With HOUNDSTOOTH, SIIICKBRAIN builds a record that feels like stepping into a dark, sweat-soaked room and letting the walls close around you. It is abrasive, hazy, clubby, vulnerable, and strange in all the right ways, pulling from industrial grit, electronic production, hip-hop beats, alternative pop structures, and something far more instinctive. It never feels interested in sitting neatly within one sound, and that restlessness becomes part of its identity. The album opens

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY have been a band that have been wowing audiences since 1998. For a band to have this much notoriety they must be doing something more than right, and their latest UK tour has solidified why they have evolved into the iconic band they are today. Opening the evening were DARK CHAPEL. Fronted by Dario Lorina from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, the band are fairly new in their formation, however played as though they had been doing this for decades. Opening with Afterg

Bearded Theory is a festival built upon the collective love of music. A true celebration of everything that makes festivals so magical. Everyone who attends seems to be there for the same reason: to see some great acts with a great crowd. Every hour you’re there, you will have another insightful conversation with a stranger. You can attend without knowing a single act on the bill, but you’ll end up with a list of people to see, recommended to you by anyone you run into. The

HAGGARD CAT are a band that are consistently pushing the boundaries of what it means to be creative. Having released their third album The Pain That Orbits Life, the Nottingham duo are on tour to celebrate not only the new release, but the fantastic work they have created up until now. Taking to the stage first was ARID WAVE, a Southampton based grunge metal three piece that had the prospect of warming up a crowd on one of the hottest weeks of the year. The band managed to s

DEAD PONY didn’t arrive so much as evolve into the scene. What began as a scrappy Glasgow project, found its shape in cramped rehearsal rooms and late‑night arguments about riffs, identity, and how heavy was “too heavy.” By the time they re‑emerged under their new name, the edges had sharpened: Anna Shields’ vocals carried more bite, the guitars more swagger, the rhythms more intent. Their sound became a kind of forward motion, restless, adrenalised, impossible to pin down.

One of the most renowned progressive rock instrumentalists, PLINI rose up high from Down Under, taking his third studio album An Unnameable Desire on tour right after its recent release last month. An almost entirely silent show, it still possesses the force to leave the visitors speechless, crushing them with the immense sound of electric guitars and layered melodies that create a mesmerising effect. Even when there is little movement across the room, this night is turned in

What better way to start a warm bank holiday weekend than with the first of several Slam Dunk side shows, headlined by the wonderful DRIVEWAYS, with support from Brighton-based alt rock duo HELL HOTEL. Manchester welcomed the Boston-based 2000s-inspired pop-punk band to the Rebellion stage with open arms for their first time performing in the city, ahead of their weekend performance at Slam Dunk Festival. HELL HOTEL were up first, with the dynamic duo Demi Jay Broadhead and T

For their 15-year anniversary, Outbreak Festival isn’t pulling any punches. Started in 2011 by 14-year-olds Jordan Coupland and Lee Fellows, Outbreak has blossomed into one of the biggest hardcore festivals in the UK, bringing fans from all over the world to the North of England for a weekend of barrier-free chaos. Since 2022, the festival has taken place in Manchester, and this year will see hardcore’s biggest and brightest talents return to Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition

If you’ve been mourning the absence of 90s grunge like we have, mourn no longer - VIOLET GROHL is hauling the fuzzed movement into the modern era, with bold, hefty riffs, cutting vocals, and a flair inspired by visual cinema and 40 years worth of music, packaged beautifully into her debut album Be Sweet To Me. Sweet the title, gritty and bitter the sound, Grohl captures the essence of 90s grunge rock and peppers through modern elements that shape her album into something that

Silence is never really silent. It hangs in the corners of rooms after arguments have finished, the hollow quiet after they’ve left and the air still feels shaped like their bodies. It settles into empty train stations at midnight and breathes out a heavy sigh under a starless night sky. It creaks, not in the claustrophobic loneliness of crowded rooms or on the floorboards of dead-end conversations, but in the gravity of the world suddenly opening itself too wide and swallowi

