It’s finally here! The 2026 Decibel Magazine Tour starts tonight! Montréal death metal legends Cryptopsy (performing a special None So Vile 30th anniversary set), Bay Area bruisers Necrot, Texas heavy metal masters Spirit Adrift and D.C. deathgrinders Blood Monolith embark on Decibel’s 13th trek across North America! Dates and ticketing for the Decibel Magazine Tour 2026 can be found below.
Before their new album One officially drops tomorrow, Sevendust now stream a visualizer video for the last advance single titled “Construct”. Read more…
Belgium ensemble Emptiness is ready to return with their seventh studio album. Dubbed Nowhere Speaks, it will land in stores on July 17th 2026 via Season Of Mist. Read more…
Novacaine Festival Announce First Wave of Bands for 2026
As Everything Unfolds, Tropic Gold, TheCityIsOurs and FOXHAUNT confirmed Novacaine Festival has revealed the first wave of artists for its 2026 edition, signalling a major step forward for the fast-rising UK alternative event.
After a hugely successful debut on Saturday 4 October 2025, Novacaine Festival quickly established itself as a new platform within the UK alternative music scene. The inaugural event was headlined by The Five Hundred, with main support from Bleed Again, alongside a diverse line-up including DACRA, Night Thieves, Reckoner, Broken Empire, and local rising artists Reanimate, Our North, Dead Demons and Ocean Thieves. With the 2025 event coming close to selling out, the festival’s mission was clear from the outset: bring together established touring bands and emerging talent from across the UK while delivering an uncompromising live experience for fans.
Now, Novacaine Festival returns on Saturday 28 November 2026, raising the bar once again.
Headlining the event are post-hardcore heavyweights As Everything Unfolds. The band released their third studio album Did You Ask To Be Set Free earlier this year and continue to build momentum across the alternative scene, with major festival appearances already scheduled including Download Festival.
Joining them as sub-headliners are Tropic Gold, whose explosive rock ’n’ roll energy and rapidly growing fanbase make them a powerful addition to the bill.
Elsewhere, TheCityIsOurs and FOXHAUNT add further weight to the line-up, reinforcing Novacaine’s commitment to pairing established names with ambitious rising artists ready for bigger stages.
More acts will be announced in the coming months.
With strong momentum behind it, Novacaine Festival is quickly proving it is far more than a one-off success story — and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be its biggest yet.
Event organiser Scott O’Shea said:
“First, thank you to everyone who helped turn my dream of launching a music festival into a reality. Our debut show was an incredible night, and the support we’ve seen throughout 2026 has been beyond anything I imagined. None of this would have been possible without the bands, Corporation, and most importantly the fans who showed up and supported the event.
2026 will be the biggest show I’ve put together so far. The aim is not just to grow the festival but to keep creating opportunities for rising artists while giving something back to the community that helped build this. One of our biggest supporters last year was our 2025 compere, Robert Fulton-Hamilton. Rob brought huge energy to the night, introducing every band and conducting interviews throughout the event. Those interviews will feature in upcoming magazine releases, and I’m delighted he’ll be returning in 2026 as our official compere with RJFH Music.”
Tickets
Early Bird Wave 1 tickets are available now for £25, offering exceptional value for the line-up. Go towww.novacaine.co.uk/tickets. Fans can also access 3- and 5-month payment plans, available exclusively through ticketing partner Skiddle.
Partners & Sponsors
Novacaine Festival has also confirmed a strong roster of partners for 2026. For the first time, Skiddle joins as an official sponsor and exclusive ticketing partner, while tickets will also be available directly through The Corporation’s website for standard purchases.
The event returns to The Corporation, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, marking a major milestone for one of the UK’s most established independent live music venues.
Returning sponsors include SaN PR, who have worked alongside Novacaine LTD since 2019, continuing their role in supporting emerging artists and expanding the festival’s media reach.
Official photography will again be handled by Start The Penguin Photography and Mason D Jones, while festival media coverage will come from FestPod, with additional support from The Razors Edge.
With their 15th studio album ‘ONE‘ arriving tomorrow, GRAMMY® Award–nominated metal icons SEVENDUST unleash ‘Construct‘, the final track to be released ahead of the album’s worldwide debut. Comprised of Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar), John Connolly (guitar), Vince Hornsby (bass), and Morgan Rose (drums), the band once again delivers the signature sound that has earned […]
(Andy Synn is here to guide you on a journey… into the woodland realm) There are lots of different factors one can use to analyse, criticise, and appraise a band… ambition, execution, innovation, intention. But the one that’s more important than any of them – in my opinion, at least – is passion. And make […]
Ricky Warwick and his band The Fighting Hearts materialise at Brighton Concorde as part of their tour to promote their latest album Blood Ties. Support comes from Terrorvision singer Tony Wright.
