Following on from yesterday's Forbidden let's have another bunch of grizzled thrash veterans, but this time much closer to home, namely Preston. You see Xentrix were part of the motley bunch of UK thrashers that emerged in the late eighties.
Read MoreFor those of us of a certain age, Forbidden's appearance at Bloodstock 2011 was manna from heaven. Seeing one of eighties thrash's forgotten heroes illustriously resurrected was genuinely exciting. But reunions are not easy things to maintain and the tensions that brought about the early demise of Forbidden were quick to resurface.
Read MoreThe bar for the day is immediately set very high with Wailing Banshee opening Sunday’s shenanigans. Blessed (at least for the time being) by the weather gods, this fine young metal troupe pull an appreciative early crowd lured by the sound of their traditional metal approach, the band capitalising on the time they have to maximum effect.
Read MoreLuna Marble kick off the first full day of this year’s SOS Festival and despite the heavens opening the moment they hit the first note, they don’t let little things like inclement weather dampen their enthusiasm or performance. Delivering a thoroughly engaging groove laden, psychedelic performance both in musical and aesthetic terms, theirs is music suited to the blissed-out Summer’s Day that we should be experiencing were it not for the vagaries of the English climate.
Read MoreTraditionally the beginning of July marks the halfway point in the year, however modern traditions denote it’s also time for SOS Festival. This year is the 15th edition of this annual celebration of rock and metal music in North Manchester, an independent festival run by Lynne Hampson, Mark Appleton, Luke Appleton, Chris Appleton and an army of loyal volunteers.
Read MoreRADAR Festival 2024 at the O2 Victoria Warehouse is a vibrant and diverse showcase of progressive and alternative metal/rock acts, featuring both established names and rising stars in the genre. The festival not only covers progressive/technical metal and rock though, it also pushes those boundaries and often breaks them with genre-spanning and unexpected acts that positively challenge the way we look at music and performance. Much like we saw with Tech-Fest UK, at the heart of RADAR is that sense of building a genuine community.
Read MoreSo here we are at the final hurdle, and even a slew of breakfast margaritas are not breaking through the very British weather y. We have sunshine, then showers, then sunshine, then thunder and lightning with a touch of hail – you know that song “four seasons in one day”? Well, that was Lincoln showground on the final day of the festival.
Read MoreSaturday arrives and the weather is threatening us with rain. However, with the spacious layout of the arena and the fact that the bar is in a tent, impending downpours do not dampen the spirits of the attendees
Read MoreThere are some things in life that are inevitable. Never mind death and taxes, the important thing is that the open-air festival season in the UK gets going in May no matter what the weather brings. For some of us that means a trip to the badlands of Lincolnshire and a weekend in the company of Call Of The Wild Festival. Since 2019 this tenacious little independent festival has somehow clung on despite the pandemic, and as I park the Moho up and crack the weekend’s first drink I can’t tell you how glad I am to be back.
Read MoreIt’s April, the sun is shining and we’re back in Blackpool and that can only mean one thing. Springfest is back in town for a second round, with another impressive roster of bands old and new carefully curated from across the UK rock scene.
Read MoreDamnation 2023 is immaculately curated. This is not random bands thrown into some form of inconsistent order. Real thought and consideration has actually gone into who follows who. The entire day works as some sort of cathartic emotional journey, taking you from spiritual highs to desolate lows.
Directly following the astonishing Julie Christmas with Downfall of Gaia is a genius move. Whilst there are real differences between the acts, they share a common DNA strand of emotional resonance. It seems weird to pin this on black metal, but Downfall of Gaia is music to make you cry.
Read MoreWe all love to moan. We are British. Finding fault in everything is our national sport. However the truth is, no matter how hard you look, there is very little, if anything, to criticise about this year’s Damnation Festival (The puddle at the end of the drive may well have been a pain but it was clearly outside of Gav and Paul’s jurisdiction). The snag list from last year's inaugural edition at the BEC arena has been conclusively dealt with. There is not a food queue to be seen, chairs are plentiful, and I am still supping the specially commissioned stout well into Saturday night.
Read MoreFor many moons, Night of Salvation has existed as a low-key informal get-together on the eve of the Damnation festival, primarily aimed at those who found themselves in Leeds a night early. In 2001 the Lords of Damnation (Gav and Paul to their mates) decided to make it a formal part of proceedings with an emphasis on world-exclusive album sets. To say that it has escalated from then would be an understatement.
Read MoreSunday morning and it’s raining, a lot. This doesn’t affect the festival though as it’s indoors, and the lovely people at the venue even put on breakfast for the somewhat soggy campers. Let’s be honest, everything is better with bacon, right? (Veggie options are available!) Being indoors, rain cannot stop play and before we know it it’s lunchtime and the main event is kicking off.
Read Moret’s been a couple of years since I last made it to Rockwich, for various reasons. Prior to that it was a regular fixture on my summer festival schedule, for the simple reason that they somehow always managed to get hold of the best new rock bands JUST before they started to take off and hit the big time. The venue is great, a grass pitch for tents, and plenty of hardstanding areas for campervans and general parking, and it’s just 10 minutes off J19 of the M6 so easy to get to.
Read MoreAnd just like that it’s Sunday and that great stretch of metal that was laid out before us, has now just shrunk to a single day. But what a single day and how many blooming people have turned up to join us! From the get-go, the place is heaving and it feels very obvious that the site has reached its 25,000 cap.
Read MoreThere is a wonderful sweet spot about the Saturday morning of a festival. You have been there enough time to bed in and become familiar with the surroundings, but it is all yet to become a slog. Also, there is the delicious realization that you still have two days to go. Ambrius have the honour of kicking off proceedings on the Sophie stage and prove to be an interesting and enticing mix of power and progressive metals.
Read MoreAnd before we know it, we are straight into the first full day of festivities. The sun is up and blazing away though the plentiful cloud cover, this means it never becomes as inhospitable as last year. Bloodstock has always been about early starts and Lancastrian death metallers’ Bloodyard have pulled the short straw and are first out of the traps at the ungodly hour of 10:30 am.
Read MoreSo after the "help I’m melting" desert-fest of last year, there is a distinct feeling of business as usual about this year’s Bloodstock. Whilst arid festivals are probably an unavoidable truth, this year mother nature very much behaved herself and provided what can only be described as almost perfect festival conditions. Even the drizzle on Sunday morning that seemed intent on embedding itself in actually dissipates before it manages to dampen any spirits.
Read MoreFresh off the back of a hugely successful Metal 2 The Masses campaign, No Play Festival offered a chance to capitalise on the revival of the Liverpool Metal Scene. Situated in the shadow of Evertons new Bramley Moore Dock stadium, the Invisible Wind Factory provided a setting for bands from all over the country and beyond to prove their worth across 2 rather contrasting stages.
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