There is a sense of repetition running through DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE's I Built You A Tower. Not repetition in a negative sense, but repetition as a reflection of memory itself. The thoughts that keep returning. The conversations replayed long after they have ended. The people who continue to occupy space in your mind long after they have left your life. Across eleven tracks, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE explore heartbreak, self reflection and acceptance, creating one of their most emotionally resonant releases in years. Opening track Full of Stars immediately establishes the album's vulnerable tone. Beginning with little more than acoustic guitar and the unmistakable voice of Ben Gibbard, the song feels deeply personal from its first moments. As the arrangement gradually expands, so does its emotional weight. There is a pleading quality throughout, as though Gibbard is trying to hold onto something already slipping away. It is a powerful introduction to a record concerned with the things we struggle to let go of. While tracks such as Punching The Flowers and Pep Talk bring more energy and optimism, they never fully escape the emotional uncertainty hanging over the album. Pep Talk in particular feels like an attempt to find hope amidst confusion. Its uplifting melodies and beautiful harmonies suggest brighter days ahead, but there is still a sense of someone trying to convince themselves that everything will eventually be okay. The emotional centrepiece of the album arrives with I Built You A Tower (a). It is not only the strongest song on the record but also the clearest expression of its central themes. The song explores what happens when someone becomes so embedded in your thoughts that they begin to dominate your internal world. The repeating instrumental patterns mirror that feeling perfectly, circling endlessly while subtle flourishes drift above them. It is an incredibly clever piece of songwriting that captures the feeling of being trapped within memory and unable to move forward. That theme continues throughout Envy The Birds, where recurring lyrical ideas become increasingly powerful through repetition. Rather than losing their impact, they gain meaning, reinforcing the album's fascination with the thoughts and emotions we cannot seem to leave behind. If I Built You A Tower (a) examines obsession, then Stone Over Water explores the emotional toll it can take. The lyrics are some of the most affecting on the album, confronting insecurity, self doubt and emotional exhaustion with striking honesty. What makes the song resonate so strongly is how relatable it feels. Many people know what it is like to reassure others that everything is fine while quietly struggling beneath the surface. Stone Over Water captures that experience with remarkable clarity, making it one of the album's standout moments. The energy picks up considerably with How Heavenly a State, one of the album's most immediate tracks. Distorted guitars and a faster pace create a welcome shift in momentum, while its stunning bridge provides a brief moment of reflection before the song cuts off abruptly. It feels restless, urgent and perfectly suited to a live environment. By the time I Built You A Tower (b) arrives, the emotional landscape has changed. While many of the ideas echo the earlier title track, the perspective is noticeably different. The fixation that defined I Built You A Tower (a) has begun to give way to acceptance. Rather than remaining trapped in the past, the closing track begins the difficult process of moving beyond it. Importantly, the album does not present healing as a finished process. There is no grand resolution or perfect ending. Instead, there is simply a willingness to keep moving forward. That honesty makes the conclusion all the more impactful. At its core, I Built You A Tower is an album about reconciling with the past in order to create a future. Through thoughtful songwriting, deeply relatable lyricism and some of the strongest performances of their recent career, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE have delivered a record that feels both intimate and universal. It embraces uncertainty while gently searching for acceptance, and in doing so becomes one of the band's most compelling releases in recent memory. Score: 9/10 I Built You A Tower will be released on 5th June 2026 via ANTI- Records. Words: Con Macadam Photos: Shervin Lainez

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 with a short, haunting intro, almost mechanical in its delivery, declaring “this is the sound of breaking the loop” before launching straight into PALO SANTO. It is an effective introduction to the world SIIICKBRAIN is creating here, immediately pairing rave-like instrumentals with softer, more ghostly vocals. That contrast becomes one of the album’s biggest strengths. There is a constant push and pull between aggression and fragility, between control and collapse, and HOUNDSTOOTH often feels most powerful when those sides are allowed to clash. FILTHY, featuring FETISH, is a standout example, carrying a sense of intoxicating danger that made it such a strong single before the album’s release. Its heavy, industrial-leaning production and club-ready pulse make it feel grimy and physical, with punchy drums and distortion giving the track a razor-sharp edge. SIIICKBRAIN’s vocals sit somewhere between seduction and menace, making the title feel deliberate rather than decorative. DELICATE is another example of that masterful tension. Built around a trap-leaning, hip-hop influenced beat, it starts with a vulnerability that feels bruised but not passive. Lines like “they promised it all, left me worse than before, I did what was told but they just wanted more” are open enough to be read through multiple lenses, whether that is toxic love, exploitative friendships, or the pressure of industries built on image and consumption. As the track progresses, SIIICKBRAIN delivers “I’m tired of being the victim”, with the vocals eventually becoming harsher and more forceful, cutting against the softness suggested by the title. By the end, this track feels less like a confession and more like a breaking point. That sense of taking power back runs throughout the whole album. There are repeated images of godhood across HOUNDSTOOTH, not in a hollow, ego-driven way, but as a kind of survival mantra. On I WOKE UP ALIVE, the repetition of “I am a god” lands with a ritualistic force, as though saying it enough times might make it feel real. It taps into the wider emotional thread of the record: reclaiming autonomy, rewriting old patterns, and finding empowerment not through easy triumph, but through confrontation. Elsewhere, HER introduces one of the album’s more accessible moments, with a chorus that almost leans into pop. In another context, that might soften the record too much, but here it works surprisingly well against the layered electronic details surrounding it. It is arguably one of the lighter-sounding tracks on the album, but still feels distinctly tied to the same world, never losing the eerie, off-kilter quality that makes HOUNDSTOOTH so compelling. By the time closing track FAWN arrives, the album pulls back slightly from some of its denser moments, but without losing any of its atmosphere. It feels darkly cinematic and shadowy, letting the record fade out with tension rather than closure. While each track holds its own, HOUNDSTOOTH is especially rewarding when listened to in full. Across the album, SIIICKBRAIN creates a world that is confrontational, contradictory, and occasionally uncomfortable, but still deeply magnetic. Some moments are more disjointed than others, though that never feels like a flaw. If anything, it suits a record built around shedding old versions of the self and refusing to be made smaller. HOUNDSTOOTH is a bold, sharply produced step forward from an artist who clearly understands the power of making chaos feel intentional. Score: 8/10 HOUNDSTOOTH will be released on 3rd June 2026 via NOWHERE Recordings. Words: Zuzanna Pazola Photos: Giovanni Varlonga