Ricky Warwick’s name being attached to any project has, over the years, become a guarantee of musical quality, and his current album Blood Ties is no exception, being a slab of rip-roaring classic rock featuring a sizeable dollop of essence of Thin Lizzy. Ricky and the Fighting Hearts’ walk-on music is Edwin Starr’s War, a sadly apt tune for the times that we live in.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
However, we came here to rock, and that is what the band do from the get-go, with a storming version of Rise And Grind from Blood Ties. Ricky does not ignore his past by any means, though, and as early as the second song, we get The Almighty’s Jonestown Mind.
Over the years, Ricky seems to have worked with just about everybody who’s anybody. Celebrating Sinking, for example, written with Therapy?’s Andy Cairns. Delving a little way into the past again, we also get The Black Star Riders’ Another State Of Grace, which unsurprisingly features some very Lizzy-esque dual lead guitar.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Meanwhile, Three Sides To Every Story, from Ricky’s Tattoos & Alibis album, provides some food for thought, the three sides being “yours, mine and the truth.”
There is no doubt that Ricky Warwick is a very busy and indeed prolific artist. Blood Ties was released in March 2025, but the band play Fire And Vengeance, the title track of a new album due to be released in September.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Does this man never rest? In addition to his work with The Fighting Hearts, he will be playing with The Almighty during the summer, on the bill for Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary bash at Knebworth in July, together with the Maid Of Stone festival a week later.
Ricky does, however, have time to impart some wisdom to us. He tells us that writing songs is a bit like keeping a diary. This is before playing Angels Of Desolation, which could well be about drinking.
Ricky has been dry for several years now, as has guitarist Ben Christo. To be fair, both of them are excellent adverts for giving up the demon drink.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Schwaben Redoubt is a standout song in the set, and is also one of the most untypical Ricky Warwick songs. It is about the futility of war and sounds like a heavy rock version of The Pogues. The song is beyond excellent, both in substance and sentiment, and somebody should sit Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (and that Netanyahu guy too) down and make them listen to it.
Another Black Star Riders song, Finest Hour, was playlisted on Radio 2. Ricky’s mother’s response was, “I see you have a proper job now.”
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Towards the end of the set, they play a very authentic cover of Motörhead’s Iron Fist in tribute to guitarist Phil Campbell, who passed away recently. Proceedings then draw to a close with The Almighty’s Free ‘n’ Easy.
This has been effectively a masterclass in how classic rock should be played and presented by an artist with an absolutely terrific back catalogue, thus ensuring a brilliant set.
Ricky Warwick And The Fighting Hearts – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
There was space for more people at Concorde. It is imperative that excellent shows like tonight’s are supported, otherwise bands simply will not play. You have been warned.
Tony Wright
I was somewhat unsure about what to expect from Tony Wright. I must confess I was completely unaware that he had a solo career, notwithstanding the fact that he has released four albums.
Tony has been intending to play an acoustic tour since COVID, but it has repeatedly been cancelled for various reasons. So this support tour is something of a realisation of a dream. Tony is on acoustic guitar, mostly playing rhythm, and he is accompanied by Terrorvision guitarist Milton ‘Milly’ Evans, also on acoustic, who mostly plays lead. Milly also has a pedal which triggers an electronic bass drum.
Tony Wright – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Their playing is really rather impressive, with Nothing To Write Home About featuring dual lead acoustic guitar. You do not hear that every day. Tony’s lyrics, and indeed his between-song banter, are very witty. This guy could, and maybe should, do stand-up.
The Blues is “a true story” made up by Tony. It’s “about how shit life can be when you’re lucky.” I’ll take his word for it. Another song is about a guy who reaches 100, and when asked about the secret behind his longevity, says, “drinking a half bottle of scotch and smoking 20 tabs a day.”
It should be noted that these are not necessarily the views of the reviewer.
Tony Wright – Concorde, Brighton – 28 April 2026. Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Naturally, we get a Terrorvision song, just the one. Friends And Family offers a wonderful opportunity for some audience participation, as Tony and Milly sing “there’s a party over there,” and we respond with “fuck you over there.”
Everybody likes a good swear, I suppose, and in public it feels ever so slightly naughty. Their short set just whizzes by, but there is no denying that it is top entertainment. Indeed, so much so that I buy one of Tony’s CDs, so he must have been good.
