Bloodstock M2TM South Wales Interviews: Catalysts - East Heat #1 Green Rooms 07.02.26

Interview with Catalysts - East Heat #1 Green Rooms 07.02.26

1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band.

We’re Catalysts, South Wales’ self-proclaimed “elder emos.” We blend melancholy with big, melodic choruses, emotionally driven riffs, honest songs with hooks that really hit live. Think Paramore crossed with BMTH but with old dude singing.

Our music and our band performance featured on BBC’s Casualty in 2025
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026q6x the storyline is someone getting stabbed! Of course this never happens at our real gigs. 

Our previous EP “Sparks” had support from Kerrang! Radio and BBC Introducing. We’ve shared stages with Punk Rock Factory, Raiders UK and The Kennedy Soundtrack, and recently recorded new material at Long Wave Studios with GRAMMY-nominated producer Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral For A Friend, Kids In Glass Houses, Nova Twins).

Our upcoming EP “Echoes” arriving in 2026.

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? Have you had previous experience? Or is this your first time?

Metal To The Masses has always felt like one of the most genuine platforms for heavy and alternative bands. It’s about community, great live shows, and giving bands a real chance to be heard, regardless of style.

We’ve taken part in Swansea & Cardiff and we’ve had a brilliant experience, so coming back for 2026 was an easy decision. Every year brings new bands, new energy, and a strong sense of momentum in the South Wales scene.

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

We’ve met so many great bands (young and old) in the past like “I can’t die” and “Zac and the Newman”. It’s always been fun. The diversity of musical styles has always been great. Basically if you’re a loud guitar band, you can take part, you know?

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Green Rooms. Have you played the venue before or is this your first time?

Are you excited to get on those stages?

Playing at the green rooms is exciting for us as it’s the first time. We’ve played Bunkhouse Swansea and Fuel in Cardiff many times in the past; those venues are great but we’re very much looking forward to mixing it up. A new venue is a great way to inject a new wave of music and memories!

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM?

We’re really looking forward to connecting with new bands, new fans and new promoters. M2TM is great for discovering artists you might not otherwise cross paths with.

It’s also a chance to really sharpen our live set, push ourselves, and make every performance count. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

Getting to the Day Of Reckoning final would be huge and a real milestone for us as a band. The chance to play Bloodstock Festival 2026 would be unreal. It’s one of the most respected heavy music festivals in the UK, and representing South Wales on that stage would mean everything to us. 

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

One of the best parts of M2TM is discovering bands live rather than just online. We’re excited to check out as many acts as possible throughout the heats and see what the scene has to offer this year. We’d encourage our fans to come down early, stay late, and support the whole lineup, you never know when you’ll find your new favourite band.

Having said that I’m very much looking forward to seeing and hearing “Remain the Few”

8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

What would my Gen Alpha daughters say???

Elder Emos still cooks fr

Here are links to our socials

https://linktr.ee/Catalysts.wales

Reviews: Sidious, Witch, Agenbite Misery, Poor Bambi (Rick Eaglestone & Spike)

Sidious - Malefic Necropolis (Immortal Frost Productions) [Rick Eaglestone]

Sidious return with their latest and genuinely unsettling studio album Malefic Necropolis.

Opening with Shears Of Atropos, the album establishes its credentials immediately with nearly six minutes of unrelenting blackened assault. Named after one of the three Fates in Greek mythology—the one who cuts the thread of life—the track sets an appropriately grim tone for what's to come. You can hear every instrument carving out its own space in this grotesque soundscape, yet everything melds together into this oppressive wall of sonic decay that feels like it's physically pressing down on you.

Rotborn Terror follows, a compact blast of putrid fury that doesn't waste a second of its four-minute runtime. The title alone conjures images of decay and undeath, and the music delivers on that promise with relentless aggression. The guitar work throughout these opening salvos is genuinely inventive stuff—riffs twist and contort like something that has been left to fester in darkness. 

There is a real sense of composition here, with passages that build tension methodically before erupting into absolute chaos. The lead work, when it appears, cuts through the murk like shards of broken glass, dissonant and thoroughly effective at maintaining that atmosphere of dread.

The brief but effective Inversion And Collapse serves as a dark palate cleanser, a minute-long descent into something even more disturbing before Cosmossuary unleashes nearly five minutes of cosmic dread. This track showcases the band's ability to create atmosphere whilst maintaining their savage attack—it's not just mindless blasting, there's genuine songcraft buried in this filth.

Grave offers another brief interlude, perhaps a moment to catch your breath before being plunged back into the abyss Crows Atop The Gallows takes over with more than four minutes of blackened majesty. The imagery evoked by the title—carrion birds waiting for death's harvest—is perfectly matched by the music's predatory ferocity. 

This is where Sidious really demonstrate their range, shifting between tempos and moods whilst never abandoning their core aesthetic of pure malevolence. The rhythm section here deserves special mention, with drumming that's both technically accomplished and musically intelligent, knowing when to blast and when to pull back for maximum impact.

Vortex Of Boundless Unlight is another standout, with its title perfectly encapsulating the sonic experience. There is a genuine sense of being pulled into something vast and terrible here, a maelstrom of darkness that threatens to consume everything in its path. You can really hear and almost feel the bass rumbling beneath everything, adding weight and heft to the proceedings.

Sanguineous Art continues the assault with nearly five minutes of violence, its title suggesting blood-soaked creativity and ritualistic horror. The vocals range from tortured shrieks that sound genuinely anguished to deeper growls that add another dimension to the sonic attack.

The album concludes with Bloodlust Command Infinite, and at over six minutes, this closing track is one of the album's lengthier pieces. It earns every second of its runtime, serving as a fitting conclusion to a journey through increasingly nightmarish territory. The track encapsulates everything that makes Malefic Necropolis work—the savage aggression, the atmospheric depth, the intelligent songwriting, and that intangible quality of genuine darkness.

What really sets this album apart is its atmosphere. This is genuinely dark, oppressive music that creates a tangible sense of dread and every element here, from the production choices to the song structures to the performances, contributes to this overwhelmingly dark aesthetic.

This is an album demands your full attention, drags you into its abyssal depths, and doesn't let go until you've experienced every last malevolent moment of its dark vision. 9/10

Witch – The Hex Is On … And Them Some! (Lost Realm Records) [Rick Eaglestone]

California Chaos of the 80's gets thrust into 2026 with the compilation The Hex Is On… And Then Some – a comprehensive retrospective that serves as both time capsule and testament to what might have been. This double-disc collection assembles the complete studio catalogue from 1984 to 1989, including the iconic 1984 EP The Hex Is On, the 1987 12" single Nobody Sleeps and a collection of rare demos from 1988 and 1989 that have remained largely unheard until now.

Witch were one of those bands that embodied the raw, unfiltered energy of the Los Angeles underground metal scene – full of flamboyance and theatrical swagger yet unfortunately plagued by too much internal strife to ever attract major label attention. Listening to this collection, you cannot help but wonder what could have been. 

The opening salvo of tracks like Nervous Wreck and Bewitched fires through the speakers with a splash of arrogance that feels both earned and infectious. There is an interesting dynamic at play – you can hear elements of early Skid Row creeping into the songwriting, that perfect balance between street-level grit and arena-ready hooks that defined the era's most successful acts. Yet Witch maintained their own identity, refusing to sand down their rough edges completely.

