Ozzfest has confirmed its return to Villa Park stadium in Aston, Birmingham next year.

The former travelling heavy metal festival, launched by Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon in 1996, will have its first edition since 2018 take place at the venue where the Prince Of Darkness performed his retirement show on July 5 last year.

Ozzy died on July 22, just 17 days after the gig, following a heart attack at his home in Buckinghamshire. He was 76.

The official statement promises “more info on everything coming soon”. Sharon, 73, said in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer last month that the event will be one or two days long, depending on fan interest. She added that she was speaking to potential performers and headliners, and would offer news soon.

She told Billboard in January that Ozzfest will return with a lineup that transcends its past niche of rock and metal, with a focus on young talent.

“It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”

Even though only a Birmingham event has been confirmed, Sharon has said that she wants to bring the festival back to the US, as well.

The Osbournes started Ozzfest after fellow travelling festival Lollapalooza refused to give Ozzy a spot on their lineup. The inaugural edition was a two-day tour with dates in Phoenix, Arizona and San Bernardino, California. Ozzy headlined with support from Slayer, Danzig, Biohazard, Sepultura and more.

As nu metal began to gather steam in the late 90s, Ozzfest became famous for putting up-and-coming artists on its bill. Such acts as Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and System Of A Down performed at the festival around the release of their debut albums.

Ozzfest expanded to have international offshoots in markets including the UK, Germany, Belgium and Japan before hosting its final incarnation – a single show in Inglewood, California – in 2018.

In 2023, Sharon explained why Ozzfest went away, saying on her family podcast The Osbournes that other managers got greedy.

“It was a very weird beast,” she said, “because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy, and for some reason they thought that we were making billions on it and we weren’t. We made a profit. But it was not like – we couldn’t retire on it. And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost-effective anymore. We stopped because it just wasn’t cost-effective.”

However, the following year, she added that “of course” Ozzfest can return one day. “You can do it for a baby stage, but you still need the headliners,” she said. “It’s always great to have the baby stage, I mean, that’s what it’s all about – breaking new bands. That’s why we did it.”

Ozzy’s retirement show, Back To The Beginning, took place at a sold-out Villa Park and was live-streamed by more than five million people worldwide. Ozzy performed both with his solo band and his fellow Black Sabbath co-founders. The support lineup included Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Gojira, Anthrax and Mastodon. Proceeds from the event went to the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

Sharon told Hammer last month that a Back To The Beginning concert film will hit cinema screens later this year.

When it comes to perfect couplings, punk rock and riots go together like a horse and carriage. In 1981, at The Ritz in Manhattan, Public Image Limited led their paying public into disorder by playing behind a curtain while frontman John Lydon derided the 3000 strong crowd with the taunt of “silly fucking audience.” That same year, a series of dangerously oversold shows by The Clash at the Bond International Casino saw anarchy in the USA spill out in pitched battles on the thoroughfares of Times Square.

Neither of these donnybrooks, though, can hold a candle to Green Day’s afternoon set at Winston Farm in Saugerties, New York, on Sunday August 14, 1994.

The occasion was Woodstock ’94, a three-day jamboree held to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the now legendary Woodstock festival, at which appeared The Who, Jimi Hendrix and many other leading lights of the time. A quarter of a century on, the bill featured, among others, Aerosmith, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails and Primus.

In 1969, half a million people had been warned to stay away from “the brown acid.” In 1994, the same number of faces were met with a less avoidable threat: the weather. For three days a dishwater sky had wrung torrential and constant rain on upstate New York. By the time Green Day met their audience that Sunday afternoon, conditions were becoming untenable. Onsite, in a radio interview the Australian journalist Andrew Mueller surmised the scenario in one word: “shithouse.”

With a black shirt, a red tie and blue hair, Billie Joe Armstrong’s opening words to the crowd gathered at the festival’s South Stage were antagonistic. “What is this free fucking hippy love shit?,” he asked, adding, “How are you doing, you rich motherfuckers?”

Standing in conditions that made a wet year at Glastonbury look like a sunny day at Glynebourne , the answer was probably, “Not so great, actually.” Testy and volatile, the audience’s distemper would soon enough find its avenue of expression.

20 minutes into their 35 minute set, things began to truly slide out of control. Green Day were already having quite the summer – their Dookie album catapulting its way up the charts, crowds on the Lollapalooza tour hurdling turnstiles in order to catch their noon set – but the trio had never seen anything like this. Slogging their way through When I Come Around, the sky was brown with missiles made of mud; the stage looked like a late season non-league football pitch from 1973.

“I hope it rains so much, you all get stuck,” announced bassist Mike Dirnt, unhelpfully. 15 minutes later, when attempting to leave the stage, Dirnt would be tackled by a security guard with such force that it sheared his front teeth, an intervention that required a visit to the dentist the following day.

No fun, as Johnny Rotten would say. With the set nearing its chaotic end, Billie Joe Armstrong abandoned his guitar in favour of volleying several clumps of mud from whence they came; or, if you prefer, fighting fire with fire. Behind him, the rhythm section swerve in to a circumcised rendition of Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It as the audiences surges and leaps like salmon upstream.

“Look at me, I’m a fucking idiot!” announces the frontman. He might have been describing the spectators, or else referring to himself; possibly both.

Astonishingly, five years later Woodstock ’99 would prove even grimmer than its immediate predecessor – a gathering that culminated in riots, rapes and a stage set on fire.

But in 1994, things were bad enough. Leaving behind a stage in a state of perfect destruction, Green Day were expedited from the site via helicopter, a mode of transport of which Billie Joe Armstrong was terrified. Touchingly, his second concern was that his brand new pair of black Converse hi-tops were becoming sullied by the slurry at his feet.

“Woodstock [‘94] was about the closest thing to anarchy I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” the singer would later recall. “I didn’t like it one bit.”

Louder Than Life, America’s largest rock and metal festival, has officially announced the set times for its colossal 2026 edition, meaning you can get planning on how you'll be spending your weekend. And if you haven't got tickets yet, don't panic; there's still time to secure your place at what will surely be one of this year's most unforgettable, action-packed weekends.

Get your tickets for Louder Than Life 2026 here

Taking place September 17-20 at the Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Louder Than Life 2026 will see heavyweight headliners Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit and Tool head up a bill of almost 200 bands. Amongst them are the likes of Megadeth, Pantera, Pierce The Veil, A Day To Remember, Papa Roach, Gojira, Sublime, Danny Elfman, Rise Against, The Pretty Reckless and many, many more.

To get stuck into this year's set times and to start planning your weekend, head to the Louder Than Life website or, if you want to personalise your own schedule and get the most up to date information on what's happening across the festival, download the official Louder Than Life app.

If you're yet to secure your pass for Louder Than Life 2026, you still can do via the Louder Than Life website, where a variety of options are waiting including General Admission, VIP and various packages. All ticket holders also get free access to the amusement rides inside Kentucky Kingdom, which for the weekend will be open exclusively to Louder Than Life attendees. You can find out everything else that will be happening on site during the weekend, including the huge variety of food and drink options, here.

Remember, Louder Than Life isn't just an amazing lineup with a plethora of experiences: it will boast some one-off performances that you won't find anywhere else. Amongst these are Pantera’s only U.S. show of 2026, Danny Elfman’s first show in the Eastern half of the U.S. for the first time in decades, reunion sets from Circa Survive, Get Scared, Blood For Blood, Metal Church, Primer 55, Sent By Ravens and 40 Below Summer and album celebrations including Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American, Sleeping With Sirens' Let's Cheers To This and Sepultura's Roots, courtesy of Cavalera.

So what's keeping you? Make sure you have your ticket, get on the app, download those set times and get ready for the weekend of the year.

"Now is forever! IN THIS REALM!"

So goes the battle cry for Castle Rat, the New York group who've leveraged high fantasy themes and roaring riffs into becoming doom metal's hottest new band.

They've played barely a dozen gigs in the UK so far - their first was at Desertfest last year - but already the buzz around Castle Rat is obvious. It's a little after mid-day but the crowd swells under the brutal sun ahead of the band's Bloodstock debut and we'd wager by the time they finish they've pulled a bigger crowd than any main stage act from Saturday save perhaps Bleed From Within or Slaughter To Prevail.

It's not hard to see why. They might not have any proper anthems just yet - though Wizard, Wolf I and Dragon from last year's The Bestiary are absolute belters - but it's impossible not to get caught up in Castle Rat's spell. The high-camp theatrics feel like something heavy metal has neglected over the past 30 years, even the likes of Ice Nine Kills or GWAR going more for tongue-in-cheek meta-jokes than for a genuine sense of the fantastic.

Castle Rat aren't playing up their fantasy elements for jokes. Vocalist Riley Pinkerton inhabits the role of the Rat Queen with a seriousness that'd do Arthur Brown or Hawkwind proud, narrating the lore of her band's fantasy realm with irresistible earnestness. The "sword battle" between Pinkerton and "The Rat Reaperess" might be the set's most TikTokable moment, but the music itself doesn't suffer for all their live antics, delivering a baseline of defiant, chest-beating heavy metal.

Chunky, fuzzy riffs and keening guitar solos help build the sense that Castle Rat are well on the way to becoming something massive, somehow tapping the vein for trad metal whilst feeling fresh and vibrant. If this is what they can do in a 40-minute afternoon slot, imagine what they could do as a headliner.

You Got Another Thing Comin', Metal Gods, Breaking The Law: talk about an insane opening run. But then, when it comes to Judas Priest, you'd be hard-pressed to find any combination of hits that doesn't feel like an all-time great selection of heavy metal anthems. So who better to close out the final day of Bloodstock's 25th anniversary celebration?

"25 years of Bloodstock? 100 years of Judas fucking Priest!" Frontman Rob Halford declares to massive cheers.

Barely 20 miles up the road from where he grew up in Walsall, Bloodstock is as close to home territory for Halford as you can get without Priest doing a gig at Bescot Stadium and there's a clear sense of gratitude as Priest get a homecoming for the ages. Early on, Rob sports a leather jacket with the Black Country flag proudly displayed on the back, and their ties to the region seep through in little nods and easter eggs that pop up in the graphics.

And this setlist is an absolute beast. With a greatest hits to promote, it's not a massive surprise that Priest are cranking anthems out at industrial pace throughout the night - The Ripper, The Sentinel, Turbo Lover, Victim Of Changes. It's perhaps not as adventurous as what they broke out at Bloodstock 2021, but it's splitting hairs trying to figure out what you'd take out to round it out. Steeler for Exciter? Desert Plains for Judas Rising? Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Far from slowing down in their winter years, Judas Priest seem to be picking up steam. Rob Halford confirms the band are working on new material - a delightful concept, considering just how fantastic their last two records were - and there's barely any pause in the set, even the encore - teeing a colossal finisher of Electric Eye, Hell Bent For Leather (complete with Harley ride-on, of course) and Living After Midnight - only taking a minute or two before the band charge back on.

In many ways, Priest are representative of what Bloodstock was all about in its early years - and still continues to be about now, even with the evolving roster of bands. This is, after all, a celebration of heavy metal in its entirety, a chance for bands who'd get relegated to the sidelines at more mainstream festivals to strut their stuff in front of an ardent and ever-enthusiastic audience.

With Priest covering much of their half-century-plus as one of heavy metal's most iconic bands, there's a real sense of celebration that makes it almost impossible not to grin like a loon and roar along to your heart's content.

Judas Priest setlist @ Bloodstock Open Air, 9/8/2026

1. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
2. Metal Gods
3. Breaking The Law
4. The Ripper
5. The Sentinel
6. Desert Plains
7. Lightning Strike
8. Turbo Lover
9. Steeler
10. Delivering The Goods
11. Panic Attack
12. Victim Of Changes
13. Halls Of Valhalla
14. Painkiller
15. Electric Eye
16. Hell Bent For Leather
17. Living After Midnight

"Nevermore are one of the greatest, most important bands to ever do it." So says Urne's Joe Nally early on Saturday at Bloodstock and while the prog metal group's profile certainly never reached that of Tool or Rush, they wouldn't be the first band to make a comeback this decade and become bigger than ever.

But they endure a patchy start. Put it down to the controversy around tonight's headliners Slaughter To Prevail, the unyielding heat, or the simple fact that it's been 16 years since Nevermore last played the UK - and before that was Bloodstock in 2007, so they were hardly frequent visitors - but the crowd seems especially sparse for the retooled and revitalised Nevermore.

They won't let that stop them putting on a killer show. New vocalist Berzan Önen - replacing the much missed Warrel Dane, who died in 2017 - has great stage presence and his powerful, histrionic vocal talents are geninely captivating, while the band's unique fusion of extreme metal heft - just listen to that double-bass go, never letting up - old school heavy metal guitars and prog melody means Nevermore still feel genuinely ahead of the curve.

A few songs in, and the crowd thankfully swells to a healthy level as they hit their stride. Drawing from across their discography, the set is an abridged greatest hits with particular emphasis on 2000's phenomenal Dead Heart In A Dead World, thundering as they bust out the likes of Inside Four Walls and Engines Of Hate. Hitting each track with fresh vitality, Nevermore sound more like Hypocrisy or Strapping Young Lad than Queensryche and the sheer force of their sound is tremendous.

There's no major set pieces or production gimmicks, just great tunes and musicians going hell for leather for a hale 60 minutes. The highlight of the set is undoubtedly the gothic, doomy The Heart Collector, a track that somehow manages to bridge Sabbath and Nymphetamine with the Gothenburg sound, colossal in its ambition and brimming with anthemic potential. With more shows like this - and a new album on the way next year - we reckon Nevermore 2.0 might finally give the band the love they so richly deserve.

“I feel like Scotland have just won the World Cup!” says Bleed From Within frontman Scott Kennedy halfway through his band's set. Scott is happy, and so he should be; after all, his band have been grafting for 23 years and have reached a point where they can turn up at the UK’s premier metal festival and be greeted like one of the highlights of the weekend.

Two years ago at Bloodstock, Malevolence subheadlined the Ronnie James Dio stage, blew everyone away and walked off looking like shoe-ins as future headliners. Today, it’s Bleed From Within’s turn to do the very same.

With a back catalogue of seven strong albums and over two decades of hard road work behind them, BFW were never going to let an opportunity like today pass them by, and they are exceptional this afternoon, grasping the chance to stake their claim in an incredible manner. The grooves and propulsion of tracks like Levitate and God Complex sound magnificent, with Scott, rapidly growing into one of metal’s best frontmen, endlessly egging on the crowd, demanding more circle pits and more chaos. He gets his demands met, too, with at least five swirling pits being counted at one point.

The band sound fabulously tight, and the extra elements they add to their sound today with bagpipes players and vocalist Hannah Boulton pepper some glorious new textures to their meaty metallic crunch.

By the time they bid farewell with a superb run through of In Place Of Your Halo, jaws are on the floor and they’ve left headliners Slaughter to Prevail with a mighty high bar to reach. “This,” Scott tells us “is the best show this band has ever played.” It’s hard to disagree.

A John McGinn winner in the World Cup final? Sorry Scott, that sounds like pure fantasy. But Bleed From Within to headline Bloodstock? Well, that seems a much safer bet.

It’s fair to say that more than a few eyebrows were raised last year when Slaughter to Prevail were announced as Bloodstock headliners. A new name at the top of the bill is always something to celebrate, but there were more than a few grumbles that the Russian/UK deathcore crew were either not big enough or not musically in keeping with the tradition of Bloodstock to truly fit the bill. So STP arrive at the festival very much with plenty to prove and a lot of cynics to win over.

With all of this for context, it’s actually quite impressive how emphatically they ram those doubts back down people’s throats this evening. Because Slaughter to Prevail look every inch the consummate modern metal festival headliner this evening.

The reasons they succeed are simple, yet stunningly effective; firstly, they bring a show, a sense of theatre and an aesthetic that should appeal to all fans of heavy music. There is fire, loads of it, there are explosions, tonnes of them, there are massive party cannons full of streamers going off over the crowd and there are the masks. There are plenty of bands in masks in metal (in case you hadn’t noticed), but STP’s might just look the coolest. Frontman Alex Terrible in particular has an amazing silver skull visage with a moving jaw that makes him look like Skeletor if he was reimagined for a Hellraiser movie. Again, a simple idea, but gnarly as hell in practice.

So they look the part and, luckily, they sound the part too. Any of the objections people have made to Slaughter to Prevail making dumb, simplified, meat-headed metal on record feel completely redundant the second you’re stood in a field and those riffs slam you in the gut. This is pummeling, crushing, groove-laden metal that just feels good to hear live, the likes of Russian Grizzy In America, Babayka and Viking all kicking like a mule and lapped up by the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, the online suggestions that STP would pull the smallest headline crowd in Bloodstock history are laughably wide of the mark. The field is equally as full as it was for Lamb of God on Friday night, and these people are enjoying every second. When Alex Terrible tells everyone to wave their hands or crouch to do a 'jumpdafuckup', it stretches all the way back past the sound desk. If people were coming here purely out of curiosity or just to see Slaughter to Prevail fail then it would appear that they’ve all been won over.

There’s also the fact that STP treat this show as if it is something truly special to them. Alex speaks with humility to the crowd on more than one occasion, letting them know how nervous he is and how humbled he is to have been asked to headline this festival. It’s a sweet thing to see from a man who has an unbelievable, almost inhuman growl in his repertoire.

If there's one slight concern with their performance, it’s that Slaughter to Prevail could add a bit more dynamism to their music, the Rammstein-esque Behelit standing out as something quite different from the rest of their set. But this is a mere nitpick; with a first showing this strong, you wouldn’t bet against them tweaking things to address that the next time they come round. And, let’s have it right, when they do, they’ll be headlining again.

Whatever your thoughts on who or what constitutes Sepultura, the fact that this is a band who have been a constant in the world of heavy music for four decades now is a remarkable achievement. This evening their 40th anniversary farewell celebration tour (now into 42 years) reaches Bloodstock for their final ever show on UK soil.

There’s a clear air of excitement for such an occasion in the field and the band are greeted like heroes as they walk onstage and launch in the immortal Inner Self. For a song that was released in 1989 it still sounds unbelievably fresh; a grooving, thrashing masterpiece, it’s an example of precisely why this band are held in such high regard.

Of course, as much as those in attendance want all of the classics from Sepultura’s golden, Max Cavalera-fronted era, you’d be a fool for sleeping on their more recent material. There’s a very good argument to be made that Derrick Green is one of metal’s most underrated frontmen; Kairos and Means To An End, both songs from his time in the band, sound massive today, and Green performs them in his usual commanding manner.

Sepultura also rip through three brand new songs from their recent The Cloud Of Unknowing EP, something that most bands on their final run would never even consider doing. The almost proggy The Place actually sounds more than at home in amongst their more legendary material.

Ultimately, though, as great as all of this is, things really reach fever pitch with the set's final lap. Can any band in heavy music match Territory, Refuse/Resist, Arise, Ratamahatta and Roots Bloody Roots as five-song run? Bloodstock clearly doesn’t think so and goes absolutely feral for 20 minutes of pure metal perfection.

As the final chords of Roots… ring out, guitarist Andreas Kisser thanks everyone for 42 years of support and to congratulate Bloodstock on its 25th anniversary; as he does Green stands beside him, glassy eyed and clearly emotional, knowing that this will be his last time in front of a UK Sepultura crowd. What a band, what a way to sign off.

Bloodstock is back, baby! After a triumphant first night with Saxon - who headlined the very first event back in 2001 - the 25th birthday celebrations are well underway by the time Lamb Of God rock up on Friday evening. It's their third time taking top spot - putting them on equal footing with Judas Priest and Nightwish for the bands who've headlined the festival most - and they aren't fucking about getting things started.

A blast of sparks marks their arrival as they get stuck into Ruin. From there, we get a crash course in why Lamb Of God are so beloved on these shores. Laid To Rest and Now You've Got Something To Die For are undeniable anthems, kickstarting a flurry of movement that is astonishing considering the day has effectively been HIT training with each successive band turning the dial up (Life Of Agony - Fit For An Autopsy - Biohazard - Municipal Waste - Sepultura's final UK show).

For all the energy the crowd bring, Randy seems to want to match them pace-for-pace. Leaping, howling and stomping his way around with a demonic sense of vitality, his howls take on an almost screeching, manic fury. It's all off-set with a sense of playfulness and humour that betrays that they aren't the same band who seethed with a genuine sense of danger and destructive force 20-odd years ago and to be honest, they're better for the change.

