ALBUM REVIEW: Temic – Terror Management Theory


With an expansive sound and members whose past jobs include Devin Townsend, Haken, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress and The Neal Morse Band amongst others is Temic. The idea for this project was first suggested back in 2017, but various touring commitments and a pesky pandemic meant it came to naught until now.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: ArcTanGent Festival 2023 Live at Fernhill Farm


 

ArcTanGent Festival, a yearly outdoor four-day fixture at Fernhill Farm near Bristol, attracts a devoted following to its niche yet eclectic lineups of artists who generally have an association with post-rock, progressive metal, or experimental rock. It’s “sort of” a metal festival, but the range of acts it showcases steers towards the more left-field and eccentric end of heavy music and at times stretches beyond what could reasonably even be labelled as “rock”.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Download Festival 2023 Part 2, Live at Castle Donnington


 

Saturday, and as will be of no surprise to anyone, it was pretty damn hot today too, people were noticeably moving much slower through the arena, and people were checking their phones for the forecast of tomorrow’s storm with excitement.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Download Festival 2023 Part 1, Live at Castle Donnington


 

After hearing horror stories about the queues I was pleasantly surprised to arrive at the hollow turn of Donington for Download Festival 2023, and was parked up within 10 minutes. Not to dismiss the stories is it close the rather excellent download festival app a tool which I would find invaluable during my visit constantly advising incoming travellers of reach to avoid owing to congestion.Continue reading


CONCERT REVIEW: Haken – Arch Echo Live at The Neptune


 

Being unfamiliar with a band when seeing them live has become a preference over the 30 years I’ve been going to live performances. Favorite bands continue to surprise and dominate, and even sometimes disappoint, but going in blind to a show offers a special experience that cannot be rivaled. Moreover, not being particularly familiar with prog metal shows, I wasn’t entirely sure what the experience would be like as I set out to see Haken, the six-piece outfit Haken from the United Kingdom. Similarly, Arch Echo, the only other act on the bill, was a mystery to me as well.

 

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Download Festival 2023 Sells Out In Record Time, Headlined by Metallica, Slipknot, and Bring Me The Horizon


 

Download Festival 2023 has broken their own record this summer with weekend, day and camping tickets now completely sold out. Metallica, Bring Me The Horizon and Slipknot headline a remarkable year for the UK’s biggest rock festival. Download Festival’s 20th anniversary has become a double celebration, as today the festival sells out, marking 2023 as the fastest-selling year of all time. Day, weekend and camping tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to celebrate an incredible 20 years for the legendary festival. The special anniversary edition, taking place for the first time over four days on 8-11 June 2023 at Donington Park, will feature headliners Bring Me The Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica, who will perform two headline sets with no repeat songs.

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Arctangent Festival 2023 Announces Their Final Main Stage Headliner Devin Townsend


The mighty Arctangent Festival 2023 today announces their final main stage headliner for this year’s event, The incredible, truly one-of-a-kind Devin Townsend will be closing out the whole festival on the main stage, Saturday night. The festival will be taking place between August 16th through to August 19th, at Fernhill Farm, a short drive from Bristol City Centre. Also announced today include Haken, Yourcodenameis:Milo, Ashenspire, Clt Drp, The Guru Guru, and many more. Acts already announced include Heilung, Converge, Deafheaven (playing ‘Sunbather’ in full as a UK exclusive), Swans, Empire State Bastard, Sikth, The Fall Of Troy, Cave In, Igorrr, Pigs7, Elder, Russian Circles, Chat Pile, Svalbard, Jaga Jazzist, Brutus, Loathe, Rolo Tomassi, Svalbard, and many more.Continue reading