The first disc is where this compilation truly shines. Now, I love the animated 1986 Transformers movie and its accompanying soundtrack – it's a perfect snapshot of mid-80s hard rock bombast – and Can't Take Our Rock would've fit seamlessly into that collection. It has that same anthemic quality, that defiant energy that made you want to pump your fist in the air. But what's remarkable is how the album moves beyond simple nostalgia. 

As you progress through tracks like Take Me Away, this stops being just a trip down memory lane and transforms into something genuinely compelling that demands repeated listens. The songwriting reveals layers that were not immediately apparent on first spin, and I find myself returning to these tracks more and more, discovering new details each time.

The second CD shifts gears dramatically, focusing on the God Box Sessions. This material has more of a blues rock feel, a conscious evolution that demonstrates the band's desire to mature beyond their earlier sound. The production here is notably more polished – and honestly, that's something of a double-edged sword. 

While the cleaner sound showcases the band's technical abilities and more sophisticated arrangements, it simultaneously takes away some of the raw appeal that made the first disc so captivating. That first disc sounds like it was transferred from a cassette, and I genuinely enjoyed that aesthetic – there is an immediacy and urgency to those lo-fi recordings that feels authentic.

That said, the second disc's saving grace is its variation and willingness to take risks. The slower, more ballad-oriented Games That People Play is particularly well-structured, featuring some genuinely beautiful guitar passages that showcase a different side of the band's capabilities. 

Overall, this portion demonstrates a more stripped-down approach and a willingness to demonstrate a more mature attitude toward studio recordings. The two discs are night and day in terms of production and approach – and yes, this does effectively demonstrate Witch's evolution and career arc as a whole.

But here's the thing: there's something in the unadulterated rawness of that pyro-fuelled aggression on the first disc – that whirlwind chaos – that I simply cannot get enough of. It captures a moment in time, a specific energy that can never quite be replicated once you start worrying about production values and commercial appeal.

This is a well-presented set that clearly has love behind it. The packaging and curation are solid, giving these recordings the respect they deserve after decades in the shadows. However, I do think the inclusion of some live cuts would've really highlighted the band's anarchic reputation and stage presence that contemporary reviews often mentioned. Live recordings would have added another dimension to understanding what made Witch special, capturing the raw energy that reportedly made their shows legendary. 7/10

Agenbite Misery – Remorse Of Conscience (Independent) [Spike]

Most metal bands think "literary ambition" means reading a H.P. Lovecraft summary on Wikipedia and mentioning a tentacle. Agenbite Misery, however, are coming from a different place entirely. Formed by a trio with a shared academic background in literature, they’ve taken the Middle English "agenbite of inwit" that specific, gnawing "remorse of conscience" (I looked that bit up) that haunts Leopold Bloom and translated it into eight chapters of experimental, high-velocity violence. This isn't just "concept" music; it’s a systematic attempt to convert stream-of-consciousness prose into aural energy.

The result? It’s a total wrecking ball of a record that manages to be as smart as a PhD thesis and as heavy as a collapsing star.

The record doesn't just "blend" genres; it pulls them apart to see how they work before chucking the pieces into a furnace. You can hear the pedigree of the members, Sam Graff and Adam Richards from the avant-garde chaos of Under Green Suns, and Cam Netland, who clearly hasn't forgotten the blackened stoner-grit of Coagulate. Together, they’ve created a collective voice that sounds like black metal having a violent argument with noise-rock in the middle of a post-punk ambient fog.

Each of the eight songs adapts a specific chapter from Ulysses, and the lyrics are pulled directly from Joyce’s own labyrinthine sentences. It shouldn't work. By all rights, it should be a pretentious, unlistenable shambles. But when the rhythmic force of the drums hits, you realize that Joyce’s prose, all that stuttering, overlapping internal monologue actually shares a common pulse with the more extreme ends of metal. It’s frantic, unpredictable, and entirely immersive. (It made me think how my “O” level English classes could have been so much more interesting).

The production avoids the high-gloss traps of modern metalcore. There’s a "maximalist" honesty to the sound, a dense, multi-layered thickness that feels like it’s physically pressing against your chest. Whether they’re leaning into a suffocating sludge crawl or a frantic, blackened death-metal sprint, the intent remains constant: to challenge the listener to keep up.

I’ve always reckoned that the best art should feel like a struggle. You shouldn't be able to just "put it on" while you're doing the washing up.

By the time you reach the final "translation" of the record, you’re left with a sense of total exhaustion. It’s an album that demands you engage with its abstract ideas, yet never lets you forget the concrete force of the noise. They’ve aimed high, dug deep, and managed to create something that refuses to repeat what’s been done a thousand times before. 

Is it an easy listen? Don't be daft. It’s a rewarding, claustrophobic, and brilliantly intellectual document of survival. In a world of "by-the-numbers" releases, Agenbite Misery have delivered a masterstroke of sonic transformation. Who knew literature could be this interesting. 9/10

Poor Bambi – Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We're Drowning (Apollon Records) [Spike]

There is a specific kind of momentum that occurs when a band stops asking for permission and simply starts taking up space. For Stavanger’s Poor Bambi, that momentum has been a bit of a vertical climb since they formed in 2020, taking them from the Norwegian festival circuit all the way to a random, rain-slicked stage in New York. Their debut, Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We're Drowning, is a bold, immersive noise-rock manifesto that manages to capture the vertiginous anxiety of modern life without ever resorting to the usual "look at how clever we are" tropes that usually clog up this genre.

The title track, Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We're Drowning, acts as a masterclass in controlled chaos. Sarah Hestness’s vocals possess a crystalline, almost defiant quality that manages to pierce through the thick, rhythmic noise provided by Espen Eidem and Simen Amundrud. It’s a literal sonic representation of the album’s name, a melodic line trying to keep its head above a rising tide of distorted guitars. It doesn't just describe a feeling; it forces you to experience the claustrophobia of the climb.

By the time Midtown Madness and You Were My Lifetime arrive, the record reveals a surprising amount of cinematic weight. Eidem, who handled the production himself, has given these tracks enough air to breathe, which is a rare mercy in noise-rock. It isn't "clean" in any radio-friendly sense, but there’s a spaciousness to the friction on Lost In Translation and Let Me Speak that makes the aggression feel properly physical rather than just a muddy mess.

The energy shifts into something far more frantic with This One Is for Free and Cherry Picking. This is the heart-attack pulse of a band that has clearly spent a lot of time in cramped, sweat-drenched clubs where the amps are always one turn away from a total mechanical meltdown. There’s a "North Sea" grit to the rhythm section here, a jagged, resilience that refuses to sound like some polite Brooklyn export.

The back half of the record, Partners In Crime and Turn Back Time, descends into a much more introspective territory where the guitars stop playing riffs and start creating weather systems. It’s a dense, swirling atmosphere that leads directly into the closer, I Don't Want You To Die. It’s a staggering, vulnerable bit of songwriting that refuses to offer an easy exit or a comfortable resolution. It’s a raw, unvarnished look at the fear of loss, wrapped in a wall of feedback that eventually just... stops. No fanfare, no fade-out, just the sudden silence of a city lights going out.

Poor Bambi haven't just delivered a debut; they’ve documented a struggle. It’s an exhausting, brilliant listen, the kind of record for the long nights when the city feels too vertical and the water feels too high. 8/10

Bloodstock M2TM South Wales Interviews: Daytura - East Heat #1 Green Rooms 07.02.26

 Interview with Daytura - East Heat #1 Green Rooms 07.02.26

1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band.

