Liverpool's No Play Festival are delighted to announce their 2026 headliner, the legendary Stick To Your Guns, alongside seven more of the best underground rock and hardcore bands in the scene today.
Alongside Stick To Your Guns, No Play will showcase Las Vegas hardcore troupe Roman Candle, Pennsylvania hardcore band Fools Game, Malignant Methods, Safeguard, Dormant, Sunday Best, and Invasion.
Five stages. No Barriers. No Play 2026 will be a day to remember.
Held in Liverpool City Centre on 5th September, No Play Festival tickets are currently £62.85, inclusive of fees. Ticket options include a monthly payment plan, where you can pay in four instalments.
Purchase from: noplayfestival.gigantic.com
Full line-up so far:
Stick To Your Guns
Spy
Pest Control
Roman Candle
Spaced
Liquid Mike
Last Wishes
Bodyweb
Fools Game
Dry Socket
Dormant
Heads Above
Imissyoualready
Invasion
Jetski
Malignant Methods
Nylon
Pale Sailor
Safeguard
Sunday Best
Victims of Life
Witherhorde
Held across five stages in the heart of Liverpool, the no barrier No Play 2026 is one not to miss. Highlights include stage five, the Guillotine Stage held in the Jacaranda Basement - a stage which takes its name from No Play's monthly local showcase. A variety of homegrown talent, discovered through the Guillotine Sessions, will be performing on this stage throughout the day.
Stage four, the Best Life Records Stage, at Kazimier Stockroom, will be a takeover from Liverpool's Best Life Records, showcasing their roster alongside upcoming UK talent.
No Play founder Ted MacDonald comments: “We’re pretty excited about the new stage setup this year! No barriers all day is something we’ve wanted to do since we started, it’s how this music is meant be experienced. The fest has really grown over the last few years and to have the two biggest stages in Arts Club running back to back as well - it’s gonna go off!”
Now in its fourth year, No Play Festival is fast becoming one of the best-kept secrets in the UK heavy calendar. Previous iterations of the festival have included Glare, Higher Power, Vukovi, Guilt Trip, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Heriot, and Split Chain - a raucously fun DIY event that puts Liverpool on the map.
The team behind No Play have been working as a collective in the Liverpool scene for over a decade. No Play Festival is a proudly independent, affordable metro-fest, that aims to showcase local talent alongside rising acts and acclaimed artists, both UK and international.
Stay tuned for more.
For more:
https://www.noplay.uk/festival
https://www.instagram.com/noplayfest
Photo Credit: Brocarde
Solo artist and ghost whisperer Brocarde unleashes her explosive new single ‘Seven Sins’, featuring Ray Luzier (Korn) on drums, after teasing one deadly sin per day in the build-up to its release. This is the second single taken from her debut album, Good Attendence At Sunday School, on 5th June 2026.
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/X5lJ_t7xHbg
Pre-order Good Attendence At Sunday School here: https://brocardemerch.com/products/good-attendance-aot-sunday-school-vinyl
Brocarde commented on the single: “'Seven Sins' is about the seven deadly sins of a relationship, the phases of love and passion, how somebody can provoke every emotion that you have to give. Each sin is represented with a different energy and emotion state, it’s supposed to be a journey through every chamber of your soul. The journey starts with lust and captures those few magical sparks of love, from falling to falling out, I poured every emotion I had into it and it still somehow leaves you yearning for more.”
Ray Luzier comments on Brocarde: “I love Brocarde’s very unique vocal style & vibe.. she has mass aggression to sweetness & everything in between in her voice! The very interesting song arrangements & theatrical segments make the whole package a dynamic, fun adventure to listen to. I see great things ahead for her!”
Released of the course of the past week, you can watch the individual sins here:
Sin one, lust - https://youtu.be/myPqZhrbX4w
Sin two, greed - https://youtu.be/umjreRoh5kU
Sin three, gluttony - https://youtu.be/HpKrfxQDAtU
Sin four, sloth - https://youtu.be/BSF_IXQg8Ig
Sin five, wrath - https://youtu.be/QcR1hKsdfSA
Sin six, envy - https://youtu.be/4fgAXtAKzNA
Sin seven, pride - https://youtu.be/VFeW-H2OdWY
Famed for marrying a ghost following a near death experience, Brocarde's musical and visual work is a true reflection as as mind-bending as her life story. Ten years in the making, debut album Good Attendence At Sunday School is a collection of her most heartfelt songs; a musical story book of colourful emotions and experiences that have made her the woman she is today.
