Dates: Friday July 18th - Sunday July 20th
Venue: Ohio St. Reformatory
City: Mansfield, OH
Headliners: Falling In Reverse, Slipknot
Five Finger Death Punch

INKCARCERATION
2025

Nothing More performs at Inkcarceration in Mansfield OH.

Inkcarceration is probably the most family feeling festival that I attend. Every year is different but same, as Mr. Miyagi would say. Walking in you really feel like home, even if you haven’t been before. Personally, this is my third year going. I tried camping the first two years and this year we went w/ the hotel idea. Camping was never for me and frankly I’ve had the worst track record w/ camping. I’ll admit, some were self-inflicted and others were weather related, however it sure was nice to get a good night sleep each night. There is simply so many things to do at Ink.
Ink is one of the smaller DWP Presents festivals clocking in at only 3 days and around 60-70 acts as opposed to the 140+ that most other feature. There are three stages instead of 4 or more. This year they redesigned the area. They went w/ Side by side stages and one third stage that was a small developing artist type stage. Previous years they had 3 different areas for music; however, I honestly enjoyed the side-by-side stage as there was less walking. The entrance is basically the back, so you see the main stages from a distance and that allows you to enjoy the show the second you enter. To the immediate right you’ll find the VIP section which has its own bars, merchandise, bathrooms and of course food stations. There is also a lounge that you can go in to escape the summer heat or rain. The VIP section also has its own lockers for you to use for a day or throughout the weekend. In my opinion they should have more seating and somehow limit the lounge section so the same people can’t sit in the same spot from 11AM to the end of the show. Otherwise, I feel Ink has a spectacular VIP Section. As far as the rest of the fun things you can do at the festival, there’s The blood prison that is always packed and sometimes you can catch some of the band members in there. You can get yourself a tattoo as the festival features many featured tattoo artists. There is plenty of food, drinks, merch and fun stands for you to look at such as this year there was a Dimebag Darrell area that featured a few of his guitars. All in all its a full fledge experience as is any festival but this one just feels special.
Now, let’s get down to the Music. That’s what we really go to festivals for right? Friday on the side stage featured some acts we had previously booked such as Bodybox and absolutely wild group who generally tours w/ Max Cavalera and his bands. Just straight raw in your face metal. Another act we were very excited for was Alyxx a modern heavy rock act out of New York who is making waves in the year 2025 and we can only assume that the 2026 will be bigger. Bodysnatcher completely tore down the third stage w/ their brand of crushing heavy metal and body moving action. We arrived at the main stage in time for Sleep Theory who had the crowd already dialed in at noon on a Friday. That’s not easy. They are tearing up the charts right now. One of my favorite performances on the main stages on Friday was Killswitch Engage. They are not a band I listen to often, however when on a festival I never miss them. They are one of those bands that their set goes by so fast and it’s always fun to hear CM Punk’s old theme song live. Parkway drive always puts on a killer live show, though I’ll say they are much more effective in the dark. Their pyro show is brilliant, and it takes away from the performance a bit when you cannot include that. The final three of the night kicked off w/ Beartooth who I had just seen 2 months prior at Sonic Temple as they filled in last minute for Alice In Chains when they had to pull out. Beartooth is always a good time Live. Metal, but sing a longs as well. After Beartooth it was time for the second stage headliner Knocked Loose. These guys are incredible live. Their form of what I call Mickey Mouse Metal is brutal coming from that stage. The pits really opened up and it was very rowdy up-front w/ crowd surfers and just general crazy energy. The band ripped through a nearly hour long set and left nobody standing still in their wake. The headliner for night one was Falling in Reverse. Led by charismatic front man Ronnie Radke, they opened up w/ a cool behind the scenes video of the band walking to the stage while “Highway to hell” played from the speakers, which led directly into the first track of the evening: “Prequel”. Ronnie gets on that stage and simply owns it w/ the first step. The band played nearly the entire new record which includes tracks like “Zombified”, “Bad Guy” and closer “Watch the World Burn” which they performed w/ Alex Terrible from Slaughter to Prevail. They threw in some old classics like “Fuck you and all your friends”, “Just Like You” and “The Drug in Me is You”. There was lots of controversy w/ the announcement of their participation but you can say what you want the crowd was moving and it was full on that field that night.

Onto Saturday where the forecast was calling for some serious storms in the evening hours. I’m going to start right off w/ the biggest buzz band on side stage the entire weekend. The Pretty Wild had the biggest crowd on that stage all weekend. We couldn’t get close at all and couldn’t see much either as it was dense and thick. The band for their part blasted through a 6 song set which included “Paradox”, “Button Eyes” and the set closing “sLeepwALKeR”. 30 minutes felt like 3 as they absolutely dominated the day. The opening band on side stage that day was our good friends in Carbonstone who really got the place moving before noon. Seeing them on our stages and graduate to this bigger festival stage felt natural. They looked good up there. Opening up the two main stages were Nu Metal legends Dry Kill Logic and The Union Underground respectively. Both bands played their early 2000’s tracks to smaller crowds as it was early in the day but everyone in attendance was hooked like it was 2000 all over again. Another blast from the past was Snot who obliterated the stage and was loud as shit. They did a great job finding a singer to compliment Lynn’s vocal style and range. They really knocked it out of the park.