With an authentic sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Heart’s golden era of progressive we command attention both live and on record. Our sound blends razor-sharp riffs and searing vocals with authentic blues grit, creating an atmosphere that is as electrifying as it is emotive.

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? 

Have you had previous experience? 

Or is this your first time?

This is our first time, be gentle we have been actively growing over the past year and we really want to play at Bloodstock, the festival means so much to us all and to play would mean the world.

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

Grassroots is the most important thing in music, I get right on my soap box about this, but truth it is. Without grassroots and local support within the scene bands don’t progress, they don’t learn and they don’t grow. It becomes a stage for the rich and connected rather then the heart expression which connects with people that love and care for music.

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Green Rooms.

Have you played the venue before or is this your first time?

Are you excited to get on those stages?

I have wanted to play The Greenrooms for a while and we were so lucky to get into this heat because now we can!!

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM?

I said before but we are actively growing, we’re playing more shows and we want to build connections and a community. That only comes with actually getting out and meeting people in real life. The live music scene is where we thrive and building relationships with people is at the foundation of that.

Over the last few months we have been entering a lot of the festival heats/ competitions/polls etc and even though we haven’t progressed through some of them we have connected with so many more people then before, that have heard our music and actually like it. Which really means so much!

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

It would mean the world, I’m sure everyone says this. To play somewhere you have dreamed of, and being validated for pursuing your dreams would feel incredible.

I found myself onstage, I am free and I feel alive, I just want to keep doing that as long as people let me.

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

I am so looking forward to Catalysts, I follow them on socials and they are the most fun, I’m really looking forward to watching them perform!

8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

You will have a blast!

@dayytura - instagram
@dayytura - TikTOk
@daytura_daytura - YouTube

Reviews: Planet Hunter, Vandor, Jagged City, Wicked Leather (Rich Piva, Cherie Curtis, Spike & Matt Bladen)

Planet Hunter - Soothsayer (Sharkhound) [Rich Piva]

Wellington, New Zealand’s Planet Hunters latest release has the band doubling down on their version of melodic post hardcore paired with fuzzy stoner grunge, once again producing excellent results. 

The seven tracks on Soothsayer flat out rip, showing all the strengths of the band who apparently decided to take their stuff to the next level up. The opener, One Thousand Years From Now, gives me all sorts of 90s post hardcore vibes and flat out rips. Imaging if Foo Fighters didn’t suck after album number one (maybe two, but that could be debated). 

Kaikōura Lights sounds so much like Quicksand I had to do a doubletake. Give me that all day long, because this song kills. Another little ripper is next with Ouija, a track that straddles the line of Helmet and your more melodic grunge bands from the 90s. 

The vocals are just great. Unholy Union, the first single, brings the riffs and shows off the band’s great rhythm section, while doubling down on that Quicksand vibe I mentioned earlier. The guys in Planet Hunter had to have some of the stuff on Revelation Records given what You'll Be Happy sounds like, and I certainly am. What a killer song. 

Cataract slows the pace just a bit and creates this wall of sound guitar and sounds like Walter singing for Catherine Wheel. The closer, Lazarus, slows it down even more and dooms it up a bit but doesn’t wander too far from that post hardore thing they do so well.

Wow, Planet Hunter delivered a 28 minute blast of fuzzy post hardcore from New Zealand that just blows me away. Soothsayer rips it up, touching on all sorts of elements that I love, with great vocals and instrumentation, and a Quicksand vibe that is something I will always eat right up. Great stuff. 9/10

Vandor - The Ember Eye P2, The Portal Of Truth (Dragon Forged Records) [Cherie Curtis]

Vandor brings us their eagerly awaited third album, The Portal Of Truth which is part two of The Ember Eye. This album consists of thirteen impressively loud, rich and intensely vast anthems full to the brim with energy, passion and ingenuity to satiate our hunger for power metal. This album is languid and takes on a journey of their latest concept without it feeling like a drain on your battery.

All tracks are seamlessly blended into a triumphant wall of sound that swings from a gratifying assault to the ear drum to an emotionally loaded piece to turn the tables when you when you least expect it. Vandor brings us the absolute specimen of power metal. If you’re a fan of the genre- you’re going to love this one. 

It has all the hallmarks of what you expect from them; dynamic builds, textured instrumentals and creative riffs which will either have you fist pumping or at the very least, tapping your feet. The vocals are heady and soaring and the pitch is admirable. The lyrics are a blend of melancholy and optimistic and are catchy enough to have you singing when the second chorus wraps around.

Vandor has only been around for seven years (which I believe is a short amount of time for a band to develop their image) and their sound is incredibly well crafted and precise to the minute details. On the first listen I assumed I was listening to a decades old band who were cast into the shadows of the likes of Helloween.

I loved this one. I currently have the tracks Disease and Last One Of My Kind on my rotation. As a fan of this genre, it scratches an itch in my brain, there’s nothing to fault here. 

The overall composition is fantastic and the recording and mixing is professional. For the people who can neither take nor leave power metal, maybe it’s a bit to theatrical but if you're a lover of a catchy chorus with an avalanche of thrilling riffs then definitely give this one a go. 10/10.

Jagged City – There Are More Of Us, Always (Pelagic Records) [Spike]

I’ve spent a fair bit of time wondering why we still bother with the "Post-" tag when most bands use it as an excuse to sound like a photocopier having a mid-life crisis. But then Jagged City arrive with a title like There Are More Of Us, Always, and you realize it’s less of a genre and more of a census. 

It’s a threat to the "Them" and a rallying cry for the "Us", the people living in the gaps between the high-rises and the derelict industrial estates. This isn't just a collection of songs; it’s a sonic map of a city that’s constantly trying to build over its own pulse.

The record opens with (Don’t Dream Its Over), and if you’re expecting a Crowded House cover or a polite singalong, you’ve taken a wrong turn. It’s a totally instrumental piece, a wordless, atmospheric threshold that feels like the quiet before a storm. 

It’s the sound of a city waking up before the noise takes over, setting a mood that suggests that hope isn't something you talk about; it's something you feel in the vibration of the pavement.

That initial stillness is immediately traded for the rhythmic friction of Imaginary Lines and Rain And Sirens. This is where the band’s actual architecture shows through. The guitars aren't "lush"; they’re jagged, stabbing things that dart around a bassline that feels like a persistent, low-grade anxiety.

It perfectly captures that urban background noise, the sirens in the distance, the rain hitting the windscreen and turns it into something melodic yet entirely unsettling. It’s the kind of sound that makes you want to walk faster down a dark street.

Ocean East, Ocean West and Hairspring move with a mechanical strut that suggests the band has spent a lot of time watching the world move from the window of a stationary train. 

It’s hypnotic and repetitive, a masterclass in building tension without ever truly giving you the release you’re looking for. It’s that wired tightness, a feeling that something is about to snap, even as the rhythm keeps its cold, clinical pace.

The production avoids the usual high-gloss pitfalls that rob this kind of music of its teeth. By the time Minus Power kicks in, the energy feels properly depleted, not through a lack of effort, but through the sheer weight of the city’s indifference. It’s a grey-afternoon-in-an-industrial-estate sound. Grim, persistent, and entirely essential.

The finale, (Deluge In A Paper Cup), brings the record back to that intimate space. It’s a messy, beautiful closer that feels like the aftermath of a riot and the realization that despite the overwhelming odds, the crowd is still standing. 

