SLIME is Pent Up, and Combust Blew it All Up
July 23rd, 2025 - Portland, Oregon
Wednesday night, July 23rd, The High Limit Room, Portland, Oregon. The High Limit Room is a new punk venue in the central east side run by 777 booking. There was a homeless person dancing in a wedding dress on the street outside. People were lined up down the block on the flyer lined sidewalk, a good turnout for a weeknight. And why wouldn’t there be? Combust, the renowned New York hardcore band was in town, and they were playing with a stacked bill. Reflex, Fate of Existence, Breakneck Flow, and SLIME.
Image via @trenchfootmedia on Instagram
The High Limit Room is on the second floor of an abandoned-looking live event space; it’s painted all black inside and has a bar and a stage. The lights were dim and the crowd energetic and truly all ages. I don’t like walking into a room full of highschoolers or old heads, though I would take the old heads over the former. I just wish they had AC.
Reflex opened the show. The crowd was loose and seriously horseshoed, but Reflex played fast and bright. They were high energy and down the middle Hardcore; it was their third show and a damned good one. Fate of Existence was another new band. Their songs had hellish vocals and chugging, pounding bass riffs of impending doom. They made me want to hit something and the moshers obviously felt the same. The last of the openers was Breakneck Flow, Eugene locals. I couldn’t describe them better than their name does. The vocalist was jumping, dancing and pacing around the stage and it was impossible to not feel the energy. It was ramping up perfectly to the top of the bill.
This was my first time being able to see Portland heavy hitters, SLIME. But their energy was low in the beginning, and I couldn’t hear any guitars for the first couple of songs. It’s hard to follow the energy of a band like Breakneck Flow, but it’s still disappointing to see such a slow start for these Portland giants. The energy came crashing back into the room when they played YWL, with the whole mosh pit crowding the stage, vying for a chance at the mic, shoving, undulating and stage diving. The guitar was back, and their presence was powerful. The vocalist paced the stage like a caged animal, barking the lyrics over the chugging bass and brutal drumbeat. It was a beat down and the crowd was in a frenzy. SLIME feels like pent up rage being squeezed past a lump in your throat, something you can only beat out with a balled fist. They ended their set with Yall Trippin and the whole crowd stormed the stage at the end, everyone was shouting SLIMEEEE SLIMEEE SLIMEEE with the lyrics. It was all reaching a beautiful fever pitch; the love this city has for this band was on full display.
But wait, there’s more! Combust came on stage. “YOU’RE IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST, AND YOU’RE GONNA FUCKING DIEEE!” These are the guys I paid 15 bucks to see. Combust was touring their latest album, Belly of the Beast, and they held that stage with an explosive presence. People were fighting for the mic from the start, the pit was in chaos, everything was crashing down and blowing up. Combusts vocals were frantically angry, and the guitars were grandiose, they had something to say, and they were grabbing at my ears and pounding it into my face. Their performance on stage had a fiery, contemptuous energy; They were letting the rage that SLIME had bottled up pour out. They called the crowd in and got everyone moving, then blew us back out. They wanted a battle, they wanted us to get hurt, and they were basking in the glory of the violence. The mosh pit was unfettered brutal chaos full of flying bodies and fists and feet, something truly beautiful to be a part of and get hit by.
And then the show was over, and we filed out, down the stairs and into the cool night air to dry off and feel our new bruises. Get some AC guys, for real. This was the kind of show that restores your faith in hardcore and makes you say, “Punk’s not dead!” What a time to be alive. Get out there and support your local scene, even if tickets are fifteen dollars because there's a touring band. That’s how they get you, you know.
