a year goes by where they’re not headlining some huge event or another (you can catch them headlining TRSMT this summer). So we are, once again, surprised to find out they haven’t played Rock Am Ring in over ten years. Their return to the festivals comes as main support for Bring Me The Horizon, certainly not the easiest slot to jump into. The crowd at the Utopia stage is huge and the sunset gorgeously sets a magical atmosphere especially during songs like Space and Biblical. Across seventy-five minutes the band race through a greatest hits setlist with every song feeling custom made for stages this size. Biffy are a perfect Rock Am Ring fit, bringing the big anthems and the heavy riffs to a legendary festival that’s famous exactly for that. We leave the Biffy set with the hope of seeing this excellent band headline the festival one day. 11/10
Headlining the Mandora stage on the Friday night are electronic music legends The Prodigy. The band first played Rock Am Ring as headliners back in 1998 and return this year for their seventh appearance. Following the tragic death of frontman Keith Flint in 2019 many would have expected The Prodigy to fade away but here they stand as exciting and powerful as ever. Now into their third generation of fans The Prodigy have more hits than probably the rest of the line up combined. Most bands would kill to have two tracks in their set as big as Voodoo People and Omen, the Prodigy throw them out as the first two songs is their set. It’s a power move you just have to respect. Whilst not as heavy musically as many of the other bands on the bill, The Prodigy are possibly the loudest live act playing all weekend. Between the punting bass, smoke and lasers, The Prodigy turn Rock Am Ring into their own personal rave for ninety minutes and the crowd love every second of it. 10/10
Headlining night one of Rock Am Ring 2025 are metalcore icons Bring Me The Horizon. Their sixth time at the festival is the culmination of a steady and well deserved climb to headliners for a band that’s been an underdog of music for half its existence and has equally been an icon for millennials and Gen-Z.
BMTH first played Rock Am Ring back in 2009 opening the third stage and have slowly grown to headline level over the years. Nobody could ever deny this is a well deserved slot and the huge crowd proves it was the right decision to give them this opportunity. This is only one of the very few shows they’re playing this summer, having already toured the world extensively off the back of their most recent album, Post Human: Nex Gen. Whilst there are a few surprises thrown in, including a cover of Wonderwall, a lot of this show will have been familiar to those who have followed the band over recent years. The production is huge and has everything you could ever ask for from a festival headliner. The video-game narrative woven through the set allows for regular laughs but does also lead to quite a bit of downtime between songs. Perhaps it’s a combination of rust and nerves but frontman Oli Sykes seems to be struggling with his vocals at several points through the set. However when the set ends and the screens show the, now famous, message “BMTH JUST ROCKED MY WORLD” you would struggle to find anyone in the crowd who would disagree. They seem unstoppable and it’s a pleasure to see these Sheffield kids succeed. 8/10