There's a sense these lads actually like each other, and are having the time of their lives on stage (Randy even brings out his beloved mock-British character "Roger Brilliant" for a few bits that clearly crack up guitarist Mark Morton), inviting 20,000 metal fans to join in the fun. Enhanced with pyro and some freewheeling instrumentals, the set feels loose and joyous as the band span almost their entire careers (no New American Gospel or Omens era tracks stops it being a clean sweep). While there's a few dips - the drum solo after Parasocial Christ doesn't help - they manage to keep things tight and explosive for the most part.

Given just how consistently brilliant they've been live over the past 26 years, it's easy to take Lamb Of God for granted. But when they break out the likes of Walk With Me In Hell, 512 or even a newer rager like Momento Mori, you can't deny they basically set the bar for 21st Century metal bands live. Accept no substitute.

The 25th anniversary edition of Bloodstock Open Air Festival kicked off this week and tonight organisers announced Mercyful Fate, Electric Callboy and Motionless In White as main stage headliners for next year's 26th year of the event.

With Lamb of God, Saxon, Slaughter To Prevail and Judas Priest headlining at Catton Park in Derbyshire, England, this weekend, fans who had just watched Municipal Waste's set on Friday were told who will be the big hitters on the Ronnie James Dio Main Stage in 2027.

In a statement announcing the 2027 lineup, Friday's headliners Mercyful Fate say: "Mercyful Fate is honoured and looking extremely forward to playing Bloodstock again. Last time was awesome, and this time with a brand new album out, finally!"

Saturday's main draw Electric Callboy will be headlining the festival for the first time. The German electro-metal party-starters are cover stars of the new issue of Metal Hammer magazine which is available with an exclusive cover and special art print.

On being confirmed as Sunday headliners for 2027, Motionless In White frontman Chris Motionless says: "We were told that we are one of the most requested bands to perform at your legendary festival, so it is with great honour to announce that we are answering the call and will be seeing you next year for our first ever European festival headlining show, and only UK show of 2027! Thank you so much! Let the countdown begin."

The Sophie Lancaster stage in 2027 will be headlined by Madball, Gaerea, Kanonenfieber and Dethklok.

"Yorkshire! Yorkshire! Yorkshire!" There's something perfect about seeing Opeth in God's Own Country on Yorkshire Day, the band's early sound undeniably influenced by the Peaceville Three. Speaking of whom, Paradise Lost are actually pulling main support duty for the day (and we hear tell that former My Dying Bride vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe has been spotted in the crowd too).

Not to be entirely outgunned, Opeth have enlisted fellow Swedes Katatonia to kick the event off. Set within the gorgeous confines of Halifax's Piece Hall, an 18th Century market hall that hosted both Korn and Limp Bizkit ahead of their jump to Download headliner status - though we won't hold our breath for Opeth doing the same - Katatonia look and sound magnificent, their majestic, melancholic prog metal stirring and epic to behold.

Paradise Lost might steal the day. Apparently the doom metal masters have never played their hometown, but when frontman Nick Holmes mentions the fact it's nice to be at home it prompts an effusive chant like someone's set up a third faction in the English civil war.

Pulling from across their career, the set is proof positive that Paradise Lost have only gotten better with age: 90s classics One Second, The Last Time and their killer cover of Smalltown Boy are undeniable anthems, but the likes of The Enemy, Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us and Ghosts (featuring a guest appearance from former drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, who now plays in Opeth) show PL are still producing some of their best material well into the 21st Century.

The difficulty with any Opeth setlist is, there's only so much they can squeeze into any headline set. Even so, they do a spectacular job of spanning their careers; from 1999 on, at least. There's no denying 2024's The Last Will And Testament felt like their finest moment in over a decade, so hearing just how well §1 and §7 work live adds more fuel to the desire for the band to perform the whole record in full. Frontman Mikael Akerfeldt does point out the difficulty in having guest contributions, however.

"If you've heard this record, you'll know we got Ian Anderson to do some spoken word," he starts, to a massive cheer. "He's not here. Now, we don't have any clicktracks or any of that shit, but we do have Ian's part on a tape. So we're going to play this song a little fast or a little slow, and we'll just see where his part ends up happening."

It turns out, Anderson comes in at exactly the right time... only for the video to run out of sync. Can't win 'em all. It's something the band take with good humour however. As the set winds back to their 'classic' era - Windowpane, The Grand Conjuration, The Drapery Falls - we're treated to some sublime visuals as lights shimmer amidst thick plumes of smoke that make it look like the band has opened a portal to another dimension, Akerfeldt undercutting the otherworldliness with a self-deprecating humour that feels as Northern as white roses and dark satanic mills. They'll make a Yorkshireman of him yet.

Opeth setlist @ Piece Hall, Halifax August 1 2026

1. §1
2. Hjärtat vet vad handen gör
3. Godhead's Lament
4. §7
5. The Devil's Orchard
6. Windowpane
7. The Grand Conjuration
8. The Drapery Falls
9. Hex Omega
10. Deliverance

Ding! The bell rings and all eyes snap back towards the bare-knuckle boxing ring in the centre of the arena. Alex Terrible, the Russian-born singer of Slaughter To Prevail, and Cameron Delano, an American bullrider built like a piece of farm equipment, rise to their feet, visibly exhausted, and step back to the centre of the ring. Both fighters are bloody, with faces swelling. Alex’s nose is broken, and he keeps wiping the blood from his face, yet, somehow, underneath all of it, he’s also grinning.

This is the climax of Blood4Blood, a meeting of metal and bare-knuckle fighting dreamed up by Alex and staged by heavyweight US promoter Danny Wimmer Presents at the 9,300-capacity Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The idea is straightforward: a line-up of bands and a full Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) fight card, same night, same room, same crowd.

The bands, including Black Label Society, British metalcore heroes Malevolence, Crowbar and Slaughter To Prevail themselves, have been chosen by Alex and his bandmates. At the end of the night, Alex will climb into the ring for the event’s closing bout with Cameron Delano, a short, sharp shock of violence and viscera. That’s where we came in. For now, let’s go back to the start, when nobody in the building was bleeding yet.

6PM: The line at Ocean Center wraps a third of the way around the building. It’s mostly Slaughter To Prevail merch, but there’s a decent showing of Black Label Society gear, and a range of other metal bands are represented. Talking to a few people in the queue, two things become clear.

First, most of them are here for the bands. Second, most of them are also genuinely excited about seeing their first sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, including a few who say they wouldn’t have come for a fight card alone, and a few more who say the music is a bonus.

Hand-to-hand combat is a very old sport – one of the oldest. Two humans, no weapons, an audience. Alex has been a fight obsessive for years, training in combat sports. He’s already had one brutal professional fight in Russia, which left him with several serious fractures to his skull, air in his brain, and temporary blindness.

In spite of the pain, his love for fighting seems perfectly aligned with his pursuit to be the best version of himself.

“It gives you perspective,” he says. “You see things differently because it is serious. You could very easily die in there. Some people call me a poser or some shit like that. But you cannot fake it at all. It’s real as fuck.”

6.45: There are two focal points in the arena. One is a traditional stage at the far end. The other is the BKFC ring dead centre, with the crowd flowing around it. Local Florida band Chained Saint hit the stage in an arena that has no business being this full at 6.45pm on a Wednesday.

The music is classic thrash metal but the four people playing it are just kids, all less than 21 years old. Circle-pits are already going on both sides of the floor. The ring sits between them, fully lit, empty, waiting.

“Metal music isn’t all about being aggressive and high energy, but it is a big part of that style of music,” Alex says of his idea to bring these two worlds together. “It’s the same energy as in bare-knuckle fighting or in MMA in general. It’s so intense. It just fits very well.”

7.30pm: Pyro and strobes herald a condensed set of Slaughter To Prevail’s heaviest material. From the stage, Alex can look straight down into the ring he’s going to be fighting in shortly. In the photo pit, Cameron Delano is looking back at him with his arms folded, sporting a cowboy hat, completely still.

“From the moment I watched the band start playing, I knew the energy was gonna be crazy,” Cameron tells us later. “They brought the intensity the entire night.”

It’s a strange sight: a man calmly studying someone he’s about to spend three rounds trying to hurt, while that someone screams over breakdowns three feet above his head.

7.55pm: The first fight of the night lasts 66 seconds. Kratos, a Russian fighter making his BKFC debut with a moniker and ripped body both seemingly borrowed from the videogame God Of War, faces Brock ‘Alphadawg’ Walker. Kratos catches him clean inside the opening minute, and the referee waves it off. A few seconds later and it’s done. The Russian wins.

Most people in the room have never seen a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight up close. The sport was illegal in the US until 2018, when Wyoming legalised it after a 130-year ban. A growing number of states have followed. Florida is one of them, which is why what’s happening tonight, despite looking transgressive, is entirely above board, with ringside doctors, a referee, sanctioning bodies and a televised broadcast.

In contrast to other MMA styles, bare-knuckle boxing bouts are fast-paced. The fighters don’t wear padding to absorb blows. Knuckles cut skin in the opening exchanges. Blood is on the canvas within seconds. By the time you’ve registered what’s happening, somebody is on the floor. The fights are much shorter than traditional boxing bouts, so the intensity is cranked up to 11, and knockouts are common.

8.15: The early KO leaves time to fill, so the BKFC hosts come into the ring to throw t-shirts and work the crowd, eventually leading to an announcer crowdsurfing – reportedly a first for the organisation. Then Crowbar take the stage and slow everything down to molasses tempo. Alex is a fan.

“Every time we see a video of something cool on TikTok, it’s Crowbar playing in the background,” he says. “They are legends.”

8.50: The BKFC is often touted as a macho sport, but tonight’s card includes two veterans of the women’s division. Taylor ‘Killa Bee’ Starling is a dyed-in-the-wool metal fan, and her body is adorned with tattoos - a stark contrast to her opponent, Sydney Smith, who has none visible.

The lights cut, the spotlights come on, and the pair make their entrances to their own walkout tracks. Unlike the first fight, this one survives the opening round. Both women return to their corners, cut and visibly swelling. Round two ends at 1:32 when Taylor lands the shot that finishes it. She’ll spend the rest of tonight watching the bands.

9.10: Backstage, the contrast is striking. Aside from the rumble from out front, it’s as quiet as a quilting expo, though there’s a particular kind of nervous energy in the air that comes where people are about to do something they can’t undo.

Some fighters are getting their hands wrapped, others talk quietly with guests. Cameron Delano, Alex’s opponent, is here too, hanging out with his young daughter as though his televised fight won’t be talking place in less than two hours.

9.20: Malevolence are onstage, playing Trenches, and the pits are bigger than they have been all night. Zoltan Bathory and Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch – noted MMA heads – are watching from the floor. The crossover keeps writing itself.

9.45: Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick fights Roderick Stewart in front of a packed room that has fully accepted the format by this point. Bands stop, fights start, fights end, bands start again. Both fighters are tatted up and cast a menacing presence.

10.15: Black Label Society hit the stage. Zakk Wylde, in his plaid kilt, pounding out heavy riffs. By now, several of the night’s fighters are out on the arena floor in the crowd, bloodied and bruised, watching the bands. Taylor Starling’s newfound fans are getting photos taken with her battered, smiling face.

“It was a blast!” Zakk says after his set. “Fighting and heavy music go together like peanut butter and jelly.”

He’s not wrong. The metal community’s always embraced aggression – take a look at any moshpits. Bare-knuckle boxing is a natural extension of that. There’s mutual respect, too, before and after the bell, in a similar way metalheads knock someone down in the pit, and help them right back up.

10.50: The big fight. The one everyone’s here to see, or at least curious about. Alex Terrible vs Cameron Delano. The lights die and the crowd roars. The American walks on first – focused, narrow-eyed, the bullrider in him fully switched on. Then Alex, and the volume in the room peaks so hard you can’t make out his walkout track over the chanting.

“This is your main event of the evening!” comes the announcement, further riling the crowd up into a frenzy. The fighters meet in the centre of the ring. The bell goes. Ding! They start hitting each other. Within 90 seconds both men are bleeding from the face.

Round one is two solid minutes of trading: fists landing flush, knuckles opening cuts, the wet sound of impact audible over the crowd if you’re close enough. At the bell, the two men high-five through bloody teeth and walk to their corners. It’s a brutal opening round.

10.53: Round two. Alex lands a right hook clean on Cameron’s jaw and staggers him, but Cameron weathers it to the bell. Chants of “USA! USA!” and “AL-EX! AL-EX!” trade off in the rafters. There’s a Rocky IV-ish quality to it on paper – it was billed as The Russian Grizzly vs. The American Bull.

10.56: Twenty-nine seconds into the third round, Cameron counters with a clean right hand, and Alex goes down. He stands but his legs betray him and he wobbles to the ropes where the referee waves to signal the fight is over. Cameron takes the win by TKO.

Both men are wearing more of their own blood than seems possible. What most of the crowd doesn’t know is that Alex had been planning to play another short STP set after the fight, but the on-site doctor and the venue would not allow it. Presented with a man sporting a broken nose, several facial fractures and a suspected mild concussion, any competent medical expert would have firm opinions about the wisdom of headbanging in the immediate aftermath of all that.

The building, though, is in no rush to empty. Fighters are still mingling on the floor and fans are still photographing each other in front of the ring. Whatever Blood4Blood was supposed to be, it has clearly worked.

FOUR DAYS LATER: Alex Terrible is sitting backstage at Welcome To Rockville, where STP are due to headline the third stage this evening. The black eyes are something else. The voice is calm.

“To be honest, I’ve been asking myself that, and I still cannot find the answer yet,” he says, when asked why he fights. “It’s just something in my heart. We have this phrase: ‘Be a warrior means live forever’, and I believe I am a warrior, and my war is fighting fears and weakness. It makes me go to these places that I’m scared of going to and face my fears and try to build the best version of myself. Not only physically, but in all aspects of your life.”

He’ll fight again, he says. He might not perform on the same night next time, because he’s a competitor and he wants to win, and the split focus didn’t do him any favours. Other musicians have already been in touch about appearing on future cards. He says Pantera would be the dream get. Whether they came for the blood or the music, the fans in Daytona got both. For Alex, it was something simpler: a war he chose, fought and walked away from.

SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL HEADLINE BLOODSTOCK ON AUGUST 8, PLUS GLASGOW SWG3 ON AUGUST 10 AND 02 ACADEMY BRISTOL ON AUGUST 12

Country rock legends Eagles have extended their record-breaking residency at Sphere in Las Vegas again. The news comes nine months after they announced that the "final" four shows of their current run of shows would take place in March 2026.

Since then, the residency has been extended three times, and now another four shows have been confirmed for early 2027.

The band, who played their first date at the venue in September 2024, will now complete a total of 72 shows over 36 weekends, with the final Sphere shows scheduled for January 22 and 23. Full dates below.

Eagles have now played to more than a million fans at the venue and own the record for the longest Sphere residency, comprehensively breaking the record held by Dead & Company, who played 48 shows between May 2024 and May last year.

According to the promoters, the shows will "offer fans the ultimate connection to the band’s legendary catalogue in an immersive experience that only Sphere can provide."

Ticket prices at the 20,000-capacity venue start at $175. The presale for the new seats begins on August 12 at 10am, with registration for early access to tickets now open on the Eagles website.

Also available are "Experience & Hotel" and "VIP Experience & Hotel" packages. The latter retails at $1451 and includes a choice of premium seat at Sphere, with guaranteed full view of the screen and priority access into the venue, a two-night stay at The Venetian Resort hotel, airport transfers, a VIP fan experience, commemorative Eagles keepsakes and a souvenir Eagles laminate and lanyard.

Sphere was opened in 2023 by U2, who played 40 shows at the revolutionary venue. Since then, Phish (13 shows across two residencies), Dead & Company, No Doubt (18 shows), country star Kenny Chesney (25), vocal group Backstreet Boys (35) and The Zac Brown Band (8) have completed residencies. Metallica have confirmed 24 shows between October and March.

Other bands rumoured to be in talks with Sphere include Guns N' Roses, Tool and Queen + Adam Lambert.

The next Eagles show at Sphere is on September 18.

Eagles @ Sphere, Las Vegas, 2026

Sep 18: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Sep 19: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Nov 13: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Nov 14: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Nov 27: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Nov 28: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Dec 04: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Dec 05: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Dec 10: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Dec 11: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Jan 15: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Jan 16: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Jan 22: Las Vegas Sphere, NV
Jan 23: Las Vegas Sphere, NV

Get Eagles tickets.

Prog legends King Crimson will release 2014 (The Complete US Tour) as a double Blu-ray set on October 30.

It was the band's first tour for six years and one which introduced the now-famous three-drummer line-up, featuring Gavin Harrison and Pat Mastelotto, both members of previous Crimson line-ups, and Bill Reiflin, who had worked with Ministry and REM.

Robert Fripp's e-mail to his fellow bandmates ahead of the tour read, "dear brother crims, we have one year to prepare for action of the savage variety, and be in Go! mode for september 2014... but essentially, King Crimson is in motion.”

The two-disc set features the complete 19-date 2014 King Crimson USA tour as well as a never-before-seen pre-tour show at The Egg, Albany, NY for friends and family, in 24/48 and presented in 1920x1080 (HD).

The new concert recordings are presented in 24/96 Hi-Res Stereo taken from the Front of House live mix, sourced from the band's multi-track recordings and incorporating both the audience and hall sounds for each venue.

The two-disc set will be packaged in a miniature gatefold sleeve with 24-page booklet and new sleeve notes from King Crimson biographer and Prog writer Sid Smith.

Pre-order 2014 (The Complete US Tour).

King Crimson: 2014 (The Complete US Tour)

Blu-Ray I

SEPTEMBER 2014

8^th Sept - Albany, NY The Egg (Friends & Family show) video*

9^th Sept - Albany, NY The Egg

10^th Sept - Albany, NY The Egg

12^th Sept - Philadelphia, PA Verizon Hall

13^th Sept - Philadelphia, PA Verizon Hall

15^th Sept - Boston, MA Colonial Theatre

16^th Sept - Boston, MA Colonial Theatre

18^th Sept - New York, NY Best Buy

19^th Sept - New York, NY Best Buy

20^th Sept - New York, NY Best Buy

Blu-Ray II

SEPTEMBER2014

21^st Sept - New York, NY Best Buy

23^rd Sept - Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre

25^th Sept - Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre

26^th Sept - Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre

27^th Sept - Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre

30^th Sept - Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre

OCTOBER 2014

1^st Oct - Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre

3^rd Oct - San Francisco, CA The Warfield

4^th Oct - San Francisco, CA The Warfield

6^th Oct - Seattle, WA Moore Theater

Four years after 30 minutes of Led Zeppelin's performance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in 1970 appeared online – before being removed – all the known footage from the event has been uploaded to the YouTube account of film archivist ledzepfilm.

"After 56 years, I am proud to present all the 16mm footage shot by Peter Whitehead and Ernie Vincze of Led Zeppelin's performance at the Bath Festival on June 28th, 1970," says ledzepfilm. "Rumoured for decades, this is a monumental addition to the Led Zeppelin canon and an essential watch for any fan."

Whitehead and Vincze originally planned to shoot the concert and interview Led Zeppelin, but the pair arrived at the festival site late and missed the band's arrival by helicopter. During the show itself, they were shooting using film stock only suited to daytime shooting, so much of the live footage looks dark, and the band didn't have multitrack recording set up, so the sound – captured on a portable reel-to-reel machine and matched to the footage later – is incomplete and certainly not hi-fidelity.

Even so, the complete Bath footage, which captured Led Zeppelin at an early career crossroads, has become a holy grail among Led Zeppelin fans.

"It’s historically very important," Dave Lewis, editor of Led Zeppelin's Tight But Loose fanzine, told Classic Rock in 2017. "It was a turning point for the band – their biggest UK show, five encores, great reviews, the first time they played acoustically (they played That’s The Way, from Led Zep III) and it set them up for the rest of their career, really."

Highlights of the newly uploaded footage include Jimmy Page backstage with then-girlfriend Charlotte Martin, Robert Plant and John Bonham backstage, the debut live performance of Immigrant Song, and clips of Dazed And Confused, Since I've Been Loving You, Whole Lotta Love, Moby Dick and more.

Some of the footage remains silent, some synced to Whitehead's original audio recordings, and some matched with tapes made by audience members. Watch the historic footage below.

It's around 10pm on Saturday night, and up on the huge stage in front of me, a worried-looking keyboardist in priestly garb and corpse paint is getting burned at the stake. Behind him is a giant image of a grinning, hooded werewolf, looming over crumbling ruins that resemble an old, decaying church. In front of him are about 70,000 screaming, fist-pumping, circle-pitting and crowdsurfing metalheads. Some on the front row are so overcome with emotion that they're bawling their eyes out. It's unlike any spectacle I've seen in 25 years of metal shows.