On the album, she continues: "Good Attendance At Sunday School is more than just an album, this is the storyboard to my life, the pain and heartache poured into it is immeasurable and I’ve struggled endless to let it go and move forward. To the outside world I may just be another self indulgent new artist with a record to sell but this record has saved me over and over again and I do not know what my life would be or where I would be without it. Over ten years ago, I embarked on this crazy journey, in many ways I was a lost, broken child, a ball of angst and anxiety, in some ways I’m still that child, moments recently are all too real and I’ve found myself lost in a world of emotion. Over the years I’ve struggled with articulating who I am and what I feel, these songs have allowed me to do that."
Brocarde is the creator of an enchanting world where dark, haunting aesthetics meet passion-fuelled lyrics and design. Brocarde is a dynamic storyteller who marries both music and fashion in an orchestral explosion, designed to make the ears and eyes bleed. A onewoman horror story, if centuries aligned, Brocarde could almost be the secret lovechild of Edgar Allan Poe and Sylvia Plath.
Brocarde arrived on the music scene in 2019 presenting her debut single 'Last Supper'. She was hailed as “One to Watch” by Planet Rock Magazine, and secured airplay on Kerrang!, Planet Rock and BBC Introducing.
Since then, Brocarde has gone on to gain the praise of some of rock music’s biggest stars, with Whitesnake’s David Coverdale hailing her as an “electrifying, creative new artist” and describing her as “powerful stuff!” Brocarde’s follow-up single, 'Love Me ’Til I’m Beautiful', featured drums by Korn’s Ray Luzier described her writing as a dynamic, theatrical adventure and hailed her as a future star.
Brocarde recently experienced life outside of our dimension, when she found herself being introduced to the spirit world. One dark, stormy night when she was struggling to sleep Brocarde was visited by Edwardo, the ghost of a Victorian soldier. Edwardo wooed Brocarde, and after a short whirlwind romance the couple tied the knot on Halloween 2022.
This lead to appearances on ITV’s This Morning, Say Yes To The Dress and a regular paranormal column in The Daily Star. Following their divorce six months later, she made an appearance on First Dates on Channel 4.
Last year Brocarde’s world of horror and music collided when she was invited to do a ghost hunt at Download Festival, and she travelled to Germany to conduct a special seance in memory of Lemmy of Motörhead at Wacken Open Air.
Brocarde online:
https://brocarde.com
https://www.instagram.com/brocarde
https://www.tiktok.com/@brocarde
YouTube.com/@thebrocardeshow
Track list:
01 Identity Theft
02 Feed My Soul ft. Ray Luzier
03 Last Supper
04 Haunted
05 F*ck You Anthem
06 Pandora's Box
07 Seven Sins ft. Ray Luzier
08 F.E.M.I.N.I.S.T
09 Blank Pages
Colombia’s Poison The Preacher have never cared much for genre boundaries. Since emerging from Bogotá’s underground with a volatile blend of thrash, hardcore, death metal and Latin-infused aggression, the quartet have rapidly built a reputation as one of South America’s most exciting heavy exports and with their forthcoming EP Things I Want, due 17th July via Seek and Strike, they sound ready to kick the doors off entirely.
First single 'Chicken Out' arrives as the perfect introduction to the EP’s sharper, heavier direction. Serving as the emotional core of the EP it's a song vocalist/guitarist Juan Pablo Carrera describes as his most personal writing to date. Built around regret, fear and emotional self-sabotage, the track explores how the fear of vulnerability can destroy something meaningful before it ever truly begins.
“I was so afraid of falling in love and felt that I wasn’t good enough for her,” he says. “I was so afraid of being hurt that I didn’t want to get involved emotionally and ultimately that was the mistake that ruined everything. The song really speaks to this regret. I now want to convey the simple message to love as much as you can. It’s better to try than to live with the regret of not trying.”
