Category: news

Hellfest 2026, Clisson, France. Thursday. Papa Roach’s Last Resort is still echoing across from the other main stage as the ultimate Metal showman, Alice Cooper, arrives on stage, top hat,  spinning a cane in his hand and a heavily medalled jacket. 

The sheer insanity of the packed sardine crowd for Roach gives way to a more breathable, appreciative crowd tempo. Opening with No More Mr Nice Guy, the massive high definition screens show every year of the six-piece band’s career writ across their faces.

Still loving the party, they delivered what long-time fans and those less deeply entwined with their traditional, theatrical, high-energy rock spectacle expected.

With many songs based on horror themes, this is a bloody affair. We are treated to Frankenstein in bloody overalls, and a strait-jacketed Alice breaking free and murdering a life-sized stuffed doll of a woman, who, in the next song, is seeking revenge.

Then, a real-life dancer/actress has Alice beheaded by a guillotine and parades the severed head around the stage. There is macabre humour too, with a photographer annoying each band member during Hey Stoopid being stabbed for his efforts and pulled off stage. 

The band are a mix of rock veterans and the younger, glamorous lead guitarist, Nita Strauss, an ace lead shredder. Ryan Roxie particularly stood out, providing some of the more complicated, technical playing underpinning the band’s rock anthem sound.

Visually striking moments for the band are provided when they present themselves in tableau, a neat use of theatre, each multi-guitarist pose iconic. 

The classic songs Poison and School’s Out go down a storm. Keeping it fresh, School’s Out blends in with Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2, which is a curious mash-up for the lovers of both bands.

The real surprise is finishing, not with an Alice Cooper song but Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. The crowd instantly connect and this leaves everyone buzzing as the legendary band and man take their bows from  the enthusiastic crowd, who know they have seen something unique that will not be there forever.

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HELLFEST 2026

Prepare to be consumed by the relentless energy of the most influential bands in Heavy Metal as they ignite the Hellfest stages with blistering performances. The immersive atmosphere of Clisson will immerse you in a dark, captivating experience like no other.

With its unparalleled lineup and unwavering commitment to the spirit of metal, Hellfest 2026 promises an unforgettable journey into the depths of sonic mayhem.

Read all the Heavy Metal News at MetalTalk.

MetalTalk Hellfest 2026 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2026.

This year’s MetalTalk team is:

Bogdan Bele

Sean Titley

Photography: 

Luke Vaughan

For Hellfest 2025, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2025.

For Hellfest 2024, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2024.

For Hellfest 2023, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2023.

For Hellfest 2022, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2022.

The post Alice Cooper Proves Nobody Does Shock Rock Better At Hellfest 2026 first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Hellfest 2026, Clisson, France. Thursday. Deep Purple are hard to fault. They start with Highway Star and they show why they are one of the most consistent institutions of rock music. Ever.

Is Gillan’s voice what it used to be? Of course it is not. But the man is 80 and still sounds very good. Also, new recruit Simon McBride (well, not that new) shows why they got him. He slots in impeccably and also has a beautiful solo moment at one point. He goes from feeling-driven to technical and shows you why he has the job.

Yes, Deep Purple extend the instrumental sections, maybe more than they should, to allow their singer to breathe, but that phenomenal rhythm section of Glover on bass and Paice on drums is a thing to behold. And so is that oh-so-characteristic for Purple Hammond organ tone, where Don Airey excels like the Jon Lord days.

And when Gillan comes in, like on Into The Fire, boy, does he come in. He even plays harmonica, with gusto, at one point.

They are not scared to go into the newer material. It ties in perfectly with the old and, furthermore. It is rather brave, since being a legacy act, with their history, it is not uncomfortable.

Is the crowd reaction ecstatic, with a mosh pit and the like? Of course it is not. But people of all ages listen carefully to one of the most legendary bands ever to exist. And no more is needed.

When they do When A Blind Man Cries, if you can fault this, you should not be here. This is one of the places where it all started. And when Gillan, who has 30 per cent eyesight, sings this, there is a poignancy to it that you can not be affected by.

Black Night and Smoke On The Water are at the end of the set. Deep Purple kick major ass. As they should do.

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HELLFEST 2026

Prepare to be consumed by the relentless energy of the most influential bands in Heavy Metal as they ignite the Hellfest stages with blistering performances. The immersive atmosphere of Clisson will immerse you in a dark, captivating experience like no other.

With its unparalleled lineup and unwavering commitment to the spirit of metal, Hellfest 2026 promises an unforgettable journey into the depths of sonic mayhem.

Read all the Heavy Metal News at MetalTalk.

MetalTalk Hellfest 2026 coverage can be found at https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2026.

This year’s MetalTalk team is:

Bogdan Bele

Sean Titley

Photography: 

Luke Vaughan

For Hellfest 2025, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2025.

For Hellfest 2024, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2024.

For Hellfest 2023, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2023.

For Hellfest 2022, visit https://www.metaltalk.net/tag/hellfest-2022.

The post Hellfest 2026 / Deep Purple Show Clisson That 80 Is Just A Number first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Swedish black metal titans Dark Funeral have announced the release of their long-awaited live album, A Beast To Praise, arriving worldwide on 21st August 2026 via Century Media Records. Captured at Fållan in Stockholm during 2022, the performance features an intense 13-track, 70-minute live set focusing heavily on material from their latest studio album, We … Continue reading Dark Funeral announce new live album ‘A Beast To Praise’ and share first video / single

(In late February the Greek doom metal band Distorted Reflection released their second full-length through Iron Shield Records, and that led our Comrade Aleks to contact the band’s founder and guitarist/vocalist Kostas Salomidis for an interview, which we are happy to share with you today.) Distorted Reflection was created by Kostas Salomidis, guitarist and co-founder […]

The post AN NCS INTERVIEW: DISTORTED REFLECTION appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Find out how you can enter to win a deluxe remastered Metallica 'Reload' box set. Continue reading…

Find out how you can enter to win a deluxe remastered Metallica 'Reload' box set. Continue reading…

A new Channel Tres single called “Black Techno Guy” is sort of like a new JPEGMAFIA album called Experimental Rap. Those are the dumbest and most obvious terms that we could use to describe these artists, but maybe those artists want to own those terms. On “Black Techno Guy,” Channel Tres chants, “I’m the Black techno guy, Black techno guy.” I guess he is!

The post Channel Tres – “Black Techno Guy” appeared first on Stereogum.

Album credits turn rock listening into a fuller record of creative work. A rock song is never just a lead singer, a guitar riff, and a title. Behind it stand producers, session musicians, recording engineers, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, songwriters, … Continue reading →

The post The Hidden Value of Liner Notes, Booklets, and Album Credits appeared first on DMME.net.

Waves In April guitarist and screamer Dierks Canada preps for two massive shows at Red Rocks and Rocklahoma and also shares details for the band's debut album. Continue reading…

About halfway through his new album Project X, there’s a moment on the “Dummy” intro where the reliably hard Memphis rap great Key Glock chants the famous intro drop from Tay Keith, the Memphis rap producer who was found dead yesterday. Tay Keith’s passing is a sudden shock, and “Dummy” is the first time since his death that I got ambushed by a new Tay Keith beat that I didn’t see coming. I’m sure that’ll happen a lot of times in the months ahead. It shouldn’t have caught me off-guard, but it made his passing hit that much harder. Tay Keith was good. “Dummy” is a good song.

The post Key Glock Releases Effortlessly Hard New Album <em>Project X</em> appeared first on Stereogum.