This is Powerwolf, the supernaturally-inclined German power metallers that have become one of Europe's most surprising success stories, playing their biggest ever show at Wacken Open Air, their country's premier metal event. It's a powerful moment for Wacken itself, which over 35 years has grown from a small, local gig nestled in some farmland in North Germany into the biggest metal festival on planet Earth.

In a climate where large-scale rock and metal fests are more commonplace than ever - Germany alone also has Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park, Summer Breeze and Rockharz taking place every summer - Wacken positions itself as a true Mecca of metal, informally referring to its main arena as the 'Holy Land' and welcoming a black-clad army of 85,000 each year.

It's certainly an event of some scale - upon walking onsite for the first time on Thursday afternoon and around areas that include two big outdoor stages (plus a couple of smaller ones), a large array of food stalls, stores and merchandise stands, a tattoo shop, some bars and even a full farmer's market, imagine my surprise upon realising that I haven't actually arrived at the main arena space yet.

In there are the festival's two biggest stages - Faster and Harder, built side by side and timetabled so bands never overlap - with the festival's third biggest stage, Louder, a few hundred metres around the corner. There are also the Wackinger and Wasteland stages, plus the W:E:T and Headbanger stages I strolled past earlier, making it seven decent-sized, outdoor stages in total.

It's a little overwhelming at first - from some vantage points you can spot three or four big screens showing different bands playing at once - but despite the sheer amount of people here and all the stuff going on, it never feels too busy. The atmosphere is relaxed, there are no signs of any crowd surging or bottlenecking and the stages are all spread widely enough not to interfere with each other, but are never a slog to get to (at least, not in the lovely weather we're blessed with - a repeat of last year's mud may have been a different story).

This year, Wacken is marking its 35th anniversary and the celebratory vibes last all weekend, not least from the stacked lineup. Old school heavy metal legends Def Leppard and Judas Priest roll out the bangers on Thursday and Friday night respectively, garnering the kind of full-hearted singalongs that'll guarantee some croaky throats in the morning. Swedish melodeath veterans In Flames and Arch Enemy - the latter fronted by fire-throated new singer Lauren Hart - slay it on the main stages in front of tens of thousands.

The future of metal looks in safe hands thanks to a clinical but bruising hour from rising Swedes Orbit Culture, who bounce back from some initial technical issues, while modern British metal gets a fine showing courtesy of Employed To Serve and Bleed From Within's pulverising sets. Both bands look like they're having an absolute blast in front of pleasingly large crowds on Wacken's third and fourth stages.

Elsewhere on the site, just about every corner of heavy music is represented, whether it's Hatebreed's battering metallic hardcore, Emperor's flaying black metal majesty or Municipal Waste's chaotic crossover thrash. Lamb Of God, meanwhile, put on what might just be the set of the weekend, making the most of their sixty minutes with an absolute scorched earth performance, the likes of Walk With Me In Hell and Set To Fail landing so hard it's a surprise the dusty ground beneath us isn't cracking open.

All of this makes for a great metal weekender, but its the thought put into Wacken's organisation that makes it feel like a step above. There's an abundance of shaded areas to sit in - much needed in the thirty-plus degree heat that hits on Thursday - plus a decent scattering of water points and proper, flushing toilets and accompanying sinks. It means you're never more than a ten minute walk or so from a quick rinse or a water top-up (again, weather-permitting). There are also booths dispensing free sun cream and walking vendors selling drinks and snacks (and, er, cigarettes).

Queues for some food stands and facilities are inevitable at certain times but they never seem to get out of control, especially compared to many big festivals; I'm pretty sure I never had to wait more than five minutes or so to get served. It paints the picture of a festival that has a) grown organically and b) continued to prioritise the enjoyment and comfort of the people buying tickets.

It also means you can see a band like Saturday night headliners Sabaton draw a metal crowd the size of which would have once been exclusively reserved for Iron Maiden or Metallica. The war-obsessed Swedes tag in from fellow power metal heavyweights Powerwolf to bring Wacken 2026 to a pyro-powered peak, setting off enough fireworks to fuel a decade of bonfire nights - not to mention their massive tank drum kit that ends up being suspended from the ceiling at one point.

It's bombastic. It's epic. It's completely ludicrous. It's heavy metal in its final form, and it's the kind of thing this festival was built for. There's no doubt about it: Wacken Open Air is the home of metal, and this was a special weekend.

The internet has been particularly generous to us this week, with a healthy number of rare and previously unseen live performances making their way online. From old TV shows to awards ceremony highlights to contemporary livestreams, here are 13 remarkable highlights, with a disclaimer: be quick, because at least a couple of these clips might not remain online for long.

1. The Beatles - Live At The Coliseum, Washington

In February 1964, at the height of Beatlemania, the Beatles played a sold-out show at the Coliseum in Washington, DC. The 12-song set was filmed by CBS and broadcast the following month, and has subsequently appeared on DVD. This latest (unofficial) clip of three songs upscales the video to 4K, colourises the footage and remixes the sound, and it shows the "lovable mop-tops" in complete control as carnage unfolds.

Famously, this is the night the band were pelted with jellybeans after professing a love for the popular sweet in an interview. "We were on a circular stage, so they hit us from all sides," said George Harrison. "Imagine waves of rock-hard little bullets raining down on you from the sky. It’s a bit dangerous, you know, ’cause if a jellybean, travelling about 50 miles an hour through the air, hits you in the eye, you’re finished. You’re blind, aren’t you?"

2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Jimi Hendrix's shows at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall in February 1969 were both captured by an American company, McCann Filming, and released as a concert movie later that year. This hour-long compilation uses the best available video and audio sources from the second of the shows (from February 24) and features some rare and previously unseen footage of Jimi backstage and after the show, an interview at Jimi's London flat, and two acoustic covers filmed at the same location.

3. Can - Halleluhwah (Live on Beat-Club)

Last week we made some noise about a known-but-previously unreleased version of Black Sabbath's N.I.B. filmed for the German TV show Beat-Club in 1970, and now here's something from the following year as Krautrock lynchpins Can perform an eight-minute version of the classic Halleluhwah. This performance is a full ten minutes shorter than the studio version on Can's Tago Mago album (thanks to standard television programming being unable to accommodate a 20-minute avant-garde jam), but Jaki Liebezeit’s relentless drumming and Damo Suzuki's stream-of-consciousness vocals are still a treat.

4. Family (ft. Roger Chapman) - Part Of the Load (Live on Beat-Club)

Another 1971 gem from the Beat-Club archive as Family mix three different kinds of rock (progressive, blues rock and jazz) into something truly adventurous, with Roger Chapman improvising on vocals and a stellar rhythm section in the shape of bassist John Wetton and drummer Poli Palmer, who, presumably via some kind of post-production video magic, also appears on vibes. Palmer was filling in on the stool for regular sticksman Rob Townsend, who'd been bitten by his dog.

5. Uriah Heep - Return To Fantasy (Live on The Midnight Special)

Since launching its archive on YouTube in early 2023, The Midnight Special has uploaded hundreds of clips and dozens of full shows, thus adding to the total sum of international enjoyment by a significant factor. This footage comes from the summer of 1975, when Uriah Heep were promoting their Return to Fantasy album, and features Mick Box & Co. (including our old friend John Wetton, who'd replaced Gary Thain earlier that year) playing the title track. This mix isn't the best (too much bass, not enough guitar), and singer David Byron may be what they call "worse for wear", but it's undeniably full-on.

6. Thin Lizzy - The Sun Goes Down (Sight And Sound In Concert)

Thin Lizzy's Sight And Sound In Concert was filmed at the Regal Theatre in Hitchin in early 1983 and featured the band's Thunder And Lightning lineup, with the late John Sykes fitting in beautifully alongside Scott Gorham on guitar. This footage of The Sun Goes Down finds Phil Lynott at his most melancholic, and has found its way to Thin Lizzy's official YouTube channel in the footsteps of two other songs from the same show, Cold Sweat and Jailbreak.

7. King Crimson - Sleepless (Live at Tokyo's Kani Hoken Hall)

Three Of A Perfect Pair might not be the best 80s-era King Crimson album, but the band were still absolutely monstrous live, as evidenced by this 1984 clip, which was filmed on the final night of a three-performance residency at the Kani Hoken Hall in Tokyo, and features some utterly heroic bass playing from the great Tony Levin.

This is the latest in a long line of songs released from the show (elsewhere you'll find Discipline, Frame By Frame, Sartori In Tangier, Elephant Talk, etc, etc), which was filmed for Nippon TV and later issued on LaserDisc as Three of a Perfect Pair – Live in Japan.

8. Pink Floyd - The Great Gig in the Sky (Live in Venice)

Such is the celestial splendour of Pink Floyd's Great Gig In The Sky, it's easy to forget that this performance – filmed in Venice in 1989 – only took place after three months of bickering with the local authorities, led to the resignation of the town's mayor, and took place on a barge. Backing vocalists Rachel Fury, Durga McBroom and Lorelei McBroom sing Clare Torry's original freeform part brilliantly, much to the presumed delight of the estimated 100 million people who watched Pink Floyd in Venice: A Concert for Europe when it was broadcast worldwide.

In the last few weeks, Floyd have also released Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Time, Learning To Fly, The Dogs Of War, On The Turning Away, Yet Another Movie, Sorrow and Round And Round from the Venice show.

9. David Bowie - Rebel Rebel (TFI Friday)

It's easy to forget the cultural dominance of Chris Evans's show TFI Friday, but for a while, back in the late 1990s, it was the UK show to appear on, with everyone from Bon Jovi to Slipknot, Tina Turner and Prince appearing live (and it was very live). The show's official YouTube channel was launched earlier this year (more than 300 clips have already been uploaded), and the latest batch includes a pair of David Bowie performances, China Girl and Rebel, Rebel, from a broadcast in October 1999. Eagle-eyed viewers will note the presence of Helmet's Page Hamilton on guitar.

10. Tom Waits and Neil Young - Get Behind the Mule

Back in 2011, Neil Young inducted Tom Waits into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "I didn't bring my teleprompter or my notes, and I don't have any real thoughts," Young joked. 'I will say that this next man is indescribable and I'm here to describe him."

After doing so, the pair went on to perform Waits' Get Behind the Mule, from his 1999 album Mule Variations. Waits has only played one significant show in the years since, when he completed a 10-song setlist at a Bridge School Benefit show in 2013. Quite why the Rock Hall have waited until now to release this clip is anyone's guess, but we're not complaining.

11. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Live At Red Rocks

If there's a more sublime combination of band and venue than Tedeschi Trucks Band and Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, then it surely must be in heaven. This twenty-minute teaser (you can skip five minutes of audience preamble) was filmed late last month and opens with a pair of rapturous Sly Stone covers in You Can Make It If You Try and Everyday People, plus their own Don't Let Me Slide and the beginnings of Crazy Cryin', before the footage fades. If you want to watch the whole thing, it's available via TTB's deal with streaming platform Nugs.

12. Smashing Pumpkins - Lollapalooza 2026

Filmed on the same night as Tedeschi Trucks' Red Rocks show, but across the country at Grant Park in Chicago, this clip features Smashing Pumpkins' entire Lollapalooza 2026 set, which includes a host of classics (1979, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Disarm, Tonight Tonight, Cherub Rock and more) plus a trio of cameos from Yungblud, Olivia Rodrigo and Melissa Auf der Maur. It seems as if Billy Corgan (dressed here as Nosferatu, it would seem) is enjoying himself these days, and that comes across in a set that's sonically spectacular and ultimately triumphant.

Dozens of heavy metal bands have been confirmed for the lineup of German mega-festival Wacken Open Air in 2027.

Leading the pack are US groove metal arena-fillers Five Finger Death Punch, German power metal veterans Helloween and German electronicore party-starters Electric Callboy (who grace the cover of this month’s Metal Hammer).

Also announced are UK power metal band Dragonforce, who’ll be playing a 2027 European exclusive and joined by their recently added co-vocalist, ex-Arch Enemy member Alissa White-Gluz. White-Gluz’s new band Blue Medusa will appear, too.

German metal band Edguy will play as part of their farewell tour and, on the more extreme end, blackened death metal unit Kanonenfieber will put on a show featuring the production from their own curated festival, Kanonenfest.

Ex-Anthrax singer John Bush will play a special set featuring material by his former thrash band, and Children Of Bodom will play following their recent reunion with new frontman Samy Elbanna. Elbanna replaces the Finnish quintet’s late founder, Alexi Laiho.

The full list of names is available below. The festival, which is held annually near Wacken village in north Germany, will take place from July 28 to 31.

This first wave of 2027 acts was announced as Wacken Open Air 2026 came to a close on Saturday (August 1). It remains to be seen whether any in this crop are headlining the festival.

Wacken this year was headlined by Def Leppard, Sabaton and Judas Priest. Powerwolf, In Flames, Savatage, Arch Enemy (now fronted by Lauren Hart), Saxon, Lamb Of God, Europe, Emperor and many more also populated the bill. Electric Callboy played an exclusive Electric Bassboy DJ set at the event, celebrating the release of their upcoming album Tanzneid this week.

Wacken is Five Finger Death Punch’s first announced date for the 2027 European festival season, but the band will headline a tour across the continent from January to February. The headline run will include a show at the O2 Arena in London, their biggest-ever UK performance. Lamb Of God and Bleed From Within will serve as support for those dates.

As for Electric Callboy, the band are currently on the cover of Hammer, and inside the issue they tell the story of Tanzneid and their career so far. Co-singer Nico opens up about his past throwing weekly house parties for all his friends.

“At its peak, we had 80 people in this tiny flat. People that we didn’t know were ringing the doorbell,” he says. “They treated our flat like shit. I wanted to go to bed, and there were drinks and liquids that I couldn’t identify all over my bed! Very good memories, even if it doesn’t sound like it.”

The six-piece, who released their latest single The Way You Are last week, are still touring Europe and will bring their Electric Bassboy show to their own festival, Escalation, on August 7. The day after, they’ll headline the event. Order the new Hammer, with Electric Callboy on the cover, and get it delivered directly to your door.

Helloween’s Wacken 2027 appearance will be part of their ongoing 40th-anniversary celebrations. They’re currently making their way across Europe and will play the Concert Music Festival in Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain, on Thursday (August 6). A Latin American tour is in place for August and September. Wacken will be part of a 2027 summer European run also featuring dates in Spain and the Czech Republic.

Wacken 2027 bands:

• John 5
• Avatar
• Beast In Black
• Belphegor
• Between Two Worlds
• Blue Medusa
• The Browning
• John Bush (Anthrax set)
• Carnifex
• Cavalera Conspiracy
• Children Of Bodom
• Creeper
• Crypta
• Dark Tranquillity
• Dethklok
• Dragonforce
• Edguy
• Electric Callboy
• Feuerschwanz
• Five Finger Death Punch
• Gaerea
• Hammerfall
• Heaven Shall Burn
• Heavens Gate
• Helloween (40th-anniversary set)
• Hiraes
• Imminence
• Jinjer
• Kanonenfieber (Kanonenfest set)
• Knocked Loose
• Make Them Suffer
• Malevolence
• Metal Church
• Mittel Alta
• The Narrator
• The New Roses
• Norther
• Overkill
• Primordial
• Seven Blood
• Shadow Of Intent
• Sylosis
• Tailgunner
• Towards The Sinister
• Tyketto
• U.D.O.
• Victorious
• Witch Club Satan

Megadeth have announced 2027 European live dates, including their first headlining UK tour since 2015.

The Grammy-winning US thrash metal veterans will return as part of their ongoing farewell run, which kicked off with a leg of North and Latin American shows earlier this year. Black Label Society and fellow thrashers Testament will support.

A Live Nation pre-sale for the UK starts at 9am local time on Thursday, August 6, and general sale commences at 10am on August 7. See the full list of confirmed shows below.

Formed by singer/guitarist and sole constant member Dave Mustaine in 1983, shortly after his expulsion from Metallica, Megadeth are one of the best-selling extreme metal bands in history, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. In 1992, their fifth album Countdown To Extinction reached number two on the US Billboard 200.

After picking up 11 nominations over the course of their career, the band finally won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2017, with their single Dystopia. In 2023, their song We’ll Be Back was also Grammy-nominated, but lost to Degradation Rules by Ozzy Osbourne featuring Tony Iommi in the metal category.

42 years in, Megadeth announced their impending retirement last summer. Mustaine, now 64, said he wanted to go out on his own terms and urged fans: “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years.”

It was later revealed that physical injuries also played a part in the band’s split. In December, Mustaine announced that he had Dupuytren’s contracture: a condition where one or more fingers bend in towards the palm. Mustaine said that the condition made it painful for him to play guitar.

Megadeth released their final studio album, a self-titled effort, via BLKIIBLK in January. It received mostly positive reviews, including four stars from Metal Hammer’s Dom Lawson, and was the band’s first US chart-topper. Its bonus track was a cover of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning: a song that Mustaine co-wrote but wasn’t released until 1984, after his dismissal from the lineup.

It’s rumoured that Megadeth are set to release a greatest hits album, Fast Hits, on August 21. Reports began after fans spotted it on the Walmart website last week. The band have not yet commented on the matter.

Megadeth’s last UK headline run took place in November 2015 and was capped off by a co-headline show at London’s Wembley Arena with Lamb Of God. Children Of Bodom and Sylosis supported.

Even though the band haven’t topped the bill on a UK tour since, they’ve been a regular presence on the country’s festival circuit, including headline performances at Derbyshire’s Bloodstock Open Air in 2017 and 2023. They also supported Five Finger Death Punch in arenas last autumn.

Megadeth: 2027 European tour dates

• Mar 09: Belfast The O2, UK
• Mar 11: London OVO Arena Wembley, UK
• Mar 12: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
• Mar 13: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
• Mar 15: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
• Mar 16: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
• Mar 18: Birmingham BP Pulse Live, UK
• Mar 19: Leeds First Direct Bank Arena, UK
• Mar 21: Paris Zenith, France
• Mar 23: Brussels Forest National, Belgium
• Mar 25: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
• Mar 27: Copenhagen KB Hallen, Denmark
• Mar 28: Oslo Spektrum, Norway
• Mar 30: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
• Apr 01: Berlin Velodrom, Germany
• Apr 02: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
• Apr 04: Munich Zenith, Germany
• Apr 05: Bern Festhalle, Switzerland
• Apr 06: Milan Unipol Forum, Italy
• Apr 08: Lyon Halle Tony Garnier, France
• Apr 10: Barcelona Olimpic Arena, Spain
• Apr 12: madrid Movistar Arena, Spain
• Apr 13: Lisbon Sagres Camp Pequeno, Portugal

Lollapalooza lands in Chicago later this week for four days of music - and artists including The Smashing Pumpkins, Turnstile, The XX, Beabadoobee, Boys Noize, Ethel Cain, Wet Leg, Yungblud and Wolf Alice are all set to perform.

But not everyone will be able to travel to Chicago's Grant Park between July 30 and August 2, but have no fear, because Disney+ and Hulu are official partners of the festival and they'lll be live-streaming sets over the course of the four days.

For the full four-day line-up, check out the official Lollapalooza website.

How to watch Lollapalooza Chicago

If you want to catch the weekend action from Grant Park, you'll need to sign up for a Disney+/Hulu subscription.

Monthly price 🇺🇸: From $9.99 (Disney/Hulu bundle), from $19.99 (Disney/Hulu Premium bundle)
Monthly price 🇬🇧: £5.99 (Standard with ads), £9.99 (Standard), £14.99 (Premium)
Free trial? Not currently, but look out for special offers throughout the year.

Once you have your subscription set up, you'll be able to watch some brilliant music live from Lollapalooza Chicago.

• Read our full Disney+ review

How to watch from anywhere

If you're going to be out of the country on holiday between July 30 and August 2 and don't want to miss the live action from Lollapalooza, you'll need a VPN to help you.

Virtual Private Networks are used to change the location of your IP address, enabling you to watch Lollapalooza Chicago no matter where you are. Nord VPN is Louder's service of choice and it's currently available with 75% off the usual price - and there's a 30-day money back guarantee.

How to use a VPN

1. Install a VPN. As we've mentioned above, Nord VPN is Louder's favourite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN. If you're currently outside of the country and don't want to miss the music from Grant Park, just select your country from the list, then log on to your Disney+/Hulu account.

3. Kick back and relax: That's it - you're all set for a weekend of great music.

Speaking about its commitment to music festival coverage (which also includes Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits) Head of Content Planning & Partnerships, DTC at The Walt Disney Company Lauren Tempest says: Music festivals are among the most electric, can't-miss moments in culture, and now Disney+ and Hulu subscribers around the world can experience the excitement.