Watch the video for 'Chicken Out' here: https://youtu.be/KRhxnVcI7Dc
Mixed and mastered by Charles Toshio (Sunami, Big Boy, Spy, Gulch), Things I Want pushes Poison The Preacher beyond straightforward crossover worship into something far more personal and explosive.
“We started working on these songs as soon as we finished writing our debut album, Vs The World, and these songs just came naturally to us,” explains vocalist/guitarist Juan Pablo Carrera. “This new EP is easily the next step for us, a real evolution towards a more definitive and unique sound. It’s more refined, aggressive, harder and heavier. We are pulling inspiration from all over the place and this is a more accurate representation of all our influences.”
That refusal to stay in one lane has become central to the band’s identity. Poison The Preacher’s sound crashes together pit-starting hardcore grooves, razorwire thrash riffs, death metal violence and moments of unexpected melody and atmosphere, music designed equally for hardcore kids and metalheads. “This is metal made for hardcore kids, but this is also hardcore made for metal-heads,” says Carrera. “With this new release, those lines between genres have blurred more and more.”
While Things I Want hits with all the violence fans have come to expect, its thematic focus digs far deeper. Inspired by obsession, ambition and unattainable dreams, the EP’s striking artwork features a mutilated Daruma doll, traditionally a Japanese symbol of perseverance and fulfilled goals, with one eye violently torn away.
“The EP talks about broken dreams, toxic purposes, things that you would give your entire life to, but they may never become true,” Carrera explains. “It’s a testament to obsession and ambition, in both a good and a bad way. It’s okay to have a purpose, to have a dream that you want with all your heart, but you can’t let it consume you and destroy your life.”
That emotional honesty arrives at a pivotal moment for the band. Their 2025 debut album Vs The World earned widespread praise across the metal press for its explosive collision of crossover thrash, hardcore and Colombian musical identity, with critics highlighting the band’s ferocity, musicianship and refusal to sound like anyone else. Publications including Metal Hammer, Distorted Sound, Metal Temple and Dead Rhetoric praised the band’s ability to merge old-school crossover intensity with modern heaviness and distinctly Latin American influences, while their live reputation has continued to grow through shows alongside acts including Suffocation, Agnostic Front, In Flames and Overkill.
Now, with Things I Want, Poison The Preacher are preparing to take that momentum worldwide. The band will spend July touring across Europe, including appearances at both Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme Festival, landmark moments for a band becoming one of Colombia’s most vital heavy exports.
“It’s a huge achievement for us to be the first Colombian band to be directly booked by Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme,” says Carrera. “The live show is the most important part for us. The energy is different, it’s going to make you love us or love us even more.”
If Vs The World introduced Poison The Preacher as a rising force, Things I Want feels like the sound of a band fully kicking into overdrive, more dangerous, more ambitious and more emotionally fearless than ever before.
EUROPE & UK: UNDEAD TIME SUMMER TOUR 2026
01-04.07 Obscene Extreme, CZ
05.07 Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Flying Circus
06.07 Bucharest, RO @ Expirat
10.07 Trnje, SI @ Trnje Festival
11.07 Maribor, SI @ Dvorana Gustaf
12.07 Graz, AT @ Wakuum
14.07 Nuremberg, DE @ TBA
15.07 Basel, CH @ Quarterdeck
16.07 Charleroi, BE @ MCP Apache
17.07 Antwerp, BE @ Music City
18.07 Monheim, DE @ Sojus 7
19.07 Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ MK Bar
20.07 London, UK @ Helgi’s Bar
22.07 Manchester, UK @ Star and Garter
23.07 Newcastle, UK @ Trillians
24.07 Burnley, UK @ Sanctuary
25.07 Glasgow, UK @ Ivory Blacks
29.07 Wacken, DE
with more dates still to be announced.
For more:
https://www.facebook.com/poisonthepreacher
https://www.instagram.com/poisonthepreacher
https://linktr.ee/PoisonThePreacher
Track-list:
1. Things I Want ft Speed
2. Last Time I've Seen The Sun
3. Ran Out Of Options
4. Chicken Out
Photo Credit: Antariksh
Indian prog rockers Antariksh has unveiled their new single 'Iltija' featuring guitar virtuoso Jack Gardiner, the latest track taken from their up coming album, Rehguzar.