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 Afterglow, an anthemic song that felt cinematic as the phenomenal riffs soared through the crowd. Each song felt like a great blend of sludgy grooves with a blues/grunge feel. By the time they played a cover of Bill Withers’ song Ain’t No Sunshine you could truly see that the talent on stage was on another level. Whilst the ties to BLACK LABEL SOCIETY could arguably be the reason they did so well on stage, the audience reaction and applause told everyone they deserve the recognition this tour is giving them. Next up were British heavy metal rockers VENOM INC. Hailing from Newcastle, this band are old school to their core. Featuring a member from the original VENOM line up from 1989, the three piece are confident that they are more than just a cover band by creating songs that are both classic and modern at the same time. With only one cover of the VENOM song Cursed, the band showcased the range of songs that they have created in subsequent years. Their songs were full of never ending riffs and drums that rattle you alongside classic northern grit that lends well to heavy metal. Vocalist Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan paid tribute to those metal icons that have passed such as Phil Campbell before exploding into a Motorhead cover of The Hammer This band know how to play music and play it well. Before BLACK LABEL SOCIETY takes to the stage, a giant logo covered curtain rises to help cover what’s to come, allowing the mystery to stay that way for a little while longer. You can feel the excitement building in the sold out venue as the time draws closer to curtains up and by the time the opening sounds of Whole Lotta Love and War Pigs came through the venue speakers, the crowd could hardly contain themselves with excitement. Stood in front of a wall of amps are the band, shaking the venue as they open with Funeral Bell. There doesn’t seem to be much time to slow down the pace as the band race through in the most perfect of ways and the audience go wild with crowd surfers and mosh pits galore. Supported with a tower of skulls around his microphone, vocalist Zakk Wylde is every part the frontman that a band needs. Stepping onto the riser in front of him, he reaches to the sky, plays powerful riffs, and sends the audience into a frenzy. Backed by a band that are equally as talented, there is no stopping these music making machines. Wylde takes time out of the set to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in the most fitting of ways before playing No More Tears. This tribute is one of the few moments that the band stops for a breath and takes in the show. The other is when Wylde introduces everyone by saying which British classic they hate, leading to football like chants for fish and chips. The crowd was a huge mix of ages, showcasing that the band has created timeless music that transcends generations to unite them in a BLACK LABEL SOCIETY chapter. Each song has a blend of classic rock, metal, and southern roots that truly allow each band member to showcase their own talents in a cohesive way. Utilising the piano in In This River and playing insane riffs to Ozzy’s Song allow the band to showcase their emotions and show their softer side to the hard metal exterior. With the audience transfixed from the first chord to the closing bars, the band gave them 90 minutes of pure insane energy and non-stop music met with rapturous applause. Ending with the behemoth of Stillborn, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY showed the audience that they are not slowing down with this massive crushing finale and cemented themselves as a legacy in the rock world. Words and photos: Laura Davies

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 site is small, but the joy of having a 10-minute walk from the car park to the campsite makes everything feel relaxed. Even from the campsite, you are only 5 minutes away from the arena. The festival has this sense of calmness that does not seem to exist anywhere else. Each stage is vastly different, with the Pallet stage, the main stage, being very large for the capacity of the festival and the Woodland stage being one of the most picturesque small stages at any festival. The crowd does skew somewhat older, but that does not mean that it is a festival for an older crowd. The lineup features acts that everyone will love, with legends celebrated by all generations and artists just at the start of their careers. It’s truly a festival for everyone, no matter what genre you like, where you come from, and however you identify. Everyone is welcome to become one under music at Bearded Theory. Words: Will Freeman (WF) and Chloe Sodeau (CS) EMF EMF are one hit wonders, and they know it. Their set to close the warmup day at Bearded Theory was the perfect way to start. A set of high-energy dance songs moves into their monster hit Unbelievable. The band built a lot of the fun of their set through a wave of quick covers in the middle, helping bring a lot of old-school raver energy to the field. The Wednesday crowd is some of the most dedicated fans of the festival, and they love everything presented to them. The pinnacle of the set happens as the band brings on a town crier to the stage to introduce Unbelievable to a massive sing-along. The band know they are one-hit wonders, but they put everything into their live performance to bring joy to a crowd. WF NATIVE JAMES Late-afternoon on Thursday, NATIVE JAMES made a bang on the Woodland Stage. Despite the serenity of the surroundings, the crowd thoroughly embraced this modern, grime-infused take on nu-metal. NATIVE JAMES simply said the word, and the first pit of the festival manifested, creating an unmatched atmosphere that drew in even the sceptics. Before diving into BLOCK - RR, an explosive collaboration with PROFESSOR GREEN, he declared that the rap artist will be appearing with him at Download later this summer, alongside grime legend FRISCO. The energy was electric, and it was clear that by the end, he had an onslaught of new fans who were ready for more. CS BIG SPECIAL A duo creating some powerful songs with a combination of punk, soul, pop and hip hop. A lot of fans on Thursday were looking forward to seeing BIG SPECIAL. They are the typical modern band for Bearded Theory, a band on the rise with an already dedicated fanbase. Their set has this unwavering positivity that even appears in the mosh pit, where everyone is hugging each other as the band plays their tracks. The drummer of the band called his then fiancé now wife, towards the end of the set, as it turned out they were getting married the next day. The set was built upon a collective joy that can only exist through live music. WF LAMBRINI GIRLS LAMBRINI GIRLS’ rise in not only punk but also the mainstream in the past year has been explosive, but to headline The Pallet on the first official day of the festival is still no easy task. Packed with energy, opportunities to mosh, and vital messages, Pheobe Lunny gave us a whiplash tour of their most iconic and politically relevant hits. Prior to Body of Mine, drummer Misha Phillips took a moment to address the EHRC’s new anti-trans proposals. A trans flag glowed bright behind them with a clear statement for both the crowd and the government: Trans Lives Matter. Ending with a powerful detonation of Cuntology 101 and Big Dick Energy, this set was powerful, important and full of the political rage we love from the genre. CS WESTSIDE COWBOY One of the bands making some of the biggest waves in the alternative music community is WESTSIDE COWBOY. Their sound is very modern post-punk and has a simple charm that can only be seen live. For a band so young, their sound is so complete. As of the time of writing, they have not released their debut album, but it seems like it may be one of the most important releases of the year. The band are tight on stage with every instrument playing off each other. Even after they had to stop a track halfway through due to an issue, they started playing in unison from the point they stopped. They are one of the bands to watch this year. WF FEROCIOUS DOG FEROCIOUS DOG t-shirts always dominated the crowd at Bearded Theory, and this is the last time the band will play the festival. The band are set to play their final gigs this year, and the crowd was emotional to see the folk punk legends come to an end. From the moment they took the stage, the crowd erupted with a cathartic love. It felt like a victory lap for the band to play to such a dedicated, large crowd. Up front, people had each other in arms and were dancing as much