It’s not a "fix" for the urban malaise, but it’s a hell of a way to document the struggle of the many against the few. 8/10

Wicked Leather - Season Of The Witch (Lost Realm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Have you ever wondered what a trad metal band fronted by pop sensation Anastacia sounded like?

Well wonder no more as Wicked Leather sound exactly like that. Occult-tinged, twin axe, traditional heavy metal with vocalist who has a soulful sneer, the band from Barcelona aren't reinventing the wheel with their sophomore album.

It's more of what they brought to the table on their 2025 debut to be honest in that nothing is particularly inspiring but you nod your head, yeah it's got a darker tone but then so have hundreds of other bands in this category.

Unfortunately the vocals ruin any enjoyment as they just don't fit with the music at all, even if you like the voice of the Chicago singer of Left Outside Alone, here it's like bad impression that never seems to change at all. It may be the Season Of The Witch but this brew can't result on magic. 4/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Gideon (Lee Burnell)

Gideon & Grove Street, Thekla Bristol, 26.01.26

Across the bridge I go on a pouring Monday Evening to a show that was going to absolutely bring the fire, which is dangerous when the gig itself is at the bottom of a boat. After some initial car drama on the way to Bristol, I managed to catch the last two songs (well song and a half) of New Zealand bruisers Xile. 

Showing a tasty mix of Metalcore peppered Hardcore, European Beatdown and Death Metal, it was evident to see that they are crowd pleasers as the pit was spinning and the crowd surfers were in plenty of supply. Although it was short and sweet, they've absolutely made a fan out of me and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. 

Doesn't seem fair to give a rating based on a few minutes but couldn't possibly say anything negative about what I saw.

Next up, Grove Street (9) and what I love about coming into gigs like this is that you're guaranteed to find something you enjoy and having come into this gig having only heard their song Ultimate Penalty featuring Sylosis' Josh Middleton, I was looking forward to seeing what I'd get and what I saw was band truly proving that their up and coming in the UKHC scene. 

With two albums under their belt, it didn't take long before everyone absolutely lost their minds as the intro to Hunting Season kicks in, brutal, almost methodical way into the set as the pacing works through the gears and then BANG, the verse kicks in and the intensity kicks in. 

You can truly see the Suicidal Tendancies/Biohazard influence in this and it's great to see it being made their own. Next was a hint of Power Trip in their latest single, Self Sabotage. This was gearing up to be an awesome setlist and it seemed a shame they only had 30 minutes. 

The setlist comprised of songs from the latest album which was 2023's The Path To Righteousness and singles they've released since then such as the aforementioned Ultimate Penalty along with Divided Kingdom (which seems completely relatable at the moment) it was a setlist that truly satisfied the old school HC fans and it was awesome to see people flock to the merch table afterwards. 

They are absolutely a band to keep an eye out for and be sure to give them some support and buy some merch! Outstanding set and the sound techs did a fantastic job in making them sound their best.

Alabama natives Gideon (9) headline the show and after being warmed up for 2 and a half hours, the crowd were ready for some Metalcore/Hardcore infused filth and they came out the traps with their latest single, Wrong One and boy they really weren't the ones to fuck with. The intensity resonated with the crowd as they flowed into Til The Wheels Fall Off. Both the crowd and the band were egging each other on to bring the best out of each other as they played Push It Back and Locked Out Of Heaven from 2023's MORE POWER, MORE PAIN. 

Have you ever witnessed a wall of death on a boat before? Nah, me neither but speaking of MORE POWER, MORE PAIN, it brought the title track to the forefront and before I knew it, the crowd had parted and so much for the parting of the red sea, this was the parting of the River Avon... Still has the same ring, right? 

The momentum kept going as they stuck with the MORE POWER, MORE PAIN myriad of tracks as they added Take Off to the set. This was flowing nicely and they sounded fantastic, sound techs, give yourself a round of applause. Gideon then dipped their toe in the waters of Out Of Control by playing Take Me. 

The crowd were then instructed that they'd be no encore and that 3 songs remained and they had to make them count and jeez, the crowd lapped it up and the energy was electric. 

The final trilogy of brutality, energy and tenacity came in the form of Cursed, Bite Down and No Love/No One. A stunning night showcasing a bill of superb bands. Gideon were fantastic and demonstrated a perfectly crafted setlist. 

Scoring Note: A point taken away due to jealousy over singer Daniel McWhorter's cowboy hat.

A View From The Back Of The Room: IAN (Spike)

IAN, Rules For Radicals & Peat Boggs, The Holloway, Norwich, 25.01.26

Sunday nights in Norwich are usually reserved for nursing a lukewarm pint and quietly dreading Monday’s inevitable return, but The Holloway, bless its grimy, brilliant heart, had other plans last night. It’s a proper little bunker of a venue and I’m growing to bloody love this place. Huge thanks to the lads there for sorting me a ticket at the eleventh hour, because missing this would have been a proper tragedy. In a space where the line between the "stage" and the front row is basically non-existent, the energy doesn't just travel; it colonizes.

Peat Boggs (9) kicked things off, and honestly, it was the sonic equivalent of a bucket of ice water to the face. The Norwich locals delivered a set of tight, frantic hardcore that felt like a localized riot. There’s something genuinely unsettling about a singer in a disturbing mask, think nightmare fuel fashioned from basement scraps, getting right in the face of the audience. It was visceral. It was claustrophobic. It was, frankly, the perfect way to burn off the weekend’s cobwebs. I know precious little about their history, but I’ve spent the morning digging through their back catalogue; they’ve got that raw, "teeth-bared" urgency that you just can’t fake.

Then came Rules For Radicals (10) I’d had a quick natter with them before the show, lovely people, based out of Bury St Edmunds and Shannon on the drums had jokingly asked me to be nice in the review. Well, Shannon, that’s an easy ask when you’re that bloody good. They unleashed a vast, shimmering wall of desert-drone that seemed to expand to fill every cubic inch of the room. It was towering. Jay is a bit of a wizard with those strings, isn't he? Watching him wring and wrench these howling, beautiful textures out of his guitar was like watching a mechanic try to fix an engine while it was still on fire. It was a masterclass in atmospheric weight, anchored by Shannon’s relentless, focused pacing. I’ll be hunting them down again soon. No doubt about it.

But then, IAN (10)

I’d previously spent some time with their record Come On Everybody, Let's Do Nothing, and while the album is a belter, the live experience is a different beast entirely. It’s doomy, it's sludgy, and it’s properly angry, but there is a vein of absolute beauty running through it that catches you off guard.

The secret weapon? The cello.

Hannah’s playing is nothing short of stunning, it adds this mournful, wooden heart to the cacophony that elevates the whole set into something transcendent. I overheard a bloke afterwards saying it actually brought him to tears, and honestly, I believe him. It’s rare to find music that is simultaneously this visceral and this fragile. It was a staggering display of emotional honesty wrapped in a shroud of distortion. Properly wonderful stuff.

It was the kind of night that reminds you why we still bother with the underground. No pretension, no distance, just a small room full of people feeling the full, physical force of the noise. A brilliant Sunday, all things considered.

Verdict: A masterclass in local noise and emotional weight. My ears are still ringing, and my soul is all the better for it.

Reviews: Summer Of Hate, Lord Elephant, Sweatmaster, Shields (Spike)

Summer Of Hate – Blood & Honey (Tee Pee Records)

I’ve been sat here nursing a lukewarm brew and thinking about how rare it is to find a record that actually understands the "shimmer" as well as it understands the "shove." Summer Of Hate have emerged from Porto not with just another noisy shoegaze record, but with a masterclass of modern shoegaze. 

