LIVE FROM THE PIT: Noizzefest 2026

On a lush sunny Saturday, Cardiff’s infamous Womanby Street finds itself lined with black band t-shirts darting between its legendary venues – Fuel Rock Club and Clwb Ifor Bach. What’s the occasion? Noizzefest.  Since 2024, Noizze magazine has brought its favourite upcoming heavy hitters to their home city. After the closure of The Moon, this year they have moved venues, upgrading the capacity and calibre of artists across three stages. 

HAMMARTIA

The day starts by darting up Clwb’s stairs to find HAMARTIA on stage. Labelled as  “Ones to watch” by Noizze themselves, Singer Sophie Smith treats us to soaring harmonies against modern metalcore soundscapes, reaching out to the audience as her vocals rise. They close the set with their latest release, Synthetica. The audience’s necks are warmed up with a djentish breakdown, and eventually relieved with more lifting, harmonic catharsis. 

THE GREY

Downstairs, THE GREY bring us back to the ground. They slow the pace with devastating weight, despite consisting of only three members. Everything about their presence matches the heaviness of the music – The lights are almost completely dimmed, and  Bassist and occasional Vocalist Andy Price menacingly paces the space between the stage and the crowd, lifting his bass like a trophy in short-lived gaps. Guitarist Charlie Gration fiddles with his pedalboard to finely craft the atmospheric elements, rocking on the wah pedal. It’s a thirty-minute onslaught of escapism, as Price explains before he takes up the mic for the final song only. 

PEACH

PEACH take the stage on Clwb’s top floor. Vocalist Ellie Godwin’s presence is enchanting. Her hands jitter and rise in parallel with her vocals, controlled shrieks sitting between smooth, frustrated lyrics. Opting for a Baritone guitar instead of bass,  PEACH’s sound sits somewhere between grunge and desert rock. It’s surprisingly heavy, but light enough to position Godwin’s vocals at the forefront of their sound,  perfectly teetering between. 

OMOIA

OMOIA are one of those bands you can tell are just having an awesome time, and their energy is absolutely infectious. Armed with high kicks and grins, the Leeds-based quintet start not only the first mosh pit of the festival, but the first three! They rampage through their thirty-minute set, and it's over before it felt like it even began. Closing with song Section 28 – referencing the UK’s Thatcher-era law banning discussion of LGBTQ+ people and issues in schools – they’re the perfect example of the high energy, joy and frustration expressed through the UK’s Queercore scene. Their set is a definite highlight of the day, and their return to Cardiff can’t come soon enough. 

KNIVES

Recently off the back of tours with THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS and WITCH FEVER, Bristol’s  KNIVES are a band that always seem to be playing somewhere, and if you haven’t 

managed to catch them yet, you’re missing out. It's hard to know where to watch as the five-piece jump around the stage. The Saxophonist and vocalist twirl and dance, the Bassist is high-kicking, and one of the two Guitarists is running into the crowd to start yet another mosh pit. Every element battles against each other, yet somehow perfectly sit together to transform the room into absolute disorder. It's rich, relentless, and quite literally a fist to the face. It feels like a headline set, and you can’t help but feel like they’re on the precipice of something huge. 

HELL HOTEL

Before HELL HOTEL take the stage, the lavish setup already demands attention. Red fabric is draped around the stage, drenched in red light and dotted with lamps and candles. Whilst their image feels well refined, their experience on stage doesn’t seem to match. They run through their 2000s emo-influenced set with conviction, but transitions feel clunky and awkward, fiddling with tracks and struggling to connect with the crowd in Fuel. Track every broken part. feels like a modernised version of something you’d hear on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, not helped by the black shirts and red ties donned on stage. The band feels strangely placed as a stage headliner, and the set feels more confusing than convincing. 

CALVA LOUISE

CALVA LOUISE are a band that exists with such precision and professionalism, yet remains entirely DIY and Independent. The stage is decorated with a huge, neon red logo made by the drummer, and rigs of televisions playing music videos edited by the singer. The band’s international roots are constantly celebrated, Members hailing from  Venezuela, France and New Zealand, with Vocalist Jess Allanic singing in both English and Spanish. The combination of all these elements crafts a rich sci-fi-inspired world for the band to exist in, clearly demonstrating a band at the top of its game. The ease with which they move between instruments and languages only further proves this. Allanic and  Bassist Alizon Taho regularly switch between guitars and synthesisers. 

Sweaty and tired punters cram back into fuel for a post-festival drink, undoubtedly reinvigorated by the diversity and quality of the UK’s upcoming heavy scene showcased.  After a sell-out day, it’s exciting to consider where Noizze may take the festival next year,  and who else they could bring. 

Words and Photos: Alice Needham