as they could to spend this one final moment with the band. Even when the band officially end at the end of the year, they will still see their t-shirts worn across the festival; they are favourites for a reason, as their music brings pure joy to a crowd, and it’s a shame this is their last time here. WF POP WILL EAT ITSELF POP WILL EAT ITSELF are musically hard to truly define; they rap, they have guitar riffs, they have sing-along choruses and a lot of samples. They are an unusual act, but to those who have become fans, there is nothing that exactly hits in the same way. Their duel frontman setup makes the band truly feel like a group of friends playing the music they always wanted to hear. The dance moves on stage aren’t those of a pop band but people truly living in the moment of what they created. A lot of the band's lyrics can be a little silly in the best way possible, but in moments like Ich bin ein Ausländer their anti-fascist message becomes all the more powerful. The band aren’t there to simply have fun, they stand tall for everything they believe politically and musically. WF THE DAMNED Punk rock legends, goth legends and general musical titans THE DAMNED brought their 50th anniversary tour to Bearded Theory, and they still bring energy live. For a band so late in their career, they haven’t played it safe with live performances. The setlist covers a lot of ground for the band with a lot of fan favourites, anthems and a few surprises. Opening with the sing-along track of Love Song got the crowd already chanting the lyrics back at the band. For a punk band, they don’t take themselves seriously as the band perform a quick rendition of CAPTAIN SENSIBLE’s smash hit Happy Talk, which then sees frontman David Vanian playing along on kazoo. The biggest surprise of the set is a cover of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’s psychedelic masterpiece White Rabbit, which the band perform with true gothic grandeur. The set ends with the all-time mosh pit filler Smash It Up which sees every generation at the festival coming together to pay tribute to one of the most legendary British bands of all time. For a 50-year-old band, they play with the energy that made them famous when they first started. The Damned are one of those bands that every music fan should make the pilgrimage to see just once, not because of influence alone, but because they are just that good. WF SKUNK ANANSIE If this headline set proved anything, it was that SKUNK ANANSIE remain as fierce, uncompromising, and vital as ever before. The stage was transformed into a labyrinth of towering, inflatable spikes that encased drummer Mark Richardson, creating a visual centrepiece that seemed to pull the audience into the band's world. Vocallist Skin exploded into the maze with a level of self-assurance and confidence that can only be honed through decades in the industry, instantly tearing into This Means War. Skin’s stage presence is utterly unmatched. Commanding thousands with ease, she combines boundless energy with a formidable vocal power that isn’t easily replicated. A striking moment occurred during I Can Dream when Skin plunged directly into the pit that had been steadily growing throughout the evening, personally singing to members of the audience to create small moments of connection. As the beat dropped, she embraced the chaos, and the pit closed around her, impressively remaining pitch-perfect the entire time. Musically, the set was a delightful concoction of their modern material alongside the older songs that have cemented their legacy. It leaned on the nostalgic heavy-hitters such as Yes It’s Fucking Political and Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good) to appeal to the older crowd. By the time they left the stage, SKUNK ANANSIE had delivered a performance of overwhelming intensity and sheer conviction. It left an undeniable mark on everyone in attendance and set an exceptionally high bar for the rest of the weekend. CS JASMINE 4.T Opening The Pallet stage on Saturday afternoon was dreamy indie-rock artist JASMINE 4.T, whose emotive and politically crucial performance provided a powerful start to the day. Between songs, she spoke candidly about topics such as the rise in transphobia, the EHRC’s new anti-trans proposals and the struggle for Palestinian liberation amid the ongoing genocide, giving the relatively slow set a sense of urgency that extended beyond the music itself. Before diving into Find Your People, Jasmine took a moment to dedicate the song to her “chosen mother”, Yulia, one of the Filton 25, adding a deeply personal layer to an already poignant set. Throughout the performance, moments of calmness were underscored by a quiet but unmistakable sense of rage, making for a show that was emotionally resonant and politically vital. CS HENGE HENGE may be the only band from out of space to make music that reflects their origins. The band’s sound is controlled danceable chaos that will bring a smile to even the most sceptical member of the audience. Seeing Henge live is a true theatrical otherworldly experience. What other band will bring dancing mushroom people onto the stage? Front alien of the band Zpor brings his trademark charm to the stage and tells tales of other planets. It’s the closest most of the audience will come to space travel, even if they claim they have already been there. The use of synths and unorthodox melody defines the band’s sound; despite how alien everything sounds, it still remains catchy. WF BAD NERVES East London punk five-piece BAD NERVES stepped onto The Meadow to a crowd that was already primed for them. There was little movement at first, before the bassist from previous Convoy Cabaret performers BE N!CE exploded into the audience like a meteor, instantly igniting a lively moshpit. From there, they tore through an extensive setlist, with their short and punchy tracks keeping the crowd guessing as to what could come next. They had a relentless energy that was infectious, and while the pit grew increasingly more intense as the set progressed, the rapidfire nature of their tracks meant that just as the crowd were finding their rhythm, another song was already underway. CS KATE NASH KATE NASH seems like she has accidentally become punk at this stage of her career. Taking bolder political stances than most other artists around and pushing her own sound into vastly different areas. Being 19 years since her massive debut album Made of Bricks, she has not rested on her legacy. Recent tracks, such as Germ see her at her most political as she stands up for trans rights very vocally and promotes her trans inclusive brand of intersectional feminism. The track live is a truly intense experience, watching her with intensity sing the lyrics which make one of the most powerful statements of the festival. This is then followed by a cover of Sinéad O'Connor’s Famine which still retains its political punch. As the set goes towards the end, there’s a wave of sing-along favourites ending on Foundations, which still gets everyone singing ‘Bitter’ in that accent even now. WF CMAT CMAT is the superstar of tomorrow. She has done the rare feat of even getting parents on side with her music. A true set of storytelling and stage craft sees CMAT play her trademarked country sound, which seems to take the genre into somewhere truly special. Her intensity and charisma on stage are truly unmatched as the audience becomes hooked on everything she does. She manages to get the crowd dancing in unison with her own version of a two-step and keeps everyone’s attention. The way she and the very sexy Cmat band approach the set makes them feel like headliners. Cmat seems to be on a massive career trajectory and is simply delightful to see live. She appeals to everyone, and everyone will take something special away with them. WF PIXIES Pixies are alternative music icons; they have soundtracked many people’s lives, and on record, those songs still pack a punch, but live, it feels like something gets lost in the mix. In an hour and a half set the band get through around 25 songs; most of their songs are shorter, but there’s no crowd interaction that breaks up the set. The songs musically sound great live, but there seems to be something that gets lost in the mix live. The simple, naive charm of albums like Surfer Rosa and Doolittle seems to get lost when those tracks