“As we continue to extend our live offerings, we remain committed to bringing fans the biggest, most iconic moments right as they happen, and are thrilled to bring that vision to life with Live Nation.”

EVP, Head of Global Media Partnerships at Live Nation Kevin Chernett adds: "Music festivals used to be experiences reserved for the people who could physically be there. Now they’re becoming global live moments that fans want to experience together in real time, no matter where they are in the world.

"Expanding this partnership with Disney+ and Hulu allows these festivals to reach music fans at an entirely different scale.”

What else is on Disney+

Disney+ is one of the many TV and film streaming services available, but while I'd like to see more music-related content, there's still plenty to get excited about.

The service is home to the likes of Peter Jackson's Beatles doc Let It Be, and the three-part series Get Back. Other musical highlights include Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, Summer ’82: When Zappa Came To Sicily, Abbey Road: If These Walls Could Sing, Hip-Hop And The White House, and the 2024 biopic The Beach Boys.

For me, the real draw of Disney+ and the reason I've had a subscription for years is that it's home to the entire Star Wars universe – all the classic movies are here, alongside spin-offs such as The Mandalorian, Andor, The Book Of Boba Fett and The Clone Wars animated series. There's even an option to watch everything in timeline order.

Marvel content is another draw, and like the Star Wars content, it's crammed with flicks, series and shorts – and the ability to binge on the entire MCU complete timeline.

There's also all the classic Pixar movies and shorts, the National Geographic Channel, and the Hulu network (featuring the excellent comedy crime drama Only Murders In The Building starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short.

There was a lot riding on Genesis’ first show with Phil Collins fronting the band in place of Peter Gabriel. In 2012, 36 years later, the people involved looked back with Prog on the first time Collins took the stage as lead vocalist.

After a stellar, record-breaking career, Phil Collins still vividly remembers his first show as lead singer for Genesis.

Canada – “because it was always strong for us” – had been chosen as the location: London, Ontario first, then Kitchener. A thousand thoughts were rushing through his head on March 26, 1976. “What do I wear? What do I do? I had big shoes to fill. I could sing, but could I talk? I had the goodwill of the audience, but not the security blanket of my drums. Once we’d got a couple of songs out of the way, though, I felt: I can do this.”

Genesis fans were onside: they wanted the band to survive original vocalist Peter Gabriel’s exit. Prematurely written off by the press as a backing band without a leader, they now had underdog appeal. “A Trick Of The Tail was a bright light,” says Collins, “and they preferred that we’d made things work within ourselves.”

Mike Rutherford recalls in the memoir Genesis: Chapter & Verse that in the first break between songs, “I saw Phil go up front with a piece of paper in his hand, shaking, so nervous. But it worked great. Phil had experience from his [acting school] youth of being on stage: he was comfortable there, and the audience wanted to like him. As some of our songs were slightly distant, atmospheric, dark, Phil’s more down-to-earth presence on stage counteracted the heavier parts of the set. He reduced the tension and allowed people to relax between the songs.”

The 1976 tour then swept across the States before arriving in England in June and continuing through Europe. It was an unqualified success, with the band honing a set list that accommodated their new, more accessible material alongside highlights of the earlier, Peter Gabriel era. Yet it nearly hadn’t happened – with Gabriel’s departure, the remaining members had wondered if they had any future as a unit. How would they replace their charismatic frontman? Could they come up with songs? Where would they find a new singer? And if they did, would he be given a fair crack of the whip?

Most of the answers were, as decades of commercial triumph were to prove, closer to home than they initially realised. Collins, simultaneously playing with experimental outfit Brand X, at first assumed Genesis would carry on as an instrumental quartet. That notion, he laughs, lasted “about a day”.

Tony Banks and Rutherford pointed out that they were and had always been songwriters, and needed a singer. Many luckless souls auditioned before the band realised the perfect solution was right under their noses. Steve Hackett, along with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, went to Collins’ first wedding and urged Collins to consider the role.

Phil’s vocal contribution to the 1975 Hackett solo album Voyage Of The Acolyte had been much admired by the guitarist. Collins says he’s also “read somewhere” that his wife encouraged him to do it, “which is quite possible”. In the end, he says, he showed up at a rehearsal and said, “Well, I guess I’m going to have to do it. As long as I can find a drummer I like.” Because of course by ‘promoting’ Collins to vocals, Genesis were, to some extent, sacrificing another asset: the fact that they had one of the world’s best and most in-demand drummers.

Collins’ friend from Brand X, Bill Bruford, formerly of Yes and King Crimson, came in to bridge the gap for this tour. With his pedigree, he was, to the fans, “friendly fire”, reckons Collins. The new situation also lent Genesis the possibility of using two drummers at times.

“When they were playing together on The Cinema Show [from Selling England By The Pound],” Banks has said, “that became one of the strongest moments in the show.” Hackett’s memory of Bruford’s impact is even more specific: “Bill was a star in his own right. He helped our confidence on stage no end. I even shaved off my moustache. At last I was without facial hair!”

The most radical change, though, was upfront, centre stage, on the microphone. Banks says he knew Phil had a lovely voice, but wasn’t sure that he’d “want” to do it. At the time, he ponders, “He didn’t seem to have… the gravitas.” Yet as the auditions had revealed, he “sounded great” and was the right, if not the most obvious, choice.

Producer David Hentschel has said, “Phil really half-nominated himself… the timbre of his voice was not dissimilar to Peter’s… but there needed to be a push to convince the other guys.” Collins, though, denies that he was “ambitious”. “I’d got myself a nice little reputation as a drummer, and I was happy with that. This was the last thing on my mind. I had no affinity with the idea of walking out from behind the drums and becoming a band’s singer: the guy who wiggled his bum, who people looked at. Over the years there have been people claiming I nudged Peter out. That’s complete rubbish.”

Behind the scenes, the writing had been on the wall for the Gabriel-Genesis line-up for some time. Although Gabriel, Banks and Rutherford had grown up together at Charterhouse School and formed the band, their close friendship had become strained by the pressures and rigours of touring and recording.

Gabriel, frustrated by the democratic band format, was embarking on parenthood and, after quitting, took some time out to “grow vegetables” and recharge his batteries before getting his solo career motoring. During the recording of their 1974 double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, he’d often be writing lyrics in one room while the others wrote music in another. “So,” muses Collins now, “you can look back and see where the trip wires were.”

Gabriel had informed the band of his decision before The Lamb… was finished and just before the subsequent exhaustive tour, on which the band played this lengthy concept album, as yet unreleased, in full, to often bewildered audiences blasted with innovative lighting and laser stabs.

He honoured his commitments, and Hackett recalled that, “more and more shows were put in because nobody wanted to say goodbye to him. Nobody’s departure from a band is without rancour, but it was as gentlemanly as it could be.” Banks hints that there was some begrudging of the press-led notion that Gabriel was the main man and the others just his backing band fleshing out his ideas.

Perhaps Gabriel at first had more faith in the others’ ability to succeed than they did. “It was difficult,” he said in Genesis: Chapter & Verse, “because they didn’t understand why I’d want to go when we were about to achieve something we’d worked so hard for. They perhaps felt I was sabotaging what was possibly their one big chance. I believe to this day that I had much more confidence in the band’s ability to transcend my departure than they did themselves.”

Collins remembers exactly where he was when Gabriel told him he was leaving. “I was in his hotel room in Manchester. I love Peter dearly, but I just assumed we’d carry on. Then as I’d been Peter’s stooge onstage, singing all the back-up vocals and more, the job of teaching the songs to the guys coming in to audition fell to me.”

Rutherford, Banks, Collins and Hackett were delighted with the new material they’d come up with for A Trick Of The Tail, the likes of Squonk, Dance On A Volcano, Ripples… and Entangled convincing them they’d been right to carry on. Squonk played a major part in deciding the course of the transition.

None of the singers auditioning had hit a home run, but one was in pole position. They got him in to record Squonk, but the key was too high and the results disappointing. Collins chuckles, with hindsight, that the band never took the courtesy of asking the singer what key suited him, adding that they never gave him that courtesy either in later years: “I had to make do,” he says.

So, having been pencilled in to perhaps sing one or two of the softer songs, Collins sang Squonk (inspired by the drum sound on Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir), confirming that he could handle tougher, heavier tracks too. The album was completed, everyone was getting along famously, and somehow, more by accident than design, Phil was the new Genesis singer. The tour that could have been an epitaph became a celebration, and the dawn of a new phase in the band’s remarkable career.

Of course, had A Trick Of The Tail tanked, the reinvention would have fallen flat. “But the album came out and it was a sudden turnaround,” says Rutherford. “We’d been dismissed: ‘Gabriel leaves, it’s all over’. Then it came out and people liked it and the reviews were very good.” Banks emphasises that the reception for The Lamb… had been, for all its subsequent acclaim, “very mixed. The fans weren’t ecstatic about it in the way they were about Foxtrot or Selling England…. So this gave Trick… a chance: people who found Peter a bit difficult perhaps preferred it being a little less dense.”

Released in February 1976, it went top three in the UK (and hung around, voted album of the year by the readers of Melody Maker), and went gold in the States. According to Banks, it doubled the band’s previous album sales, and helped to solve another issue: at the time of Gabriel’s leaving, Genesis were almost half a million dollars in debt.

Gabriel was happy for his former colleagues. “That assuaged any guilt I might have felt,” he’s said. “Clearly they were off and away after a wobbly period. When I’d been the centre of the band everyone assumed that like Pete Townshend in The Who I’d been the main writer of everything, whereas I’d been just one of the main writers. When the band had more success without me, I suddenly felt that people were re-evaluating the old work, thinking, ‘Oh, maybe Peter was just the guy who wore the masks’, and that did piss me off! When I did write seriously agaim, I tried to come up with songs that sounded as different from Genesis as possible.”

There were no masks for Collins, who didn’t try to compete with Gabriel’s on-stage theatricality, simply playing up his unpretentious guy-next-door persona. “Not a conscious decision,” he says now. “I just didn’t feel I could pull off the things Peter did. I said: ‘Okay, I’ll give it a go, but don’t expect me to wear all those costumes!’” So he “just stood there and sang”, afraid even to take the microphone off its stand at first. “Taking the microphone off its stand was what ‘singers’ did, I wasn’t ready for that yet.”

Yet as that night in Canada and many future nights (even during and after his phenomenal solo success) testified, he had a connection with Genesis’ music and fans that was invaluable. “He was quite a character, but to the audience he was one of us, and, therefore, one of them,” says Mike Rutherford now. “We knew after half an hour that night in Canada – this is going to work.”

Eyewitness report by Jim Fisk

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime event!” says the then-teenage snapper of the very first show with Phil as singer in London, Ontario.

“The London Arena [since demolished] could hold a few thousand at the most and is more used to roller-skates than rockers. Before the show, I wandered in with my Dark Side Of The Moon stickered briefcase (was I a roadie?) and watched the band set up. Everyone was ejected for the sound check. Come show time we dashed up to third-ish row on the hard concrete floor.

"When the lights dimmed, the place, small as it is, was packed. Phil perhaps a little tentative at first, but the crowd responds and so does Phil. Bill Bruford, in his Boston Bruins T-Shirt was Mr Perfection, as usual. I’d missed the Lamb… tour in Toronto for a physics exam (poor choice) and my buds were concerned Phil couldn’t cut it. He cut it good. Robbery, Assault And Battery and Phil is dressed the part. “A Flower?” he says as the huge green and yellow tulip explodes into view.

"I’m snapping pictures and I’d swear Phil and Mike are posing for me. Over 35 years later, and as I look at them now they still amaze me. Mike’s double-necking is masterful. But the Phil and Bill percussion duel was incredible. Speed, technical excellence, and musical too. Tony perched on the edge of the small stage, quiet, just doing his job and doing it well. Steve, all in white, soars to heights unreachable by mortal man. In the small hall, the sound seemed to wrap around us. Bass pedals grabbed my guts and shook them like there’s no tomorrow.

"Encore? Encore! Sure, I regret like hell not seeing Gabriel do Lamb… (although he did a bit in his first solo tour), but when the house lights came up I knew we’d witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

The Vans Warped Tour heads to the Shoreline Waterfront at Long Beach, California, this weekend where artists including Papa Roach, All Time Low, Bowling For Soup, Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonefire, Glassjaw, Nova Twins and Thrice will perform.

The good news is that even if you can’t make it to the festival that runs across July 25 & 26, you’ll be able to feast upon the action thanks to the festival’s partnership with Amazon for the official Warped Livestream.

Kick back, crank up the volume and you can watch and listen to the weekend unfold via Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, and Twitch, while the Amazon Live Channel on Fire TV and Samsung TV Plus will also be showing the event.

How to watch the Vans Warped Tour

If you want to catch the weekend action from Long Beach this weekend, you'll need to get yourself an Amazon Prime Video subscription. This is included with an Amazon Prime account, but you can also sub to the video portion only. You can also get a 30-day free Prime trial. Here's pricing details:

Prime video only: $8.99/£7.99 per month
Amazon Prime (with Prime Video): $14.99/£8.99 per month or $139/£95 annually
Prime Student: $7.49/£4.49 per month or $69/£47.49 per year

Once your subscription is set up, you'll be able to watch the whole weekend of music from the Vans Warped Tour.

How to watch from anywhere

If you're going to be out of the country on holiday across the weekend of July 25 & 26 and want to watch the Vans Warped Tour from long Beach, you'll need a VPN to help you.

Virtual Private Networks are used to change the location of your IP address, enabling you to watch the Vans Warped Tour from Long Beach no matter where you are. Nord VPN is Louder's service of choice and it's currently available with 70% off the usual price - and there's a 30-day money back guarantee.

How to use a VPN

1. Install a VPN. As we've mentioned above, Nord VPN is Louder's favourite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN. If you're currently outside of the country and don't want to miss the music from Shoreline Waterfront, just select your country from the list, then log on to your Amazon Prime Video account.

3. Kick back and relax: That's it - you're all set for a weekend of great music.

Who else is playing?

There are dozens of artists set to play over the weekend, but some other names you might be interested in seeing are: Dance Gavin Dance, Hoobastank, Jinjer, Letlive, Norma Jean, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Sleeping With Sirens, Taking Back Sunday, The Ataris, The Devil Wears Prada and Winona Fighter.

For a full list of. confirmed artists, check out the official Vans Warped Tour website.

What else is on Prime Video?

Amazon Prime Video is one many TV and film streaming services currently available - and it's home to loads of brilliant music content and more.

You can watch all four seasons of The Osbournes, Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, the documentary We Are Twisted Sister, Pink Floyd: The Wall, Led Zeppelin: In The Light, and live shows including Amazon Music Live: Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses Live Rarities.

It’s also worth mentioning that this weekend’s Fuji Rock Festival from the Naeba Ski Resort in Japan, will also be live-streamed through Amazon Prime Video and the Amazon Music Twitch channel. Some of the artists appearing will be Mogwai, Turnstile, Kneecap, The Lemon Twigs and Angine De Poitrine.

Away from music, and Amazon Prime Video is home to video game spin-off Fallout, The Rings Of Power, six seasons of sci-fi epic The Expanse, based on the brilliant James S.A. Corey books, and a huge library of classic TV series.

Amazon Prime Video also serves as a hub for other streaming services such as Paramount+, Apple TV, Discovery+, Shudder and Crunchyroll, while TV favourites and films are also available to rent or purchase through the service.

This year’s Fuji Rock Festival takes place later this week and will feature bands including Mogwai, Massive Attack, Turnstile, The Beths, Kneecap, Angine De Poitrine and one of my personal favourites, Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

The good news is that if you’re unable to make the journey to the Naeba Ski Resort in Japan for the festival this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you’re in luck because Amazon will be streaming performances from four stages: Green Stage, White Stage, Red Marquee and Field Of Heaven.

You’ll be able to watch and listen via Prime Video, the Amazon Music app and the Amazon Twitch feed - and it's worth pointing out that all you'll need is an Amazon account to watch.

Amazon say: “Welcome to Fuji Rock Festival ’26. Join us live from one of Japan’s most anticipated outdoor music festivals. Tune in for three days of epic performances and so much more. Catch an unforgettable line-up, including today’s biggest stars and emerging bands."

Amazon add: “Not all artists will be live-streamed. Also, some artists will only stream a portion of their performance, not the full show."

For a full list of times and artists, visit the official Fuji Rock Festival website.

How to watch Fuji Rock

If you want to catch the weekend action from the Naeba Ski resort in Japan, all you'll need is an Amazon account - regardless of whether they are a Prime member or not.

However, if you want to experience all Prime has to offer, you can pick up an Amazon Prime Video subscription. This is included with an Amazon Prime account, but you can also sub to the video portion only. You can also get a 30-day free Prime trial. Here's pricing details:

Prime video only: $8.99/£7.99 per month
Amazon Prime (with Prime Video): $14.99/£8.99 per month or $139/£95 annually
Prime Student: $7.49/£4.49 per month or $69/£47.49 per year.

How to watch from anywhere

If you're going to be out of the country on holiday between Friday, July 24 and Sunday, July 26 and want to watch the live action from Fuji Rock, you'll need a VPN to help you.

Virtual Private Networks are used to change the location of your IP address, enabling you to watch your preferred streaming network no matter where you are. Nord VPN is Louder's service of choice and it's currently available with 70% off the usual price - and there's a 30-day money back guarantee.

How to use a VPN

1. Install a VPN. As we've mentioned above, Nord VPN is Louder's favourite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN. If you're currently outside of the country, just select your country from the list, then log on to your Amazon Prime Video account.

3. Kick back and relax: That's it - you're all set for a weekend of great music.

What else is on Prime Video?

Amazon Prime Video is one many TV and film streaming services currently available - and it's home to loads of brilliant music content and more.

For example, this weekend’s Vans Warped Tour from Long Beach, California, is also being live-streamed via Amazon Prime Video. Tune in to see artists including Papa Roach, All Time Low, Bowling For Soup, Jimmy Eat World, Alexisonefire, Glassjaw, Nova Twins and Thrice do their thing.

You can also watch all four seasons of The Osbournes, Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, the documentary We Are Twisted Sister, Pink Floyd: The Wall, Led Zeppelin: In The Light, and live shows including Amazon Music Live: Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses Live Rarities.

Away from music, and Amazon Prime Video is home to video game spin-off Fallout, The Rings Of Power, six seasons of sci-fi epic The Expanse, based on the brilliant James S.A. Corey books, and a huge library of classic TV series.

Amazon Prime Video also serves as a hub for other streaming services such as Paramount+, Apple TV, Discovery+, Shudder and Crunchyroll, while TV favourites and films are also available to rent or purchase through the service.

Iron Maiden have thanked fans who attended Eddfest earlier this month in a six-minute video that takes viewers behind the scenes at Knebworth Park and features contributions from band leader Steve Harris.

In the blurb accompanying the video, the band thank the fans who attended the festival, their merch partners, and the crew, before revealing that the Maiden-branded parasols at Eddie's Dive Bar were stolen on opening night and expressing their disappointment.

"Not cool, guys," they say. "Literally."

Highlights of the video include Harris exploring the festival site and embracing former Irons singer Blaze Bayley, footage of the Infinite Dreams Experience and the Unfair Funfair, as well as live and backstage footage of the band.

"I walked around before the public came in," says Harris. "I went around and looked at all the stuff. It's just amazing. All the museum stuff. It was just outrageous, really."

Harris also reveals that he watched the sets by all the Irons-connected bands he chose to perform on the first night of the festival. This lineup included Bayley, Stray, Gypsy's Kiss, Maiden United 1980, Airforce and Tony Moore's Awake.

Iron Maiden kick off the North American leg of the Run For Your Lives tour in Toronto at the end of August, which is followed by dates in Central and South America, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Full schedule below.

