Mad About Rock

  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...

  Monday 23 February 2026: Download Festival, the greatest rock and metal festival of all time, has today added 14 artists to its already stellar line up for its 23rd edition in 2026. The new additions to the DLXXIII line up include A Day To Remember, THE PRIMALS, Daughtry, Creeper, Hot Milk, DECESSUS and more. Download Festival will take place on 10-14 June 2026 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Day tickets are now available at www.downloadfestival.co.uk . Announced today are Florida pop punk heavyweights A Day To Remember, Final Fantasy XIV’s official band THE PRIMALS (performing outside of Asia for the very first time), Creeper, Daughtry, Hot Milk, Silly Goose, Marmozets, BAND-MAID, Stampin’ Ground, Frozemode, Conjurer, Annisokay, Private School and DECESSUS, the Santiago death metal band fronted by the current Miss World Chile, Ignacia Fernández. The new additions join an already gargantuan line up headlined by Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses and Lin...

  The annual ‘Night Before UPRISING’ returns to the Firebug on Friday 22nd May 2026. The night will be hosted by the DJs of TotalRock with guest DJ slots. For those who are unfamiliar, TotalRock — the station was launched in 2000 by Tommy Vance and a group of rock music visionaries, including Programme Director Tony Wilson and Managing Editor Malcolm Dome. TotalRock pioneered the concept of a dedicated rock radio station in the UK, building an enviable reputation for launching the careers of bands and DJs alike. So… who will be bringing the party to ‘The Night Before…’? Headlining the evening is none other than Corby’s finest, VIKING SKULL, originally formed in 2002 with Raging Speedhorn members Frank Regan, Darren Smith and Gordon Morrison. The alcohol-fuelled, rock and roll heavyweights like to party and will deliver a set which will span their 23-year career. Check out their single ‘Blackened Sunrise’, taken from their 2007 album ‘Chapter II’, directed by Bam Margera of Jack...

  We’re excited to announce 22 new band additions and a venue update for Mangata Festival 2026, taking place on Saturday 5 September 2026 in Nottingham. With five stages spread across three city-centre venues, this is shaping up to be the biggest edition of Mangata Festival yet. We’re pleased to confirm that Mangata Festival 2026 will once again feature five stages, working closely with Rescue Rooms, Rock City, and The Tap & Tumbler. Rescue Rooms will host the Main Stage, with the Red Room stage upstairs, located at Masonic Place, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham (NG1 5LB). Just a few minutes away, Rock City on Talbot Street (NG1 5GG) will host the Beta stage and the Black Cherry Lounge stage. Around the corner, the Tap & Tumbler at 33 Wollaton Street (NG1 5FW) will host our fifth stage, which will be free entry with no ticket required. On the Rescue Rooms Main Stage, joining previously announced Raised By Owls, Red Method, and In Search of Sun, we’re thrilled to welcome our ...

  All Points East and Outbreak Fest announce their major headliner for 2026: multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award-winning Sacramento band Deftones, who will be taking over Victoria Park on Sunday 23 August 2026. Tickets go on general sale on Friday 14 November 2025. Visit www.allpointseastfestival.com . With Outbreak Fest London making its All Points East debut, Deftones will be joined by an incredible list of artists on Sunday 23 August, including Idles, Amyl & The Sniffers, EsDeeKid, JPEGMAFIA, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Basement, Wisp, Deafheaven and Show Me The Body. This summer’s inaugural London edition of Outbreak Fest, in association with LIDO Festival, brought a taste of hardcore to Victoria Park. Headliners Turnstile performed alongside the likes of Knocked Loose, SPEED, Glassjaw and many more, while artists such as Alex G, Danny Brown, Have A Nice Life and Model/Actriz laid the foundations for the festival’s genre-diverse inclinations. Deftones are set to headline the event followi...

  Monday 3 November 2025: Download Festival, the greatest rock and metal festival of all time, returns for its molten hot 23rd edition, reborn and recharged in 2026 as DLXXIII. Announced today are three monumental headliners, with their only UK shows in 2026 - Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses and Linkin Park – with over 90 more colossal names spanning the full spectrum of rock, metal, punk, emo, hardcore, alternative and classic rock. This year’s festival will take place on 10-14 June 2026 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Tickets onsale now at www.downloadfestival.co.uk . In 2026, Download XXIII will host a trio of legendary headliners: nu-metal icons Limp Bizkit – headlining Download for the very first time - on Friday, hard rock royalty Guns N’ Roses on Saturday and the mighty Linkin Park performing at Download for the first time since the band reformed in 2024 with lead singer Emily Armstrong. With this holy trinity of headliners and a mammoth undercar...

  Have you recovered from the last BLOODSTOCK announcement yet? Well hold onto your battle jacket, because your cries of delight over that news can only be matched by today’s reveal. BLOODSTOCK can now confirm that 2026’s stellar line-up will be further enriched by Bay Area thrash icons TESTAMENT , who have been ripping the UK a new one this month already. With more than 40 years of excellence and influence under their belt, miss their set on the Ronnie James Dio main stage before BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on Sunday at your peril. While you wait, they’ve just dropped their brand new album, Para Bellum, only yesterday via Nuclear Blast - check out its first single ‘Infanticide A.I.’ here . TESTAMENT will be joined by their thrash pals from further down the Californian coastline, LA based THROWN INTO EXILE . If you aren’t familiar with them yet, get your ears around clobbering new single ‘Eternal Nothingness’ here and if it makes you want more, grab their last EP, Passageways, too. They’...