are being performed every night and 40 years on. Pixies aren’t the same band they used to be. They have aged; they aren’t playing a rough and ready small venue; they are playing to tens of thousands of people every night, and they haven’t scaled anything up. It also seems that the fanbase that first fell in love with them has to contend with the fact that they have a different audience now, as when Where is my mind starts to play, waves of teenage boys scream that they love Fight Club. Their big songs are still big. Monkey Gone to Heaven is still as powerful as ever, but it seems like seeing them live with these types of crowds in larger venues is not the best place to experience them. WF LAWNMOWER DETH Bearded Theory isn’t exactly renowned for its heavier acts, but LAWNMOWER DETH, the gardening-themed thrash-metal unit’s Sunday lunchtime set, radiated nothing short of the pure joy and community spirit that the festival IS known for. Playing a quickfire anthology of unserious tracks with ferocious riffs, such as their 15-second Weebles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down, and Did You Spill My Pint?, the energy was explosive and unmatched right from the word go. Even rogue toddlers got involved, with the crowd calmly leading them through the world's slowest circle-pit. By the end, frontman Pete Lee seemed genuinely humbled and overjoyed at the turnout and the reception, creating a wholesome end to a wonderful set. CS THE BAR STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN THE BAR STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN are Bearded Theory regulars by now. They bring their parody folk songs to the stage, which always manage to get a few guttural chuckles from the audience. They are silly, fun live, and they manage to make someone with a Gary Barlow mask on being dragged across the stage make sense in the world they create. Dressed in wonderfully inappropriate jumpers, they give the crowd the right attitude to have on Sunday: just have fun and make the most of everything. At the end of their set, two of the band members take to the audience in dinghies and manage to crowd surf through the audience. They already got everyone going when it’s only 12:30. It’s not Bearded Theory without seeing THE BAR STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN. WF LYNKS It’s a wonder that LYNKS didn’t overheat in that mask on stage whilst doing that level of choreography. LYNKS is very fun, taking danceable beats and writing some wonderful satirical lyrics whilst presenting them with the energy of the best club night you will ever have and being unapologetically queer. Songs that touch on everything from toxic masculinity, pretentious nights out and béchamel sauce, it’s an experience like no other. The crowd is a true cross-section of Bearded Theory, with most being people who would never normally listen to this kind of music, yet it somehow manages to become one of the most collective experiences of the weekend, with everyone throwing a few dance moves despite being tired on Sunday. WF WALPURGIS Every year, Bearded Theory invites a musical legend to perform a covers set, and today we see Ben Griffiths, Joe Lazarus and Mike Vennart take on BLACK SABBATH. Introduced on stage by comedy legend Stewart Lee, they open with the timeless War Pigs. The band doesn’t come across as a quickly put-together tribute act, but a love letter to the fathers of metal. Each track showcases the power the songs still have. The band is musically tight, each member is a legend in their own right, and they get the chance to have fun on stage. The audience sees many people in CARDIACS shirts due to Mike Vennart now fronting the band; the shirts are a feature of any alternative festival, but they all seem to have arrived for this set. It’s a sing-along affair as these songs have become part of everyone’s musical DNA, and it’s a chance to remember how great Sabbath can be. WF THE WILDHEARTS THE WILDHEARTS fanbase has long been dedicated, but after the cancer diagnosis of frontman Ginger, this seems to have taken on a new meaning. This set feels like it’s one of the last times many here will get to see the band, and that makes every little riff so much more powerful. The band are chaotic and noisy, but always serves the song. It’s loud amps and an even louder spirit. Ginger puts everything he can into the performance, and the band still retain everything that helped them become cult heroes. They don’t hold anything back musically and showcase how well-written their songs are. It’s bittersweet as the performance is so life-affirming, yet the reality of Ginger’s situation still haunts the set. When faced with adversity, the best way to get through is loud music and passion. WF GARBAGE Shirley Manson is an icon; she pushed through many boundaries in music and has carved her place as one of the most legendary people to front a band. She is arguably the second reason to see GARBAGE behind their iconic hits. She commands the stage, and when she plays the hits, she still retains that energy she had when they first came out, even if she is proudly older; nothing has aged her charisma. The issue is that behind the massive hits, the rest of their discography does not have the same level of relevance to the audience, so it feels like the set is waiting for those big moments to happen. They are carried by the band playing every song well, but it still feels like they need to have something else to keep the audience fully on side. Their stage production is the most low-key out of the headliners, being the band on stage with some visuals and lighting behind; the lighting and visuals can work, but other times, it becomes another aspect of boredom. The set is worth it as the highs of the anthems, like I’m Only Happy When It Rains are hard to beat, but you have to be prepared to get through lesser tracks. The band play everything well, but beyond their big songs, they don’t hit as hard. CS FAT DOG Midway through GARBAGE’s set, revellers began filtering away from the headliners to The Meadow to catch a glimpse of the eccentric festival favourites FAT DOG. Energetic, outrageous and delightfully confusing, this set was an undeniable standout of the weekend. Having a relatively short discography, they managed to tear through almost all of it, with much of the crowd screaming every word. The moshpit never let up and expanded steadily as the set progressed into a swirling nebula of excitement that could be felt across the tent and drew in even more curious onlookers on their way back to the campsite. By the time they reached tracks such as King of the Slugs, crowdsurfers began surging overhead, and during Running, the pit took the song's instruction seriously, launching into one of the most frantic circle pits of the festival. While unexpected, the set was a surefire way to end the weekend on a high. CS Words: Chloe Sodeau and Will Freeman Photos: Tyler Whiting

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 set the tone of the show as they exploded onto stage with frantic noise that seemed both chaotic yet perfectly harmoniously placed at the same time. With the confidence on stage that they too could headline a show, their set was full of preciseness and cohesive chaos as they bounded around the stage engaging the audience. Giving elements of Royal Blood and early Gallows, you truly felt like their niche was somewhere beyond the mainstream. Their song Life is Combat allowed their on track collaboration to come to life with HAGGARD CAT’s Matt Reynolds joining them on stage to a rapturous applause and really got the audience ready for what else was to come of the night. Next to grace the Joiners stage were EVERY HELL. Putting themselves into a genre of something altogether unique, they have a sound like no other and were ready to continue the wave of energy that was running throughout the evening. A perfect blend of keys, screams, and razor sharp riffs galore meant that each song stood alone as certified tune whilst the band appeared to be having as much fun as the audience were. Vocalist Will Gardner gave us singing that was akin to Matt Bellamy from MUSE and was able to showcase his range alongside his incredible saxophone playing weaved throughout the set. The versatility on show from all was second to none and the audience seemed to be constantly wishing for more from this