Watch the video for 'Iltija' here: https://youtu.be/zvtWafVrYzg
Stream here: https://hypeddit.com/antariksh-jack-gardiner/iltija
Speaking about the track, Varun Rajput, frontman and producer of Antariksh commented: “'Ever since I wrote and composed 'Iltija', I knew the song needed a guest guitar solo - someone who could bring a completely new colour and dimension to it, but also break the track wide open, because that’s exactly what that section of the song demanded. I was looking for a guitarist with exceptional phrasing, dynamics and a deep musical vocabulary. Having followed Jack Gardiner’s work and been a fan of it for nearly five years, I felt he was the perfect fit. I reached out to him through our mutual friend Karan Mehta and voila: he responded instantly and graciously agreed to play on the track. And, boy - did he deliver? It’s an absolute monster of a solo!!!”
After a successful US Tour, which included a show with Jack Gardiner, and continuing the emotional journey of their upcoming concept album Rehguzar, New Delhi-based, genre-defying rock act Antariksh presents 'Iltija'. A deeply introspective, yet expansive rock anthem featuring globally acclaimed modern, fusion guitarist Jack Gardiner, this track makes a hat-trick of global guitar collaborations for Antariksh, following Marty Friedman and Jakub Zytecki.
Antariksh will release their new album Rehguzar in 2026.
Antariksh is the sound of a new India, bold, relentless, and boundary-defying. Founded by composer-producer Varun Rajput, the band blends the raw energy of rock music with the soul of Hindustani and Carnatic music, layered with modern pop and electronic textures.
Since its inception in 2012, Antariksh has performed over 1,200 shows across India and internationally, been featured on SoundChk Season 1 & 2 by Salim-Sulaiman, and collaborated with global icons like Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) & Jakub Żytecki. Featured by platforms such as BBC Asian Network, MTV, Metal Injection, The Guardian, and The Hindu, the band has won multiple awards, including Best Rock Act at The Artist Aloud and The Indian Music Diaries Awards.
Antariksh online:
https://www.instagram.com/antariksh_official
https://www.facebook.com/Antariksh.Music
Jack Gardiner and Antariksh
Swedish post-rock duo Oh Hiroshima have unveiled their powerful new single, ‘Exit Cloud’, the final preview of their forthcoming album And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter, set for release on 5th June via Pelagic Records. Suspended between crushing weight and fragile beauty, ‘Exit Cloud’ unfolds as a slow-burning meditation on loss, longing and impermanence; its towering waves of distortion pierced by moments of aching stillness and spectral calm.
Stream 'Exit Cloud' here and pre-order And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter: https://orcd.co/ohhiroshima-atdtgns
Speaking on the track, the band share: “The ending of this song is probably the most massive we’ve ever sounded. I like how the track keeps growing and shifting all the way through, with the church organ and saxophone moving in and out of the song.”
Oh Hiroshima have built a reputation for transforming introspection into vast, cinematic sound. The Swedish band has spent the better part of the last decade refining a musical language that balances fragility with overwhelming emotional force. Their music exists in the space where atmosphere, melody and gradual intensity converge, where hushed textures evolve patiently into towering waves of sound. With each release, the group has deepened their identity as one of the genre’s most evocative and emotionally resonant voices.
And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter continues Oh Hiroshima’s pursuit to refine the balance between vulnerability and power. At the core of their sound lies a delicate interplay between restraint and release. Their compositions carefully cultivate tension, letting each layer unfold organically: chiming guitars, distant reverberations, and minimal rhythmic pulses that feel suspended in air, all contrast against the heavily drenched power they can unleash. Whether the passage be titanic or still, Oh Hiroshima establish a sense of openness and emotional ambiguity, allowing listeners to settle into the sonic landscape as the music works its slow ascent.
Commenting on the album, the band state: “The album title And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter is taken from T. S. Eliot’s epic poem The Waste Land. For this album, the dead tree works as a metaphor for ways of living that drain the world of meaning and offer no real way of navigating the hardships of life. We are living in a time when it has become harder and harder to imagine a bright future. This leaves many of us with a deep sense of hopelessness that easily breeds cynicism and apathy. In that state it becomes easy to shut the world out and give up any attempts at meaningful interaction with the world around us. A destructive cycle follows, as this leaves us with no way of sheltering ourselves from our initial despair at the state of things. But these songs also aim to paint something meaningful and hopeful. A form of idealisation not rooted in naivety but in realism, because we need ideals to gather enough strength to leave the shelterless dead trees of our lives behind.”