Now my colleague and co-writer at Musipedia of Metal, Rich Piva, will attest that my love of this genre is strong, The Jesus And Mary Chain remain my favourite band of all time and there are elements in this album that beautifully reflect that sound. It’s that specific, Technicolour pop sensibility, a sort of timbral revivalism that nerds out on C86 history, that makes Blood & Honey feel like a secret you’ve just been let in on.

Stunning. That’s the only word for Laura Calado’s performance here.

Her vocals provide this ethereal, crystalline anchor amidst the chaos, particularly on the title track Blood & Honey. There’s a certain "Voice of the Beehive" sweetness to her delivery that fits the "Honey" aspect of this record to a tee; it’s that late-80s indie-pop clarity that acts as a velvet glove for the sonic iron fist. It isn't just "ethereal drifting" for the sake of it, it’s a calculated, melodic counterpoint to the subterranean weight.

Seven tracks that don't just "fuzz out," but weave together a global musical lexicon most Western bands wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

The "Blood" side is where the technical complexity really shows its teeth. We aren't just talking about a couple of distorted guitars; this is a sophisticated collision of Sufi drones, dabke rhythms, and Phrygian scales. El Saif, featuring the brilliant Thomas Attar, is a fever dream of Middle Eastern friction that rubs up against a punk energy that feels dangerously close to a riot. It’s not "world music" in that polite, Sunday-supplement sense, it’s a chaotic, danceable friction that uses raga-inflected swells and Indian scales to expand the very language of psychedelia.

I’ve always reckoned that the best music should make you want to move and hide simultaneously.

Ashura and Mayura follow suit, but the production layers are the real star. It’s a dense, impressionistic wash of sound, drone, swells, and noisy textures that move with a tectonic weight while maintaining a curiously "epic" core. Then the weather shifts toward the "Honey" side. Joy and Alem bring in that Britpop jangle and slowcore atmosphere, mashing together twee and post-punk in a way that feels like a warm blanket on a cold Tuesday in Manchester.

Perhaps it’s a bit much to take in in one go? Maybe.

But by the time we reach the closer, The Gospel (According to Summer Of Hate), the lore is complete. It’s a beautiful, sprawling mess of 60s pastiche and slowcore atmosphere that somehow manages to look straight into the future while keeping one eye on the NME archives. It’s the sound of a collective, not just a "band" who have realized that you can plant something beautiful even in the most caustic, politically charged soil. It’s honest. It’s layered. And it’s beautiful. 9/10

Lord Elephant – UltraSoul (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Naming your band Lord Elephant is an act of total sonic transparency. It tells the listener exactly what to expect: something massive, tusked, and capable of flattening your living room without a second thought. This Florence-based trio has spent the last decade perfecting a brand of Tuscan sludge that feels less like a series of songs and more like a tectonic shift occurring in real-time. Their 2022 debut, Cosmic Awakening, was a decent enough bit of sedated, hazy wandering, but UltraSoul is where the ship finally hits the shore with a proper, bone-shaking impact.

It’s an instrumental experience that succeeds by being visceral rather than cerebral. There’s a "straight-faced" quality to the authorship here, a refusal to hide behind the usual "trippy" irony that plagues the stoner-doom scene. Instead, they’ve braced their sound with a heavy blues tangent and a level of pro-level focus that makes their previous work look like a warm-up.

The experience begins with the extended lead-in of Electric Dunes, a shimmering, atmospheric preamble that builds the tension before the hammer drops on Gigantia. This is the record’s heavy-set heart, a mid-paced monolith of 90s-style desert rock and prog-sludge that feels like Black Sabbath being reimagined by a crew who’ve been investigating cheap whisky in a basement. The riffs are girded by layers of filth, the pedalboard feels like it’s being pushed to the point of a mechanical breakdown, and the result is an opening movement that demands total submission.

I’ve always reckoned that for an instrumental band to hold your attention for forty minutes, they need to create a climate, not just a collection of riffs.

Smoke Tower serves as a perfect representative of how these pieces fit together, it flits between prog-rock snaking and a sludge-metal informed heft that keeps the listener from ever getting too comfortable. Then you hit Black River Blues, an admirable, fuzz-drenched ode to bottom-shelf bourbon. It’s got that "road-tested" swagger, a rhythmic strut that sounds like it was honed in the back of a damp van somewhere between Rome and Berlin.

Astral and MindNight are sprawling, eight-to-nine-minute monsters that climb and descend through mountains of spaced-out motion. MindNight, in particular, is the clear standout, a heavy, ominous piece of doomed motioning that eventually gives way to a prog-tinged jam in its middle third. It’s the kind of sound that fills the room with a sense of impending catastrophe, yet manages to stay melodic enough to keep you from reaching for the "off" switch.

The production is undeniably "pro", that clinical, high-fidelity sheen that allows the busy, multi-layered action to breathe and it highlights the sheer quality of the craft. By the time the final roar of the title track fades, you realize that Lord Elephant hasn't just made a "stoner" record. They’ve made a document of survival that prioritizes "vibe-oozing" momentum over empty technicality. It’s a mixture of sludge, psych, and 70s vintage rock that finally feels like the band has found their own unique, crushing voice. 8/10

Sweatmaster – More! (Svart Records)

It’s been sixteen years since Sweatmaster last bothered to dig up a knife, and frankly, most of us had assumed they’d settled into a quiet life of sauna-sitting and ignoring the rest of the world. But More!, their fifth outing and first since 2010 arrives with the kind of "wham bam" efficiency that makes you wonder why they ever stopped. 

Hailing from Turku, this trio has always understood that garage rock isn't about the vintage gear you own; it’s about the aggressive, raw-boned intent you bring to the rehearsal room. Signed to the ever-reliable Svart Records, they’ve emerged with a fourteen-track package that’s been stripped of any studio-mandated polish until it’s nothing but bone and wire.

The record hits the floor with Dirty Water, but it’s the lead single Destroyer that really defines the comeback. It’s a 2-minute, 37-second electric jolt that doesn't bother with a build-up because it’s already at the finish line. Sasu Mykkänen’s vocals have that passionate, unpolished edge that acts as the anchor for Mikko Luukko’s guitar—which taps at the rhythm with a frantic, motorik energy before Matti Kallio’s drum fills drag you under. It’s the "electric triangle" in its purest form.

Fourteen tracks. No fluff. No "spreading themselves too thin."

Scream Out Loud For Love and Police Bastard (a title that suggests they haven't lost their edge in middle age) are masterclasses in straightforward, vocal-driven rock and roll. The band’s strategy was to get to the "heart of the matter," and you can hear it in the way Hole In The Ground and We Take All refuse to offer a hook without also offering a bruise. It’s the kind of music that would work perfectly in a dive bar at 1 AM, where the amps are rattling and the sweat is hitting the cymbals.

I’ve always reckoned that the best rock records should feel like they’re being played live right in front of you, and More! manages that precarious trick.

The middle stretch, Eazy, the curiously titled Sping That Never Ends, and Sad Song Man shows that while they’ve stuck to their original energy, the intervening years have brought a few darker, "new tones" into the mix. It’s not a radical departure, but there’s a grit here that feels earned rather than just manufactured. Chevy Van, Tail Down, and Leather keep the momentum at a heart-attack pace, leading into the final, feedback-saturated strut of All Right, All Night.