band. EVERY HELL were a tight fusion of so many different genres, and for a band that only released their first EP in 2024, it’s testament to how dedicated they are to creating something that justifies a chef’s kiss for every ounce of their originality. After two incredible support acts, you could feel the energy vibrating in the room in anticipation of the headliners HAGGARD CAT. The hardcore punk-metal duo from Nottingham originated HAGGARD CAT as a side project, however when their previous band HECK split, it naturally turned into their main project and they subsequently have grown into a successful act in their own right. Opening the set with I Hate It Here from their new album The Pain That Orbits Life, it shows an audience that a lot of sound can come from just two people. Despite the album only releasing at the start of May, there seemed to be a really fantastic response from the audience to these songs being played throughout the evening. Even though this was an album heavy tour, the songs weaved seamlessly from one to another and there were enough throwbacks for fans to get stuck into. Drawing similarities to ROYAL BLOOD and other explosive acts, the duo have created a set comprised of constant energy and noise that when you thought it couldn’t get any bigger and louder, it did. Throwing it back to an early single American Graffiti part way through the set, vocalist Matt Reynolds had the audience screaming back at him in a moment that seemed to be truly special for both band and audience. Reynolds even saying later in the evening that everyone came as fans, but left as friends, lending to the magic of an intimate gig. Throughout the show the energy never wavered, giving the audience songs that they could reminisce with and dance the night away too. The duo giving it their all from the first song until the last, showcasing the true range of diverse skills and abilities to everyone in the room. Merging genres and noise, HAGGARD CAT are truly a spectacle and a blueprint for organised chaos on stage. Ending the show with a mix of old and new in Quit Your Job and eight minute track Apnoea truly allowed the band to showcase what they could truly do with their instruments. With crowdsurfers going ahead of the audience and mosh pits forming, the band showed skill and perfection making you feel that there was an army on stage as the guitars of Reynolds and the drums of Tom Marsh truly rattled your bones and left you wishing that there could be just one more song. HAGGARD CAT are a band like no other, and this tour has proven that genre bending music can lift your spirits and engage an audience from the first beat to the last. Words: Laura Davies Photos: Luke Storey

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. On a humid Tuesday night in Nottingham, the heat hung in the room like an extra body before DEAD PONY even plugged in. On the hottest day of the year, the crowd packed in shoulder‑to‑shoulder, sweat already gathering on the forehead, everyone resigned to the fact that this show will feel less like a gig and more like an endurance sport. AIRPORT DAD opened the night with the kind of unforced charm that makes a small room feel instantly on their side. The Nottingham outfit lean into an alt‑shoegaze haze, but there’s a clear DIY heartbeat running through everything they do — cosy, self‑made, quietly magnetic. Jessie Hodges’ vocals carry that slightly awkward, wholly endearing charisma that anchors the set, while the other band members move around her with an ease that feels instinctive. In a space as intimate as Rock City Beta, their songs land like quiet revelations, with Sunflowers, Acatalepsy, new track Evergreen and the politically charged How to Swim standing out as the moments that drew the room in closest. Scottish four piece OVERGROWN followed, with a heavier vibe than matched what the crowd would come to expect from the evening. Their set moved like a slow‑building summer storm, anchored by a run of songs with With Me, Give Up, and Breathe being standout tracks. The lead vocalist’s clean delivery carried most of the emotional weight, while the bassist’s quiet screams threaded a raw undercurrent through the set. Give Up hit as easily the heaviest moment of the night but even when they urged the room to headbang, the crowd stayed oddly still, as if caught in the charged air before the downpour. Still, their dynamic push‑and‑pull made the performance feel intimate, even when the crowd seemed unsure how to meet them. When DEAD PONY stepped out onto the stage, there was no theatrics, no slow build, just a sharp, collective jolt as the first riff slices through the humidity. It’s a reminder of why they’re here: to turn a stifling room into something volatile, kinetic, alive. DEAD PONY don’t fight the heat; they weaponise it, pushing the atmosphere from oppressive to electric in a matter of seconds. Heading straight into getting the crowd in a circle pit, vocalist Anna Shields launched into Eat My Dust! from their new EP of the same name. With a steady thread of new songs; Boom!, Freak Like Me, Lost Inside of Me and old favourites; COBRA, IGNORE THIS, MANA and RAINBOWS, the band wasted absolutely no time in front of the eclectic crowd. With Glaswegian Shields proclaiming that Nottingham is always one of her favourite crowds, it seems poetic that they chose here to open up their tour, especially after only just performing at Slam Dunk Festival over the weekend. Mid set, we were treated to an incredible rendition of ALANIS MORISETTE’s You Oughta Know, which had even more energy and rage than the original. The band also debuted new track Fury, which was met with more circle pits and even more clapping along, alongside a story of almost catastrophe where Anna had spent the week before the show hitting a keg with a metal baseball bat to get the ‘cling’ sound of the track, only to find out it was depressurised and therefore was super dangerous! Following a slightly awkward mix up between whether Nottingham is in the North or the Midlands, which was met with much laughter from the crowd, the time came for DEAD PONY to play their final song. Asking what the audience wanted to hear, they launched into a second performance of Eat My Dust! which was met with just as much vigour and enthusiasm as the first time round. DEAD PONY feel like a band mid‑transformation, constantly levelling up, chasing the version of themselves that’s just out of reach and their live show is just a taste of what they have to offer the scene. If this is how they’re starting the tour, the rest of the UK should brace itself. Words: Lou Viner-Flood Photos: Emily Champion

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 into much more of an internal experience for everyone involved. The jazz fusion SUNGAZER are the absolute perfect fit as a support for the tour, starting to create the exact atmosphere that will linger in the room for the whole evening. That is, magnetic riffs that cast a spell on the audience and let them disappear and lose themselves in the melody. At the same time, it is also full of velocity, where drumbeats rise in tempo, the bass begins to jump and pulsate, and there comes the star of the set – the saxophone. The instrument definitely becomes the pride and joy of the band, as the brass player stays dead centre to divert all the focus on his solos. “We’re a band with odd time signatures” - SUNGAZER finally introduce themselves, as they round off the fantastic Against the Fall of Night. Indeed, throughout their set and within each song, the melodic flow and mood fluctuates so much that the audience never knows where one ends and the other begins, and what awaits them around the corner. As they move onto Sequence Start and Cool 7, the band invites everyone to get involved in a two-step - but not the kind we always see. It is two to the left, and two to the right, which is perhaps the most moving around some of us are willing to do; still, SUNGAZER manages to engage the crowd so much with their infectious laughs that all of us cannot help but put on a little smile too. PLINI might come off slightly more serious and reserved in comparison, starting the set on a mellow note that soon crescendoes into something grandiose that is An Unnameable Desire. The band continues with Cascade and the wonderful Ciel, taking over fifteen minutes in total before they finally break the