Oh Hiroshima consistently demonstrate a growing confidence in exploring the edges of their sound. Backed by special guests, a whole array of instrumentation and a growing pallet for wider experimentation, And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter evokes Oh Hiroshima’s unique emotional landscape, each composition a relentlessly captivating journey that inspires reflection and release. Every motif, choice and touch contribute to the shifting terrains that gradually unfold into luminous intensity. By blending harmonics, immersive production and a deeply intuitive sense of pacing, Oh Hiroshima have crafted an album that is woven with intimacy and expansively felt.
“We tracked the foundation of the record (drums, bass and electric guitars) at Studio Gröndahl with Karl Daniel Lidén (Swarm of the Sun), who has worked with many really good bands before, he took great care in the drum setup and recording, and we’re especially happy with how that turned out, adds vocalist Jakob Hemström. The rest of the album was recorded in Örebro by me and my brother, with a little help from some friends of the band. Production-wise this is our most ambitious record by far because of the number of instruments and musicians that contributed. Ten additional musicians were involved this time around. Magnus Lindberg mixed and mastered the album. It’s the third time in a row. He’s great to work with, has a great résumé, and always delivers quality work.”
Catch the band live on the following dates and atPelagic Fest in August, with more dates to be announced soon. Tickets availablehere.
May 22 - Jaz - Rostock (DE)
May 23 - Wave-Gotik-Treffen - Leipzig (DE)
May 24 - Speicher - Husum (DE)
Jul 31 - Fekete Zaj (HU)
Aug 29 - Pelagic Fest, (NL)
Oct 03 - Festival Les Lunatiques, Rennes (FR)
Oct 15 - Warsaw, Potok (PL)
Oct 16 - Poznan, Pod Minoga (PL)
Oct 17 - Chorzow, Lesniczowka (PL)
Oct 18 - Budapest, Turbina (HU)
Oct 19 - Vienna, Viper Room (AT)
Oct 20 - Prague, Strahov 007 (CZ) *
Oct 21 - Mainz, Club Schon Schon (DE) *
Oct 22 - Waregem, CC De Shakel (BE) *
Oct 23 - Paris, Petit Bain (FR) *
Oct 24 - Haarlem, Patronaat (NL) *
Oct 25 - Hamburg, MS Stubnitz (DE) *
* withBarrens
Tickets: ohhiroshima.com
Oh Hiroshima are:
Jakob Hemström: Guitar, Bass and Vocals
Oskar Nilsson: Drums and Percussion
For more information:
And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter track list:
1. Servant of All
2. Meridian
3. Angelos
4. Skeleton Key
5. Tree of Life
6. Broken Sunlight
7. Ivory Tower
8. Exit Cloud
Photo Credit: Negative Frame
London metallers Negative Frame have released their new single 'Sorrow & Solitude', a dark and emotive track showcasing the dynamic range of this exciting new band.
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ng568YJtWcI
Stream here: https://linktr.ee/negativeLDN
Vocalist Kesari Gorin commented on 'Sorrow & Solitude': "This song is about love and loss, trying to hold onto someone without losing yourself. Sometimes you can change so much to be with someone that you both end up unrecognisable. 'Sorrow & Solitude' is the most emotional song we've done, it's something new for us showing a more vulnerable side. This track is about relationships and how they can fall apart, exploring feelings of grief and regret, but ultimately trying to do what's best for both of you. When the fire burns bright you can only hold onto it for so long until you need to let go."
Negative Frame will release their debut album in 2026, news coming soon.
