The organizers behind Damnation Festival aren’t messing about this year. They’ve just pulled the curtain back on a massive wave of bands for the 2026 edition, and it’s looking like a proper essential weekend for anyone with a taste for the heavier side of life. Swedish post-metal titans Cult of Luna are set to headline … Continue reading Cult of Luna and Satyricon to headline “strongest” Damnation Festival line-up yet
DAMNATION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCE THEIR STRONGEST LINE UP TO DATE!
Cult of Luna, Satyricon, Carcass, Igorrr, Crowbar and Triptykon will perform at the deepest and strongest Damnation yet.
Swedish post metal masters Cult of Luna will headline Saturday while Norwegian black metal legends Satyricon’s will close the festival with a UK exclusive performance on the Sunday.
English death metal icons Carcass, French experimentalists Igorrr, US sludge stalwarts Crowbar and Swiss extreme metallers Triptykon also top the most impressive Damnation line-up to date.
They’ll join the likes of Health, Walls of Jericho, Eyehategod and Wolves In The Throne Room at BEC Arena, Manchester, on November 7 and 8.
With more than half the tickets already sold, the festival is set for a sell out in record time.
Organiser Gavin McInally said:
“We promised ticket buyers who supported us early that we would repay that faith with the strongest line-up we could pull together. Promises made. Promises kept.
“All six of these bands could headline Damnation without raising an eyebrow so to have them all play the same year is obscene, nevermind alongside the likes of Health, Eyehategod and Wolves In The Throne Room.
“Incredibly, we have another 19 bands to come and those are all gems too.”
He added:
“If there’s any justice in our music scene, Damnation will sell out today, so please grab your phone, alert your friends and make sure that they don’t miss out on the metal weekend of the year.”
This year has already kicked off in thrash-tastic fashion. We’ve seen new releases from the likes of Megadeth, Exodus, and Kreator, with Anthrax and more on the way. A quick check of my thrash bingo card shows that, by the end of the year, at least half of the “Big 4”1 will have dropped new records, with many of the honorable-mention heavyweights joining the fray. While we wait for the next boot to drop, we turn our attention to Würzburg, Germany’s Zerre, one of modern thrash’s promising upstarts. Their debut, Scorched Souls, was a Metallica-meets-Municipal Waste slab of old-school aggression loaded with crossover, beer-chugging grooves. Taking the foundations of their debut, Rotting on a Golden Throne finds Zerre tearing through nine tracks with a sharpened sense of purpose—more aggressive, more political, and more sadistic than its predecessor. And let me tell you, it delivers in spades. I hope you’re thirsty for some tallboys, because thrash is still on the menu.
Forging their songwriting into material that’s meaner, tighter, and far more assured, Rotting on a Golden Throne shines with the violently tempered alloy of classic thrash and modern crossover’s street-level grit that never lets its energy wane. Heavily steeped in Municipal Waste’s party chaos and …And Justice for All’s rapid, surgical picking, Zerre also imbues the album with Power Trip’s coarseness, Anthrax’s stomping swagger (“Killing Taste”) and the frantic wails of Slayer (“No Alibi,” “Deception of the Weak”). Riffs hit in relentless waves, with raw aggression spilling over into massive, replay-ready grooves, while strategically placed interludes are woven directly into the album’s 40-minute runtime rather than sliced off as filler (“Mental Vacation,” “Rotting on a Golden Throne”). This smart choice gives Rotting on a Golden Throne a more cohesive flow and breaks up the record’s accelerated attack just enough to keep things elastic. Zerre delivers it all seamlessly, with a dialed‑up piss‑and‑vinegar attitude that hits you right between the eyes.
Neck-snapping riffs abound on Rotting on a Golden Throne, driven by Zerre’s full-throttle dual axe attack of Dominik Bertelt and Rocco Lepore. The two throw their weight around effortlessly with hyperspeed picking mixed with trilling, power cord syncopations, whammy dives, and a metric ton of technical solos. After the “Battery”-inspired acoustic intro, “Pigs will be Pigs” fires the first shot with blistering runs that give way to a soaring melodic solo, while “Deception of the Weak” counters with sharp twin harmonies and nimble hammer‑ons and pull‑offs. Even the slower approach of “Concrete Hell” packs a punch and “Tin God” seals the deal with a squealing, tapping frenzy that illustrates how purposefully Zerre uses solos—coupled with keen songwriting—to drive the record’s peaks. The Nordic folk lick stretching out into intertwining leads in “Mental Vacation” is also a pleasant surprise, as is the power metal riff in the self-titled track, proving that when these guys branch out of their comfort zone, they do so tastefully and with restraint rather than veering off into left field.
Vocalist Nick Ziska2 brings a feral edge to Zerre’s sound. His performance swings between Tom Araya‑styled screams (“No Alibi”) and a Riley Gale-esque snarling mid‑range, anchoring Rotting on a Golden Throne’s songs with a serrated bark that sounds abrasive and weathered, yet still clear enough to slice through the chaos. Zerre’s songwriting leans heavily on gang vocals, and while they’re a clear fallback move, they inject a sense of rowdy fun that magnifies Ziska’s lyrics and makes the choruses instantly hooky. Ziska takes the lead, and the rest of the crew pile in behind him, creating shout-along moments that demand listener participation. Lyrically, Rotting on a Golden Throne sticks to thrash’s customary grievances—anti-police sentiment, prison system disdain and broad political ire—but these tropes feel less like a crutch and more like part of the total package, reinforcing the album’s scrappy, kinetic energy.
