Newcastle gave VIANOVA a show they will never forget in the graffiti-covered attic of Zerox, packing into the venue for a sold out evening with support from SHIELDS . The show itself was short and sweet, with only the two on the lineup, but the energy from the two made for a perfect Thursday evening that wound down in time for the last metro home. The lights went down and metalcore outfit SHIELDS opened their set with Kill and Red & Green , where frontman Joe Edwards w

Having been around for over a decade, HO99O9 have been hailed as one of the best punk rap duos of a generation. Founded in New Jersey by theOGM and Eaddy , they have made waves on the music scene and are a musical force to be reckoned with. After three full length albums and countless EP’s, this now LA based band have certainly made a name for themselves for making more than just a bit of noise. Having not stepped on UK shores since 2022, this tour to celebrate their 202

“ And how can this story not break your heart? ” This line from the track Terence , shouted into the audience, did not feel like a statement but a genuine, pleading question to the world. MERYL STREEK stepped up onto the stage from the audience, not the last time he was amongst the crowd during the set, as the intro to The Beginning played “We should not have 150,000 vacant homes,” set the tone for what was about to come, as MERYL paced back and forth across the stage lik

On the first evening of February, we stepped into the iconic Brudenell Social Club in Leeds to bear witness to singer songwriter A. A. WILLIAMS . Since her debut album Forever Blue released in 2020, she has developed a dedicated following with her post-classical gloomy dark folk. The tour is still in its early shows as it travels into Europe for the next few weeks, with SPOTLIGHTS joining them in the lineup. Over the years she has toured with the likes of THE SISTERS OF MERC

Rescue Rooms played host to a relentless night of hardcore, as GIDEON played Nottingham with support acts GROVE STREET , XILE , and STILL IN LOVE . Opening the night were the STILL IN LOVE and they came out swinging, fusing raw emotion with a no-nonsense modern hardcore punch. Sober and Pillar Of Strength landed like gut shots, all vulnerability wrapped in heavyweight riffs, and it did not take long for the room to wake up. STILL IN LOVE demanded attention, locking the roo

When a tour lineup has four bands on it, you are always wondering if you are going to love each band or be waiting around impatiently for the headline act. RESOLVE made sure everyone left thinking the first option. The French metalcore band were joined by ASHEN , also from France, UK-based TROPIC GOLD and Australia's WINDWAKER . This being one of the first tours to happen in 2026 set the standards high for the rest of the year. Kicking off the stacked night was ASHEN . The

A chaotic night of intense futuristic music enjoyed by a young crowd simply living in the moment. The bill of acts featured music that sounded like the future. The first artist of the night was GORESHIT . Unusually, GORESHIT ’s set started only fifteen minutes after doors opened, meaning many of the fans, who had arrived early, were still outside waiting to be let in while the music started. GORESHIT ’s set consisted of intense breakcore sounds that were slightly off kilter.

EPICA and AMARANTHE join forces to bring their brand of vocal focused symphonic metal to the crowd. Although the tour was a co-headline, the audience was still treated to a support act. CHARLOTTE WESSELS brought her new solo project to open the show. Unfortunately, the set did not feature a live drummer due to injury, so instead the band utilised the drum tracks from the studio recordings. Luckily, this did not hinder any enjoyment by the crowd. Most of the tracks of the s

Not often The Dome in London is overtaken by Kings and Witches, but when the Swiss powerhouse is on the bill, everything is possible. Bringing with them their latest offering Inquisition , the night promised a great deal of head-banging, as well as singing. HAMMER KING , the power metal royalty from Germany, opened the night in a pompous manner with an enthusiastic crowd and loads of steam. Assembled in 2015 and celebrating their anniversary, the four-piece already made many

Death metal is a much-maligned subgenre outside of heavy circles. Heck, even within heavy music it tends to be the butt of plenty of jokes, and routinely gets overlooked as an unserious sound. However, back in 1996, amidst the strongest period of releases death metal has ever had, CRYPTOPSY released an LP that has since come to define a more niche version of the subgenre - None So Vile became the benchmark for potent technical death metal, and to this day is still hung at t