When covering a remaster of an album that’s already so utterly brilliant as Rheia, what can be said? OATHBREAKER have long been known to be a stunningly good band, even if they did decide to leave us without new shows or music for a decade. Ten years on from the release of the original version of Rheia and it is as highly appreciated as an album in that scene can get, quite frankly bordering on legendary status - if not already firmly in that top echelon of the blackgaze and

Alt-rock newcomers THISTLE. are releasing their new EP backflip on 29th May. Right from the start, the song pieces creates a complex, genre-bending mix that immediately defines the sound of the record. From synths to heavy drums and almost shoegazy vocals, the track is able to capture the energy of the EP really well. The song feels dark and introspective, underlined by mythical sounding synths and layered instrumentals that slowly build into something chaotic yet emotional.

Finding the words to describe Glasgow duo DOSS is a difficult job; their genre-blending style combines distorted rhythms, ambient electronics, and a dash of social commentary into something fresh and unexpected. They’ve played shows alongside the likes of DEADLETTER and FAT DOG, and soon, they’ll be putting out their self-titled EP DOSS. It’s fittingly titled: when you think ‘DOSS’, you should think this EP. Starting off the record in an incredibly ominous fashion is PREFACE,

There’s always been something untouchable about STATIC DRESS. Not in a distant, polished way, but in the sense that they’ve never quite played by the same rules as everyone else. Since their inception, the UK quartet have built more than a band. They’ve built a universe: stitched together through graphic novels, glitching visuals, cinematic storytelling, and a noir-soaked lore that runs through everything they touch. It’s music as mythology, but also music as escape — until n

When SHOOTING DAGGERS headlined charity fundraiser, Punks For Palestine, less than a month ago, it was clear that shouting about the issues that matter to them was their oxygen. The release of their new seven-song, twenty-minute ‘mini-album’ The Real Life Thing is no exception to this rule. The abrasive London trio live and breathe supporting their community, uplifting queer voices and taking the fight to the underground. In their most genre-diverse and experimental release y

Emerging from the influential depths of horror films, dark industrial synthwave, and a mix of 80s dance tracks, San Diego’s new answer to haunting darkwave I WILL DESTROY YOU are set to release their debut EP Dead Before Dawn. But for those with a familiar ear or anyone who’s been on the scene for a while, you’ll know this isn’t the musicians’ first forays into the music world, the band formed from the likes of AMENITY, ILYA, and CRUSHED ON YOU to name a few. These seasoned a

“Committed”, “connective”, “control freaks” - all words used to describe London based SAINT AGNES, and aptly so given their self-made upward momentum over the last 8 years, carving out their space to create a sound that sets them entirely apart from anyone else. While they’ve successfully instilled their mark with their distinctive sound of raw industrial rhythms and arcane elegance, their purely raw energy and infectious body-moving beats, and their impassioned lyrics so man

We are back at Camden Town’s premier celebration of bone-dry guitars, nasty tones, Orange amps, Red Stripe beer, sick-ass riffs, and desert rock madness known as “Desertfest”. Once again, for those not in the know, Desertfest is the home of Stoner/Doom/Psych metal in the UK. And just for your convenience, dear reader, your reviewer-photographer dream-team (who are currently recovering their necks from three days solid of riff-slanging and head bangin’) are here to give you th

Coming from Skövde, Sweden is screamo act KID, FERAL. Making a return to recorded music that’s awfully long-awaited - their first album was released in 2018 - follow-up 2019 was recorded all across the period since LP1 and now. The eight tracks across 2019 are shaped by hardships, failed relationships, serious injuries, and personal ruin. Written largely during the band’s youth but released at what they’ve called the ‘dawn of their middle age’, the album reflects years of per

Manchester’s underground metal scene has never lacked intensity, but with The Final Nail, BEYOND SALVATION sounds ready to push themselves far beyond local acclaim and into far heavier territory. After years of sharpening their craft through EPs, relentless live shows, and support slots alongside some of the UK’s most respected heavy acts, the band’s long-awaited debut full-length arrives with all the force you would expect from a group that has spent years building momentum