Hell’s Heroes came back with an awesome return to Houston, Texas with newer acts, returning acts, and established Metal Legends for an epic and energy filled weekend. People from all over the *world* came through, and as a Houstonian myself, It is always awesome to see everyone back in Houston to have a good time, and partying it up to good metal music. It is like a big family reunion…heavy metal style.
Live Review
Wednesday, March 19, 2025- It was a nice evening, I had checked into my hotel room (my staycation since I have always lived in Houston, that traffic has been atrocious the past couple of years. Decided to stay at a hotel near White Oak!) The Pre-Party had started around 5 pm with Ice War’s set. But, I arrived with my friend group around 8-8:30 pm during Satan’s First set (they were set to play a second set on Thursday as well).
It was inside the walls of the Indoor venue, the air was thick and hot; but buzzing with adrenaline. It felt great to be back at White Oak for Hell’s Heroes. Satan sounded great as usual, Liege Lord came up next and they definitely came in full force. They did an awesome job with maintaining a strong momentum on the buzzing energy through the crowd. The last band of the night, Riot V, started around 11:00 pm. Their set was a must for me personally. They played their special 50th Anniversary set, they played hits such as (in no particular order) “Swords and Tequila”, “Thundersteel”, “Road Racing”, “Outlaw”, “Blood streets”, “Fire Down Under”, “Fight or Fall” and “Flight of the Warrior” to name a few. It was the ultimate Riot fan setlist, and the performance was just mind blowingly good. And the crowd? beyond awesome. One of the best I’ve seen at any show so far.
The Official day of Hell’s Heroes took place Thursday, March 20th. ( Keep in mind, I had been struggling with allergies the whole week so pretty much Thursday and Friday were kind of a blur for me) Thursday had the following bands: (Inside Venue) Black Jackal, Chamber Mage, Savage Master, Castle Rat, Attacker, Bewitcher, and Raven. (Outdoors/ Lawn) had: Sanhedrin, Satan, Fifth Angel, Enforcer, Hirax, D.R.I, Omen, and Abbath. Got there just as Fifth Angel began to play, it was a solid performance, the setlist included: “The Night”, “The Fallout”, “Midnight Love”, “Time Will Tell”, “When Angels Kill”, “Fifth Angel”, “Cry Out The Fools”, “Cathedral” and “We Rule”. Personally it was a good set to get me going since they were the first band I got to see for the day! After Fifth Angel’s set, Enforcer was up next. As a fan of their music, I was ecstatic to finally get to see them for the first time! Just as many that were there for their set, we noticed there were some sound problems that cut into the beginning of their set and were still present during their performance. But nonetheless, I enjoyed finally seeing them perform, the crowd was supportive and sang along to all their songs which was one of the nicest moments that day. “Destroyer”, “Undying Evil”, “Unshackle Me”, “From Beyond”, “Live For The Night”, and “Mesmerized By Fire” were the songs in Enforcer’s Thursday setlist.
Day 2, Friday, March 21st began as another nice day out. The sun was shining, and it was a bit chilly that day just like it was on Thursday. Another perfect day to spend it at Hell’s Heroes! Friday’s list of bands included: (Inside Venue) Knight and Gallow, Hitten, Haunt, Sabire, High Spirits, Sadistic Intent, and Departure Chandelier. (Outdoor/Lawn): Solicitor, Nasty Savage, Enforcer, Gammacide, Absu, Omen, Cavalera, and Crimson Glory. Caught a snip bit of Knight and Gallow just before Nasty Savage’s set. Having seen all of Nasty Savage‘s set, they were fun, entertaining and very engaging with the crowd. Smashing a TV apart, face masks and flowers being thrown to the crowd were all part of the fun too. Truly a very awesome band to see. Their setlist consisted of: “Gladiator”, “Asmodeus”, “Unchained Angel”, “The Morgue”, “Jeopardy Room”, “The Sixth Finger”, “You Snooze, You Lose”, “XXX”, and “Metal Knights”. The next band on the lawn was Enforcer once again, which naturally I stuck around. Their second set was much better than the day before, and they came back with full force. It was an awesome set with good ol heavy metal tracks. They repeated a couple of the same songs from Thursday but also included other fan favorite tracks (For example, “Hell Will Follow”, “Take Me Out Of This Nightmare”, “Running In Menace”,) and even a Black Sabbath cover of “Die Young”. Another highlight for me was Sabire’s set. Mezcal water gun, cowboy hats, models with whips and chains is a pretty good way to describe the set. They sounded absolutely great, and Scarlett Monastyrski has one hell of a stage presence. Their setlist included: “One For The Road”, “Rip You to Shreds”, “Rise to The Top”, “Call Me Bastard”, “Ice Cold Lust”, “I’m a Rock”, “Make Me Shiver”, and a W.A.S.P cover of “Blind In Texas”.
Day 3, Saturday, March 22nd was a warm day with nice clear skies… and Hell’s Heroes 2025 was inevitably closing down into its conclusion. The last day’s line up was: (Inside Venue) White Magician, Overdose, Zemial, The Night Eternal, Blood Ceremony, John Christ, and Spectral Wound. (Outdoor/Lawn): Night Cobra, Hellripper, Primordial, Goatwhore, SA Slayer, Coroner, Samael, and Saxon. Admittedly, I missed out on a lot of sets mostly due to wanting to spend more time with friends and check out the vendors since it was the last day. However, I did check out The Night Eternal. Their set was tight, the sound was great, and they definitely got the crowd pumped all throughout! It exceeded my expectations as this was my first time hearing their music (Lame of me, I know). Their setlist included: “Stars Guide My Way”, “In Tartarus”, “We Praise Death”, “Between The Worlds”, “Shadow Servants”, “Elysion (Take Me Over)”, “Prince Of Darkness”, and “Moonlit Cross”. Caught up a bit during Coroner’s set, they were just as killer as other sets I caught. Coroner’s set had: “Internal Conflicts”, “Semtex Revolution”, “Tunnel Of Pain”, “Sacrificial Lamb”, “Masked Jackal”, “Grin”, “Reborn Through Hate”, and “Die by My Hand”.
Saxon was an absolute must see, being one of my favorite NWOBHM bands. I was pleased to see how responsive and chaotic the crowd was during their set. It had been my second time seeing these Legends, and I commented to a few people that the crowd for Saxon’s set was one of the best ones I’ve seen as well; The crowd was so alive, it was as if everyone had become one. It was also one of my highlights for Hell’s Heroes 2025. Their setlist contained: “The Prophecy”, “Hell, Fire and Damnation”, Power and The Glory”, “Backs to the Wall”, “Motorcycle Man”, “This Town Rocks”, “Heavy Metal Thunder”, “Dallas 1 Pm”, “Strong Arm of The Law”, “1066”, “The Eagle Has Landed”, “And The Bands Played On”, “Ride Like The Wind”, “Denim and Leather”, “747 (Strangers in The Night)”, “Wheels of Steel” and “Princess of The Night” (Partially due to Noise Ordinance).
Conclusion
Hell’s Heroes has officially become an annual event for me personally, they work hard to bring some of the most kick ass legendary bands and very promising newcomers that deserve recognition as well. It is a fest for those that truly enjoy Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, NWOTHM, Thrash, Death, Black, etc. This fest has it all. It has brought in acts that I never thought I would see here in Houston, it is sort of the American version of Trveheim or Keep It True. I believe this fest is truly one of the best in the US, cannot wait for next year’s line up announcement!
TheNwothm Score: 10/10
The Nwothm 
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