When the trio THE HARA formed nine years ago, neither the band nor the fans expected the project to become one of the most influential bands of modern British rock. Yet here they are, touring not only around their home country, but swiftly taking over Europe as well. Formed by JOSH TAYLOR (vocals), ZACK BREEN (guitars) and JACK KENNEDY (drums), the Manchester-natives already have few albums under their belt, and the freshest of them all - The Fallout , was welcomed to the

A little way out of London’s bustling centre, at a venue called The Dome, a show of a most particular style was going on. The industrial trio of YOUTH CODE , KING YOSEF and STREET SECTS were collectively up to bat, with their intention being no more and no less than ensuring the full room could all come together and enjoy a night of intensity, of strobe lighting and abrasive squeals, of aggressive pulsating beats and melancholic groans, and most of all a night of fun. Texan

From across the pond American progressive metalcore band BORN OF OSIRIS are back in London for the first time since early 2024. Making their way around the UK on their Europe tour, offering more than twenty shows, they took a stop at one of the most iconic venues in London when it comes to the alternative scene, The Underworld Camden. Just approaching the venue you could see long beards and battle jackets gathering and talking about the upcoming show. Having formed in 2003

With less than a year since their debut album Sorrows was released, CWFEN (pronounced Coven)’s gothic doomgaze sound has been praised for its dark and addictive tunes, and in that time the following has only grown. The Scottish four-piece supported FAETOOTH on their tour last year in some of their biggest shows to date, and with some shows planned to support the great PARADISE LOST in a couple of months, there is no sign of them slowing down any time soon. As part of a s

Tucked away in an old industrial complex on Glasgow’s West End, SWG3 stands as one of the city's most iconic live music hubs. The location and biting cold did little to deter a snaking sea of belt chains and black clothing from flooding in to catch a lineup not to be missed. The contrast outside was striking, with a subdued folk show unfolding in the TV Studio, while anticipation for something heavier was brewing in Galvanizers. Californian metalcore unit STICK TO YOUR GUNS

As the year came by, the French MOTOCULTOR FESTIVAL was back in London once again with another of their big tours across Europe. And this year, the co-headlining stars of the show were the Italian champions of parody metal NANOWAR OF STEEL and the Mongolian folk-metal powerhouse UUHAI . Supported on the London date by LONE SURVIVORS , MORPHIUM and DEUS EX MACHINA , the evening promised a journey through metal from the start. The Underworld in Camden Town was not busy at al

BEYOND THE BLACK are no typical symphonic metal act. Their mix of symphonic and at times electronic elements set them apart from other bands within this subgenre such as EPICA. The German outfit also rarely visits the UK. The last time the band toured the country was in 2022, and that was a co-headline with electronic metallers AMARANTHE . This time, though, BEYOND THE BLACK have returned to the O2 Ritz, the same venue they co-headlined with their Swedish friends, but as pro

If there is a country who never misses with its representation on the metal scene, it is with no doubts Finland, who has been reigning over the world of heavy music for decades. And one of its greatest representatives, ENSIFERUM , has returned to London in the new year after a few years, bringing a fresh start to the new season of concerts. Composed of MARKUS TOIVONEN (guitars, backing vocals), PETRI LINDROOS (guitars, harsh vocals), SAMI HINKKA (bass, clean and harsh voca

IMMINENCE ’s rise to popularity amongst the metal fans is no secret, and anyone who ever listened to the Swedish metalcore five-piece can agree with that statement. Hailing from Trelleborg, the southernmost city of the country, the band not only stands out because of their dark and mysterious visuals, but also thanks to the unique sound of violin present across their works. Choosing The Roundhouse in London as the last stop of The Black Finale tour, whilst promoting their lat

There's something uniquely electric about grassroots live music venues, the kind of intimate bars where you can feel the sweat drip from the ceiling and the bass reverberate through your chest. This is where the future of music is forged, where bands are not separated from their audience by barriers and distance from the stage, but rather share the same cramped space, the same charged atmosphere. PROFILER , INRETROSPECT and BLACK COAST ’s performances on Wednesday night at T