Iron Maiden: 2026 Run For Your Lives tour

Aug 29: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Aug 30: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Sep 03: Montréal Parc Jean-Drapeau, QC
Sep 05: Harrison Sports Illustrated Stadium, NJ
Sep 06: Harrison Sports Illustrated Stadium, NJ
Sep 09: Boston TD Garden, MA
Sep 11: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, OK
Sep 12: Charlotte Truliant Amphitheater, NC
Sep 15: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA
Sep 17: Louisville Louder Than Life Festival, KY
Sep 19: Shakopee Mystic Amphitheater, MN
Sep 22: Chicago Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, IL
Sep 25: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA
Sep 27: Los Angeles BMO Stadium, CA
Sep 29: San Antonio Alamodome, TX
Oct 02: Mexico City Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico

Oct 05: San Salvador Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González, El Salvador
Oct 08: San José Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica
Oct 11: Bogotá Vive Claro, Colombia
Oct 14: Quito Estadio Atahualpa, Ecuador
Oct 17: Lima Estadio Nacional, Peru
Oct 20: Buenos Aires Estadio Hurácan, Argentina
Oct 21: Buenos Aires Estadio Hurácan, Argentina
Oct 25: São Paulo Allianz Parque, Brazil
Oct 27: São Paulo Allianz Parque, Brazil
Oct 28: Curitiba Arena da Baixada, Brazil
Oct 31: Santiago Estadio Nacional, Chile
Nov 01: Santiago Estadio Nacional, Chile

Nov 07: Auckland Spark Arena, New Zealand
Nov 08: Auckland Spark Arena, New Zealand
Nov 11: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Australia
Nov 13: Melbourne AAMI Park, Australia
Nov 15: Sydney Allianz Stadium, Australia
Nov 18: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
Nov 19: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
Nov 24: Yokohama K-Arena, Japan
Nov 25: Yokohama K-Arena, Japan

Find Iron Maiden tickets.

Spiritbox ejected a fan from a recent show in Phoenix, Arizona for allegedly violent behaviour.

As the Canadian metalcore outfit played Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre last Wednesday (July 15), singer Courtney LaPlante paused the show before playing last year’s single Soft Spine to kick out some that she claimed was “hurting everybody”.

Footage of the encounter is now circulating online.

“Zev [Rose, drummer] is taller than us and he’s up on the kit, and he sees some fucker right now,” LaPlante says in the video (via The PRP).

“We’re not gonna play another song and this show is not gonna continue until we make sure everybody out there is safe. So I need you guys to be tattletales, who’s the fucking freak that’s hurting everybody? Point him out… Point him out. He went that way? Well guess what, fucker? We all saw you, and we know where you are. Your ass is gonna get kicked the fuck out.”

The singer then addresses one of the alleged victims of the unruly concertgoer.

“Hey are you OK, bud?” she asks. “I know that you didn’t mean to draw attention, I’m sorry to draw attention to you, but that’s fucked up, OK? This isn’t the damn gold medal karate match, OK? This is a rock’n’roll show. Alright, it looks like security’s got him. Let that be a lesson to anybody out there who fucks around tonight.

“Because our security, they’re very nice and they love you guys. But they have let me know that if they have to, they will baptise a motherfucker and they will tune you up. Because what’s most important, safety, right? So if anybody falls down, what are you going to do? You’re going to pick them up, OK?”

The Phoenix show was part of Spiritbox’s ongoing North American tour with Evanescence and Nova Twins. The shows continue tonight (July 22) at Cascades Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington. The band are also booked for a run of European shows which start in Glasgow, UK on September 12. Jinjer and Dying Wish will support.

Spiritbox released their latest album, Tsunami Sea, to positive reviews last year. Metal Hammer’s Rich Hobson gave it a near-perfect 4.5-star score and said that they’d become “a band who could contend with Bring Me The Horizon and Sleep Token as the next zeitgeist-setting metal act”.

LaPlante collaborated on a standalone single called End Of You with fellow vocalists Poppy and Evanescence’s Amy Lee last September. In a recent Hammer interview, Lee reflected on the experience and said, “Courtney and Poppy are both amazing and very different from each other.”

Evanescence’s Amy Lee says it was “so fun” supporting Metallica on the Australia and New Zealand leg of the San Francisco titans’ three-year-long M72 world tour.

Lee’s Arkansas band played their six shows stadium with Metallica and openers Suicidal Tendencies in November 2025. The singer calls the headliners “so gracious”, even letting her bring her grand piano onstage for the entirety of her five-piece’s hour-long sets.

“You never know how it’s going to be coming into somebody else’s world,” Lee tells Loudwire. “It’s their show and [you give] full-on respect: OK, it’s Metallica, we’ll back off. But also, can we have some good production? What exactly can we get away with?”

She continues: “And they ended up being so cool. They let me put our grand piano out on the snake pit thing, so it could just live there and I could go for the couple of moments that I spend at the piano, just surrounded by the crowd.”

The singer also reflects on bringing her then-11-year-old son onto the tour, and watching Metallica with him at the end of each night.

“[He was] the perfect age to fall in love with metal,” she says. “So, him getting to experience that in the stadium, rain gently starts falling during Nothing Else Matters, just watching his mind go like, ‘I’m in!’ It was such a good, good thing for my heart, and just took me back to being that age and falling in love with music.”

The 2025 shows marked Evanescence’s first time supporting Metallica, as well as their first time playing in stadiums. Talking to Minnesota radio station 93X last August, Lee said that she wasn’t “scared at all” ahead of the tour.

“It’s a lot of bands, so we’re not responsible for carrying more than like our portion of the weight and [these will be] Metallica shows, so fans are gonna be stoked,” she explained (via Arrow Lords Of Metal).

“But at the same time, I know how those fans can be. I’ve been in this game for a while. I know what it is. I know what I’ve gotta bring. I know what not to play. So, we’re just gonna bring it and have a blast.”

Metallica have a reputation for going above and beyond to make their support acts feel welcome. Ahead of the November 1 show on the Australian tour, the band presented Lee with a M72-inspired cake.

Similarly, talking to Hammer last year, Mammoth singer/multi-instrumentalist Wolfgang Van Halen revealed that he was given a ‘Perfect Attendance Award’ for supporting them at every venue on the M72 tour’s 2023 and ’24 legs.

“Opening for Metallica was unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of,” Van Halen said. “It was really, really crazy.”

Metallica recently ended the M72 run with a summer European leg, supported by Gojira, Knocked Loose, Pantera and Avatar. The band posted tributes to each of the four openers via social media earlier this week. Avatar responded in a statement to Loudwire, calling the shows “something we will always be grateful for”.

The M72 tour may have ended, but Metallica won’t be away from the stage for long. In October, they’ll return for a residency at Las Vegas multimedia venue The Sphere. They’ll be the first metal band to play the space, which has previously hosted U2, the Eagles, the Backstreet Boys and more.

Meanwhile, Evanescence released their new album, Sanctuary, last month. Their breakthrough hit, 2003 single Bring Me To Life, has just been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Bob Dylan has announced a run of UK shows for later this year. The 85-year-old will kick off a run of ten dates at the BIC Windsor Hall in Bournemouth on November 25, before heading to Birmingham, Sheffield and Blackpool. The schedule will climax with five nights at the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank on December 3-8.

Promoter and venue presales begin on Monday (July 20) at 10am local time, with the general sale kicking off two days later at the same time.

The tour's announcement follows some disruption in Dylan's touring camp, with two established sidemen quitting. Guitarist Doug Lancio, who joined the band in 2021, left last month, and was followed a fortnight later by fellow axeman Bob Britt, who joined in 2019. They've been replaced by jazz virtuoso Julian Lage, Memphis-based R&B guitarist/vocalist Jad Tariq, and Chicago-based roots, jazz, and blues guitarist Joel Patterson.

Like the 2024 leg of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, the new run of shows is being promoted in partnership with tech firm Yondr, whose technology is designed to prevent fans from documenting live performances on their devices. Ticket holders will be required to insert smartphones and cameras into protective pouches that remain locked while the concert is in progress. Fans needing to use their devices during the shows will need to step outside the phone-free area to unlock their pouches.

The technology, which was launched in 2020, was famously adopted by Ghost on their 2025 world tour, and has also been used by Jack White, Guns N' Roses and Alicia Keys.

Dylan is currently on tour in North America. His next show is this evening (July 16) at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, MA. Full dates below.

Bob Dylan: 2026 tour dates

Jul 16: Boston Leader Bank Pavilion, MA
Jul 18: Gilford New Hampshire Bank Pavilion, NH
Jul 19: Bridgeport Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, CT
Jul 21: New York Queens Forest Hills Stadium, NY
Jul 23: Richmond Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, VA
Jul 24: Vienna Filene Center at Wolf Trap, VA
Jul 25: Vienna Filene Center at Wolf Trap, VA
Jul 28: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Jul 29: Wilmington Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park, NC
Jul 31: Atlanta Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park, GA
Aug 01: Nashville Ascend Federal Credit Union Amphitheater, TN

Nov 25: Bournemouth BIC Windsor Hall, UK
Nov 26: Birmingham BP Pulse Live, UK
Nov 27: Sheffield Utilita Arena, UK
Nov 30: Blackpool Opera House, UK
Dec 01: Blackpool Opera House, UK
Dec 03: London Royal Festival Hall, UK
Dec 04: London Royal Festival Hall, UK
Dec 05: London Royal Festival Hall, UK
Dec 07: London Royal Festival Hall, UK
Dec 08: London Royal Festival Hall, UK

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System Of A Down have added another chapter to their long-running beef with Oasis.

At the first of their two headline shows at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, guitarist Daron Malakian led the crowd in a scatologically inspired Oasis chant, comparing the Mancunians to a tapeworm requiring urgent removal.

"London, do you have an ass?" asks Malakian. "Everybody say ass!"

"We have a little song about a tapeworm," he continues. "Just for fun, today I'm going to name the tapeworm. Today, I'm gonna name the tapeworm Oasis. Pull Oasis out of your ass, Hey!"

The 50,000-strong crowd responds in kind, happily bellowing the refrain "Pull Oasis out of your ass!" before being led through further iterations of the chant.

The bad blood between Oasis and System Of A Down goes back to an interview Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher gave to US radio station KROQ in 2001.

“Do you ever look at the sky and think, I’m glad I’m alive?" asked Gallagher. "After I heard System of a Down, I thought, I’m actually alive to hear the shittiest band of all time, which is quite something when you think about it.

"Of all the bands that have gone before and all the bands that’ll be in the future, I was around when the worst was around.”

In the years since, SOAD frontman Serj Tankian has generally taken the high ground in interviews, focusing on political activism, while Malakian has kept the beef simmering.

Last year, as both bands toured the US, Malakian posted an Instagram photo of himself at Chicago's Wrigley Field, with the stadium sign behind him altered to read "Fuck Oasis".

We look forward to the next instalment of the to-and-fro, wherever it may occur.

In 2023, accompanying our analysis of how Pink Floyd changed dramatically between their first two shows at Earls Court in 1973 and their five-night return in 1981, Prog presented a rundown of 10 key live performances from the band’s early days to their final reunion.

1. 14 Hour Technicolor Dream – Alexandra Palace, London, April 1967

At which the first tranche of Floyd fans felt they’d sold out, moving from the confines of All Saints Hall in Powis Gardens and the UFO in Tottenham Court Road to be part of the multi-artist happening in Muswell Hill. Captured on film by Peter Whitehead as part of Tonite, Let’s All Make Love In London, Floyd appeared at the end of the show,as the Sunday sun rose across the capital – and with it, their role as underground house band of choice was secure.

2. Games For May – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, May 1967

Probably the group’s most famous early concert, Games For May was immortalised in song by Syd Barrett on the Floyd’s first Top 10 single, See Emily Play. Described as a “space age relaxation for the climax of spring – electronic composition, colour and image projection, girls, and the Pink Floyd,” frankly, what was there not to like?

Playing more or less what was to become The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, and premiering Emily, someone dressed as an admiral gave out daffodils to the audience while a bubble machine stained the seats, allegedly resulting in a lifelong ban at the venue for the group.

3. More Furious Madness From The Massed Gadgets Of Auximenes – Royal Festival Hall, London, April 1969

Realising that trying to replace the tragic whimsy of Syd Barrett was a road to nowhere, Floyd favoured the high concept with a generous dollop of their brand of space rock. The show the group premiered at this RFH event was The Man And The Journey, following Everyman as he goes through the day, incorporating released and unreleased material. Thumbs up for ambition, thumbs down for abundance of melody.

4. Roman Amphitheatre, Pompeii, Italy, October 1971

Arguably Pink Floyd’s most famous live performance was captured without a single paying member of the public amid the lava-saturated relics of Pompeii. Filmed by Adrian Maben for his oft-released and well-loved movie Pink Floyd: Live At Pompeii (reissued in 2025) the tracking shot behind the band’s amplifiers, bearing the legend ‘Pink Floyd. London.’ is one of the greatest moments in pop, ever.

5. Winter Tour ’74 – Trentham Gardens, Stoke on Trent, November 1974

After the desultory performances at the Empire Pool the nights before, Pink Floyd found their mojo and played a show strong enough that the bootleg of the three non-Dark Side songs of that tour allegedly sold 150,000 copies, in one shop outselling Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti. What the recordings do underline is that by playing an hour of unheard material, Floyd demanded a great deal from their audience.

6. In The Flesh – Stade du Parc Olympique, Montreal, Canada, July 1977

Included solely for its notoriety, the most infamous Pink Floyd show of all time saw Waters beckoning a rowdy fan toward him, then spitting at him. It resulted in Roger Waters hating himself and his audience, setting his creative course for a considerable time going forward. How had it come to this?

7. The Wall – Earls Court, London, August 1980

The excitement of The Wall shows is difficult to put into writing. The shock of this band, associated with hippies and the profound, playing confrontational, difficult, theatrical rock was palpable. Once the taste was acquired, to see it in this enormous venue with its inflatable mothers, schoolteachers and wives, crashing planes, pop-up rooms, explosions and a lot of cardboard is still somewhat mind-bending.

8. A Concert For Europe – Venice, Italy, July 1989

A free concert that was intended to be played off the island of Giudecca in the Venetian Lagoon; instead, because of logistics, it actually ended up being staged on large rafts in the middle of the San Marco Basin, directly opposite the Doge’s Palace and smack-dab in the middle of Venice.

A great deal of local, national and eco politics surrounded the show, but it also acted as a metaphor for the very opulence of the 80s – not to mention the apogee of slick, David Gilmour-led commercial Floyd. The show was eventually watched globally by 100 million people.

9. Pulse – Earls Court, London, October 1994

By the time of The Division Bell, and what was to become the live album Pulse, Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason had learned how to be Pink Floyd without Waters or, indeed, Barrett. No one now had to ask “Which one was Pink?” as Pink was the unity, the spectacle, the togetherness of the band, playing The Dark Side Of The Moon in full for the first time since 1975, but importantly, having, in The Division Bell, an album that could stand upright in its shadow.

10. Live 8 – Hyde Park, London, July 2005

They never thought it would happen, Gilmour and the boy from Great Bookham, out on that crepuscular common, that night many haven’t forgotten… Pink Floyd’s temporary reunion, engineered by Bob Geldof for Live 8, overshadowed the rest of the global concert. Although the awkwardness onstage can be analysed to the nth degree afterwards, in its moment, it felt like the best thing ever.

Grindcore innovators, extreme metal influencers and Midlands heroes Napalm Death have played what must surely be the most brutally heavy Tiny Desk Concert in history. The latest artists to take part in National Public Radio's ongoing and hugely popular series, which invites established acts to play in the company's office in Washington, D.C., the band follow in the footsteps of pop icons like Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as hardcore graduates Turnstile, who made history with their Tiny Desk Concert last year after singer Brendan Yates produced the series' first ever stage dive.

"We are Napalm Death, for the uninitiated, just in case you were wondering," smiles frontman Barney Greenway after a bludgeoning Strong-Arm in a video of the set since uploaded to NPR's Youtube. "Nice to see ya! Let me say we are here to heartily support public access broadcasting," he adds to cheers, continuing: "unfortunately, it is under attack from all sides, in the UK as well as over here, and we have to take care of it. It's precious. It has to be preserved."

Napalm Death then continue to batter the NPR office with another six cuts, including their iconic 1.3-second track You Suffer, which isn't only the shortest song to ever get played at a Tiny Desk Concert, but is recognised by the Guinness World Book Of Records as the shortest song in history.

Watch the performance below.

Napalm Death are by no means the only truly heavy band to play a Tiny Desk Concert. In 2023, monster alien thrash veterans GWAR played the series, while in 2019, sludge metallers Thou appeared courtesy of a more stripped-back performance. We think this one is going to take some topping, though.

"I love you, man," Serj Tankian beams, hugging Daron Malakian tightly to a sea of cheers from over 60,000 delirious, onlooking System Of A Down fans. The last time this writer saw the Armenian-American metal heavyweights share a stage - at Download festival 2017 - they looked like they all wanted to be anywhere else, shoulders slumped, static poses and practically ignoring each other. It was a depressing visual for one of millennial metal's most creative and idiosyncratic bands.

Today, the vibes couldn't be more different: singer Serj can barely stop smiling; guitarist Daron's stage banter is playfully eccentric rather than grumpily off-kilter; bassist Shavo Odadjian looks like he's having the time of his life. Even powerhouse drummer John Dolmayan's trademark intensity is broken by the occasional grin. One 40-something fan sat near us remarks in disbelief as he takes in the spectacle: "Are System Of A Down back?!"

System are indeed back - back in the UK for the first time in almost a decade, a long ol' absence by any standards in music. There are kids here who wouldn't have been born when they last played, enjoying their first rock show, hoisted up on the shoulders of parents in matching Toxicity t-shirts. There are teens milling around sporting Serj's iconic 90s tribal face paint (why didn't we ever think of that?!) and, of course, a large portion of elder millennials ready to relive their nu metal heydays. Oh, and lots of people in banana costumes. That definitely wasn't a thing nine years ago.

Long before System hit the stage, cult sludge heroes Acid Bath get us started in style. Their grimy psychedelic heft fits a stadium stage surprisingly well, even if the echoey thud of Shane Wesley's bass bouncing off the empty seats at the back creates a head-spinning racket that's even more of a trip than the far-out visuals splattered across the screens around them.

Queens Of The Stone Age are masters of their craft at this point, Josh Homme's casual saunter out on stage suggesting he's well versed to owning crowds this size. They get a big response from a rapidly growing audience, though a muddy mix sees some of their swaggering riffs lost in the ether. Still, they earn the first pits and crowdsurfers of the day, so it's very much job done.

The response that greets Daron Malakian's arrival on stage around 40 minutes later is deafening, but surpassed almost immediately by the singalongs that accompany Soldier Side; fans are already on shoulders and venue-wide circle pits are already beginning to open up before a proper riff has even dropped.

Then, the rest of System appear, launch into the dizzy opening crush of B.Y.O.B. and Tottenham's home ground explodes into joyous, chaotic abandon. What follows is a relentless dishing out of anthemic alt metal ragers - thirty of them, in fact, unleashed at such a pace there's barely time to remark "How good was that?!" after each song before they've already kicked into the next one.

"These three guys are the best fucking musicians in the world!" Serj remarks warmly at one point, noting that his bandmates "saved my ass" after a slight miscue. Tottenham definitely didn't notice; the entire floor is a bubbling sea of movement from the first notes of B.Y.O.B. to the final bouncing riff of Sugar, the stands full of people off their seats dancing, jumping and singing their bums off.

Every song is greeted like a classic but there are undoubtedly highlights. Chop Suey! getting dropped two thirds of the way in sparks bedlam; Radio/Video's folky breakdown prompts all manners of shapes thrown; Daron's now-trademark "I wanna see you spinnin' around! Round, round, round and round!" command elicits at least 10 massive circle pits across the floor during an electric Toxicity.

That would all be enough to make this a hell of a gig, but the fact that the band themselves seem genuinely, wholeheartedly pleased to be here is what really puts it over the top. Whatever healing these four lads have done over the past few years has made all the difference: even if we're resigned to never getting that new album, metal is just a better place for having a happy, healthy System Of A Down in it. Tonight was an absolute treat and one of the best rock stadium shows in recent memory.

System Of A Down Tottenham Stadium night one setlist

Soldier Side - Intro

B.Y.O.B.

Suite-Pee

Chic 'N' Stu

Prison Song

Aerials

I-E-A-I-A-I-O

Innervision

Darts

Genocidal Humanoidz

Needles

Deer Dance

Radio/Video

Dreaming

Hypnotize

ATWA

Bounce

Suggestions

Psycho

Chop Suey!

Lonely Day

Lost in Hollywood

Streamline

Spiders

Forest

DAM

War?

Roulette

Toxicity

Sugar

Rock legend Alice Cooper has announced another run of dates on his ongoing Alice's Attic tour. Just two days after the European leg of the tour ended in Italy, the indefatigable 78-year-old has announced a new run of shows in the US.

The new dates – which are in addition to Cooper's upcoming European tour with Hollywood Vampires, his UK book tour, and another four Welcome To My Nightmare dates in Las Vegas with magician and illusionist Criss Angel – kick off at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, KY, on September 17, and conclude on November 21 at the Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort + Casino in Reno, NV.

The new dates will presumably give American fans another chance to witness new guitarist Anna Cara in action. The 22-year-old Brit joined Cooper's band in April to cover for Nita Strauss, who gave birth in May and has not yet announced her return to the band.

Full dates below.