Folk metal collective Trollfest proudly announce the signing of a new contract with German label Reaper Entertainment. New music coming soon. Stay tuned. Read more…
Spring was in full swing for a while there, but now I have the heat back on and I’m bringing my plants indoors every other night. I sure wish I had some sick name-your-price releases that could save me some money AND help me work through my ineffectual annoyance with the weather…
As luck would have it, that’s exactly what we have in store for this edition of Cheap Thrills. These albums won’t solve your first-world problems, but you’ll probably feel better about yourself after supporting underground metal!
There’s plenty of heavy metal influence on this hard-riffing debut from Italian black metal trio Moon Wisdom, making it a surprisingly fun and diverse listen. “As Rain” leads the charge with a series of galloping melodies that plunge into the fray with swords held aloft. I usually don’t like my black metal to be particularly clean and/or catchy, but I found it hard to argue with that earworm main riff and how the band keeps finding new ways to recontextualize it throughout the track. Then we have the album’s centerpiece: the mid-paced blackened ballad “Frozen Soul” (not to be confused with Texan death metal band of the same name), which draws equally from the epic Hellenic sound of the 90s and the misty neofolk textures that ruled the Cascades in the 00’s. Among the releases in this month’s column, Let Water Flow is probably the furthest outside my wheelhouse, but maybe it’s a sign that I should try to have more fun with my black metal.
Stop me if you’ve heard me say this before, but there’s a new one-man project worth following! Hostile’s debut LP is a misanthropic, blackened maelstrom that really means business. Hell, the very first track on this thing clocks in at 13:37, and while this relentless opener won’t make you any better at Counterstrike 1.6, it may flay the skin right off your bones–and that’ll probably make your hands that much lighter and more aerodynamic, right? One of my favorite tracks, “Knives of the Night,” dials back the tempo and cranks up the gain on damn near every instrument to create a crackling haze laced with haunting guitar melodies and indecipherable chants. Mr. Hostile, AKA Sommeil, really has something special going on with this project.
Wouldn’t you know it—this is also the work of a solo musician. But what sets Bridge of Sacrifice apart from the rest of the releases in this month’s column is that it’s absolutely baffling. Theo Zhykharyev initially conceived Powerplant as a synth-punk band, and while this release is very much built upon that punky foundation, Bridge of Sacrifice also sees Zhykharyev experimenting with black metal in a serious way. Well, maybe serious is the wrong word, as there is definitely an endearing campiness to the whole package, similar to what you might find on an unrelated label whose name is synonymous with “muck rock.” But it’s that cheese-factor that keeps me coming back to tracks like “Bad Moon Motel,” which opens with languid, warbly singing shadowed by drunken slide guitar and vampiric rasps that hint at the coming darkness. Halfway through, you’re suddenly teleported from the counter of a dingy lobby bar to a Castlevania level, complete with flying Gorgon heads and fire-breathing dragon statues. The paintings on the wall are trying to kill you and these tiny hunchbacks are leaping about maddeningly. Then, before you know it, you’re back to nursing your drink, blinking in the dim light of the bar, unsure if that was all a dream.
I swear this one isn’t from a solo musician, but our story starts with one. Hear me out!
The other day, I was sitting around and idly thinking to myself, “What happened to Autonoesis: that one-man tech-y blackened thrash band from a few years back?” I got to Googling, and it turned out that Tyler Lidstone, the lone member of Autonoesis, had since joined up with a merry band of fellow sci-fi thrashers to form Slave Agent. Silent Universe is their second album, and despite the relentless tempos and wanton shredding that drive each track into hyperspace, there is an impressive amount of melody—enough to catch your ear just before you are atomized in the event horizon.
Speaking of projects that I forgot about, why did no one tell me that Potion released new material—a few years ago? Damn it, I’m even later to this one!
Anyway, this is as good an excuse as any to introduce you to Potion. The California trio plays some of the most insane grindcore you’re likely to hear on this plane of reality. The combination of agonized howls, knifelike atonality, and firecracker percussion is utterly nonsensical and, to be honest, somewhat headache-inducing, but it makes for such a unique auditory experience that I can’t help but respect it. The folks in Failure Addict ain’t chumps either—over on side B, their note avalanches are slightly less manic but still unhinged and ear-splitting in the best (worst) ways. Blast from your car stereo or backyard Bluetooth speaker and you are guaranteed to ruin someone’s day.
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard from Hey, ily. The off-kilter emo-pop project of Montana-bred, Twin Cities-based Caleb Haynes released their sophomore album Hey, I Loathe You! back in 2024, and today they’ve returned with a new pair of singles. “Ugly On The Inside (& Out)” is probably the biggest-sounding song we’ve heard…