fourth wall and utter a word. PLINI turns out to be a delight, dropping the facade and immediately getting to the jokes “Can you please scream for me? I actually don’t do it for the music, I do it for the large audience and the screaming” - the crowd obeys. Tonight feels almost like a celebration of progressive rock and metal in its essence and its glory. PLINI does not forget his older material, performing Impulse Voices and I’ll Tell You Someday to the crowd’s delight. The strobe lights beam into our eyes with force, and the bright melodies traverse us into a sort of paradise land. However, in a split second, PLINI puts a stop to the frolicking and turns the room upside down with the devilish Manala. The band truly are all kings of their craft, as the extreme fast drums and distorted pull of the strings rush in, overriding any other thoughts or emotions instantly. Going strong, PLINI also revisits some of his earliest work in the shape of Selenium Forest, a slow jam followed by an immense, monstrous drum solo. The Friday night wraps up with The Time Will Pass Anyway, and of course, Electric Sunrise for dessert. Undoubtedly, London’s Electric Ballroom lives up to its name once again, as PLINI finish the performance on a high, the crowd still buzzing as they did throughout the whole set. This spell and enchantment might soon wear off, but all the excitement and thrill that this night has brought is certainly there to remain. Words and photos: Mariia Bulkina

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 Tom Maxfield taking to the stage, backed by their touring bassist and drummer. The stage was appropriately decorated with a carpet and various lamps illuminating the backdrop, already having created their own distinguishable, hotel-inspired, staging set-up combined with their signature red lighting. The band is still in its early days, but has already released several emo hits and continues to outdo itself with each release. The duo’s vocals perfectly complement each other, creating a sound that is fresh yet, at its core, all-out alt-rock/emo. The addition of a touring bassist and drummer rounded off the group sonically, with a clear energy between the members creating a tight unit. The band definitely left a lasting impression on the audience, making just enough interaction with the crowd to let them know what each song was about, but letting the music do all the heavy lifting to draw everyone in. Songs like Am I Nothing Now., Promises. And Mirrors. gave the audience an insightful look into what they had to offer and what could be on the horizon for the band. Guitarist Tom Maxfield ended their set by playing in the middle of the pit, which got many cheers and applause from the audience. Needing little introduction before starting their set, DRIVEWAYS bounded onto the stage and opened with Motions and Skulls and Flowers, bringing high energy to get everyone going. The audience had definitely been preserving their energy for this set, forming a pit from the get-go and the occasional stage diver throughout the entire set. The setlist consisted of a mix of songs from across their discography, including throwbacks to There For a Reason, the opening track of the 2018 release Night Terrors, alongside some newer tracks like Tempest and Ghost of a Smile. Frontman Pat Finnegan made sure to interact with the audience between each song, ranging from heartfelt gratitude to the crowd for coming to their warm-up show, to joking that he isn’t sure whether the audience likes Manchester City or Manchester United, declaring, ‘we like both’ to dispel any arguments between the crowd, along with asking, ‘Can I call you Manny?. There was a clear chemistry among all the members, with Derek Serino on bass and Ryan Passariello on drums providing backup vocals/screams, and this energy translated into the crowd too. It felt like being transported back to the 2000s and listening to a small basement show with all of your friends, the entire set was pure anthemic pop-punk sing-alongs, the audience yelling back every lyric to the band. DRIVEWAYS made the most of the time they had on stage, wasting no time on an encore, ensuring the set was packed full of all of the songs everyone was looking forward to hearing. To round off the set, we were treated to the definite fan favourite of the night, October Forever, which got every last person shouting the lyrics nearly as loud as the frontman himself, alongside a final round of crowdsurfers. The band received a warm welcome from Manchester ahead of their performance at Slam Dunk, and they even stayed around after their set to talk to fans and take photos with them. Words and photos: Libby Percival

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 Centre once again. Alongside the main festival, Outbreak will team up with All Points East for the second annual London edition. But the real chaos happens up north. With almost fifty bands already announced, ranging from hardcore legends to up-and-coming bands on the fringes of the genre, the heartbreak of a lineup clash is almost inevitable – but some acts are simply unmissable. Our list of ten bands not to skip is guaranteed to make your weekend explosive. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. ALEXISONFIRE There are very few bands that have been as influential on the Canadian post-hardcore and screamo scenes as ALEXISONFIRE over the past twenty-five years, and even fewer that could claim to have released an album as genre and career-defining as their seminal 2006 album Crisis. Now, twenty years on, the band are preparing to headline the festival by playing the album in full. In the time since the album’s release, the band have broken up, reunited and released two more critically acclaimed records, the most recent being 2022’s Otherness. Known for their explosive live shows, this is a set that would be criminal to miss. PUP PUP are masters of not taking themselves seriously, but that doesn’t mean that you should underestimate them. With a discography that bounces between songs about robot love affairs (Robot Writes a Love Song) and gut-wrenching breakup songs (Hallways, Shut Up), there’s something for everyone during a PUP set. Having spent the last year touring in support of their fifth studio album Who Will Look After The Dogs?, June will see them bring their sarcasm-tinged punk rock stylings to Outbreak Festival for the first time in their 16-year career, in one of their only three festival performances in the UK this year. TIGERS JAW Having been a staple in every emo and pop-punk fan’s playlists since 2005, TIGERS JAW will grace the Outbreak stage for the second year in a row, this time hot off the release of their indie-tinged seventh studio album Lost On You. With soaring, atmospheric guitars and dreamy dual vocals, the emo-indie darlings will offer festival goers an opportunity to slow down and feel something, ahead of the chaos of the rest of the weekend. Whether you have a lover to sway with, or are in need of the catharsis that only comes from scream-singing along to a sad song, TIGERS JAW have got you covered. LA DISPUTE A first-time addition to the Outbreak line-up, LA DISPUTE are Michigan’s biggest and brightest post-hardcore export. Since their inception in 2004, they have championed poetry and storytelling in their music, with a spoken-word vocal delivery often set against thrashing guitars and thundering beats. In 2025, they released their fifth studio album No One Was Driving the Car - their most ambitious and narrative-driven album to date, that doesn’t skimp on the heaviness. In a live setting, LA DISPUTE leave it all out on the stage every time. Even those unfamiliar with the band’s most famous track King Park – a dark, emotional song about a drive-by shooting – will find it impossible not to get swept up in the frantic enthusiasm of the crowd screaming along. STILL IN LOVE If you need confirmation that the UK hardcore scene is alive and well, look no further. Arguably one of the most exciting supergroups in the genre right now, STILL IN LOVE is a Frankenstein’s-monster of the best and brightest the UK has to offer, featuring members from DEAD SWANS, BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL and BRING ME THE HORIZON. Their first full length album, Recovery Language, was released in September 2025 with little fanfare, but they are steadily building a