Hollywood Vampires: European Tour 2026

Aug 12: London O2 Arena, UK *
Aug 14: Cardiff Castle, UK $
Aug 15: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, UK $
Aug 17: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Aug 18: Manchester AO Arena, UK *
Aug 19: Birmingham Utilita Arena Birmingham, UK *
Aug 21: Colchester Castle Park, UK $
Aug 22: Halifax The Piece Hall, UK $
Aug 25: Nürnberg PSD Bank Nürnberg Arena, Germany
Aug 26: Paris Adidas Arena, France
Aug 28: Cologne Lanxess Arena, Germany
Aug 30: Hamburg Barclays Arena, Germany
Sep 01: Novegro-Tregarezzo Parco della Musica di Milano, Italy
Sep 02: Este Castello Carrarese, Italy
Sep 03: Arena Zagreb, Croatia
Sep 05: St. Pölten VAZ, Austria
Sep 06: Praha Sportovní hala Fortuna, Czechia

* with The Jesus and Mary Chain
$ with The Damned

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Alice Cooper: Alice's Attic tour 2026

Sep 17: Louisville Louder Than Life, KY
Sep 19: West Springfield The Big E Fair, MS
Sep 20: Ottawa CityFolk Festival, ON
Sep 22: Niagara Falls OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, ON

Oct 27: Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall, FL
Oct 30: Richmond Altria Theater, VA
Oct 31: Atlantic City Tropicana Casino & Resort, NJ
Nov 01: Bethlehem Wind Creek Bethlehem, PA
Nov 04: Hershey Theatre, PA
Nov 06: Windsor Caesars Windsor – The Colosseum, ON
Nov 07: Kalamazoo Wings Event Center, MI
Nov 08: Waukegan Genesee Theatre, IL
Nov 10: St. Louis Stifel Theatre, MO
Nov 11: Park City Hartman Arena, KS
Nov 14: Indio Fantasy Springs Casino, CA
Nov 15: Prescott Valley Findlay Toyota Center, AZ
Nov 17: San Diego Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, CA
Nov 18: San Jose San Jose Civic, CA
Nov 20: Wheatland Hard Rock Live at Hard Rock Hotel + Casino, CA
Nov 21: Reno Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort + Casino, NV

Find Alice Cooper tickets.

Alice Cooper: Devil On My Shoulder UK book tour 2026

Oct 11: Cardiff New Theatre
Oct 12: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Oct 13: London Palladium
Oct 14: Brighton Dome
Oct 16: Manchester Opera House
Oct 17: Stockton Globe
Oct 19: Glasgow Pavilion Theatre
Oct 20: Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Find Alice Cooper Devil On My Shoulder UK book tour tickets.

Alice Cooper and Criss Angel: Welcome To My Nightmare residency

Nov 27: Las Vegas Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, NV
Nov 28: Las Vegas Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, NV
Dec 03: Las Vegas Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, NV
Dec 04: Las Vegas Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, NV

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"You'd think there was a football match on!" grins Bruce Dickinson as he looks out over 50,000 giddy Iron Maiden fans having a thoroughly lovely time in the hazy evening sunshine. In just over three hours from now, England's men's team will have confirmed their place in a World Cup semi final, but here at Knebworth, there are far more pressing matters: celebrating 50 years of this country's most storied heavy metal band.

A year on from a historic homecoming gig at West Ham's London stadium, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Eddfest - Maiden's first ever curated, multi-day festival - is little more than a fist-pumping victory lap for a band that are well into the second year of their Run For Your Lives world tour. Nope. From the second you walk onto the festival grounds, you feel less like you're at Yet Another Iron Maiden Show and more like you've just stumbled into a fanatic Maiden fan club member's fever dream.

At the top of the site is an open air mini-museum boasting props and costumes from five decades of touring. Everything from Paul Di'Anno's 80s leather jacket to OG Pharaoh Eddie and Dance Of Death grim reapers are on display, and fans of all ages are gravitating to attractions from their favourite era; everyone has that Maiden tour that means something to them.

Around the corner is 'Maidenville', a bespoke mini-fest of its own featuring Eddie-fied attractions, a Maiden-themed tattoo parlour, an Eddie dive bar and its own stage which, last night, Maiden alumni Blaze Blayley headlined. We're in Maiden heaven here, basically, and the main event hasn't even got going yet.

Eddfest's main stage eventually kicks off courtesy of some well-received pub rock boisterousness from The Almighty and Airbourne, but it's The Hu who really crank things up a notch. Their unique Mongolian folk metal stomp sounds huge, and the band look genuinely blown away to be here and at the reception they receive.

The Darkness arrive next, and while their decision to start their set with a cut from last year's decent but lesser known Dreams On Toast album warrants a relatively muted response, they quickly make amends with a riotous showing packing plenty of bangers from legendary debut Permission To Land, a cheeky Led Zeppelin jam and a welcome drop of the title track from the vastly underrated One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back.

It goes down very well, but nothing can compare to the reaction that greets the PA blasting UFO's Doctor Doctor about 40 minutes later, signalling the arrival of this weekend's grand finale. The huge LED backdrop that has given Maiden a thoroughly modern upgrade on this tour flickers into life, and suddenly Knebworth is bathed in the gloomy, amber hue of 80s East London, a rollocking Murders In The Rue Morgue kicking off the gritty but anthemic four-track run plucked from the band's Di'Anno era.

Stomping around in a biker jacket, long hair pulled tight into a slick ponytail, Bruce Dickinson sounds on fine form as he screeches his way through a lairy Number Of The Beast next, Steve Harris' propulsive bass lines thundering along under his wails as the band are surrounded by bursts of fiery orange flame.

"This is the first time we've played this song in 38 years," Dickinson notes before Maiden launch into much-requested, Seventh Son-era fan favourite Infinite Dreams. "Well...technically it's the first time since Tuesday night in Lisbon, but don't worry about that," he corrects himself to a few thousand chuckles. The atmosphere here is as warm as the weather, and the metal veterans seem to be enjoying the hell out of themselves.

Infinite Dreams is the only tweak from last year's setlist (and a welcome one at that; what took them so long?!), meaning that many here already know what to expect from hereon in. Not that it matters; whether they're dropping urgent heavy metal ragers like 2 Minutes To Midnight and Powerslave or prog metal epics like Rime Of The Ancient Mariner and a stunning Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Maiden are putting on a masterclass in heavy metal history, and everyone is lapping it up.

These lads rarely miss live, though. What really sets this performance aside is that it's brought to a close a whole weekend that has allowed one of metal's most passionate fanbases to immerse themselves in Maiden's world. Iron Maiden won't be here in another 50 years' time, but their legacy will. What a triumph.

Even if it was merely a big, outdoor gig, Iron Maiden’s Eddfest would be one of the events of the year. But there’s more to it than just the music. Infinite Dreams Experience is an on-site display of props and memorabilia from Maiden’s illustrious 50-year history.

“A big part of doing this is to show fans items that have never seen the light of day apart from on past tours,” says Ben Smallwood, the Infinite Dreams Experience creative director. “It’s a way of inviting the fans into the Maiden world, giving them more access and a chance to see these things up close.”

The items on display run from the 80s to most recent tours. It goes without saying that Eddie features rather prominently throughout.

“Some of it is very old, from the 80s, but the [props are] great to see up close because they’re so clearly handmade and have real character,” says Ben. “We’re excited to share it because it’s a huge part of who Maiden are and their history.”

Read on, as Ben talks us through some of the items that will be on display at Eddfest.

Clairvoyant Eddie

“Derek Riggs’ The Clairvoyant artwork from the Seventh Son era is one of Steve’s favourite pieces of art. This specific prop is from the Maiden England tour [2012-14], and it was used during the track Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. It’s massive – the full-sized bust is probably three metres tall.”

Tank Commander Eddie

“He appeared on top of the tank turret on the A Matter Of Life And Death tour in 2006-07, looking through his binoculars. We’ll be displaying Tank Commander Eddie, but there’s not room for the actual tank.”

Cyborg Eddie

“This is Cyborg Eddie from the Somewhere Back In Time tour in 2008-09. He stands about four metres tall. A big Eddie!”

Sarcophagus Eddie

“That’s an original sarcophagus from the World Slavery tour [1984-85]. He’s a big lad. Steve has kept some other items from that tour at his house, and he’s loaning them to the museum. We’ve got the big Sarcophagus Eddie that splits open and the mummy comes out.”

Grim Reaper Eddie

“It’s from the Dance Of Death tour [2003-04]. He was our pop-up Eddie during the song Iron Maiden.”

Baphomet

“That’s Baphomet from the Final Frontier tour [2010-11]. He appeared during The Number Of The Beast. It’s huge – you can sit on its lap like it’s Christmas and he’s Santa Claus!”

Icebergs

“Those are the icebergs from the Maiden England tour, which is obviously Seventh Son themed. The cages are actually on hydraulics. They would sit under the stage, and then the hydraulic lifts would push them up into
the stage set.”

Polish poster and police hat

“That’s one of the posters used to advertise the Behind The Iron Curtain tour in 1984 [part of the World Slavery tour], which was the first time a Western band had taken a major show to Eastern Europe. Publicity was still under the control of the Soviet Union, so you weren’t allowed to print artwork or logos. Kenny Feuerman, who directed the Behind The Iron Curtain documentary, took one off the wall and kept it. He also kept one of the Polish police hats that were thrown onstage. They’re authentic antiques from that era.”

Egyptian Cat

“It was part of the stage set from the Somewhere Back In Time tour. We also have the original animals from the World Slavery tour, though they’re obviously a lot older and not in as good condition.”

Iron Maiden are on the cover of the brand new issue of Metal Hammer – which comes with an exclusive Maiden Eddfest water bottle! Order your copy online here and have it delivered straight to your door. You can also get an alternate cover version of the magazine with a glow-in-the-dark Maiden shirt in an exclusive bundle here.

Well on the way to recovery from the colon cancer that forced cancellations last year, frontman Biff Byford checks in as the Big Teasers From Barnsley continue their summer of festival dates.

How is your health now?

I take things day by day, really, but I’m doing okay.

Saxon have an impressive summer festival season, including Wacken in Germany, Sweden Rock, Denmark’s Copenhell, Rock For People in the Czech Republic, Poland’s Mystic and Maid Of Stone at Bloodstock in the UK. At these big overseas events do you feel conscious of carrying the flag of Saint George?

[Laughs] Not really. The Saint George’s flag has been stolen a little bit by various people, hasn’t it? We used to, back in the day, but in a way that has changed.

Apologies if that sounded a bit of a loaded question. But is Saxon’s Englishness in doubt?

Not at all. We fly the flag for British metal, definitely. We’ve just done one of the big festivals in Germany, Rock Hard. Our popularity has gone up massively over the last six or seven years. We now get a lot of headline spots at festivals.

To what do you attribute that resurgence?

Well, we’ve put out some good albums. I think they’ve been quite excellent, really. Social media has also made a big difference. A lot of younger people have got into the band. Younger bands are coming out and saying that Saxon influenced them. Add those two things together and it makes a big difference. Priest and Maiden are doing really great as well, and so would Motörhead if they were still around.

As a staple of Bloodstock since it was a far smaller, indoor event, Saxon’s association with that festival is well documented. How strong is your connection to Maid Of Stone?

We did Maid Of Stone before [in 2017] when it was known as Ramblin’ Man Fair. It’s a good little festival with a lot of character. We like it.

Do you perform pretty much identical setlists at each event?

No. Certain countries have their favourite songs, don’t ask me why. Crusader is massively popular in Spain and Italy. Also in Spain we have to play our version of Ride Like The Wind [the Christopher Cross song reworked for 1988 album Destiny]. They chant for that one before we go on stage. Poland goes mad for Broken Heroes. Three or four songs will change in the average set.

We ask because when Saxon played at Ramblin’ Man Fair you walked out on stage and proceeded to eat the setlist.

I sometimes do that. It depends upon how I’m feeling. I can be very spontaneous.

You told the crowd: ‘Setlists are tasty.’

Well they are if made of the right paper.

Saxon’s twenty-fifth studio album is due in January 2027. What can you tell us about it?

I got into trouble for giving away the release date, so I must be very careful what I say. I can tell you that it’s finished, and that we have shot two videos. The pre-order date is in September, but I’m not supposed to have told you that.

How much would we have to pay you to reveal the title?

I wouldn’t take any money, but you will find out soon. And we will soon be releasing the dates for the next UK tour, which takes place in February.

Drummer Nigel Glockler has said it’s “a lot more groove-oriented”.

I don’t think of it that way. But for him [as a drummer] I can see why he might say that. It’s heavier, more than anything. Maybe that’s what Nigel means.

New guy Brian Tatler always has a bag of riffs. Presumably he was heavily involved once again?

Yeah. But it’s about equal between what we call the ‘stringers’ – Brian and Doug [Scarratt]. Brian brings a lot to the band. Which isn’t to say that Paul [Quinn] didn’t, but the fans love him and he’s a well-respected guy.

Paul Quinn retired from the group a couple of years back but has played occasional Saxon-themed shows with former guitarist Graham Oliver. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Why shouldn’t they do it?

Well, there was bad blood towards Graham since he was sacked in 1996.

I don’t really have any problem with Graham any more. He used to do stupid things that smashed the reputation of the band [along with ex-bassist Steve ‘Dobby’ Dawson, Oliver ran ‘rival’ band Oliver-Dawson Saxon]. That’s all over now. I met Graham not too long ago in an airport and we had a chat. I don’t think Paul wanted to retire from music, just the bigger gigs.

At a show in Hastings it was heartwarming to watch the two old friends blasting out those riffs to a room full of appreciative middle-aged fans. It’s nice to know you don’t condemn it.

Really, it’s fine. As long as we’re sensible and don’t start using logos, there’s room for everybody.

Saxon are currently playing festivals in Europe, and will appear at Maid Of Stone on July 18 and Bloodstock on August 6. The UK and Ireland Gods Of Thunder tour will take place in February 2027. For full dates and tickets, visit the Saxon website.

Gigs keep reminding us of the unyielding passage of time lately. Two weeks after Alexisonfire and Billy Talent united in Wembley Arena to celebrate 20 years of their respective breakthrough albums, contemporaries My Chemical Romance are filling the stadium next door three times over as they mark the platinum anniversary of their era-defining The Black Parade. And they’re not taking any half-measures, either. The emo superstars have brought two stages, elaborate sets and an armoury’s worth of pyro – not to mention a new rock opera narrative to refresh their millennial anthems.

Even the support act was picked to fit their highly thought-out design. Frontman Gerard Way fell in love with SKUNK ANANSIE after seeing their cameo in 1995 sci-fi thriller Strange Days. The homegrown alt-rockers make Wembley Stadium feel far smaller than it actually is, as guitarist Martin “Ace” Kent’s crunching riffs fill the 90,000-person space. The heart of it all, however, is frontwoman Skin. Not just the owner of a pristine set of pipes, she’s also a magnetic presence, especially when she hops the barrier to howl amidst the masses. A reliably excellent showing from a consistently underrated band.

19 years ago, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE loudly killed off their alter-egos The Black Parade, to the point that their demise was the focus of a 2008 live album. But tonight they’re rewriting history. The band now suggest that their black-clad other halves were kidnapped by a nation called Draag and brainwashed into being spokespeople for its authoritarian government.

It’s under this pretense that the New Yorkers return to the stage, introduced by a militaristic procession of drummers, soldiers and scowling politicians. Later, Way hosts a sham election and has a group of people ‘executed’ for frivolous reasons. “The grand immortal dictator demands that you participate in democracy,” he states, trying and failing to stifle a laugh. Any relation to sitting US presidents living or dead is probably not coincidental.

In between, the Black Parade songs prove how the album restructured the face of alternative culture. The End. and Dead! revel just as much in Queen and David Bowie glam rock posturing as they do in post-hardcore hitmaking. Wembley has unsurprisingly memorised every word and belts them out at full force.

This Is How I Disappear, The Sharpest Lives and the monolithic Welcome To The Black Parade continue the series of hits, and as the set drifts into its latter half, the production grows more and more dazzling. Draag becomes embroiled in a farcical war during Mama (again, probably not coincidental), so flames rocket from the stage in ludicrous volume and fireworks explode around the open-air stadium. A stunt performer even sprints past the band completely engulfed in flame.

The pageantry crescendos with album closer Famous Last Words. A countdown runs throughout the climactic anthem, after which more pyro fires from every angle and The Black Parade’s members are either dragged offstage or violently murdered. Then a dude dressed as a clown blows himself up. It’s theatre kid bombast in stadium rock clothing, and it’s magical. Even with an hour of showtime left, MCR have done more with their fans’ ticket money than any other band of their generation.

After a short interlude lets London process the overdose of pomp that’s just been injected into its eyeballs, the band break character and man the intimate B-stage, playing in the round on an island mid-venue. Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us and a cover of Morrissey’s Jack The Ripper (its first performance since 2003) cast a joyous nod to debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Songs from 2004’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge continue this scrappy throwback, although 2010’s Danger Days gets represented by deep cuts Planetary (Go!) and Destroya.

As I’m Not Okay (I Promise), Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) and Helena end the extravaganza with a torrent of singalongs, it’s hard to think of anything diehard fans could complain about tonight. The theatricality that lifted MCR from the underground is here in excelsis, with every hit and a smattering of obscurities populating a show that never felt frontloaded, despite opening with one of the essential albums of the 21st century. No hyperbole necessary: this band just cemented themselves as rock’s greatest showmen right now.

My Chemical Romance return to Wembley on July 10 and 11, then tour Europe.

My Chemical Romance setlist: Wembley Stadium, London – July 8, 2026

• The End.
• Dead!
• This Is How I Disappear
• The Sharpest Lives
• Welcome To The Black Parade
• I Don’t Love You
• House Of Wolves
• Cancer
• Mama
• Sleep
• Teenagers
• Disenchanted
• Famous Last Words
• The End. (reprise)
• Blood (from tape)
• Cello interlude (From A To B by Clarice Jensen)
• Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us
• Thank You For The Venom
• Cemetery Drive
• Planetary (Go!)
• Give ’Em Hell, Kid
• Jack The Ripper (Morrissey cover)
• Destroya
• I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
• Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
• Helena

Following their successful Rick Wakeman And Son tour of the US earlier this year, Rick Wakeman has announced a run of UK Christmas shows in December where he will again be joined by son Oliver.

The pair will be joined by singer Mollie Marriott, daughter of the late Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott, who has also been singing with Wakeman Senior and features on his upcoming The Return To The Red Planet album, which is gearing up for release later this year.

"It's recently been announced that, following the success of the Rick Wakeman and Son tour in the US, I will be joining Dad for this short Christmas tour," Wakeman Junior says. "This time we have the brilliant Mollie Marriott singing. Should be a great fun night. Looking forward to seeing you there!"

Rick Wakeman has his own Wizard Of Prog – Ultimate Highlights Concert Tour, featuring his English Rock Ensemble for February and March 2027, which is the band's longest tour of the UK to date and releases his autobiography, also titled The Wizard Of Prog, this October.

Oliver Wakeman continues his From A Page tour in support of the recent extended version of the Yes mini-album, across England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Germany in November.

You can see the full list of dates below.

Rick Wakeman's A Hint Of Christmas Tour

Dec 4: Devizes Corn Exchange
Dec 5: Isle of Wight Newport Medina Theatre
Dec 6: Portsmouth Guildhall
Dec 9: Evesham The Regal Cinema
Dec 11: Buxton Opera House
Dec 12: Milton Keynes The Stables

Get tickets.

Oliver Wakeman's From A Page tour dates

Nov 4: UK Totten Hangar Farm
Nov 6: UK Foxlowe Arts Centre
Nov 7: UK Kinross Green Hotel
Nov 8: UK Settle Victoria Hall
Nov 13: UK Lowdham Village Hall
Nov 21: NED Sneek Bolwork
Nov 22: NED Weert De Bosuil
Nov 24: GER Zwickau Liederbuch
Nov 25: GER Würzburg Kellar Z7
Nov 26: GER Metzingen Hirsch Glems

Get tickets.

Metallica's massive M72 World Tour is finally coming to a close. Three years and 99 shows (100, if we count last year's Back To The Beginning appearance) since they first set out, metal's biggest band are retiring the two-night, no repeat format. For now, at least. It's not the last Metallica gig of the year - they've got a residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas starting in October - but there's a sense of accomplishment as they gear up for one last triumphant blowout at London Stadium.

If the venue will play ball, anyway. Built for the 2012 Olympics, London Stadium has hosted more than a few massive gigs, including the first UK appearance from the reunited core Guns N' Roses in 2017 and Iron Maiden's biggest UK gig to date last summer. It also has some of the most reliably awful acoustics in the UK.