Kublai Khan performs to a huge afternoon crowd at Inkcarceration festival in Mansfield Ohio

Kublai Khan came on around the 5:00 area for the day and has a very good argument for band of the weekend. When he say's “Bang your head goddammit” there was a sea of people doing just that. I can’t even describe the energy they put forth in their show. The stop starts, grinding guitar and drums just does something to the masses. 10/10 and 100% recommend seeing them live. One of the disappointments of the weekend had to be The Dillinger Escape Plan. They were booed so much that they began talking shit to the crowd. The Facebook groups lit up w/ “These guys sucked” posts. The band is very popular and well liked. This performance just wasn’t it. They really stacked Saturday night w/ some bangers. As 7:00 rolled around and the rain began to fall Slaughter To Prevail took the stage. This band has gone from side stage to featured attraction on the main stage in 2 years. When I say they deserve it you’ll see why when you catch them in concert. As soon as Alex Terrible takes the stage he makes it his. Brutal music, blistering vocals and then motivational talks in-between songs. You get it all w/ STP. The rain was really falling as they ended their set and the darkness had ascended on the site as Marilyn Manson took to the headlining slot for the second stage. The man is completely different these days as he’s been sober for a few years now. He seems rather… happy. Joyous even. Cracking jokes and claiming Ohio as his home throughout the set, expressing his gratitude for a state he came from. Blasting through a set of the usual suspects like “Sweet Dreams”, “The Nobodies” and of course set closing “Beautiful People”. He did include a few new songs from the recently released new album as well. Handling Saturday headlining duties was Slipknot, playing their only show on US soil in 2025. The band stuck closely with the set lists they’d been using over seas. Opeing w/ “People = Shit” and racing through a 14 song set which also included “The Heretic Anthem”, “Wait and Bleed” and a surprise performance of “Scissors” as closer. The most memorable moments of the night came as Corey serenaded the crowd w/ the lyrics “And The Rain will kill us all” during “Psychosocial”. It was a special performance from one of metal’s best bands.

We opened our final day on the side stage w/ another buzz band Big Ass Truck. There was alot of talk around the festival over the weekend about these guys and they didn’t disappoint. Playing a short set and making everyone want more in the perfect fashion for a festival. Once again getting the crowd moving around noon on a Sunday isn’t easy. First band we caught on main stage were the legends in Kittie. These girls always come out blow you away and have a great time doing it. The band gets right to it. Set ender “Brackish” always does the trick for a crowd-pleasing moment as well. The second disappointment of the weekend came from Crossfade. Now I saw them at Sonic Temple and they sounded fabulous. Not here. The mix was off, the guitars were cutting in and out and the voice was shot. I was told he had a cold all week. Its unfortunate because the band is a solid band and live they are usually great but today was not that day. On the flipside the most fun surprise of the weekend was Bilmuri. These guys are… Fun. I can’t even describe them any other way. They are just so fun and energetic. We had no idea what to expect and they were such a pleasant surprise. The band I think we were looking forward to the most on Sunday was Nothing More. They have such a perfect live sound that compliments their records yet displays their live skills. Playing through an 8 song set at 5:00 in the afternoon on a Sunday and still owning the crowd every second. Set highlights are still early tracks like “Jenny” and closer “This is the Time (Ballast)” in which vocalist Johnny Hawkins and guitarist run through an intense drum off in the first row of the crowd. Its a spectacular way to end a spectacular set. Architects has become one of my festival favorites as of late. One of my favorite songs of any festival is their track “Animals”. Up next is a band I havn’t been impressed w/ in recent years as there is to many costume changes and just extra stuff I feel is unnecessary. In This Moment Sounded and looked better then I’ve seen them in years. Vocalist Maria Brink came off her steps a few times and interacted more then I’ve seen recently as well. “Whore” is always an anthem type song for a big crowd like that. They always sound good but this time I felt the presence more and could tell they felt the crowd too. We ended our weekend with good ole kickass set from Lamb of God. I found that its impossible for them to put on a bad set. Vocalist Randy Blythe is a happy metal head who prances around the stage for an entire set. “Walk w/ Me In Hell” is one of their stand out tracks and for a bit that’s what we’re doing and it’s a lot more fun then you’d think.

So that was our weekend. My favorite bands of the weekend in no order had to be Kublai Khan, Slaughter to Prevail, The Pretty Wild, Falling in Reverse and Nothing More. I discovered some bands I didn’t know I enjoyed like Bodysnatcher, Chrystal Lake and Bilmuri. Of course caught some of my favorites as usual. This was my third year and I cannot wait til 2026 to make it my fourth…