Catch the band live:
23/05 – UK - Nottingham - The Old Salutation - NF Headline
29/05 – UK - London - The Underworld - w/Pintglass
18/06 - LU - Luxembourg - MK Bar - NF Headline
20/06 – DE - Querfurt - Return To Strength Fest
23/06 – DE - Oberhausen - Druckluft - DE - w/Kenya
24/06 – BE - Ghent - Asgaard Gentbrugge - w/Kenya
25/06 – FR - Lille - Brat Cave - w/Kenya
26/06 – FR - Paris - Le Klub
28/06– FR - Strasbourg - La Péniche Mécanique - w/Kenya
29/06 - DE - Leinfelden - Jugendhaus AREAL - w/Contention
2/07 - CZ - Prague - Eternia - NF Headline
3/07 - DE - Dresden - venue tbc - NF Headline
11/07 – UK - Stevenage - Tombstone Open Air - NF Headline
24/07 - UK - Plymouth - The Junction - NF Headline
25/07 – UK - Bristol - The Croft - NF Headline
05/09 – UK - Torquay - Burn It Down Fest - w/Speed
12/09 – UK - Colchester - Death Fest - NF Headline
Negative Frame are a London-based metallic hardcore band formed in 2017, emerging from the city’s DIY underground with a sound that fuses groove-heavy riffs, thrash intensity and punishing breakdowns. Originally brought together through skating and college life in North London, the band channelled frustration with everyday monotony into something far louder and more physical, quickly becoming known for their raw, high-impact approach. Drawing influence from acts like Acid Bath, Disembodied and Lamb of God, their music leans into dense, groove-led structures and visceral, emotionally charged vocals that hit as hard live as they do on record.
From early DIY tours and self-booked shows to sharing stages with hardcore heavyweights, Negative Frame have built their reputation on relentless live energy and a deep connection to the UKHC scene. Their debut releases and later material, including the Mercy Killing EP and singles like 'Bad Blood,' showcase a band evolving into a heavier, more intricate force while staying rooted in hardcore’s communal chaos—stage dives, mic grabs and all. With a growing following and a reputation for explosive performances, Negative Frame are part of a new wave pushing UK hardcore into darker, more aggressive territory without losing its sense of grit or fun.
Negative Frame are here to execute, haunting each listener with a passionate blend of hardcore to epic metal.
Negative Frame are:
Kesari Gorin - Vocals
Olly Coyne - Lead Guitar
George Evil - Guitar
Mark Maccutchan - Bass
Luke Walker - Drums
Negative Frame online:
https://www.instagram.com/negativeframeldn
https://www.facebook.com/NegativeFrameLDN
https://www.youtube.com/@negativeframeldn/videos
Photo Credit: Void Revelations
FORSMÁN, one of the most promising new names to emerge from Iceland’s black metal underground, release their new song 'Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt'. The single is the opening track of the band’s debut album Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur, which will be released on 26th June via Vesperian.
Watch the visualiser for 'Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt' here: https://youtu.be/qNnkVZEjam8
Stream the single and pre-order Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur here: https://linktr.ee/vesperian#549446188
'Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt' opens the album with severity and intent. Vicious, cold, and extreme, the song still reveals a strong sense of detail: intricate riffing, shifting dynamics, and a dense atmosphere give FORSMÁN’s black metal a demanding, fully formed character. Rooted in Iceland’s contemporary tradition, the band already appear less like followers than a new voice within it.
The album’s cover artwork was created by Paolo Girardi, known for his work with POWER TRIP, REVOCATION, SULPHUR AEON, and many others.
Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur is available in the following formats and editions:
Ltd. CD Digipak with 16-page booklet with extensive artwork
Ltd. Cassette tape (200 copies)
Download/streaming
Gatefold LP with LP-booklet feat. extensive artwork and OBI strip
Black vinyl
Blue vinyl (300 copies)
Clear/black splatter vinyl (300 copies)
FORSMÁN are a black metal band from Kópavogur, Iceland. Following their debut EP Dönsum Í Logans Ljóma, the young group began shaping a body of work that moves with clear intent beyond first promise. Their new album Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur (Burned Ruins & Raging Shores) marks the second release on Vesperian and presents a band already operating at a strikingly high level.
Rooted in the modern Icelandic black metal tradition associated with SVARTIDAUÐI, SINMARA, and MISÞYRMING, FORSMÁN do not merely follow a lineage. They carry its atmosphere, severity, and spiritual weight into something that feels sharp, unspent, and fully their own. The album is extreme in force and expression, but never formless: its cold density is driven by precise riffing, commanding rhythms, and vocals that cut through the surrounding darkness with conviction.
