Mad About Rock

  We’re excited to announce the final band to the Mangata Festival 2026 line up along with some exciting partnerships! Overhead, the Albatross complete our 2026 line up! Overhead, The Albatross seamlessly bridges the familiar and the extraordinary in post-rock, blending ethereal strings, electronic textures, and synths with the raw, unfiltered energy of guitars and drums. Founded in 2009, the band captivated audiences with their critically acclaimed debut album, Learning to Growl. Now re-emerging as a quartet after a reflective hiatus, Overhead returns with their sophomore release, I Leave You This. This album is both a vast, expansive odyssey and an intimately woven narrative, marking a quiet yet profound evolution in the experimental post-rock landscape. Renowned for their explosive live performances, cinematic soundscapes, and atmospheric grandeur, Overhead, The Albatross is poised to continue redefining the boundaries of the post-rock genre—pushing their artistry into uncharted...

  Introducing Callas: a bold and cathartic force in the realm of post-rock and experimental metal. New EP 'Days' released 26th July. Comprised of seasoned musicians Dom Murphy (vocals, guitars), Cormac Shanely (bass), Ruairi Lynch (production, guitar) and Evan Prendergast (Drums). Callas brings together former members of the acclaimed post-rock group 'Ealadha' and producer Ruairi Lynch from 'Bantum' driven by a collective desire to push the boundaries of heavy and experimental music. Callas recently released their mind bending single, the EP title track 'Days,' accompanied by a visually striking music video created and directed by Aodhagan O Riabhaigh. Watch 'Days' (official music video): Hailing from Cork, Ireland; Callas crafts an ambient soundscape that's both heavy and otherworldly on their new EP, 'Days.' This release embodies a dreamlike quality, featuring textures that fuse a diverse array of influences. It's a masterful ...

  About 4 years and a half after the release of its debut EP 'Fullfilment' (2017), French rock/post-rock/metal fusion five-piece Matrass just unveiled a brand new single + official music video called "The Tide", available on 4K through YouTube and digital on the main platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). This new song will featured on the band's sophomore EP, 'Inner Wars', to be digitally released on February 18th wth the help of La Tangente Label . Check out the video below: "The Tide" is about being present in the moment and about self-awareness. The Tide metaphorizes this coming and going between conscious presence and moments of "floating" in our lives. This is what we tried to show in the video: the character is constantly being pulled down by the tide, which can represent the mind and the parasitic thoughts that prevent us from reaching this state of consciousness. Getting out of the water is a bit like getting out of the...

Spiricom is a instrumental act comprised of duo Steven K. Smith (percussion,keyboards and synths) and Marc Cody (Guitarist) from Ohio. This new EP consists of three companion pieces which evoke how men wielded pain, fire, and unyielding conviction in the pursuit of holy purification. So join them on their enlightening discover... The opening song 'Strappado' which translates as a form of torture is tense with hush voices and alarming synth noises which seems fitting but it quickly progresses into something more calming and ethereal yet keeps an underlying sense of sorrow. It features more layers and tunefulness as it goes on and the ending cleverly picks up where the beginning started and ends with some eerie spoken words making for a captivating start. 'The Burn' is the shortest offering and is ambient, hopeful and depthful, making for a great and pleasant track and one to let wash over you and reflect upon life. The final song 'The Witch Hammer' has a mor...

Mother Engine Sign With Heavy Psych Sounds European riff powerhouse Heavy Psych Sounds added one more gem to their brilliant roster today, with the signing of German stoner/psych rock craftsmen MOTHER ENGINE for their third album to be released this fall. Stay tuned for more tunes! MOTHER ENGINE plays instrumental rock music influenced by stoner and post-rock as well as the trippy psychedelic rock of the 60s and 70s, and indigenous German krautrock. It's no real surprise that the journey of that spaceship actually began on the stage of a big German stoner rock festival in the year 2013. What we talk about is a spirit of DIY, uncompromising endurance, and the strong will to play every single stage. After two records ("Muttermaschine" in 2013 and '"Absturz" in 2015) and appearances at some of the most important stoner festivals like Stoned from the Underground, Freak Valley Festival, Sonic Blast Moledo, Into the Void or Rotormania, it seems like they go...

Sorrow Plagues Release New Video 'Relinquish' From Forthcoming Album 'Homecoming' Sorrow Plagues have released a new music video for the song 'Relinquish' which is the first single from the upcoming album 'Homecoming' . 'Homecoming' is the second full-length album to be self-released by Sorrow Plagues, the Brainchild of British musician David Lovejoy on May 27th . The album ventures into new territory with added elements of post-rock, and even including some contemporary influences, whilst still maintaining the atmospheric Black Metal sounds that Sorrow Plagues is known for. This is David Lovejoy's most ambitious effort so far. Lovejoy talks about the meaning of the song: "The song is about the importance of living in the present moment and realising that being stuck in the past and worrying about the future is the cause of a lot of our problems. I got the idea for writing lyrics on the topic whilst reading "A New Earth...

Self-Released Sophomore Album 'Homecoming' Out May 27th 2017 Sorrow Plagues is the brainchild of British musician, David Lovejoy and they have just announced their second album 'Homecoming' is going to be self-released on May 27th 2017 . The new album sees them explore new territories beyond their black metal sound that they are known for, this time it features elements of post-rock and more contemporary influences, in what is set to be their most ambitious offering so far. The project began in late August of 2014 with the release of ' It Will Never End' , where Lovejoy composed, performed and produced the entirety of the music on the release. Lovejoy has since gone on to release a further two EPs, two singles and a full-length album. Sorrow Plagues combines the aggression of Black Metal with the ethereal soundscapes of Shoegaze and Post-Rock-esque climaxes to deliver a cathartic experience. Listeners have described a wide spectrum of experiences delivere...

This music project from the multi-talented, Vladyslav Tsarenko from Prague shows instrumental music at it's pinnacle and truly embraces the elements needed to inject emotions and portray his inspiration, solely through his use and interpretation of the music. The main inspirations being events taking place in the world during our time, and the classic novel by George Orwell, '1984'.. The first song to grace our ears is, "War Is Peace", which opens on a very ambient melancholic note, before really coming to life with far reaching guitar work, and leads us wonderfully on to the intense new single for, "Freedom Is Slavery", which also has a very powerful video to accompany it. It manages to encompass the context superbly through the emotive use of the instruments and effects; especially the way it progresses throughout..this is a mighty track which needs to be heard! "Ignorance Is Strength" has a sombre yet hopeful vibe to it, which is ...