Talking about this album in the staff lounge, our resident Reaper categorized Rotting on a Golden Throne as one of the best straight-up thrash records of the year so far, and I couldn’t agree more. Detractors may point to Zerre’s stylistic touchstones as a mere recombination of established genre language, and while they wouldn’t be wrong, I don’t care. Zerre has dropped an album that embodies everything I want my thrash to be. Rotting on a Golden Throne is bursting with energy, aggression, groove, and a sense of unfiltered fun. It’s a combination that’s hard to find in today’s thrash metal landscape, and it’s one that’s worth raising a beer for.
By the late ‘60s, The Guess Who, led by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, were riding high. They had a few hits and were making their way over to the U.K. to bring their brand of hot-blooded, Les Paul-driven rock to the masses. Of course, the British Invasion had already taken place, meaning American groups like The Guess Who were, more or less, bringing up the rear, not that they cared. “We were very unaware at the time,” Bachman tells ClassicRockHistory.com. “I mean, I spent my money reading about The Beatles, The Stones, and The Shadows from England, but I
Coming hot on the heels of the remaster of No Place To Run, the ninth UFO album, The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent, now has the attention. Expanded, remastered from the original tape transfers, and reissued on double CD and triple vinyl, the boxset also includes a new mix of the Hammersmith Odeon show from 29 January 1981. One MetalTalk reader can win a CD Boxset, too, so read on.
With respect to the George Martin produced predecessor, The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent album is just so much better. For me, it is as consistent an album as you can get. Eight quality tracks that flow neatly, beautifully melodic yet still retaining the hard edge that had seen the band hit the heights in the ’70s.
Released in January 1981, The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent saw the band base themselves in London and use three studios to produce the record themselves. Paul Raymond had departed to join former guitarist Michael Schenker in MSG, and into his place stepped Neil Carter.
UFO – Phil Mogg reflects on Deluxe 2026 remaster of The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent, out 1 May 2026 via Chrysalis Records.
According to my recent chat with singer Phil Mogg, Neil played on more of the album than the rumours stated, with it being alleged that engineer Gary Edwards’ brother played most of the keys. Regardless, it is a superb album that showcases Paul ‘Tonka’ Chapman’s quality, probably the finest record of his career and certainly his best with UFO.
Opener Chains Chains kicks things off with a swagger, Chapman’s riff complimented by the thick low-end of Pete Way whilst Andy Parker continues to demonstrate his solidity on drums. Phil is on fine form from the start, with the band’s use of harmonies creating memorable choruses.
Long Gone and the title track follow, clever use of keyboards giving a lush, layered sound that moved slightly away from the heavier rock style on Obsession and Lights Out. The title track is a favourite of mine, although it is Making Moves that is the track from the album played live, making its final appearance at Beatbox in Hannover in June 2022.
Showing their versatility throughout, Lonely Heart is one of the more heavily emotionally charged songs on the album, with Neil Carter adding some inspired saxophone which adds a veritable change of style.
And of course, there is also Tonka’s best solo on the magnificent Profession Of Violence, named after the 1972 book about the Krays. One of the best rock ballads of all time, it is a track that I did not think had ever made it live, although Phil was adamant it had been played (he could not remember where, though!). It is a true fan favourite and still sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it.
Added to this release are the two seven-inch versions of Couldn’t Get It Right and Lonely Heart as well as an outtake of It’s Killing Me, which rounds out the first part nicely.
UFO – The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent – “It was really refreshing to hear after we did No Place To Run with Paul.”
Then we get to the live cut, and it is a stonker. Recorded at Hammersmith Odeon on 29 January 1981, this is UFO with Paul and Neil in full flow and demonstrates the power the band brought to bring their classic sound.
Three tracks from the new album are followed by a slew of classics.
There are the staples that formed the backbone of their live set for four decades, including the extended versions of Lights Out and Rock Bottom, but it is also great to hear Long Gone, Chains Chains and Lonely Heart kick things off.
There is a slight croak to Phil’s vocals as the set progresses, but it is hardly surprising, given the amount of touring the band had done around this time. So, whilst we have heard many of these songs many times before, I never tire of listening to Shoot Shoot, Cherry or Doctor Doctor, especially when the band is clearly in one of its most cohesive phases.
Live, they were phenomenal, and this live recording once again demonstrates what a fantastic band UFO were. They remain much missed by me and many other fans across the world.
This updated version is a fine record of a time when they were still a hugely potent force in the world of heavy rock.
UFO The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent (2026 Remaster – Deluxe Edition) is released on double CD and 3LP on 1 May 2026 on Chrysalis Records. Order link: https://ufo.lnk.to/TWTWATI.
If you live in the UK and wish to win a CD boxset of The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent, answer the following question in an email to comp@MetalTalk.net:
Neil Carter joined UFO in 1981 from which band?
The draw will take place at 4pm on Friday 10 April 2026.
This year has already kicked off in thrash-tastic fashion. We’ve seen new releases from the likes of Megadeth, Exodus, and Kreator, with Anthrax and more on the way. A quick check of my thrash bingo card shows that, by the end of the year, at least half of the “Big 4”1 will have dropped new records, with many of the honorable-mention heavyweights joining the fray. While we wait for the next boot to drop, we turn our attention to Würzburg, Germany’s Zerre, one of modern thrash’s promising upstarts. Their debut, Scorched Souls, was a Metallica-meets-Municipal Waste slab of old-school aggression loaded with crossover, beer-chugging grooves. Taking the foundations of their debut, Rotting on a Golden Throne finds Zerre tearing through nine tracks with a sharpened sense of purpose—more aggressive, more political, and more sadistic than its predecessor. And let me tell you, it delivers in spades. I hope you’re thirsty for some tallboys, because thrash is still on the menu.