This isn't an album that’s been "polished to death." It’s raw, it’s electric, and it’s a necessary reminder that Finnish efficiency is best applied to the concept of the Riff. Sweatmaster hasn't just returned; they’ve reminded us that they were the aristocrats of this sound for a reason. If you’ve still got a pulse, you’ll want more. 8/10

Shields – Death & Connection (Long Branch Records)

There’s a specific kind of silence that follows a disaster, the sort where you can practically hear the dust settling on the wreckage. For Shields, that silence has lasted since 2018, and it’s a heavy thing to carry. Death & Connection isn't a "comeback" designed to please a label or tick a genre box; it’s a visceral necessity. It’s the sound of a band realising that the only way to deal with a five-year absence is to scream into the void until the void screams back.

The record opens with This Is Not A Dream, and it’s a proper psychological jolt. It starts almost as a poem with crystal-clear vocals that feel almost fragile before the floor drops out and everything fades into a caustic distortion. It retains that raw, rhythmic urgency of The King Blues, but the rage has been dialled up to an uncomfortably high level, draped over a haunting piano and a wash of swirling, atmospheric guitars. It’s a cinematic, pained introduction that doesn't just invite you in; it drags you through the door and punches you in the face.

That poetic haze is immediately shattered by Abuser. This is where the metalcore engine really starts to smoke. It’s a jarring, physical transition that sets the album's core internal conflict: a white-hot rage that is constantly being dragged back down by the gravity of loss. It’s not just a collection of riffs; it’s a documented struggle to punch through a grief-induced fog. Tracks like Kill and Parasites hammer this home with a frantic, heart-attack pulse that reminds me of early Architects, that moment before they traded the raw, bruised-rib honesty for stadium-sized polish.

The record thrives on its collaborative friction. Lacerate, featuring Harvey Freeman from Graphic Nature, is a masterclass in noise-rock instability. It feels like a riot taking place in a very small cupboard. Then you get the mid-album emotional toll, Womb and Brother's Lament. It’s a rhythmic, stuttering ache. The kind of sound you make when the words have finally failed and all that's left is the physical weight of the silence. It doesn't just describe the hole in the room, it measures the depth of it.

These aren't "pretty" metalcore tracks with tidy resolutions. They’re snot-and-tears catharsis. Even when the subterranean weight of Wolfskin (bolstered by Taylor Barber’s US-style brutality) threatens to rattle your teeth out of your gums, it’s balanced by the self-flagellation of Loser and the atmospheric stretches of Red & Green.

The heart of the record is the title track, Death & Connection, featuring Jonathan Finney. It’s a slow-building monolith, a study in tension that eventually gives way to a feedback-saturated roar toward the sky. It’s the sound of survival. By the time the final melodic sigh of Miss Me arrives, you realize this isn't an album about "fixing" anything, music doesn't have that kind of magic. It’s just an honest, unmasked account of what it’s like to still be standing when everyone expected you to fall. 

It’s architectural, it’s pained, and it’s arguably the most honest bit of self-therapy I’ve heard. 9/10

Reviews: Hällas, Indica Blues, Pyrogaric, Gavran (Matt Bladen)

Hällas - Panorama (Äventyr Records)

Come weary traveller, warm your bones by the fire and rest. Enjoy a jug of mead and our favourite storytellers Hällas as they regale you with fantastical tales from eras long remembered and revisited.

Hällas are a band who don't know the meaning of the phrase modern, the Swedes play 'adventure rock' which puts them in with the likes of Rush, Genesis, Jethro Tull and Wishbone Ash, as well as squarely in the Swedish revival of these groovy, proggy 70's sounds.

With the three proceeding records Hällas weave musical tales for you to get lost in, this is escapism, from the humdrum and the dark of the real world, into conceptual records that play out like D&D campaigns. On Panorama, their fourth record, they step it up once more, opening the record with monolith of medieval mastery that clocks in at 21:30. Yep that's right the first song is over 20 minutes long but then that's just the sort band Hällas are.

Starting as they mean to go on with reams of vintage/analogue synths and dual guitar harmonies this is the sort of prog that punk bands were terrified by, conceptually driven and full of swords and sorcery. That being said with Panorama though, Hällas are at their most confident, striding prog rock, heavy metal and hazy psychedelia, easier than ever.

This fourth album just oozes bravado, I mean a 20+ minute opener such as Above The Continuum, will solidify that the band are here to take no prisoners, but one that opens with the sci-fi, disco of Meco (look up Meco) before it moves into more traditional prog rock riffs and organ stabs, then back to the flamenco rhythms and closes with orchestral manoeuvres is the creation of band who have no fear.

To go from this huge epic into the strutting glam rock of Face Of An Angel, also displays that Hällas can turn their hand to pretty much anything they want, so long as it's retro, they'll do it better. The Emissary is folky, built around duelling organ/guitar and some choral moments that lead into the piano driven Bestiaus which has all the drama of Magnum, the influence of that inspirational band continuing on At The Summit which is a end of this bold new chapter.

Hällas invite you to climb the mountain and experience the Panorama along with them on album four. 9/10

Indica Blues - Universal Heat Death (Majestic Mountain Records)

When posed with the phrase Universal Heat Death there is a part of me that says “When?” however away from my lust for the end of all life itself, Universal Heat Death is the new record from Oxford riff slingers Indica Blues.

Now if you’ve been paying attention Oxford has quite a speciality in stoner/doom/riffs, Desert Storm and Wall both hail from the city of spires, as do Radiohead so that explains the nihilism. While the band named after the Iraq War take a more pacey sound, Indica Blues keep it distorted and fuzzy, inspired by Sleep and Electric Wizard, their apocalyptic doom is gnarly but keeps a sense of melody too.

Universal Heat Death follows up the equally upbeat record We Are Doomed, an album that was eerily prophetic having been dropped just before the world closed up in the pandemic. This time around let’s hope they don’t do the double and things start getting infinitely warmer. If there is a sharp increase in the global temperature, then this four piece have given us all a soundtrack to the end times.

Pack your bong of choice and press play on Universal Heat Death and you get the first satisfying hit with title track a head nodding riffer where dirty blues riffs sprawl into louche leads from Lewis Batten and Tom Pilsworth. The waves of psychedelic grooves coming from the expressive drums of Rich Walker and the low end fuzz from bassist Andrew Haines-Villalta on Bloodsands PT 1/PT 2 while there’s some stoner chug on The Raven and The Slow Descent Into Hell.

Debt Ridden Blues gets woozy with crashes of heavy that’ll get your shoulders shifting while So Low is built around a desert rock, Indica Blues dragging you into the dying embers of our world as loudly as they can on Universal Heat Death. 8/10

Pyrogaric – Fracture (Self Released)

It’s amazing how something unexpected can inspire the creative mind. In 2024 Pyrograic guitarist Keelan Powell injured himself in a way that stopped him from being able to play guitar, this was not long after they had gained third member Jim MacDonald on bass and it stop their relentless touring schedule dead. In the convalesce the ideas for their third album started to take fruition and once Keelan had healed up they started to write compose and hit Red Rock Studios with Lyndon Price to record their third album entitled Fracture.

