The Metal/Punk/Rock Thread

[WyattSheepMask]

First bands announced for Bloodstock 2026

 

Presumably this is the genuine last UK show of Sepultura like how the Wacken appearance is being billed as the last German show for them. Bit gutted as I feel a bit gypped having gone down to London last year for the “farewell” tour.
Nevermore, Biohazard, Cryptopsy and Municipal Waste are the big ones for me though. 
Obviously Judas Priest are great and Lamb of God are always in fine form, but I can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. Fuck Slaughter To Prevail 

Edited August 8, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[SuperBacon]

Currently obsessed with the album River of Blood by John Galm.

He was the front man for Street Smart Cyclist and Snowing, two fairly successful emo revival bands, but his solo stuff is gorgeous folky/americana loveliness, and this album has been providing the evening soundtrack for the last couple of weeks now.

Honestly give it a go, it's bloody lovely.

 

[Egg Shen]

10 hours ago, WyattSheepMask said:

First bands announced for Bloodstock 2026

 

Presumably this is the genuine last UK show of Sepultura like how the Wacken appearance is being billed as the last German show for them. Bit gutted as I feel a bit gypped having gone down to London last year for the “farewell” tour.
Nevermore, Biohazard, Cryptopsy and Municipal Waste are the big ones for me though. 
Obviously Judas Priest are great and Lamb of God are always in fine form, but I can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. Fuck Slaughter To Prevail 

Did Sepultura extend the farewell thing cause it's going so well?

I would have loved to have seen them headline this and bill it as "the final show", bring out those Brazilian drummers or something and make it a special set.

Slaughter to Prevail are splitting opinion I always like to see a fresh headliner on top though.

[WyattSheepMask]

2 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Did Sepultura extend the farewell thing cause it's going so well?

I would have loved to have seen them headline this and bill it as "the final show", bring out those Brazilian drummers or something and make it a special set.

Slaughter to Prevail are splitting opinion I always like to see a fresh headliner on top though.

I don’t think it’s been extended per se, it was always due to run through this year as well but I suppose it depends on if they’re still on the road for the first six months of 2026 or not.

Im all for fresh headliners too, just not ones with transphobe nazis in it. Putting them a day before openly gay & dam proud of it Rob Halford is incredibly brain dead 

Edited August 9, 2025 by WyattSheepMask

[Egg Shen]

Can't say they don't have form for it. Emperor played directly before Judas Priest in 2018.

[Merzbow]

Wouldn't be surprised if Rob asked for them, he's a pretty big hypocrite and openly a fan which seems to be the "gotcha" for many dickheads when you criticize Emperor/Faust.

[WyattSheepMask]

5 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Wouldn't be surprised if Rob asked for them, he's a pretty big hypocrite and openly a fan which seems to be the "gotcha" for many dickheads when you criticize Emperor/Faust.

Was Faust still playing with them in 2018? I though Trym was back behind the kit by then 

 

6 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Can't say they don't have form for it. Emperor played directly before Judas Priest in 2018.

Let’s not also forget Vicky’s knuckle dragging nonsense about pronoun use the same year they booked Life of Agony. I know Keith has transitioned again since then and they’re booked again for 2026, so presumably they’re totally fine with the bookers, but the Hungerfords do seem to be a right bunch of idiots

[Merzbow]

14 minutes ago, WyattSheepMask said:

Was Faust still playing with them in 2018? I though Trym was back behind the kit by then 

Faust has been playing many times before and since then, they seem to drag him back for shows or specific songs rather than being a full time band member. But yeah, Emperor were still closely linked with Faust at that time.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

Black Spiders is my mates band, well happy for them to be getting this gig.

[Ironic Indie Lad]

My Chemical Romance have announced two nights at Wembley Stadium - July 10th and 11th of next year.

Same tour they are doing in America at the moment. Full Black Parade album and then another career spanning set.

Checked the setlists out and they have been covering Bullet with Butterfly Wings. They covered Livin' on a Prayer while in New Jersey the other night.

I could take or leave this but my wife is going to be insisting we go!

I thought maybe this would headline one of the nights at Download so thats out the window. 

[cobra_gordo]

On 8/9/2025 at 9:01 PM, ReturnOfTheMack said:

Black Spiders is my mates band, well happy for them to be getting this gig.

I've seen Black Spiders a bunch of times live, they're always reliably good. They opened for Ozzy at the Roundhouse show I saw him at in 2010 and more than held their own.

[WyattSheepMask]

I saw Black Spiders when they opened for Volbeat back in 2011. They went on hiatus not long afterwards for about 3 or 4 years before coming back. A solid mid afternoon with a couple of beers act

[Egg Shen]

Yeah, they are regulars down in my neck of the woods, built up a decent fanbase. I'd still love to see Pete put Groop Dogdrill back together though.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

I absolutely adored Dogdrill. The music scene in Doncaster was incredible for a few years, Dogdrill, J.R., Beachbuggy, and Fake Ideal, just for some. 