Acting like a massive echo chamber, you'll probably hear as much of AVATAR walking around the outside of the stadium as actually sitting in it. The theatrical Swedes aren't daunted in the least, however and even if some of the melodic nuances of songs like The Dirt I'm Buried In are lost to the PA, the tunes are so massive and infectiously fun that they triumph nonetheless. For all his usual swagger, vocalist Johannes Eckerström seems genuinely emotional about being on the road with Metallica, adding a "d'aw shucks" warmth to their set.

PANTERA struggle most with sound issues. A little under four years since Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown tagged in Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante to resurrect the brand, the 'reunion' is still a big draw and London Stadium starts really filling up for their set. But Anselmo admits he's having in-ear issues, and his vocals are desperately low in the mix at times, the likes of Fucking Hostile lost in a cacophony that would be unrecognisable if not for just how iconic the tunes are. An added Fairies Wear Boots tribute to Ozzy is a nice touch, but it's an uphill battle.

Even the UK's worst venue can't derail metal's biggest band. METALLICA already had a triumphant first outing on Friday, but it was obvious they were holding back some of their biggest hits for the closing night. But this isn't just some perfunctory greatest hits set, either. Thundering out to Whiplash, there's a moment where it looks like Metallica might be doing a chronological run of their songs as they did at their 40th anniversary celebration with For Whom The Bell Tolls and Ride The Lightning following in quick succession.

They break the run with ReLoad-era tune The Memory Remains, and affirm just how different they are to other stadium-straddling behemoths. The thing is, any band with a suitably big enough hit can make a stadium sing-along feel epic - it's inherent to the sheer scale of the show. But even with something like Memory, the crowd respond with almighty "whoah-ohs", cementing a sense of momentousness that is basically Metallica's bread and butter.

Playing on a stage right in the centre of the stadium, Metallica are the be-all, end-all when it comes to biblical metal gigs. Who else on this planet could get away with a 10-minute instrumental like The Call of Ktulu and not prompt a mass exodus to the bars? From the thundering riffs of 72 Seasons to a pyro-enhanced Moth Into Flame, ballads The Unforgiven and The Day That Never Comes to choice covers of Sabbath's Electric Funeral (cut with Sex Pistols' Holidays In The Sun, and dedicated to Ozzy after last year's BTTB celebration) and Thin Lizzy's Whiskey In The Jar, there isn't a song in this set that doesn't feel absolutely colossal.

Closing on Enter Sandman - a song that could take up at least three entries on the ballot for a metal national anthem - Metallica reaffirm just how they became metal's biggest band in the first place.

Metallica Setlist @ London Stadium July 5 2026

1. Whiplash
2. For Whom The Bell Tolls
3. Ride The Lightning 
4. The Memory Remains
5. 72 Seasons
6. Screaming Suicide
7. Kirk And Rob Jam (Electric Funeral / Holidays In The Sun)
8. The Day That Never Comes
9. Wherever I May Roam
10. The Call Of Ktulu
11. The Unforgiven 
12. Whiskey In The Jar
13. Blackened 
14. Moth Into Flame
15. One
16. Enter Sandman 

It wasn't meant to be Freddie Mercury's final performance, and it certainly wasn't billed as such, but Queen's 1986 show at Knebworth has gone down in history as just that. The last time Freddie Mercury took to the stage with his band.

There's a shortage of video documenting what took place, but that's far from unusual, even considering the historical nature of the show. Two months earlier Marillion had headlined the vast Garden Party, 35 miles north of Knebworth at the Milton Keynes bowl, and no professional footage of the show exists. "There was a disagreement over who was going to pay for it," then-frontman Fish told this writer, "and at the end of the day nobody bothered filming it. It's ridiculous."

These days, of course, it'd be different. There'd be multiple cameras, a drone or two, pro-shot and fan-shot highlights would be on YouTube within hours, and the whole shebang would be released as a deluxe edition Blu-ray before the arrival of Autumn.

That's not to say that there weren't film crews at Knebworth. Anglia TV were there and filmed a segment for local news broadcast. Some documentary footage was shot by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, the Austrian duo responsible for Queen's One Vision video. And the entire set was relayed live to the huge screens that book-ended the stage.

Various pieces of footage have surfaced over the years. Anglia shared some film shot at the show to accompany a story about Brian May receiving an honorary degree from the University of Hertfordshire in 2002, but the footage has become a subject of some controversy – even conspiracy – among Queen fans.

"It is one of the biggest blunders in our history," May once said. "The cameras were rolling, and visuals of the entire concert were relayed to the Eidophor screens simultaneously with the show. All it needed was for someone in our team to put a tape machine on the end of either the screen mix or the cameras themselves. No-one did. So it all went into the ether.

"There is a little bit of documentary footage in existence, also shot at the time separately, by Rudi and Hannes, I think, which includes some beautiful audience footage - which has been used in the odd documentary. But that's it. It would have been a great DVD to have, wouldn't it. Queen's Last Concert! Well, sadly, it will never happen."

So we're left with scraps, until we're told otherwise. But there's still magic in those morsels, as proved by the short segment of video that shows a giddy Freddie Mercury performing vocal exercises in a backstage dressing room immediately prior to the band's stage walk. He's even joined by Roger Taylor for a quick run through the "deeeeey-o" call-and-response Mercury had made world famous at Queen's Live Aid show the previous summer.

It's a wonderful clip. Mercury looks as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Yet he'd already told his bandmates that he was nearing the end of the road, "I'm not going to be doing this forever," he's reported to have said. "This is probably the last time."

Sadly, he was right.

Some 45,000 fans have made the journey to London’s N4 in the blistering heat to witness this stage of Biffy Clyro's Futique tour: their own mini-festival of sorts and the pinnacle of their career thus far.

The Scottish trio have endured some emotionally trying times in the last 12 months, some big (get well soon, James Johnston), some a bit smaller (Scotland's woeful World Cup campaign in the USA). But they've each shown their mettle throughout it all and tonight is a testament to their unwavering resilience.

Following robust sets by San Diego's Wavves and the returning West Yorkshire four-piece Marmozets, Don Broco hit the stage dressed in black on this stiflingly hot summer afternoon. They're immediately in irrepressible form, with a set which leans heavily on their latest album Nightmare Tripping. Over the course of their slot, the Bedford quartet up the party atmosphere with an outrageous fusion of pop hooks and obnoxious nu metal riffs.

Frontman Rob Damiani – looking majestic with a Kevin Keegan Hamburg-era perm – effortlessly commands the crowd throughout their 10-song set. It's Bruce Willis, taken from their 2021 album Amazing Things, which ups the ante with its 'Yippee ki yay motherfucker' hook. The audience reply with a melange of limbs and pints, and look like a BBC montage of Box Park celebrations when Harry Kane scored that goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier in the week.

"We're taking a hydration break," he tells the crowd in between mouthfuls of water to pantomime boos from the crowd. "It's thirsty work."

Nothing But Thieves bring a different atmosphere to their late afternoon slot. Where Don Broco are a raging house party with a bag of Madri beer and European energy drinks, this Southend five-piece offer something a little more refined. Maybe some nice wine and olives. Their 14-song set opens with Amsterdam and it's immediately apparent that Conor Mason remains a powerhouse vocalist, recalling the late Jeff Buckley as his voice soars over the band's driving, atmospheric alt-rock.

And on to tonight's hosts Biffy Clyro. It's been quite the journey for the Scottish trio, who began their story as dissonant alt-rock alchemists and became gold-plated arena headliners over the course of 30 years or so.

This evening marks their biggest headline show on their own footing. They've headlined Reading and Leeds, Download, Sonisphere, and Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. In the run-up to this 45,000-capacity show in London's N4, frontman Simon Neil promised surprises and a setlist which will delight long-time fans of the band.

Across the capital, Metallica are gearing up to play as their tape of Ennio Morricone's The Ecstasy of Gold rolls at London Stadium seven miles away. Biffy have a similar trick up their sleeve, with the use of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings as their walk-on music; the poignant soundtrack from Oliver Stone's 1986 anti-war film gives the show a true sense of occasion and gravitas.

The setlist kicks off with the glorious riff from The Captain from 2009's Only Revolutions, backed by the first of many fireworks which sparkle in the dusk sky.

Simon, wearing a patchwork jean kilt from what we assume is the McLevi's clan, leads his formidable band with an almost permanent grin: drummer Ben Johnston, bassist Naomi MacLeod (admirably standing in for James), guitarist Mike Vennart, keyboard player Richard 'Gambler' Ingram, and string section Annemarie McGahon and Ailbhe Catherine.

"Here's something old school," says Neil, before picking out the opening bars of Justboy, a song from their 2002 debut Blackened Sky. The song which has been largely shelved in recent years to make way for their newer material draws massive cheers from the diehard fans, as does Booooom, Blast & Ruin, which hasn't been performed for almost a decade.

There are more surprises in store. There's the haunting a cappella of There's No Such Man as Crasp and the genre-twisting There's No Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake.

After Mountains and a ton of confetti, there's the heartbreaking plea of Machines. Neil is joined on vocals by impact sub Henry Creel, otherwise known as One or Mr. Whatsit or Stranger Things villain Vecna (or to give him his actual name, Jamie Campbell Bower).

“We’re never going to forget tonight," says Neil with palpable pride, before the band close on the triple treat of Wolves of Winter, Bubbles and Many of Horror.

It's life-affirming stuff, alright, and an evening which will live long in the memory. Mon the Biff!

Biffy Clyro setlist – Finsbury Park, London: July 3, 2026

The Captain
That Golden Rule
Who's Got a Match?
Justboy
Biblical
God & Satan
A Little Love
Booooom, Blast & Ruin
Instant History
Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
Hunting Season
Space
Cop Syrup
Different People
A Hunger in Your Haunt
Goodbye
There's No Such Man as Crasp
There's No Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake
Black Chandelier
Mountains
Machines
Wolves of Winter
Bubbles
Many of Horror

Canadian prog rockers Saga have announced their first UK live show for 20 years.

The band will play Shepherd's Bush Empire on Friday, September 10, 2027, as part of their 1977-2027 The Generations Tour to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary with further dates around Europe.

"We are all absolutely thrilled to be at this historic venue, and we simply must see you all there," the band say.

The current line-up of Saga features long-standing frontman Michael Sadler, guitarist Ian Crichton and keyboardist Jim Gilmour, who are joined by drummer Mike Thorne and bassist Mike Borkosky. Original bassist Jim Crichton has been a non-touring band member since 2019.

The September 10 show is billed as the band's only UK show. Saga last played the UK in 2006 at a poorly promoted and attended show at London's The Garage venue, although the audience on the night did include Iron Maiden's Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain, who are both big fans of the band.

Tickets for the London show go on sale at 11am UK time, Friday, July 10, and will be available from here.

Metallica are such an institution that, for one whole weekend, they’re bending London to their will. As well as headlining the former Olympic Stadium twice to a combined 160,000 people, the Grammy-gobbling megastars are screening their concert films in cinemas across town, running a pop-up shop on Old Street and donating thousands of pounds to local disadvantaged students. They’re even hosting a blood drive where fans can exchange their plasma for possible goodies.

As if metal’s best-selling band taking over the capital weren’t big enough, they’ve also brought two of the scene’s most exciting bands for night one. KNOCKED LOOSE’s chest-kicking hardcore was refined in Kentucky basements, so it’s easy to imagine a half-empty stadium swallowing much of their oomph. But, the five-piece thrive in the expanse. Frontman Bryan Garris strides around the circular stage while six moshpits swirl: a record no one else this evening will touch.

GOJIRA’s hour nearly steals the show. Inspired by Morbid Angel as much as Meshuggah, the Frenchmen are progressive but never pretentious. The Cell and Backbone use technical parts to build disgusting riffs, whereas newer cuts Born For One Thing and Amazonia flaunt their developing melodic prowess. The band covered revolutionary song Ah! Ça ira! at 2024’s Paris Olympics opening ceremony, and they relive that mainstream moment, rejoined by opera singer Marina Viotti. The Gift Of Guilt may end things with anguished lyrics, but this set was an unencumbered victory.

“Die! Die! Die!” chant tens of thousands of people. Only at a METALLICA show can that be a sign of enjoyment. London Stadium is instantly absorbed as the Californians unload Creeping Death, and after fellow oldie Harvester Of Sorrow keeps the energy high, singer/guitarist James Hetfield takes to the mic with supreme gratitude, calling the amped-up masses “family”. We’re subsequently treated to Holier Than Thou and Of Wolf And Man: two deep cuts from 1991’s chart-busting Black Album.

The momentum stumbles during recent songs Lux Æterna and If Darkness Had A Son, which have yet to reach fan-favourite status, before falling flat on its face when bassist Rob Trujillo and guitarist Kirk Hammett jam near-unrecognisable renditions of Ian Dury’s Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and The Clash’s Guns Of Brixton. Sweeping ballad Fade To Black course-corrects, however, and from there the lineup truly locks in. Everything is performed with surgical precision, not to mention an enthusiasm which belies the fact they’ve been doing this for 45 years now. The members explore every corner of their 360 setup (literally – Lars Ulrich has four different drum kits at his disposal) and Trujillo surfs a makeshift board through the VIP ‘snake pit’.

The final 45 minutes offer a string of spectacles. Phone lights pierce the darkness during Nothing Else Matters, then stomper Sad But True rattles the stands. Hardwired is aired for the first time all tour, Fuel brings the fire, and gigantic blow-up balls drop for Seek & Destroy. Master Of Puppets concludes without the bells and whistles but remains a display of neoclassical magnificence, as magical now as it was in 1986.

Even though Metallica’s first night at their last European stop wasn’t quite perfect, it reiterated that when the kings of metal knuckle down, they deserve their crowns. Being gigantic isn’t the same as being good, yet this was unquestionably both. And we’re only halfway done…

Metallica setlist: London Stadium – July 3, 2026

1. Creeping Death
2. Harvester Of Sorrow
3. Holier Than Thou
4. Of Wolf And Man
5. Lux Æterna
6. If Darkness Had A Son
7. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll / Guns Of Brixton (Ian Dury and The Clash covers; Kirk and Rob only)
8. Fade To Black
9. Cyanide
10. Orion
11. Nothing Else Matters
12. Sad But True
13. Hardwired
14. Fuel
15. Seek & Destroy
16. Master Of Puppets

Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted covered Bob Seger’s Turn The Page with his Chophouse Band as their North American tour kicked off on Wednesday (July 1).

The group, where Newsted handles vocals and guitar, performed the 1972 track as part of a covers-heavy set at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts. They also played tracks by Neil Young, Blue Öyster Cult, John Baez and more.

No Metallica original made the cut, but according to setlist wiki setlist.fm, the band jammed the bridge of Creeping Death during a musical rendition of Mark Twain’s poem The War Prayer. Turn The Page was also famously covered by Metallica during Newsted’s time in the band, making the tracklisting of 1998 covers project Garage, Inc..

Watch footage of Newsted’s live take below.

Newsted joined Metallica in late 1986 – shortly after the death of the band’s previous bassist Cliff Burton in a bus accident, aged 24 – and stayed in the lineup until early 2001. He played on four studio albums of original material, including 1991’s blockbuster Metallica, which made the metal giants a household name and has sold upwards of 30 million copies worldwide.

Newsted quit Metallica due to mounting personal and creative tensions within the group. He initially attributed the exit to “private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love”.

In subsequent interviews, he elaborated that he was banned from pursuing outside musical projects by singer/guitarist James Hetfield.

During a 2001 Playboy interview, Hetfield reasoned, “When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica … Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?”

But, two years later, the frontman admitted that he had been “choking” his longtime bass player.

“We were brothers,” he reflected, “and I was trying so hard to keep that that I was choking Jason … That’s how I was taught to control things: through intimidation and rage.”

In May, Newsted revealed that substance addiction also contributed to his departure.

He told YouTuber Dean Delray: “The reason I left Metallica is because I was a horrible addict. I was way up against myself, and if I didn’t get some kind of help, I was going to die. And so I just said, ‘You guys, can I have a minute? Please give me a minute.’ And they said, ‘No.’”

He also revealed that he had recently undergone treatment for throat cancer and been given the all-clear by doctors.

“May 8 of 2025, I underwent a procedure for throat cancer,” he remembered. “And so they took a bunch of shit outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of shit out. So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early.”

The Chophouse Band, named after Newsted’s personal recording studio in San Francisco, will continue their North American tour at Mickey’s Black Box in Lititz, Pennsylvania tonight (July 3). From July 9, the band will support Blackberry Smoke on a string of US shows.

Meanwhile, Metallica are gearing up to play the last two shows of their three-year-long M72 world tour in London, UK tonight and on Sunday, July 5.

The two shows Pink Floyd played at London’s Earls Court in May 1973 marked a quantum leap for the group out of the ballrooms and theatre circuit into the arenas, stadiums and fields, where their concerts would remain for the rest of their career. Thanks to the worldwide allure of their eighth album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, their controls seemed to be set; any intimacy and direct connection with the audience – never something highest on Floyd’s priority list – was over. Prog explores those shows and their impact on the group in the following years.

In 1980, Pink Floyd took to the stage at Earls Court, the cavernous 18,000-seater exhibition centre in west London. Booked for six nights in early August, the group performed a show that systematically parodied the very notion of an arena concert, introduced by an over-the-top MC, before sending four musicians onstage wearing Pink Floyd life masks; a surrogate band, proving that audiences at that distance could actually be watching anything. If that wasn’t enough to emphasise the dislocation, a physical wall was built between artist and audience made of 450 cardboard bricks.

The Wall became Floyd conceptualist Roger Waters’ most complex idea, a reaction to the general isolation in his role as conflicted multi-millionaire socialist, but specifically at the dislocation he felt as his group played live to ever bigger, increasingly soulless arenas. Always a band received with earnest silence from their fans, since the global success of 1973’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, rowdy elements of the crowd, especially in North America, asphyxiated the already slender rapport Waters felt with his audience.

But how did it come to this? How did a band, so experimental, stately and well-mannered get to this point? It all begins in exactly the same place, Earls Court, seven years earlier in May 1973.

There was much talk in early 1973 of Earls Court opening its doors to live concerts, yet there were few acts that could fill a hall of such size and scale. Built between 1935 and 1937, the storied venue was constructed on a triangle of land between train lines that had been used for entertainment grounds since the late 1880s. Its spectacular Art Deco/Moderne style was designed by American architect Charles Howard Crane, famous for his ‘movie palaces’ of North America, most specifically in Detroit.

The venue opened on September 1, 1937 – 40,000 square feet of space, complete with an indoor pool – with a chocolate and confectionery exhibition. From then on, it became the go-to venue for large-scale events such as the Royal Tournament, the Ideal Home Show, the 1948 Olympics and the Boat Show, where the indoor pool would be filled with almost eight million litres of water. But not live performances by rock bands. Yet.

For large concerts, London was served by Olympia, just up the road from Earls Court, with its 10,000 capacity. Jimi Hendrix and Floyd themselves had played there as part of Christmas On Earth Continued and, later, in one of his few ill-fated solo gigs, so did Syd Barrett. There was also the Empire Pool Wembley – again a 10,000-seater – which had opened its doors to concerts since 1960 with the NME Poll Winner shows.

After The Beatles had played to 57,000 at Shea Stadium in 1965, plus Woodstock in 1969 and the Isle Of Wight Festivals of ’69 and ’70, rock promotion became big business. And ‘big’ was the operative word – the bigger the better. The idea of festivals was now established, so if they could draw tens of thousands, surely the right band could fill a mere 18,000 seats in an arena. To facilitate this, a new breed of UK concert promoter was coming through, such as John and Tony Smith, Harvey Goldsmith, Maurice Jones and Mel Bush.

The idea to put on live shows at Earls Court came from showbiz impresario Robert Paterson and boxing promoter Jarvis Astaire (the man later responsible for bringing WWF to these shores). “Patterson came from the classical scene, very old-school,” former London agent and Thin Lizzy co-manager Chris O’Donnell recalls. “I used to see Jarvis around town a lot. I don’t think there was a pie that he didn’t have a finger in. He once claimed he was offered the management of the Fabs but turned them down because his wife didn’t like them. Pure fantasy!” But, of course, an element of fantasy is what is needed to pull off feats on such a large scale.

Firstly, Mel Bush was contacted about which acts of his he thought he could promote there. He had not one, but two of such magnitude: David Bowie and Slade. At opposite ends of the glam phenomenon, both had ardent fanbases that could guarantee sales. If the teenyboppers could potentially fill it, so could Pink Floyd’s fans, especially as The Dark Side Of The Moon looked as if it would be their biggest release yet. Negotiated by the team at housing and homeless charity Shelter, Floyd agreed to play a benefit concert. As ticket sales (priced at £2, £1.75 and £1) far exceeded capacity, a second date was added.

