Mad About Rock

  BLOODSTOCK festival HQ have revealed the first bands for 2027, unveiling them at the Ronnie James Dio stage right after Municipal Waste’s face-melting set on Friday the 7th August at the 2026 event. Mark your calendar now and start planning for August 5th - 8th, 2027. On Friday night, your Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are MERCYFUL FATE - the Danish legends who helped invent heavy metal theatrics, King Diamond's falsetto still as unholy as ever. Corpse paint, inverted crosses, and a stage show soaked in occult drama…pay your respects, this is where a lot of extreme metal's DNA actually comes from. King Diamond has a little update for you, declaring, “Mercyful Fate is honored and looking extremely forward to playing BLOODSTOCK again, last time was awesome, and this time with a brand new album out, FINALLY!!!” Saturday night parties hard in a totally different fashion, though with no less chaos, as ELECTRIC CALLBOY headline BLOODSTOCK for the very first time. German ...

  BLOODSTOCKers! The big 25th Anniversary celebrations are here, and there's no shortage of ways to get involved - whether you're pedaling, gaming, or just feeling lucky. You can even join in if you’re not at BLOODSTOCK! Heavy Metal Truants: The "Ed To Ed" Challenge While the HMT crew makes their epic ride to Catton Park starting today (follow them here ), you can get in on the action without breaking a sweat on the road. If you’re at BLOODSTOCK, head to the HMT tent in the main arena and hop on a static bike to see how fast you can generate enough real electricity to boil water - kids are racing to 5ml, adults to 10ml (a hand crank is available for differently-abled participants). It's a £5 donation to the charity to take part, and every participant walks away with a cool HMT sticker. The fastest of each pair of challengers snags an HMT pin badge, hourly leaderboard champs earn 5 raffle entries (worth £20), and whoever posts the fastest time of the entire weeken...

  Scottish rock band KELOWNA unveil their debut album, 'Superstar', on Friday 28th August. With the band growing and momentum building, we exclusively asked the guys for the songs that have greatly shaped their sound: Rival Sons - Nobody Wants To Die "The song's powerful blend of blues, soul and modern rock struck a chord with vocalist Davy Wilson, while still echoing the timeless influence of Free and Bad Company, two bands that have shaped him enormously as a singer-songwriter. That combination of raw emotion, dynamic musicianship and classic rock spirit is something we strive to capture in our own music. Our track ‘Midnight Rider’ in particular was heavily inspired by this". The Datsuns - Harmonic Generator "The Datsuns debut album was the first album bought by guitarist Paul Mooney with his own pocket money as a kid. He was drawn in by the simplicity of the guitar riff, and how rather than using complex chords or melodies, it's the static rhythm of...

  70000TONS OF METAL, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, is thrilled to announce the first bands that will be part of this year’s lineup: ÆTHER REALM ARCH ENEMY BRAINSTORM ENFORCER EVERGREY EQUILIBRIUM MORS PRINCIPIUM EST OBSCURA THULCANDRA WARBRINGER Also joining the lineup is musical visionary and innovator ULI JON ROTH, whose career spans five decades and includes his pioneering work with Germany’s legendary metal band SCORPIONS. Andy Piller, CEO, Founder and “Skipper” of the fan-favorite metal cruise states: “As part of his two sets on 70000TONS OF METAL, Uli will be paying tribute to two iconic SCORPIONS albums, both celebrating their 50th anniversary. In his first set, Uli will perform ‘VIRGIN KILLER’ in its entirety. In his second performance, he’ll heavily focus on ‘IN TRANCE’. We’re delighted he’s joining the party this year!” Roth is widely recognized as a key founder of the neoclassical metal genre, having revolutionized guitar technique by fusing b...

  Scottish alt-rockers STAY FOR TOMORROW have released their alluring new single and video, Nonsense, out now. The track is taken from their forthcoming album, When Hope’s Gone, due Friday 25th September. Check out the video for Nonsense, here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFdj-ROonnQ Listen to the band at - https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wSKwPQseYDh9uczNFczmY Since forming in 2018, the Dunfermline four-piece have released a string of singles, such as Villains, Breathe and In The Way, and have toured the UK, developing a melodic, guitar-driven sound influenced by The Killers, Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy. Their upcoming album, When Hope’s Gone explores themes of perseverance, resilience and self-belief. Speaking about the album, guitarist Nic Holson says: “This album shows the evolution of Stay For Tomorrow over the past few years, through lineup changes and the growth and solidifying of our sound. It carries a message of hope, resilience, and a reminder to stand up...

  Brit post-hardcore unit MERCERS will unveil their debut EP, 'The Liminal Tapes', on Friday, 17th July. The band have also just released their new single and video, 'New Stockholm'. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwoUNQCAMM8 Listen to MERCERS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hUc6FIsCsAGv1muQXWDHZ . Formed in 2025, MERCERS bring together vocalist Olly James and guitarist/programmer Phil Bashford, both previously known for their work in nu-metallers, FONY. However, this is not a reunion, but a continuation of a long-standing songwriting partnership behind much of FONY’s material, including Routine Irregular and Circles. What began as an idea to revisit and reshape older material into the form it was always intended to take quickly developed into something far bigger. With the addition of drummer Richard Titheradge and guitarist Simon Glover, the project evolved beyond its original concept and found its own identity. The Liminal Tapes...

  UK metallers FAIL THE ENEMY return with new music and a heavier, synth-driven sound. The band will release a new EP, Sandcastles, out Friday 9th October, alongside their current single, Borrowed Hope, which is out now. Listen to Borrowed Hope, here - https://open.spotify.com/track/5JaYkmazk4o1RHA6wNr5UC , and watch the video, here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPQAbqWqbe8 Since reforming in 2023, the three-piece have been rebuilding their sound from the ground up, bringing together modern metalcore, anthemic rock, and 80s-inspired synth textures. The result is a sound that’s heavy, melodic, and built on contrast and atmosphere. Their new material draws on themes of mental health, love, loss, and the aftermath of difficult years, shaped by what the band have been navigating since getting back together. The upcoming EP has been in the works for around three years, and the band say it’s the closest they’ve come to capturing exactly what they set out to do when they returned. Th...