From when I was watching their first shows I knew that Pyrogaric would gain themselves a following on the local scene, the combination of Keelan’s fuzzy riffs and Jamey-Leigh Powell’s powerhouse drums and vocals made them an interesting and unique prospect. With two records behind them and countless high profile shows, Fracture is the record that define Pyrogaric of today, their first as trio, they’re louder and more layered in what they do as the bass adds more definition and gives the guitars room to move into the melodic, this record even featuring some harmonies as Lyn provides the additional six stings.

The album is built around its title track featured here twice; once as a chuggy rocker (which steals a bit of the riff from Heaven And Hell) which may surprise long-time fans of Pyrogaric’s slower paced gothic doom drive, and then again at the end of the album as a Reprise which is synth based stripped back version. These two versions of one song shows that Pyrogaric are open to experimentation, even though it’s their defined sound that has taken them to those stages such as Planet Rockstock. 

They have been adding more synths and gothic influences over the year, inspired by the post-punk sound of the 80’s, especially in Jamey-Leigh’s theatrical vocals, they’ve previously dabbled with synth only cuts on The Gilding Song and more so on previous release The Serpent, here it’s Remember Me, a very potent song about loss.

Pyrogaric the addition of another member has also brought some vocals harmonies in the background and means that tracks such as Doom and Magic are amongst the heaviest in their catalogue, taking the form of the serpentine, marching style Pyrogaric have become so known for. Heavy rockers rejoice as the psych/goth/doom/rock thing that is Pyrogaric returns with more ways to give you tinnitus. 8/10

Gavran - The One Who Propels (Dunk! Records)

To mis-quote Soundgarden, The One Who Propels 'fell on blackgaze', as Dutch band Gavran return after an illness related pause in their existence. Now at full strength again and with a third record of melancholic, introspective music they have again released this album through Dunk! Records with the team of Marius Prins (Throwing Bricks) and Tim de Gieter (Amenra, Doodseskader) producing, the band have emerged stronger and more expansive after the issues guitarist Freek Van Rooyen had to deal with a sonic overhaul that has been inspired by hard times and changing in the internal workings of the band. 

Drummer/vocalist Jamie Kobić, continues as the vocalist but moves to guitar in harmony with co-founder Van Rooyen, as they are joined by new drummer Roy Zwinkels and new bassist Tinus Kardolus who takes over from Ritsaart Vetter, this sonically boosted version of Gavran is a much bigger beast, the mixture of doom, sludge, shoegaze and post rock, giving them elongated repeating riffs reminiscent of bands like Pallbearer, hypnotic doom/sludge workouts that keep your neck in constant motion and your mind melting. The dual guitars used to create the ambient and atmospheric moments of solace and quiet as the themes of mortality are played out. 

It’s as gargantuan as it is intimate and the tweaked line up means that they can fully explore the band they want to be, a powerful fourpiece who have not only had their aims changed by circumstance but now also their ambition and hybrid style as a band. I will say that the one thing that may dissuade some listeners are the vocals. Though Kobić possesses a mighty range, the sharp changes from cleans and harsh roars into anguished, Ghost Bath-like shrieks could alienate some listeners who may expect this more from black metal. The One Who Propels is Gavran restructured and redefining who they are as a band. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Virtue In Vain (Cherie Curtis)

Virtue In Vain, Paradox To Stay, Struggler & Winter,  The Pit @ McCanns Rock Bar 24.01.26

Nothing Is All I Am EP Release Show

To kick off the night we had Winter, who gave us some great trad power metal that’s very 80s and early 90s in style with a darker twist. They gave us lots of reverb and sharp riffs which almost reminded me of the likes of Megadeth but with scorchingly fast metal vocals. Their track Malevolence is sharp, punchy, and incredibly engaging. Euphoria starts soft and sentimental before going heavy and fervent; this one is high contrast and creative going from aggressive too stunning.

Struggler to follow. They were blisteringly cinematic, lots of suspenseful builds with some beautiful vocals. They are modern sounding and very likeable with a great message advocating mental health and critiquing today's politics and the people in charge. Their song, What Do You Want From Me is personal and blazing, their blend between melodies and harsh metal vocals is satisfying and their themes of deep melancholy matched with earworm riffs and affecting lyrics lead us spiralling into headbanging breakdowns. 

Heretic is strong and repetitive, which makes you want to shout from the rooftops as it’s so catchy. Puppeteer has deafening cymbal use, and the mightiness caused the first mosh pit of the night to open where people almost knocked down a column of amps.

After a short break, Paradox To Stay opens with Glasgow Smile with an explosive amount of energy and a newer track Eviscerate which has piercing riffs and commanding vocals. Great range is shown here as well as being interesting in style, swinging from near sludgy to flashy and sharp. 

Heartless, with its memorable opening riffs was a crowd pleaser; it filled the floor and opened the mosh pit back up- drinks were knocked over. A combination of relentless drums and racing and articulate builds which erupted into a gritty breakdown which matched their energy which was infectious. Suicide is their latest track and from a technical standpoint, it’s their best as it has the most complicated and vicious riffs heard from them yet.

Virtue In Vain and the release of Nothing Is All I Am was the reason McCanns had a sold-out show. It was a show worthy of four bands and their supporters. They brought us a fiery dynamic paired with great lighting and set design. They were professional and stuck around for everyone's set and were very energetic for their own. There was no messing around just a nice ‘hello’ and dived straight into some eagerly awaited tracks, some old and new which made the ground beneath our feet shake.

Blood Eyes, which I was fortunate to see played live in the same venue around Halloween time, was as good as ever. It was a faultless start, their signature strong rumbling vocals which was just as good live as recorded. Split was blood thirsty and vicious and caused someone from the mosh pit to fall onto the stage. It's nice to see that pit etiquette is still alive as they were picked straight back up.

Between Reflections And Silence was the first of their new release to be played and arguably the most eagerly waited for. It was one of the more elaborate and emphatic tracks from the EP and it was great to hear live and I wasn’t the only one who thought so as a couple of hands went straight into the air. Preservation was speedy and technical with an exquisitely gut-wrenching metal scream before a kick ass breakdown, and I made an immediate grab for the ear plugs; this one was a catchy and dizzying savage.

The Wilt And I was my favourite and I'm so glad they played it. It’s affecting and turbulent with emotion and the vocals were mighty. The backing track was beautiful, which is a stark contrast to the previous with a nasty breakdown wedged in for good measure.

It goes without saying that the three of them (Thomas – Vocals – Williams – guitars and Bryant – Drums) are incredibly good at what they do. They have what it takes to parallel each other technically as well as flaunt individually. They put on a great show, and it marks the beginning of a what can easily be a successful year for them.

Overall, the night was fantastic. The atmosphere was buzzing throughout, and the bands had clearly worked hard and performed brilliantly for Virtue In Vain’s EP release show. Others and I left McCanns knowing we’d seen a solid show which easily felt more like a shared celebration than a regular gig. 10/10.

Reviews: Pelican, Ritual Arcana, Abissi, Course Of Fate (Spike, Rich Piva, Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

Pelican – Ascending (EP) (Run For Cover Records) [Spike]

I was just sat here thinking (probably with a bit too much nostalgia for my own good) about the first time I heard Australasia and realized that you didn't actually need a singer to make a record feel like it was weighing down the entire house. 

Pelican have been the architects of that specific, heavy-yet-hopeful instrumental sound for over two decades now, and their latest EP, Ascending, is a sharp reminder that while everyone else is busy trying to reinvent the wheel, these Chicago lads are still just perfecting the roll. It’s post-rock, sure. But it’s got that muscular, mid-western grit that most of the "crescendocore" brigade wouldn't know what to do with if it hit them in the face.

