Heavy Group announces the return of the Heavy Music Awards (HMA) and the arrival of its spectacular new home for 2023, the OVO Arena Wembley on Friday 26 May. Since its inception in 2017, the HMAs has recognised the most influential and groundbreaking creatives in the heavy music landscape and certified itself as a staple of the heavy music awards calendar, with a move to OVO Arena Wembley now cementing the event as the largest rock music awards ceremony ever.
My Saturday at Download began over at the main stage where I caught the retro new wave of classic rock act Those Damn Crows, a band who have amassed a significant following in Wales thanks to appearances at the likes of Steelhouse Festival and other rock-oriented affairs. Possibly one of the smallest acts to perform on the main stage this year, the band spared no expense offering a fantastic wake-up call with some unremarkable if solid hard rock tunes. The day’s proceedings then continued firmly in the rocky territory with a southern, slightly heavier twang with Black Label Society, in their first festival appearance on UK soil since 2015, and with less of Zakk Wylde’s expectedly lengthy and tiresome soloing. Don’t get me wrong, Zakk was still doing his usual thing, but with a much-needed addition of percussion, making the moments of instrumental wankery much more palatable than usual.
After a prolonged absence from the British metal scene courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic (save for a scaled-back pilot event in 2021), Leicestershire’s iconic summer rock, punk, and metal weekender, Download Festival returned to Castle Donnington in a maximalist blaze of glory, packing in a full-scale 5-day experience with some familiar favorites, hotly tipped up-and-comers and some of the best international acts that rock and metal scene has to offer.
Louder Than Life Festival has announced its lineup for 2022, seeking to top the epic edition in 2021. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot and KISS will headline the festival of 100 artists over 4 days! Joining them will be Rob Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon, Alice In Chains (And A Separate Set From Jerry Cantrell), Alice Cooper, Incubus, Evanescence, Lamb Of God, Tenacious D, Yungblud, Chevelle, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Mastodon, In This Moment, The Pretty Reckless and many more! Taking place from September 21st – 25th 2022, the fest takes place at The Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center Passes are on sale now for $10 down (through March 31) at the link below. Continue reading
Download Festival 2021 is postponed to summer 2022, but the fest has wasted little time stacking the bill. Already headlined by Iron Maiden, KISS, and Biffy Clyro, seventy new bands have been added including Deftones, Korn, Megadeth, Steel Panther, The Ghost Inside, Funeral For A Friend, Descendents, Electric Wizard, and Sepultura. Watch a video teaser with the updated poster and buy your tickets now!
Throughout the journey from my home in the North of England to Leicestershire’s infamous Download Festival, I could be sure of only two things as a first time attendee; that I would absolutely see Tool headline, and that I would have to endure what was to become the muddiest weekend of my life in order to reach that point.Continue reading
The granddaddy of UK music festivals, Download Festival takes flight this weekend and Ghost Cult is there! The forecast calls for rain (surprise!) but the spirits will not be dampened! Here is the day by day rundown of indispensable bands to not miss and the running order! Continue reading
Download 2019 has mad a major announcement today as forty-three new bands have been added! Among the new bands added are Stone Temple Pilots, Halestorm, Clutch, Behemoth, Beartooth, Alcest, Animals As Leaders, At The Gates, Bad Wolves, Three Days Grace, Twelve Foot Ninja and more. Slipknot, Tool, and Def Leppard are the headliners for the annual rock extravaganza. The three-day festival takes place on 14-16 June 2019 at the spiritual home of rock in Donington Park, Leicestershire. Kerrang! Radio have also launched a talent search for a chance to open the Avalanche Stage at the festival.Continue reading
Over their past couple of albums, the pop-punk quintet, Trophy Eyes has been quite easy to group in with a smaller section of emo/pop-punk acts like Basement, Trash Boat, and Boston Manor. With the latest album in their discography, The American Dream (Hopeless Records), however, the band move on with some new influences and a new-found maturity in their lyrics. Whilst pop-punk as a genre on whole has been mostly known for the use of angsty/teen themes in their material, Trophy Eyes has moved onto a more mature way of writing about mental health, band life, etc. The most notable change in the act’s third album is the definite improvement in singer, John Floreani who adopts a more of a baritone sound to his voice during the majority of the main verses, contrasting fantastically against his more well-known tone in choruses, it feels like Floreani takes influences from earlier big alternative rock bands like U2 to show off more range and flow in his material.Continue reading
It’s the final cross-country voyage of the Vans Warped Tour. Since 1995, the unofficial punk rock summer camp has introduced us all to iconic acts from Bad Religion to Katy Perry.Continue reading