20.05.2025 Employed To Serve

Graspop Metal Meeting

Dessel (Belgium)

From the shaded, though far from cool, Marquee tent, it was back out into the blazing sun in front of the Jupiler Stage. Employed To Serve were supposed to start their set at 15:00, but due to technical issues things didn’t kick off until ten minutes later. The five Brits came armed with gritty metalcore and tried to launch into the set with full force.
Even though the band has existed “only” since 2011, they already have an impressive catalogue of no fewer than five full‑length albums. With “Treachery” from their latest record "Fallen Star", released shortly before Graspo, they hit hard right from the start and that intensity didn’t let up for the next 35 minutes. Vocalist Justine Jones was constantly in motion, whipping her hair around and hurling her mix of growls and clean vocals at the crowd. Guitarist Sammy Urwin supported her vocally throughout, while the lineup was rounded out by David Porter on second guitar, Nathan Porter on bass, and Casey McHale on drums.
Despite the heat, the first circle pits opened quickly, and soon the first people were surfing over the crowd. Both the band and the audience were clearly having a great time with the songs and the performance. There was genuinely a lot happening on stage. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t able to make up the lost ten minutes at the end (the schedule simply didn’t allow it) so they had to finish on time. “Whose Side Are You On?” closed out a fantastic set, even if it focused almost entirely on their two most recent albums.
A band and a performance like a whirlwind. Wow. The Brits delivered an absolutely stellar show, and the crowd, myself included, would have happily taken more. Another very pleasant surprise at this festival and definitely a band worth catching if they play nearby.

Setlist:

Treachery
Atonement
Force Fed
Sun Up To Sun Down
Fallen Star
We Don’t Need You
Mark Of The Grave
Whose Side Are You On?

Weblinks:

	Employed To Serve Homepage of the Britisch band Employed To Serve.
	Graspop Metal Meeting Homepage of the Graspop Metal Meeting Festival at Dessel (Belgium).