Million Dead Concert Review Project House Leeds 6/12/25
- sarah fisher
- Dec 9, 2025
- 6 min read
by Sarah Fisher ~ Sarah in the pit
The most epic night of post-hardecore punk in 20 years! The energy of the room was electric from the moment I walked in. The fans had waited twenty years for this, never knowing if it would even happen again! The band themselves never expected it to happen either but thank goodness for Buffy. Yes that Buffy! More the subject of vampires later.
The venue, Project house, Leeds, was the perfect choice for a night of punk fuelled madness. It was the loudest pit I have ever been in! My ears are still bleeding. It’s warehouse appearance is basic but that’s what makes it perfect. What more do you need than a stage and space for people to enjoy the show.
Both support acts were two piece punk bands that have worked with Frank before. The Meffs album ‘What a Life’ was produced by Frank Turner (lead singer of Million Dead). Deux Furieuses have been on tour with Frank a number of times. It's nice to see artists supporting artists.
Deux Furieuses were the first act on. Their music was very stripped back and raw. The female duo were the perfect band to warm the crowd up for what was about to be the most energetic and nostalgic night. Their guitar sound was reminiscent of 90’s alt-rock bands and their vocals were raw, poetic and meaningful. There is something special and powerful about stripped back punk bands.
The Meffs took to stage with Lily Pacing up and down with a guitar, whilst Lewis played the drums. I'd never heard them before but you could see from the get go it was going to be a strong hardcore-punk performance. When the first song kicked in, so did the crowd. It went off! Fuelled with political lyrics that hit as hard as they were passionately vocalised. They did a stripped back cover of ‘Breathe’ by The Prodigy. Which sounded amazing with just the guitar, drums and Vocals.
I was blown away by the power of a two piece band by both Deux Furieuses and The Meffs. Two different styles, that brought their own version of punk to the stage.
As I stood in the pit readily awaiting Million Dead. I started talking to a few people in the front row. Everyone was excited for what was about to go down. The Crowd grew dense and the air felt alive with anticipation.
As Million Dead walked on stage, the crowd cheered with a raucous applause. Frank had his back to the audience crouching before the drums. The drummer kicked off the set with ‘Breaking the Back' a track that has a long drum intro, which felt like a build-up into what we had all been waiting for. As soon as the lyrics hit, Frank jumped into action bringing punk fuelled energy to the stage. It felt electric! I chased Frank around from the pit with my lens whilst the crowd were thrashing and screaming the lyrics behind me. By the time they were into their second song ‘Charlie and the Propaganda’ the crowd surfers started pouring over into the pit! It was going off and we were loving every minuet of it. The Leeds crowd had waited 20 years for this moment. A night they never knew would happen after the band split in 2005, following their second album ‘Harmony No Harmony’.
I had three songs in the pit, the last being ‘Plan B’. After which I was out in the crowd which thrashed about all night in the best possible way. Everyone was cathartically screaming the lyrics back to Frank with passion, whilst bodies were flying over head like it was the surfing championships of 2005.
You could feel the nostalgia in the air and love for the band. Million Dead’s sound is hardcore-punk with lyrics that scream from the pit of Franks stomach but lurking in the background is a grunge sound reminiscent of the 90’s, with its deep eerie bass lines and emotive melodies. ‘A Song to Ruin’ is my personal favourite because of this deep elongated sound. The Band dedicated the song to Antony who organised the Million Dead reunion tour and Graham, Million Dead’s original sound engineer. Who to this day, is still Frank Turner's sound guy.
‘Living The Dream’ followed into another pit breakout as Frank parted the waves from stage. Everyone knows the drill and this crowed paid its dues. I’ve never seen so many crowd surfers in my life! It was an electric adrenaline fuelled night by all. The band and the crowd were high energy ALL night. Only Intermittently breaking off to tell a story, which went down a storm.
Did you know there is a link between ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ and Million Dead? Nope?! Well this show is about to get hella millennial. Frank begins to tell the story of how the Million Dead reunion came into fruition. “Twenty years ago the band broke up”. The crowd booed! Frank said “you’d make a good pantomime audience” and proceeds to tell of how the band went their own separate ways musically. The band were never estranged but never really kept in-touch that much either. “Even two years ago, I don’t think anyone on this stage had any idea that Million Dead would EVER play another show again. - Then a strange thing happened”. Their old Guitar Tech was reading the eBook spin off series about Spike (the nonchalant yet empathic vampire in Buffy) Frank had no clue what Buffy was, nor Spike and his eBooks. There is scene in which Spike has to leave wherever he is to get back for the Million Dead reunion show. The crowd cheers. “yerrrrrr!!” “Our old guitar tech Dave took a screen shot of this, cos he reads these books seen as he has nothing to do since the band broke up (jokes Frank). He took a screen shot and sent it to the band with the caption “LOL” and two years later we are doing a reunion tour!” Then proceeded to introduced the next song ‘To Whom It May Concern’. A slow melodic song that builds into a raucous punk chorus.
The crowd still fuelled with passion fifteen songs in chanting the lyrics back to Frank with ‘Smiling at Strangers on Trains’.
Instead of an encore the bands stops for Frank to address the crowd, joking about how old the band is. “The band is so old we even pre-date My space. Yes, Million Dead never had a My Space page”. Franks goes on to say they are too old for the adult game of “peekaboo” (an encore) and gets the crowd excited for a few more songs. Frank shares a speech about how they are up on the stage as five friends playing music and sharing songs that they wrote a long time ago together. Songs That they are proud of, that they think still stand the test of time. “it’s been joy to get to do this one more time”. Saying they were grateful to the crowd for still being interested enough for them to put on a show. Giving a shout out the venue ‘Project house’ for having them. Before telling the crowd to go mental for the song ‘Bread and Circuses’. The crowd did go mental! Circle pits and crowd surfers galore!
The show ended on ‘Pornography for Cowards’. The crowd treated it like one last change to go give it all to a band they will probably never see again. Someone please write a book where Million Dead have a 30th reunion show!
Thank You to Million Dead and Frank Turner for having me come along and capture this epic moment in history! I can say hand on heart that yes, your music does stand the test of time. I know a teenager who listens to your albums, who found your music independently.
If you haven’t got a ticket to the shows coming up this weekend, then grab one if there are any left, because unless that book for the 30th tour comes out, I doubt they will be back and you really don’t want to miss your chance.
Setlist:
Braking the Back
Charlie and the Propaganda
Plan B
I Am the Party
Father my Father
Tonight Matthew
Holloway Prison Blues
After the Rush Hour
Sasquatch
McGyver
A Song to Ruin
Living the Dream
To Whom It May Concern
Stevie Wonder
Smiling at Strangers on Trains
Bread and Circuses
Rise and Fall
Pornography for Cowards
Words and Photos by Sarah Fisher ~ Sarah in the pit