  With Halloween around the corner, BLOODSTOCK has some early treats to share, by way of some fiendishly good bands to announce! No tricks here. Hot on the heels of the recent reveal of special guests BODY COUNT, today BLOODSTOCK can tell you another 10 bands who’ll be treading the boards at Catton Park next summer, and if you’re quick, you might just manage to snap up the last of the standard weekend tickets before the box office goblin swoops in with the giant sold out stamp. Striding onto the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Sunday, will be the mighty BLACK LABEL SOCIETY . Led by the inimitable, master storyteller Zakk Wylde, do they need any more introduction? Warm up your necks in advance headbangers, you’ll need it. Not ones to be intimidated by that hefty gut punch, Friday sees prime deathcore dealers FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY join the bill. The Sophie Lancaster stage is no slouch either. Thursday welcomes back Birmingham’s previous Metal 2 The Masses winners, boisterous lads MANTIS...

  It’s happening. After years of fans requesting it, BODY COUNT are finally set to tear up BLOODSTOCK in August 2026. The Grammy-winning crew led by Ice-T will make their long-overdue debut as special guests on the Ronnie James Dio main stage on the festival’s final day, Sunday 9th August, playing directly before headliner JUDAS PRIEST. No strangers to controversy or crushing riffs, BODY COUNT have been a rallying cry for raw, unapologetic heavy music since the early ‘90s. Born from Ice-T and guitarist Ernie C’s vision to fuse street grit with blistering metal, the band has built a reputation for leveling every stage they set foot on. With a Grammy win for Best Metal Performance (for ‘Bum-Rush’ off their Carnivore album) under their belt, they’re louder, harder, and more relevant than ever. Festival director Vicky Hungerford comments, “After 10 years of trying we FINALLY get Body Count to Bloodstock!!! This is going to be one of the most memorable shows the festival has ever seen...

  Award-nominated independent rock and metal festival, Takedown Festival, has today announced the next wave of artists for its 2026 edition. The festival returns to Portsmouth Guildhall on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th April 2026, once again delivering a packed lineup of heavy music to the south coast. Newly confirmed acts include Mouth Culture, the alternative rock Leicester collective known for their anthemic, high-energy chaos, and Zetra, the shadowy London duo bringing their unique brand of shoegaze-soaked metal theatrics. Both will take to the stage on Saturday, alongside Lastelle. On Friday, South Of Salem and Asomvel join the bill. This year’s event will be headlined by PRESIDENT, marking the masked collective’s first ever festival headline slot. Having quickly gained a reputation as one of heavy music’s most exciting and unpredictable new forces, their Takedown 2026 performance promises to be a defining moment in their rise. Also topping the lineup are Phil Campbell and the B...

  As plans for BLOODSTOCK’s 25th anniversary get underway, the festival has unveiled another 27 bands for 2026’s monumental event. With heavyweights, cult favourites, and rising stars joining the awesome bands already announced, this year’s line-up is shaping up to be one for the ages. And there are still plenty more names yet to come, with approximately 125 bands in total set to appear. Did you know? BLOODSTOCK is going to open the Ronnie James Dio main stage on Thursday now as well! Early bird, campervan, and VIP tickets are already sold out and weekend tickets are over 90% gone, so act quickly to get tickets if you don’t want to miss out! And so to the bands… THURSDAY – RONNIE JAMES DIO STAGE Headlining the opening night on the Ronnie James Dio main stage are none other than British heavy metal legends SAXON . With over four decades of anthems and an iron-clad reputation for blistering live shows, SAXON’s triumphant return to BLOODSTOCK will kick off the weekend in classic style...

  Fortress Festival, one of Europe’s biggest black metal festivals, has revealed two more bands for its fourth edition set to take place at Scarborough Spa on 30-31 May 2026. London's Akercocke will perform a worldwide exclusive full album set of their acclaimed 2003 release, “Choronzon”. The album was praised by the scene when it was released, with many publications naming it album of the year, including Kerrang! and Terrorizer. Formed in 1997, the band is known for their extreme sound that blends death, black and progressive metal elements. Akercocke said: "Akercocke will perform Choronzon, in full, at this historic venue. As we begin the countdown to May 2026 we invite all to join us in celebrating Choronzon at this truly special event." Joining the bill are Norwegian black metal duo Whoredom Rife, who will headline the Ocean Room. Formed in Trondheim in 2014, the band is a part of the contemporary Norwegian black metal scene, creating a sound that pays homage to the g...

  70000TONS OF METAL, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, proudly announces that Public Sales for the 2026 sailing will begin on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT / 18:00 CET via 70000tons.com. The festival-at-sea continues its tradition of delivering an unforgettable experience with 60 metal bands from around the globe, playing across four stages – including the legendary Pool Deck Stage, The World's Biggest Open Air Stage Structure to Ever Sail the Open Seas. In addition to unveiling the Public Sales date, 70000TONS OF METAL is thrilled to confirm the addition of thrash metal icons ANTHRAX to the 2026 lineup. Known for their blistering live performances and genre-defining discography, ANTHRAX will bring their full-throttle energy aboard the legendary festival cruise, delivering two unique sets exclusively for goers. 70000TONS OF METAL 2026 will sail from Miami, FL to Nassau, the Bahamas and back from January 29 through February 2, 2026, aboard Royal Carib...