Mad About Rock

  The ethereal trio AURI returns with their long-awaited third studio album, III - Candles & Beginnings, set for release on August 15, 2025. Propelled by the celestial voice of Johanna Kurkela, the lush sonic landscapes of Tuomas Holopainen, and the boundless instrumental artistry of Troy Donockley, AURI once again invites listeners into a world that defies genre. Fusing elements of folk, progressive and symphonic music with touches of world, pop, and avant-garde, III - Candles & Beginnings promises an immersive journey for the senses. The creative process for this new chapter began in 2023, shortly after the completion of Nightwish’s 2024 opus Yesterwynde. While Troy composed in the serene landscapes of Yorkshire, Tuomas and Johanna crafted melodies and lyrics from their home base in Kitee, Finland—bridging worlds both musically and geographically. As a first glimpse into AURI’s evolving soundscape, the hauntingly beautiful lead single 'Shieldmaiden' is available now, ...

  Hammerdown Festival returns to Brighton, UK, on Saturday, July 19th, and Sunday, July 20th, 2025, for two days of diverse rock and metal. We caught up with the festival director, Harry White, to learn more about the festival's origins, the 2025 edition, and its future. So, going back to the beginning, how did you come to form Hammerdown Festival in 2014 and what inspired you to do this? Is it something you always planned on doing? I had seen the big festival lineups like Download, Sonisphere and Bloodstock, and it all looked amazing. Not only did you get to basically go on a camping holiday for a week, but you also got excellent value for money… rather than spending £60 seeing your favourite band with 2 supports, you could spend £200 and see 30 or 40 bands! One year at Download, I pushed myself to see as many bands as possible. I saw 52! You can’t beat that. So for me, it seemed like the dream way to see all my favourite bands in one place. I’d always used online templates to “ma...

  Fast rising Welsh riff slingers ROOT ZERO will reveal their massively engrossing debut album, 'Dark Rainbow', on Friday 16th May. The popular progressive metallers have just unleashed their powerful new single and video, 'Ignis Fatuus' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2hqk_CU_k4 Listen to the band at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7woGQcgP6EzJobqw0r3ovy Dispatching an array of influences that stem from Soundgarden and Deftones, through to Cult of Luna and Katatonia, ROOT ZERO are a unique and irresistible proposition. The fascinating six-piece draw in from the world of gothic and progressive metal to deliver twisting and atmospheric slabs of sophisticated metal that are fastidiously constructed with precise detail and earnest passion. Initially formed as a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Giacomo Fiderio, ROOT ZERO extended their sound and grew over the years, and by 2022, a full band line up was constructed featuring Sasha Bannister (lead vocals), Giacomo ...

  After ‘Weathering’ and ‘The Big Picture’, acclaimed Lyon-based 4-piece Last Train's new album is a direct reflection of raw anger. Recorded in a crumbling, unheated chateau, ‘III’ channels frustration into meticulously composed rock. Formed in the 2010s, Jean-Noël Scherrer, Julien Peultier, Timothée Gérard and Antoine Baschung gained a strong following with their first two albums and toured with Muse and Placebo. In 2024 they released ‘Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’, an orchestral reworking of their songs, but the new album marks their true return to form as a rock band. Tracks like the first two singles 'Home' and ‘The Plan’ combine rock energy with melody, balancing emotional depth and anger. With ‘III’, Last Train have produced a radical and authentic third album, far from the aseptic super-productions. With ‘One by One’ - the focus track, you'll feel right in the band's rehearsal room: screeching feedback, punchy drums, overflowing bass and incisive chor...

  The annual ‘Night Before Uprising’ returns to the city's favourite grassroots venue, FIREBUG, on Friday 23rd May. This year's ‘Night Before Uprising’ will be a showcase of the incredible, talented roster of Church Road Records. The evening will be celebrated with three extended sets from some of their top talent. Performing throughout the evening will be… GIANT WALKER Headlining the evening are GIANT WALKER, a Progressive Rock band from Newcastle. Their music encapsulates the ever changing emotions of loneliness and provide relief in their soothing and uplifting melancholic melodies. If you are a fan of Karnivool, Deftones and Radiohead then do not miss Giant Walker. Check out their latest single ‘Silhouettes’: FORLORN Returning to Uprising after their awe-inspiring set on the main stage at Uprising 7, we are thrilled to welcome Forlorn to the ‘The Night Before Uprising’. Fresh and armed with their debut album ‘Aether’, expect a sonically pleasing performance, full of inte...

  In 1976 the seminal line-up of Motörhead was solidified a year after the band’s initial inception. Known as the ‘Three Amigos’ era of Motörhead, Lemmy (bass/vocals), Fast Eddie Clarke (guitar) and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor (drums) joined forces and began their extraordinary journey to the top of the hard rock elite. In August 1976 the band set up at Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s legendary Manticore Studio in Fulham to rehearse and showcase the new lineup. While they were there they recorded together for the very first time and now, forty nine years later, this long lost tape has surfaced, been dusted off and restored in all its raw glory, to celebrate the seminal hard rock bands 50th anniversary It’s quite surreal, even unbelievable that a whole half century has elapsed since that vital time in 1976. Just as remarkable, especially for those who remember Lemmy hammering the fruit machines of London’s pubs or as the era’s most extraordinarily approachable rock star, has been...

  Fierce heavy rock crew, THE FIRES BELOW, will release a new enticing EP, Crouch End Sessions, which encompasses three brand new tracks recorded live at Crouch End Studios, as well as a full live performance, behind the scenes footage and band interview. The EP and film land on Wednesday 14th May, and the Londoners have now also revealed their blistering new single, The Crows Can Wait - https://open.spotify.com/album/4QOsT95kdT1aFuNpAMVKIE . Born after the lockdowns in 2022, and fronted by Smithy (Vocals, Guitar), Si (Bass), Del (Drums), and Sam (Guitar), THE FIRES BELOW soon unleashed their singles, Normality and Out to Destroy, which placed the band on the map, capturing the attention of heavy rock fans internationally. The quartet then pushed on to deliver their stomping debut four track EP, Masquerade, which landed in 2023. The record rapidly upped the stakes for the emerging crew, and last year’s Thorns EP raised the bar even further with prevalent support from the likes of ...