Employed To Serve / KK’s Steelmill / Wolverhampton

Mar 30

Mar 30 Employed To Serve / KK’s Steelmill / Wolverhampton

A trip to the iconic KK’s Steelmill in Wolverhampton to catch Employed to Serve on their 2026 UK tour. The last time I saw them live was at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, supporting Gojira in 2023, and this was an opportunity to hear their new 2025 album “Fallen Star” live for the first time.

First up in support are local band Tooth & Dagger, formed in 2022 in the Black Country. The band consists of Dante Efemey (vocals), Iain Sutherland (guitar), Dale Henshaw (lead guitar), Lucinda Stevenson (bass/vocals), and Chris Watson (drums).

Their music is a blend of metal with electronic, and they have a lively, energetic live style as they deliver riff packed melodies backing some ferocious and aggressive vocals from Dante. It’s fast and punchy and has a raw hardcore edge. Perhaps highlight of the set was Survive released as a single in 2025 which was intense and raw packed with intense riffs and energy.

A new band for me, and a great set, that set the tone well for what was still to come.

Next up are Cage Fight, formed 2021 by guitarist James Monteith (TesseracT) and featuring vocalist Rachel Aspe (ex-Eths). They play an aggressive form of hardcore/thrash. Right from the off, as they ripped into opening track One Minute it was clear Cage Fight are something special. The atmosphere in the room jumped to another level in response to the brutal hardcore tones. Rachel’s vocals are a particular highlight, able to deliver beautiful, soft tones, and some surprisingly aggressive and brutal guttural growls.

For Pig they’re joined on stage by Employed to Serve’s Justine Jones who joins Rachel on vocals, in this intense heavy riff driven track. The dual vocals work so effectively Justine’s tones complimenting the guttural tones from Rachel. The breakdowns are furious and packed with energy.

Perhaps the highlight for me was Guillotine from their self-titles album from 2022. A track which has a stop/start structure, powerful, then pausing switching between the two in an instant, like the swish of a blade. There’s a strange beauty to it as the guitars deliver tight melody sections against the crushing rhythm from the drums.

As the set draws to a close, Rachel steps down into the crowd and sings and in another track James calls for a circle pit, and dives down and circles the room with the eager crowd. The crowd are loving it.

Cage Fight are a force to be reasoned with, delivering crushing riffs and brutal breakdowns and are a must see live experience.

Setlist

One Minute

Respect Ends

Pig (with Justine from Employed to Serve)

Souvenir

Guillotine

Pick Your Fighter

I Hate Your Guts

Eating Me Alive

Hope Castrated

And it’s finally time for Woking’s finest, metalcore icons Employed to Serve. Formed in 2011, they are Justine Jones (vocals), Sammy Urwin (guitar), David Porter (guitar), Nathan Pryor (bass) and Casey McHale (drums). Their sound is a mix of various influences from of metalcore, mathcore, hardcore punk, post-hardcore and death metal and they released their debut album “Greyer Than You Remember” in 2015.

2025 saw the release of their latest album “Fallen Star” the first single from which, Atonement featured a guest appearance on vocals from Will Ramos (Lorna Shore).

The atmosphere in the smaller downstairs room at KK’s was electric as they stepped out onto the stage as they blasted into Treachery. The energy levels didn’t drop as they a brutal rendition of Atonement followed by Beneath It All, they energy in the room at max as the crowd enjoyed every riff and breakdown and sang back the lyrics with gusto, and by the time we got to Good for Nothing a pit had developed in the small room and the fans were going wild !

As the set draws to a close, they return the favour, with Cage Fight’s Rachel Aspe joining Justine for Whose Side Are You On? from “Fallen Star”. Its packed with fast, relentless riffs and brutal breakdowns, and with Rachel’s iconic harsh vocals, its an explosive mix with the interplay between the two.

I’d seen Employed to Serve a couple of times before, but with “Fallen Star” it feels they’ve come of age. The set tonight was spectacular, packed with raw power and emotion and energy. A great choice in support meant it was a solid night all round. Employed to Serve deserve to be playing far bigger venues and I hope 2026 is a break out year for them.

Setlist

Treachery

Atonement

Beneath It All

Sore Tooth Twin

Force Fed

Fallen Star

Sun Up to Sun Down

Familiar Pain

Good for Nothing

We Don't Need You

Breaks Me Down