[King Mal the Glorious]

I rarely post in this thread despite listening to metal constantly and going to more gigs than you can shake a stick at. Last week I went to Czechia for Brutal Assault festival for the third time and it's cemented itself as my favourite outdoor fest bar none. So here's a long arse review!

Very hot but not as bad as '22, was able to sleep a bit longer (til about 8ish) before the heat drove me out of my tent. Speaking of camping, the quiet camp was a great idea, apart from one night where the couple in the next tent wouldn't shut up it was pretty much silent every night. Only thing I'd have changed was camping on the other side of the path so we had a bit more shade from the wall there. Wouldn't mind camping there next time but will be looking into accommodation options next time as I'm old and decrepit.

Organisation spot on as always, think there was only one band I watched that were delayed and that was due to the previous band overrunning by about 10 mins. The Octagon stage (the smallest one) has moved back to the central location which is a nightmare to get into unless you're early, but if you manage to fight through the crowd there was plenty of space towards the front sides. As always, shitloads of good food and drink options, the mead bar was a great addition this year.

As for bands, by my count I saw 54 over the week. Nobody sucked, even the ones I don't care for musically at least had some entertainment value.

The great:

• Gutalax - absolute madness from the start. Never seen so many inflatables in a crowd, toilet rolls flying everywhere (including people up on the walls launching them into the crowd), people crowdsurfing on portaloos, etc. I'm not usually one for Goregrind but the utter daftness of it works perfectly with the spectacle.
• Mayhem - Did a set with at least one track from every release. Started with the newer stuff which helped thin the crowd a bit so I managed to get a good spot. By the time they got to the classics I was loving it, enjoyed the interview clips with Euronymous and Dead between some of the tracks too.
• Blood Fire Death - Bathory are probably my favourite band and this is the closest I'll ever get to seeing it live. Sound was a bit off at the start but improved after a couple of tracks. Cool guest spots and they played Shores in Flames so I can die happy.
• Asphyx - They're always class live and I managed to get very close to the front, resulting in me spending most of the set catching crowdsurfers haha. Didn't mind though as it fits the music, just crushing.
• Bohren und der Club of Gore - Slow jazz on the last night, perfect. Was on the barrier for this, the guy next to me fell asleep and the sole security guard looked like he was going to follow suit. Probably the most chill set of that guy's career haha. The frontman(?) looked like he was going to cry at the reception they got, wholesome vibes.
• Sigh - More madness. There were 2 little girls (in corpse paint of course) on stage the whole time, one of which was loving it and playing up to the crowd constantly and another that just stood there like something out of a J-Horror. Great set with all the blood and fire you'd expect from them.
• Nile - I love Nile but have always found them a bit underwhelming live, they were much better this time though. Mostly helped by a well varied set with plenty of old stuff.
• Green Lung -  They're always mint, but it's really nice seeing a band I first saw in a basement in front of about 7 people playing a main stage to 20k+.
• Wayfarer - Cowboy shit! Cowboy shit!
• Sylvaine - Great set, well suited to that early evening, sun-starting-to-wane atmosphere. Nice to see them after missing them for a few years.
• Hellripper - Similar to Green Lung in that it's awesome to see a band I've followed from nobodies to headlining a big stage in front of a rabid crowd. Came out of mosh retirement for this, managed to avoid injury for once.
• Gost - Heavy as Hell, great final band for the week. Wondered what stuff they'd play but they stuck to the hardest stuff, was fun watching people go mad to a synth band.

The good:

• Macabre - First band I saw, still able to go hard despite them being ancient. Nice to tick them off the bucket list.
• 3 Inches of Blood - A mate said "If you close your eyes you can pretend it's Judas Priest". Great Heavy Metal set which the fest could do with a bit more of.
• Andy the Doorbum - Weird AF. Was more of an art performance than a set, just one guy doing a light show in a costume, then taking it off and ripping his own hair out and eating it while some dark folk/Americana style music played. Strangely moving.
• The Kovenent - Was a fan of these in my teens but haven't listened since. They stuck to material from the first 2 albums which was a nice blast from the past.
• Hanabie. - I was curious as to what "Harajuku-core" was and they were a lot of fun. Basically a J-Pop group playing hardcore/metalcore. Babymetal but not shit.
• Brujeria - Always good live, but with added relevance with their "Fuck Trump/ICE/facists" statements. Had a good laugh when the vocalist asked if anyone had any weed, then went into the crowd to get some. I've had Matando Gueros stuck in my head ever since.
• Priest - Fun, singalong synthwave. Worked the audience really well, had everyone dancing along.

I'll almost certainly be back next year, with the usual few days pinting it up in Prague beforehand.