cult following online. If you enjoy being ahead of the curve, you have to check out their set. STILL IN LOVE are going to be huge. THE FRONT BOTTOMS Whilst Outbreak was created to champion hardcore music, following the success of indie-folk artist ALEX G as a headliner in 2025, it’s not too hard to see why a band like THE FRONT BOTTOMS may be chosen to headline too. Whilst their sound leans in a more folk-punk direction, they have been included alongside emo and mid-west emo artists since their inception in 2006. For their inaugural Outbreak performance, they will be performing their seminal 2013 album Talon of the Hawk in full for the first time since 2023, and for the first time ever in the UK. If you like your emo angst with a side of unbridled fun, don’t skip this set. TRAPPED UNDER ICE Formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2007, TRAPPED UNDER ICE have earned their place as legends in the hardcore world, with their second studio album Big Kiss Goodnight being credited with reviving the beatdown hardcore genre. Whilst they haven’t released new music since 2017’s Heatwave, their somewhat elusive status and rare performances make them unmissable when the opportunity arises. With drummer Brendan Yates being kept busy fronting one of the world’s biggest current bands in TURNSTILE, live shows have dwindled to only a couple of performances a year at most, with Outbreak being TRAPPED UNDER ICE’s only scheduled show for 2026 at the time of writing. BODYWEB It’s impossible to talk about UK hardcore right now without talking about BODYWEB. Describing their music as “the sound of someone’s nervous system on the verge of breakdown”, they blend traditional hardcore breakdowns with nu-metal tones and elements of electronic music. With two EPs already released, the buzz surrounding them is palpable – which is probably helped by the fact that they feature members from iconic hardcore bands like HIGHER POWER and PEST CONTROL. Championing rawness and authenticity, their music is recorded using all of the same equipment as is used during a live show. There are no backing tracks, and there’s no holding back. You’ll be glad there’s no barrier for this set. BASEMENT Outbreak veterans BASEMENT are back for the fourth time – and for their first time headlining the festival. Their anthemic emo and melodic post-hardcore sound has captured attention since the band was created in Suffolk in 2009, and an explosion in popularity following their song Covet going viral on Tiktok in 2023 breathed new life into the band. With their first new album since 2018 Wired slated for release in May, their return to the festival they first played back in 2015 is set to be monumental. Whether you want to dance or cry, or do both at once, this set will be unmissable. GLIXEN Formed in 2020, shoegaze up-and-comers GLIXEN will perform at Outbreak for the first time this June. With a wispy, ethereal sound – even for the genre – the Arizona natives still manage to find their own unique edge, balancing dream-like vocals with dark and gritty guitars. With their most recent EP Quiet Pleasures being released in 2025, the band drew comparisons to DEFTONES, NARROWHEAD and MY BLOODY VALENTINE, but on stage is where they come alive. Whilst not slated to be the most energetic set of the weekend, GLIXEN makes music to wrap yourself up in. Atmospheric and enveloping, it’s music to be felt as much as it is heard. Catch them before they blow up into the stratosphere. Words: Ellen Lovell

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 bridges time. Produced by Justin Raisen (CHARLI XCX) and collaborated on with a slew of talented musicians spanning the 60s and 70s fluctuating movements, Be Sweet To Me’s sound is influenced by a roster of groundbreaking bands who brought authenticity to their respective genres (SOUNDGARDEN, L7, ALICE IN CHAINS), and driven by the cinematic, eccentric style of David Lynch films, partially inspired by Grohl’s personal life experience with the strange and paranormal. It shifts from an edgy onslaught to absolute revelry and demands energetic movement throughout, as the instruments hammer in the background and give the centre stage for Grohl’s biting vocals and lyrical brilliance. Crashing in with riffs that evoke the shift between 90s and 00s rock, opener track THUM was the first track written by Grohl and her crack team of collaborators and starts as the album means to go on, the rhythms racing along as she subtly shifts from a slightly dreamy pace to a forced pitch, her backing vocals echoing distorted in the distance, and giving classic QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE vibes. 595 starts with a shoegaze quality before thundering drums breaks the calm and descends into fuzzed grunge depths as Grohl sings “you won’t last” over a faint low-pitched “dead or alive”, the breakdown transporting you mentally to a frantic mosh pit. Bug in the Cake has no time to hang about, flying through at break-neck speed with rising guitars and drums, the lyrics low and keeping time with the frantic beat, Grohl suddenly bursting out in volume as she sings about her real experience of moving into her late grandma’s house and feeling her presence reaching out to her, asking her “come on grandma, play me your favourite song”. Slowing down into sludge grunge, Last Day I Loved You takes us on a trip of 60s power guitar and floaty vocals mixed with roaring drums and riffs as Grohl’s voice rises to a lilt over the chorus ends in juxtaposition with the scuzz melody. Big Memory has a brief drum intro that is almost reminiscent of BLUR’s Song 2, but quickly pulls back for a pleasant melody to sway to on the verses whilst stepping up in power and volume for the chorus, the lyrics seeming to swerve between wanting to leave the memory of a loved one behind and not being able to give up those memories they can never return to. Mobile Star starts with space-like sound effects like the twinkling of stars, Grohl’s voice fading in from the abyss to gently sing “stay as you are” and obscure laughter and chatter fades in and out. Instruments gather in the middle to add weight, but the song doesn’t become heavy or loud, it merely tempts you with the idea it could launch at any moment. Jumping back in full throttle, Often Others attacks with dangerous 00s grunge rock and an undertow of metal in the booming drums and scrappy guitars, Grohl’s vocals weaving and languid before punching through with obscured screams over the final breakdown. Applefish begins with lush and poignant vocals over a stripped back guitar riff, the deceptively calm rhythm ripped asunder by a brooding crescendo of heavy instruments, falling away to fading guitar and Grohl’s final emotive words “no past to escape to, greetings from the other side”. Changing paces throughout the track and giving each instrument its spotlight, Cool Buzz rattles in with prog-rock riffs and drums, pausing for Grohl to lead in with her sultry vocals over a rumbling, dominating bass line, the instruments banding together cohesively under her shouts as she delivers cutting words at posers. Pool of My Dreams has an ethereal, cinematic melody that feels like watching a sunset on the hood of a car and just letting the world pass you by as you sink into the moment, the low vocals and reverbed guitar enveloping you. Shoegaze/grunge Plastic Couch closes out Be Sweet To Me with a stirring and lilting rhythm to lose yourself in as the instruments harmonise with Grohl’s lamenting howls, the track plummeting to a thunderous cacophony for a final taste of grunge. VIOLET GROHL has created an album that feels entirely fresh and modern, with bouncy beats and raw, unsubtle lyrics, but more than that she’s reviving the grunge era and welcoming us back home. Score: 9/10 Be Sweet To Me was released on 29th May 2026 via Auroura Records / Republic Records. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Bella Newman

