Live Review: (hed)P.E. – Rebellion, Manchester
27th September 2026
Support: Cold
Words: Dan Barnes
Colour me flabbergasted. I did not realise the Huntingdon Beech, CA, nu metal rap crew (hed) P.E. had been such regular visitors to these shores. I caught them at the first and last time at the inaugural UK Ozzfest at Milton Keynes Bowl, back in 1998, on a second stage bill also including Entombed, a Whitfield Crane-fronted Life of Agony, and headliners Coal Chamber.
As I recall the band’s set that day came in the mainstage gap between Soulfly’s UK debut and Pantera, and miles away from the stage, (hed) P.E.’s nuance was lost. Those close up seemed to having a whale of a time, but the edgy blend of funk rhythms, hip-hop and ska seemed to get lost in the vast confines of the bowl.
The Rebellion Bar does seem to be a more appropriate setting to get the full experience of one of Nu Metal’s most dogged survivors. Now clocking in with fifteen studio albums, including this year’s Relapse release, as well as a couple of covers album, and (hed) P.E. might not have been as visible as a Korn or a Limp Bizket, but damn, if every there was a poster child for keeping the faith and not losing sight of a dream, it’s the ever-present vocalist, Jared Gomes.
It’s the sophomore album, Broke, released in 2000 that is the sole focus of tonight’s show, with it being played in its entirety, though not in the established running order. Jesus (of Nazareth)’s metronomic drum and light urban beats introduce the band, with the sold-out crowd being fired into life as the tune drops for the first time. Jared is accompanied by a myriad raised voices and it’s like we’ve all been taken back to the millennium for a brief moment.
Killing Time’s earworm melodies finds Manchester bouncing as we’re introduced to one of Broke’s three singles and what should rightly have been a Nu Metal stapple and mentioned in the same breath as Freak on a Leash and Back to School. Waiting to Die gets dark and oppressive, with Kurt Blankenship’s bass sounding loose and punkish; Crazy Legs was never the most Politically Correct of lyrics, its edgy rhythms outlined by most recent (hed) P.E. recruit, drummer Stephen Arango.
The reggae-vibes of Swan Dive packs a punch as it expresses the positive benefits of diving first face into the ground – or encouraging stage divers to come on over – whichever best suits at this juncture. Feel Good has a System of a Down thing going on, unsurprising as the album’s version featured guest vocals by Serj Tankian; Pac Bell takes the band far closer to their Hip-Hop origins than their rock side, but I Got You gives guitarist, Nathan Javier, the opportunity to blast a little.
It’s clear to me by this point that, although I dismissed Nu Metal the first time around due to age – it wasn’t a genre that spoke to me at the time – I have developed an appreciation for the way it incorporated its influences, from punk and metal, through classic rock to reggae and hip-hop; nothing was off the table and nothing was beyond consideration. Not that I’ll be wearing baggy jeans and getting frosty-tips anytime soon, but the raw energy from (hed) P.E. tonight – and it must be remembered the band are doing this night-after-night – is plenty admirable.
Boom (How You Like That?) is pure Rap-Metal with Nathan conjuring some crunchy riffs beside the sounds of the street. Album single, The Meadow, closed the record in 2000 with a laidback acoustic kinda thing and tonight acts as the penultimate tune, making the way for the punchy Bartender, which feels like a blend of hip-hop verses and Faith No More choruses.
The only Broke tune not played tonight is Stevie, with the encore of Renegade from the 2009 record, New World Orphans, serving as a fitting finale. The bands from the first wave of Nu Metal have been shown to have been way ahead of their time back in the turn of the century, with genres intersecting and cross-pollinating being grist for the mill these-days. It was a lesson for me tonight, that you can’t keep a good band down; I’ll be here for (hed) P.E. next year, with a bit more background knowledge too.
Tonight’s support was given by Florida post-grunge alternatives, Cold, whose history stretches back to the Eighties. Traffic delayed me so I arrived for Another Pill’s heroic statement, Better Human’s emotional outpouring and closer, Confession. It was a shame that I didn’t manage to see more of these.
It was an evening in which I was introduced to a couple of acts I wasn’t altogether familiar with, but sometimes, not having any expectations is the best way to approach these things.
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