FORSMÁN are:
V. - bass, vocals
H. - guitar
O. - guitar, vocals
M. - drums
FORSMÁN online:
https://www.instagram.com/forsmaniceland
https://www.facebook.com/forsmanband
Track list:
1. Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt
2. Svartir Svanir
3. Andvana
4. Valdníðsla
5. Kynjamyndir
6. Lof Mér Líf Þitt Að Taka
7. Hræ Hins Almáttuga
8. Barmafylltar Fjöldagrafir
Photo Credit: Dobbin Thomas
London-based alt-rock band Wildernesses continue their ascent with the release of their powerful new single / video, ‘[dread.]’. The track is taken from their acclaimed debut album Growth which is out now via Floodlit Recordings. Emerging as one of the UK underground’s most compelling new voices, Wildernesses have quickly earned praise for their emotionally devastating blend of post-rock scale, shoegaze haze and intimate storytelling, with recent reviews describing Growth as “one of the most wonderfully understated yet brilliant albums of 2026” and “a captivating listen as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.”
Featuring footage captured across the band’s recent UK album tour, the video for ‘[dread.]’ offers an unfiltered look into life on the road marked by long drives, endless DIY merch preparation, cramped backstage moments and the deep camaraderie formed between band members. As always with Wildernesses, the visuals mirror the song’s emotional core with anxiety hidden beneath every day humour, silence and routine.
Watch [dread.] here: https://youtu.be/oKGLiGcN-2I
Order Growth here: Floodlit Recordings // Bandcamp
Vocalist Phillip Morris comments on the track: “‘[dread.]’ is a song about ‘the dread’ - anxiety, doom, or whatever name you want to give that feeling. The lyrics portray a narrator telling themselves they’re alright and the title’s parentheses are supposed to signify self-minimisation. Self-reflection sits alongside a conversation between two friends remembering drinking tinnies by the River Humber during Hull’s 2007 floods. The narrator reflects that there are worse things happening in the world and that all humans are just getting by - holding aspirations and throwing them away like cans in the mud banks. The song uses flood imagery to mirror men ‘manning up’ and the impact that ignoring emotional responses has over time - the overspill. It’s about striving to accept the feeling, which is an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) technique that I’ve always been bad at utilising myself.”
Drummer Ryan Browne adds: “We put the video for ‘[dread.]’ together using footage collected over nine days on the road playing songs from Growth. Similar to the theme of the song, we all had some anxiety going into the tour - being away from home and living on top of each other naturally brings apprehension. But the reality ended up being something really positive. We genuinely looked after each other and it became a wholesome experience all round. Having a video that captures those moments - the shows, the travel, the work that goes into everything - feels really special.”
Since first emerging with breakthrough singles ‘Four Hour Drive’ and ‘English Darkness’, Wildernesses have steadily built a reputation for crafting expansive, emotionally resonant songs rooted in lived experience. ‘Four Hour Drive’ explored family lineage and inherited memory through the lens of a 1957 photograph of Morris’ father and grandfather, while ‘English Darkness’ confronted mental health with stark vulnerability in a striking visual directed by Stewart Baxter, known for his work with IDLES. Later singles ‘Maintenance’ and ‘Summertime, 1917’ further expanded the band’s cinematic worldbuilding, weaving together themes of ritual, hidden histories and fragile human connection.
Recorded with producer Joe Clayton at NO Studio in Manchester, Growth spans nine immersive tracks balancing shimmering post-rock crescendos, slow-burning alt-rock tension and intimate folk-inspired lyricism. Critics have praised the record’s “settled confidence”, “cinematic quality” and “gargantuan amount of feeling”, with comparisons drawn to acts such as Slowdive, Explosions in the Sky and The National.
With ‘[dread.]’, Wildernesses continue to carve out a space entirely their own, one where memory, grief, humour, anxiety and hope blur together inside towering yet deeply human soundscapes. As their audience continues to grow through word-of-mouth acclaim and emotionally charged live performances, the band are set to bring songs from Growth to audiences across the UK throughout the year, culminating in an appearance at ArcTanGent Festival this August alongside some of the most exciting names in alternative and experimental music. For a band whose music thrives on atmosphere and connection, Wildernesses’ live shows are fast becoming essential viewing. Live dates are listed below.