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 swallowing you whole. HANRY understand that silence intimately on What Came From Silence, a debut full length that treats atmosphere less like decoration and more like emotional terrain. This is not simply an instrumental post-rock album built from crescendos and cinematic textures: listening to the album is like standing in the middle of a vast, unfamiliar landscape and realising how frighteningly small your body actually is. You’re overcome with such a terrifying calm. Opener Noise Drowns Out emerges slowly, almost nervously, as though the song itself is learning how to breathe in real time. Soft guitar tones flicker like distant lights through fog whilst ambient textures gather around them in slow, tidal movements – there is no obvious structure to cling to here. The track simply drifts forward instinctively, flowing with the uneasy logic of memory itself, and then suddenly you have the drums crashing downward with frightening physicality. It does not feel triumphant so much as devastatingly beautiful, like standing too close to a cliff edge and briefly entertaining the idea of letting gravity decide everything for you. HANRY capture that distinctly post-rock contradiction perfectly throughout the album: the simultaneous comfort and terror of surrendering yourself to something larger than your own body. Without lyrics to guide interpretation, every lingering synth note or stretch of negative space becomes loaded with meaning. Silence itself becomes narrative. Aurora drags the album into darker territory immediately afterwards, its thick basslines carrying the slow dread, like headlights cutting through rain on empty roads. The track feels nocturnal in the purest sense of the word; that particular emotional rawness that only arrives after midnight, when thoughts become louder than the room around them. Dustwake begins with an almost buoyant rhythmic pulse, guitars bouncing weightlessly for a few fleeting moments before tension slowly begins poisoning the edges of the track. Layers build. Cymbals hiss. The atmosphere thickens until the entire song feels as though it is straining against its own skin, yet that restraint becomes one of the album’s defining strengths. Her Crown, Her Empire barely raises its voice at all, instead unfolding through spacious keyboard passages and ghostly textures that feel almost unreal in their beauty. Listening to it feels like wandering accidentally into some forgotten place untouched by time – an abandoned chapel overtaken by moss, perhaps, or a forest clearing where the air itself feels wrong somehow. What Came From Silence understands movement and pacing emotionally. The songs breathe; they swell and collapse naturally, carrying the listener through shifting emotional landscapes without ever fully explaining themselves. The result is immersive to the point of physicality because certain moments feel less like listening to music and more like being submerged inside somebody else’s nervous system. Remains leans heavily into electronics, its pulsing textures giving the track a suffocating density. The track constantly threatens eruption but never fully allows it, holding itself in a state of unresolved tension that becomes almost painful by its closing moments. It mirrors the emotional logic of grief perfectly: the expectation that release should eventually come, only to realise some feelings simply linger without resolution. That existential weight hangs heavily over Time’s Collapsing, one of the album’s most quietly overwhelming pieces. Moving with hypnotic momentum, by the time the heavier guitars arrive, they land less like impact and more like inevitability. HANRY once again reveal their remarkable understanding of atmosphere as something tangible on Dead Waves. Electronics pouring through the arrangement like floodwater through cracked walls, guitars rise higher and higher in pitch and abundance until they feel almost celestial, stretching beyond the limits of the song itself. Phantom Rush feels like standing in the aftermath of something life-changing and not yet possessing the language to explain what exactly has changed. Across its sprawling runtime, HANRY gather every emotional thread running through the record – the vastness, the loneliness, the unbearable beauty of connection – and pull them painfully tight. The first half of the track glows with restrained euphoria, guitars and drums building toward something almost transcendent, but it is the second movement that truly devastates. When the piano enters, everything suddenly becomes painfully intimate again, and after so much enormity those soft notes feel human in a way that almost hurts. They sound like memory, like the tiny details that survive long after bigger moments decay: warm kitchen lights at midnight, voices through thin apartment walls, somebody laughing softly beside you while the rest of the world sleeps. It is there that What Came From Silence reveals its true emotional core. For all its cinematic scale and towering crescendos, this is ultimately an album about fragility; trying to locate meaning inside silence and searching for connection beneath skies vast enough to make your entire existence feel microscopic. There are still moments where the band feel like they are testing the limits of their own identity, where certain ambient passages drift slightly too long without enough movement to sustain their emotional weight fully, yet even those imperfections feel strangely human within the context of the record itself. Some albums soundtrack life. What Came From Silence feels more like staring directly into it. Score: 9/10 What Came From Silence was released on 29th May 2026 via Pelagic Records. Words: Talia Robinson Photos: Gregory Perrochon

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 post-metal pantheons. Whilst this version does have a different cover (albeit one that continues the artistic direction of the first), it’s the exact same tracklist, those same ten songs starting with the restrained 10.56 and finishing on Begeerte as the album dissolves to nothing. The vocals are as pained as ever, with Caro Tanghe’s haunting delivery front and centre to ring through your ears and stick so very firmly into your brain as if never intending to let you go. The line-up continues onwards too, with Lennart Bossu and Gilles Demolder’s guitars still here, and still bringing you to tears, as the latter’s bass rumbles beneath, although whilst the drum parts that Ivo Debrabandere wrote can be found here, Wim Coppers can now be found atop the percussive throne. Ultimately though, the biggest change isn’t found in the music as much as within our increased love and connection with this groundbreaking album. Coming after the band reunited to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this album, and played it in full at Roadburn Festival, this remaster feels almost like it was done in honour of the importance of the album rather than out of necessity - but that doesn’t stop it being an incredibly welcome addition to the 2026 release roster. Any excuse to put this one on is a very welcome excuse indeed. Having grown accustomed to seeing this group of musicians over the last decade doing all sorts of fantastic things with other acts - namely AMENRA, WIEGEDOOD and PREDATORY VOID - it’s not a surprise that they’re still as heavily involved in music as they are, but to see them all back together really is a special moment for extreme metal. There honestly isn’t much that needs saying about the album’s sound. It’s gorgeous. It builds on the original, with small but necessary tweaks made here and there for increased clarity on the drums or vocals, toning down guitar lines to let other parts breathe, maybe a touch more distortion or less compression here and there, but it’s still the beautiful album we all fell in love with one decade ago, and it’s back in a very slightly tweaked form that’s no less fantastic than before. To try and suggest a highlight here is worse than being asked to choose a favourite child, but Second Son of R. and Immortals could just take that race to a photo finish for first. All in, this remaster is absolutely worth listening to - because it’s a remaster of a stunning album, because it’s a slightly different way to hear this release, because it’s there. Far more importantly than those who have heard this album before though, are those who haven’t. For anyone who may be reading this and has not listened to Rheia by OATHBREAKER - stop reading now and go and listen to it. Put it on another one or two times, and after the first read the lyrics along with it if you need to. Just take it in. You won’t regret it. Score: 10/10 Rheia (Redux) will be released on 29th May 2026 via Deathwish Inc. Words: Jasmine Longhurst Photos: Anneke D'Hollander