Which it often does.

The title track, Ascending, kicks off with that familiar, interlocking guitar work that Trevor de Brauw and Bryan Herweg have turned into a bit of a science. It doesn't rush. It just builds, this slow, shimmering ascent (clue is in the name, I suppose) that eventually erupts into a massive, wall-of-sound climax that feels like the sun finally breaking through a particularly thick layer of smog over the M62. It’s majestic. It’s startlingly iridescent. And it reminds me why I still bother with instrumental music when the rest of the world is obsessed with three-minute pop songs.

Then you get Cascading Crescent.

I’ve always reckoned that Larry Herweg is one of the most underrated drummers in the game; he’s got this way of playing behind the beat that makes the heavy sections feel absolutely enormous. This track is a masterclass in that "slingshot" dynamic, pulling back, building the tension, and then releasing it in a flurry of tom-heavy percussion and distorted chords that rattle your actual teeth. Perhaps it’s a bit predictable if you’ve been following them since the beginning? Maybe. But when it’s this well-executed, who gives a toss?

It’s a peculiar alchemy, really, where the sheer, vibrating weight of the low-end starts to feel less like a riff and more like a change in the weather, a sudden drop in pressure that leaves your ears popping just before the silence begins to creep back in.

Adrift takes a slightly different path. It’s the "palate cleanser" of the EP, I believe, leaning more into the "post" part of post-rock with some cleaner textures and a sense of space that feels almost claustrophobic in its openness. It’s the sound of staring out of a train window on a rainy Tuesday and realizing you’ve missed your stop. It’s beautiful, in a quiet, slightly devastating way, a reminder that Pelican aren't just about the volume; they’re about the mood.

Finally, we hit Tending The Embers.

It’s a bit of a slow-burner, this one, a track that feels like it’s reflecting on everything that came before it. The way the guitars weave around each other is nothing short of masterful, creating this dense, emotional tapestry that eventually fades out into a hazy, feedback-laden silence. Is it a masterpiece? It’s an EP, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But as a four-track statement of intent from a band that has outlasted almost all of their peers? It’s a total ripper. It’s honest. It’s heavy. And it’s got enough soul to keep even the most jaded of us nodding along until our necks finally give out. 9/10

Ritual Arcana - Ritual Arcana (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

The legend who is Wino is usually the main attraction, whether it is one of his killer solo records, like Create Or Die from last year, or in whatever band he is performing in, most recently being The Obsessed and the renaissance that they have seen over the past couple of years. and , of course, over a bunch of decades. 

With his new project, the power trio Ritual Arcana, Wino finds himself sharing the spotlight, or maybe even playing second fiddle just a bit, to the singer/bassist of the band, SharLee LuckyFree, who also happens to be his better half in life as well. The band plays some killer proto doom psych, leveraging the best of Wino’s amazing playing and tone with LuckyFree’s booming, siren song, witchy vocals to bring us a killer 38 minutes of dark, spooky, and heavy rock and roll.

The title track of the album of the same name of a band with the same name always rules, and the opener, Ritual Arcana, keeps this trend going. LuckyFree’s lower octave vocals are more like an incantation, combined with Wino’s shredding lets us all know what we are in for on this record. Wino just rips it up on this track and his tone is amazing. A coyote from the mountains in the Catskills opens up Occluded, the most Obsessed-like track on the record in all of the best ways, that also has another Wino signature killer riff. 

You can tell the band is having fun with this project, with Free Like A Pirate being a great example. It sounds like Wino is just creating so much joy with his work on Ritual Arcana. Summon The Wheel is proto doom excellence, while Berkana has LuckyFree in her most alluring and spooky at the same time vocal performance. My favourite moment on a record filled with great ones is the psych-dripping guitar on the killer track, Subtle Fruits, right next to the chugging Wino creates on Judgement XX. 

My favourite song on the record is the closer, Wake The Goddess, which is the perfect description of what is happening right before our eyes (ears?) with the arrival of SharLee LuckyFree. The secret weapon on the record is the drumming of Oakley Munson. More known for his punk work with The Black Lips, Munson brings the power and keeps all of this goodness together and flowing.

What an amazing debut and what a great way to hear Wino from a new point of view. Ritual Arcana has killer songs, amazing guitar work (duh), and a vibe that SharLee LuckyFree brings that is unique to her and to the trio. Great stuff. 9/10

Abissi - Paramagia (Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records) [Mark Young]

In your virtual or physical hands you hold one of the warmest releases of the year. Paramagia is an 8 track, 26-minute glorious hug from a loved one. Possessing one of the thickest guitar tones you will hear this year Funerale In Messico is their introduction and it’s a riff-fest. It just flows, offering up the best in stoner/doom with a suitable solo to boot. I have no idea what they are singing about but don’t let that get in the way of the riff!! 

Pizzo rattles the enamel, channelling some early age QOTSA as it speeds through whilst Le Chiese slows down to a leaden crawl. I’m not suggesting that they have come out and reinvented any genre’s, rather they have looked to what makes for good music and have applied them with gusto. It closes on a Black Sabbath vibe, I mean to listen to it you will know exactly what I mean. Its quality, but it’s a question of how much of their material represents them or the music that inspires them.

I’m not being disrespectful to them, it’s just that Grabovoi, as an example with its little squeals here and there echo a lot from QOTSA as a primary source. I’m not massive on stoner music because there is a lot of repetition or extended arrangements which sometimes go nowhere. I’m probably being unfair on them, so let’s park that for a minute. 

Cement is heavy, properly heavy. Super dense it rocks along at a decent lick and sounds more like its from them than anyone else and its one of those songs that stands up to repeated listens (like the rest of the album if I’m being straight). Madama Cristina picks that baton up and sets off with it. It has more varied arrangement than Cement but is no less heavy because of it.

Their final act is 3424, a skittering 3-minute instrumental blast. I’m not always supportive of instrumentals, especially when they are placed in a way that kills any momentum an album has built to that point. 3424 is in the right place, it closes things out properly and on a strong note. With this and Grabovoi as instrumentals it at least shows they have confidence in their material so that if the lyrics are not coming, or simply not good enough, they will go with what they have.

Paramagia rips at a steady pace (ignoring Sequenze’s noise) and is such a warm and welcoming album, it is one of those things you will come back to months from now. It’s a worthy release, and although I think that the inclusion of Sequenze here lessens the flow of things, its still entertaining. 7/10

Course Of Fate - Behind The Eclipse (ROAR!) [Matt Bladen]

Course Of Fate are a Norwegian prog metal act and they are back with their third record Behind The Eclipse. As with the rest of the album they come from a philosophical angle mulling over light and dark. Those who walk in the light and those who dwell in the darkness, it allows them the switch between the melodic and metallic as they show off their virtuosity.

It's an album that takes several threads and links them, not in a full concept like their debut release but more loosely, all eight of these tracks blend the dark and the light through the frame of impressive progressive metal, that takes inspiration from bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Shadow Gallery. The riffs here a lot thicker as Course Of Fate have two guitarists so there's plenty of dynamism in the guitars, while the bottom end manipulates the changing rhythm section, Don't Close Your Eyes features some cello which adds more density.

On And So It Goes, they go into the dramatic realm of Queensryche, especially in the vocals, speaking of vocals Hiding From The Light has some harsh growls which shakes things up again. A more introspective, darker and heavier album from Course Of Fate but still stuffed with prog metal prominence. 8/10