Catch Wildernesses live:
Jun 26 - The Black Heart, London (with Million Moons/Civil Service)
Aug 21- Arctangent Festival
Oct 3rd - Crowded Festival, Leicester
WILDERNESSES are:
Phillip Morris - vocals, guitar
Sam Howe - guitar
Mark Portnoi - bass
Ryan Browne - drums
WILDERNESSESonline:
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Growth Tracklisting:
1. Sleepless
2. Happy Hollow
3. [dread.]
4. English Darkness
5. Terrible Bloom
6. Maintenance
7. Cassino
8. Four Hour Drive
9. Summertime, 1917
Photo Credit: Gobinder Jhitta
Warning, who recently announced their first new album in 20 years, Rituals of Shame, due 19th June via Relapse Records, release a second track from the eagerly-awaited album with today’s unveiling of 'Night Comes Down'.
Listen: https://youtu.be/_2ott7sFRZ8
Patrick Walker comments: "Whenever I’m asked to say something about a song, I immediately find myself faced with a kind of writer’s paralysis. I tend to be rather reticent when it comes to my songs’ meanings, and what else can I say about something that I’ve spent such a long time writing in an effort to articulate some thought or feeling as succinctly and as truthfully as I can?
"I also tend to recoil at the general perception that precedes my music, but yet looking back over the lyric now, it’s without doubt one of the most irredeemably dark things I’ve written. The first verse and chorus tumbled out in a single stream of consciousness. I decided to keep it exactly as written, and phrased it to fit the music. There are maybe only two or three other instances where I’ve done this.
"Interestingly, when we were mixing the album demos last June, we realised that this song contains the only four seconds of hi-hat on the album. It certainly wasn’t a conscious thing, but must be reflective of my particular distaste for what Steve Albini once called “a truly satanic instrument.
"The title of this song is not a nod to Judas Priest, as one journalist asked me last week. It hadn’t even occurred to me."
Pre-order Rituals of Shame here: https://orcd.co/warning-ritualsofshame
Warning’s 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, has become one of the most revered releases in doom metal, with Pitchfork noting it “stands among the high water marks of the genre,” and Stereogum declaring it the “greatest doom record of all time.”
Walker, who also leads 40 Watt Sun, began work on Rituals of Shame in January 2025, writing seven days a week over three months as he turned his full focus back to Warning. The album was recorded at The Arch Studio, a 140-year-old former church in Southport, U.K., with recording and mixing handled by Chris Fullard (Idles, Sunn O))), Ulver).
The decision to make a new Warning album emerged from a transformative period in Walker’s life. Reluctant to explain his lyrics, he acknowledges only that the work reflects a deeply personal present moment, with the collection echoing the themes that have long defined his writing: longing, separation, and most of all, love.
Rituals of Shame also reflects a range of Walker’s longstanding influences, from the expansive melodic structures of Marillion to the restraint and clarity of June Tabor. He also cites John Brenner of Revelation as a formative influence, particularly in shaping his approach to articulating emotion through heavy music.
The collection is available now for pre-order on various vinyl variants and other physical formats, as well as digital pre-saves.
Warning tour dates:
July 10 to 12 Pleszew, PL Red Smoke Festival
July 29 to August 1 Bergen, NO Beyond The Gates
August 13 to 15 Francavilla Al Mare, IT Frantic Festival
August 13 to 16 Carhaix-plouger, FR Motocultor Festival
September 4 Helsinki, FI KULT
September 12 to 13 Leon, MX Candelabrum Metal Festival
November 7 Nuremberg, DE Sonus Obscura Festival
November 13 Athens, GR An Club
Warning hail from Essex, U.K., emerging from the British doom scene in 1994. The band released two albums in their initial run, The Strength to Dream (1999) and Watching from a Distance (2006). The band reunited in 2017 for a limited number of live performances including an appearance at Roadburn Festival. Warning are Patrick Walker (vocals/guitar), Wayne Taylor (guitar), Marcus Hatfield (bass), and Andrew Prestidge (drums).
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