And so, on May 18 and 19, 1973, the group played two nights there, among only three shows they played in the UK in that particular year. They already had a taste of larger shows as they had played Wembley’s Empire Pool the previous October, and understood that the sound was so important to these halls. Their US tour in March saw them playing venues between six- and 12,000-seaters.

Although Slade had been booked first, at the end of their UK tour on July 1, David Bowie was announced first and opened Earls Court to rock audiences on May 12. Whereas his Hammersmith Odeon concert in July that year is revered by the world and its gnome, Bowie’s Earls Court show is frequently swept under the carpet. By all accounts, it was a shambles. The stage was too low, the PA inadequate and the show had to be stopped for 15 minutes to quell the excitable stage-charging crowd.

“There was a good deal of apprehension about the group playing at this enormous exhibition hall,” Pink Floyd biographer Rick Sanders wrote in 1976. “Some weeks previously, David Bowie had done a concert there, the first time the venue served as a rock palace, and both fans and critics had been unanimous in their verdict. The show was a disaster, with terrible sound and nobody able to see what was happening on the distant stage. Earls Court was definitely not for rock, everyone thought.”

Pink Floyd would be leaving nothing to chance. Their live shows had been building in scale for a couple of years, especially with the addition of lighting and effects technician Arthur Max, who would introduce cherry pickers cascading rose petals, or burning gongs to enhance the band’s desire to focus on ‘son et lumière’ rather than the group themselves (as Floyd academic David Pattie notes, “The band, with the occasional exception of Roger Waters, were static to the point of self-effacement”).

Even though it had been played live for over a year, the press were calling the Earls Court show the “première” of The Dark Side Of The Moon, which had been released that March. It was certainly the first time that UK audiences had seen the group augmented with Dick Parry on saxophone and female backing vocalists – on this occasion, Vicki Brown and Liza Strike. Thunderbirds (and later James Bond) special effects technician Derek Meddings coordinated a crashing Spitfire to shoot over the audience’s head, and Max worked on the lighting effects, as well as introducing the inflatables that would become so central to Floyd’s performances. A huge mirror ball rose behind Nick Mason’s drums and opened out – not unlike the jewel-encrusted satellites shown in Diamonds Are Forever, the then-recent Bond film – and sent laser light beaming across the auditorium.

Most importantly, given the criticism of Bowie’s shows, the sound team led by Chris Adamson employed the latest quadraphonic technology to exploit the auditorium’s vastness. “What I always found amazing was the sound in the room, how that took the music around,” Gilmour’s first wife, Ginger, who was there that night, recalls. “You didn’t just have it coming at you. You were enveloped into it. Rick’s keyboards were amazing. It was really special.”

Bootleg recordings of the concerts demonstrate how accomplished the group had become. From the hits’n’bits of the first half, opening with Obscured By Clouds and When You’re In, they sound enlivened by their US tour and happy to be scaling up that size of venue, filling the empty space with layers of well-mixed sound. Waters introduces Careful With That Axe, Eugene as another “extremely oldie.” A leisurely Echoes closes the first set. Then The Dark Side Of The Moon is presented straight, with little improvisation. A storming encore of One Of These Days sends the crowd home in rapture.

The second night’s performance is a lot roomier, with jams stretching out. If it had been able to stay this way during subsequent tours, maybe The Wall would never have happened. “It wasn’t, ‘Here’s a bit of a Spitfire,’” Ginger Gilmour continues. “It was bringing the multi-dimensional aspect of the music and the visuals more into one. It was theatre. It wasn’t a gimmick. It intensified the reality of the music, the experience and the oneness. It made the audience feel like a kid: ‘Wow!’ I remember the unity and the beauty of it, a beautiful concept. I loved it.”

The band were broadly happy with the way the show had gone. “All the elements came together, as we presented the piece in its most developed version,” Nick Mason wrote in Inside Out. “The music had been rehearsed enough to be tight, but was new enough to be fresh. The lighting, thanks to Arthur, was dramatic. There were additional effects including a 15-foot spotlit plane shot down a wire over the heads of the audience to crash onstage in a ball of fire in sync with the explosion in On The Run.”

Rick Sanders continued: “Their material might have been familiar but they put on the show of their lives for 18,000-strong audiences whose appreciation bordered on religious fervour. Floyd’s amplification amply filled the cavernous hall with quadraphonic magic, aided by visual effects of dramatic power. Roger Waters’ gong exploded in flame during Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, an inflatable man loomed behind Nick Mason during Careful With That Axe, Eugene, his luminous green eyes glowing through dry ice clouds.” It was, as Melody Maker said, “A perfect moonshot, faultless in every department.”

Waters spoke to ZigZag magazine the week after the gig and still seemed in awe at the scale of what his band could achieve: “When we were setting up, I thought that it did look a bit like a circus with all these wires going into the audience. And the plane we used at Earls Court was very like those circus space rockets that people whip round and round in. It was silver and red and about six feet long, like a bloody great aluminium paper dart, flashing lights and smoke. Amazing.”

A bar had been set. The shows changed the band – thoughts of how subsequent records would scale up for performance became as much a consideration as what the sleeve would look like, what the music would sound like and what the concept would be. Never the most prolific of touring bands compared to their peers, their new-found success enabled further scarcity. Before now, Pink Floyd’s appearances had incorporated the experimental, moving forward with light and sound, cooking breakfast and sawing wood, yet these all seemed am-dram, even the original liquid lights, compared with what they had arrived at.

The very fact that Pink Floyd weren’t going to be coming to your town meant getting your money’s worth when you did see them. While each performance was to become a treasured memento for European fans, their reception in North America after they had hit the bigger stages was to lead to something altogether darker. In May 1973, 10 days before the Earls Court shows, Capitol US did what the group wouldn’t allow in the UK – release an edited version of Money as a single. The sarcastic blues-boogie taken out of context made Pink Floyd sound like everything they were not: a good-time bar band. Although its success didn’t greatly affect their remaining North American and European dates of the year, as time passed, it became an issue.

“Roger started getting really upset later, after Money became a success. We became more famous and the gigs got larger; intimacy was lost,” Ginger Gilmour says. “In earlier gigs, people listened. They allowed themselves to be taken by the music and they didn’t have to be on drugs to do it.”

Aside from commitments to a short French tour in June 1974, Pink Floyd reappeared onstage at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on November 4 that year, playing a 20-date UK winter tour that mixed multiple nights in smaller capacity venues with four consecutive nights at Wembley Arena. There was tremendous excitement for the group’s first UK tour in over two years. Demand was high. For example, the Cardiff concert at the town’s Sophia Gardens Pavilion received 9,000 applications for 2,000 tickets.

The weight of expectation of the live return weighed heavily on Pink Floyd. When this tour was announced, it was back to ’72 in terms of premièring new material in the first half of the show, before returning to familiar territory. And frankly, hearing Shine On You Crazy Diamond, and early versions of Dogs (Gotta Be Crazy) and Sheep (Raving And Drooling) cold was quite a big ask. And by now, although The Dark Side Of The Moon was becoming a tad hackneyed for Floyd, people had paid their money to hear their softly spoken magic spells.

For these 1974 shows, one of Pink Floyd’s most recognisable stylistic devices was added: the circular screen on which films could be projected – known colloquially within the group as ‘Mr Screen.’ Films were made for each number including director Ian Emes’ animated clocks for Time, and shots of Dark Side... being pressed up for Money. Pictures taken of the band by Jill Furmanovsky backstage show them positively at ease with each other.

“They were an organism,” Ginger Gilmour says. “Each one had a character, a quality that made it work: Roger was the outspoken visible person, Nick was the glue, David was more of the heart and the floating, Rick was even more introverted, but brought in a certain quality.”

The volume of the cheers at the first thud of The Dark Side Of The Moon’s heartbeat after the interval drowned out anything that was played in the first half, yet UK fans were respectful and knew how to behave. Tour manager Mick Kluczynski, who was also part of the group’s sound team, the ‘Quad Squad,’ said in 1976: “Pink Floyd fans come to a concert, sit down, shut up and listen, and go home quietly. The group have a very good reputation among hall managers.”

This was becoming less of the case in North America, where on the short two-part tour they undertook in April and June, at the gig at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, fights broke out in the 50,000-strong crowd. They detracted, as The Pittsburgh Press was to write afterwards, “from the mood so vital to appreciating Pink Floyd’s music.” Not even the brand-new Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park-designed inflatable pyramid could calm the nerves.

A despairing Waters was later to say: “I cast myself back into how fucking dreadful I felt on the last American tour, with all those thousands and thousands and thousands of drunken kids smashing each other to pieces. I felt dreadful because it had nothing to do with us. I didn’t think there was any contact between us and them.”

The tour ended with an enormous outdoor show at Knebworth Park on July 5, 1975, the only major outdoor concert they had performed in the UK since the Hyde Park show in July 1970. “Knebworth looked, initially, like a repeat of one of those glorious festivals that marked the zenith of progressive rock development in the late 60s,” Robin Denselow wrote in The Guardian. “The vast audience was sprawled across the English countryside, banners waving like a medieval battlefield, while the homely droning of Mr John Peel announced an impressive cast of musicians who used to be leaders of the so-called underground, and still retain their cult appeal. The underground has long disappeared, rock has become big business and respectable, and audiences are now more passive, demanding slickness and professionalism rather than experiment.”

When they did take the stage at Knebworth, the first hour was material completely unfamiliar to most of the audience – unless they had been to previous shows on the tour or bought a bootleg. To think a group would conclude their tour ahead of an album that had yet to be released today seems unthinkable. To go that long before ‘the hits’ would test the patience, and as seemed commonplace at this point, the show received mixed reviews. However, there was much to look at.

Sadly, technical delays hampered matters, as the band had to take to the stage as two Spitfires, flown in from East Midlands airport, buzzed the crowd. The electricity supply to the stage was variable, the band were tired, and the sound beset with issues. Rick Wright’s keyboards were out of tune, and, losing foldback to the stage, Waters sang out of tune. However, with pyramids and lights and explosions there was still enough warm thrill of confusion for the 100,000-strong crowd to enjoy.

The band spent the first half of 1977 on the final ‘proper’ tour they undertook with Roger Waters. This would be the one where their superstardom really hit home, with sales of Wish You Were Here – which arrived three months after Knebworth – proving a worthy successor to The Dark Side Of The Moon. Yet the band were determined to keep their anonymity – there would be no showboating or foot-on-the-monitor shenanigans.

As David Pattie notes, Pink Floyd “did not take advantage of the technologies they helped pioneer to declare themselves, unambiguously, to be stars. Instead, they allowed themselves to disappear behind the images they created; in fact... the stage technologies they employed came to stand in for the band in performance.” They were, in the stadiums at least, a surrogate band – people came to look at the lights.

To coincide with the release of Animals in January 1977, the group undertook a European tour, arriving in Britain in March for five nights at Wembley’s Empire Pool and four at Stafford’s Bingley Hall. Although keeping Dick Parry on sax, there would be no backing vocalists, thus removing any sweetening of the sound – instead, second guitarist Snowy White helped Gilmour recreate his multi-tracking from the Animals album. By now the spectacle was complete – beyond the usual explosions and projections one expected from the Floyd as a matter of course, there was now one of the most-loved aspects in Floydology: the inflatable pig. As seen on the cover of Animals, it would majestically hover above the audience’s heads.

Dave Bandana, writer and performer with prog outfit The Bardic Depths, was in the audience at the Empire Pool shows in March 1977. “Having seen Genesis perform The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway two years earlier at the same venue, I was expecting something similar, but without the costumes.” For Bandana, it was not to be. “My abiding memory is one of disappointment and I would tell people it was the most boring concert I ever attended. Maybe I expected too much.

“The music, of course, was wonderful but there was no interaction with the audience. It all felt very sterile, played exactly like the records. There was, of course, one theatrical moment: the pig on a wire. But I remember little else. Today I might appreciate it more, especially as I never saw them live again. But at least I saw them and witnessed a bit of musical history.”

As the European Animals tour became In The Flesh in the US from May to July 1977, all the dark forebodings of previous excursions coalesced. A pall seemed to hang over the band, and all the shows seemed to be downbeat. The staging had complex hydraulic lights rather than their usual ‘square rig’ illumination; these had umbrellas attached that could also protect the band from the elements. In addition to Mr Screen, the mirror ball, the pyramid and the pig, Fisher-Park designed a huge inflatable nuclear family to hover out over the audience in Dogs.

“The Floyd were mere puppets, it seemed, on the stage and in the distance,” Ginger Gilmour wrote in Behind The Wall. “I admired this, for it gave an opportunity to listen instead of adulating upon our stars. Taken on a journey, because that was the Floyd they loved. Admittedly, I wished that there was less tragedy, less angst. It was as if Beauty had become a whisper. The music was just about audible amongst the props and the click track. It was not to David’s liking, nor Rick’s, as the click track took over.”

Ginger added, “Sometimes I’d come out telling them it had been a really great gig and they’d go, ‘It was terrible.’ They’d have their headphones on, the click track and all that stuff. Sometimes they were almost doing covers to them. But it still transcended, at least for me.”

The final show of the In The Flesh tour was at the recently built Olympic Stadium in Montreal on July 6, 1977. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Floyd lore knows where it all reached breaking point, with Waters reacting to the rowdy crowd with phlegm. It’s fascinating to think that in 1977, with all the ‘I hate Pink Floyd’ sentiment from punk, Floyd themselves would be the ones to gob on their audience rather than be spat at. David Gilmour had had enough as well, retreating to the mixing desk for the final encore.

“I’ll never forget the moment when David appeared at the mixer,” Ginger Gilmour says. “Poor Snowy White. He didn’t know that traditionally, at the last gig of every tour, they always did this breakdown. Little by little, all the equipment leaves and there’s poor Snowy, suddenly David’s gone and everything’s been taken away.”

The irony of the final thing that this line-up of Pink Floyd would play in a stadium was a listless blues jam, not unlike something that they would have played at UFO when starting out just over a decade previously. But, here in the brutalist Olympic Stadium, both UFO’s liquid lights and the band’s spirit had gone.

The effects of the In The Flesh leg of the Animals tour were deep and long lasting. “The last show we did under those really bad circumstances was in Montreal at Olympic Stadium to 90,000 people and my sense of it was that it was a bad joke,” Waters later recalled of that night. “It really had nothing to do with a group of people playing music and another group of people listening to them. It was a weird kind of religious rite and it made me very uneasy – I didn’t want to be involved in it.”

Ginger Gilmour, from her vantage point at the mixing desk, could see it slightly differently: “The energy was terrible. But at the same time, the unity of people – apart from the ones in the front row that were drunk, out of it on marijuana and making a lot of hoo-ha – they wanted intimacy. They wanted people to listen, because if you don’t listen, you don’t hear it. You need to become one. The majority of fans were sitting, listening, wanting to get lost in music and not partying.”

Relationships within the band had been slowly, almost impenetrably deteriorating since The Dark Side Of The Moon. Never a band of brothers as such, as success meant they had to spend less time together, it was almost as if strangers were reconvening every time they gigged or recorded. “There was terrible conflict,” Ginger Gilmour recalls. “Roger and Carolyne, his new wife, would always be in a separate limo, separate hotel... always separate. She was building up his belief so that he could break out of the chains that he felt we had.

“We were in LA and they were working on finishing the album. They were talking about royalties, and we all met up at a Japanese restaurant. The day apparently had been really tough because Roger didn’t want Comfortably Numb on the album. David doesn’t show anger very often, but on that night, in the Japanese restaurant, if he knew karate, he would have broken the table with how hard he hit it. He said, ‘That fucking has to be on the album.’

“Well, for me, having gone through that summer where there was so much angst in the demos, and watching it evolve into something that we could watch, it represents the archetypal journey of us with chaos. When Comfortably Numb comes, it’s the release, it’s a hope. He’s up there, the light totally shifts and you’re absolved of all the angst. If that wasn’t there, it would be a terrible album.”

The Olympic Stadium would be Pink Floyd’s final show playing old material. When they returned to the live arena in February 1980 it would offer something completely different: a show based entirely around their new album, which contained two versions of a track called In The Flesh – one with a question mark and one without. Its opening line was: ‘So you thought you might like to go to the show...’

Designed specifically in three parts – an album, a live show and a film – The Wall channelled everything, good and bad, of what had been learned in the seven-year trajectory since Pink Floyd took to the stage at Earls Court in May 1973. It took all of Waters’ angst, and all the cutting-edge skills of the light, sound and construction team to create a show so grandly preposterous that it could only be staged in its original incarnation 31 times.

The band played it at Earls Court twice: for the six-night stint in 1980, and then a further five nights, for potential use in Alan Parker’s forthcoming film of the album, in June 1981. The show on June 17 that year would be the last time the four core Pink Floyd members would play together until their brief reunion in 2005.

Tales of The Wall, and what the size and scale of the concerts meant for the entire live concert industry, are legion. Sounds reported that “they dwarfed the biggest indoor rock venue in the country with a dazzling array of effects and a 360-degree sound system that was the finest I have ever heard anywhere, let alone the cavernous wastes of Earls Court.”

Earls Court always had a special place in Pink Floyd’s mythology. Nick Mason wrote in Inside Out that it was “one of our favourite venues, a place with plenty of character, right in the heart of London.” It was where the Roger Waters-less Floyd ended their live career with their run of shows in October 1994 to complete The Division Bell tour, and Waters played there again in 2007.

Tragically, the exhibition centre was demolished in 2017 and is now an empty space awaiting long-promised development. It was a venue that was far from perfect, but the group had an affinity with it – being less soulless than Wembley. The shows Pink Floyd played there between 1973 and 1981 bookended the most fascinating, not necessarily for all the right reasons, period in Pink Floyd’s career.

The summer music festival season is in full swing, with live events happening all over the world featuring some of the biggest bands around. But, as you’ll be well aware, there’s no Glastonbury this year with the Worthy Farm festival having a fallow year, with the plan for it to return in 2027.

With the weather finally sorting itself out, have you thought about creating your own festival experience at home to fill the gap?

You and your friends can avoid the inevitable downpours, the massive queues at the bar, the pricy food, the late nights and the hassle of pitching a tent when you’d much rather be seeing live music.

I’ve picked out several products that can help transform your living room, bedroom or patio into a mini-festival site - and with the BBC currently showing highlights and a selection of live sets from the 2025 festival including The Prodigy’s blistering performance, alongside classic performances such as Radiohead from 1997 and The Cure from 2019 via the BBC iPlayer, it’s a great time to add some festival joy to the summer.

If you want a bit more inspiration when creating your Glastonbury at home experience, how about setting up a food and drink station, complete with bowls of snacks, plastic glasses and an ice bucket in the hall? You could even replace the bean bags I mentioned above with camping chairs - although it might now be quite as comfy.

Give your guests a running order for the day ahead - and plan in times for games of Hitster, giant jenga and food breaks for pizza delivery. You could even get some VIP lanyards printed, allowing "exclusive access" to your living room and fit some blackout curtains to create a night vibe for the whole day.

And if you think the noise might upset your neighbours, invite them round to join in!

Doom metal bills don't come bigger than this. Hell, doom gigs don't come much bigger than this: Acid Bath's first-ever UK show in a sold out 2,600-capacity Manchester Academy with homegrown heroes Conan and Green Lung - who'll headline this same venue later this year - in support. It's massive, it's exciting and it's a miracle it's even happening.

When Acid Bath broke up in 1997 following the tragic death of bassist Audie Pitre, they were lucky if they could play to more than 10 people, guitarist Sammy Duet telling Hammer last year that "While we were together, nobody really gave a shit." But in their absence, the fondness grew.

Which brings us to Manchester Academy, on the hottest day of the year, watching the hottest reunion in metal right now. The room's already a furnace when Conan take to the stage, the Liverpudlian brutes issuing some ungodly force that takes New Orleans sludge metal and drags it so far and deep it ends up suffocating under a tonne of lumpen riffs.

Next up are UK doom darlings Green Lung. New tunes Evil In This House and Necropolitan Line have the kind of killer hooks and swaggering riffs that could make them into a real breakout band, while the likes of Mountain Church, Let The Devil In and One For Sorrow are already well-worn anthems.

Before Acid Bath arrive, Black Sabbath's genre-defining eponymous track plays over the PA, and there doesn't seem to be a soul in the house who isn't singing along. It sets a tone, and as the bonus poem tones ominously overhead casting vivid, violent images with just a few lines of apocalyptic poetry. Then all hell breaks loose.

Opening with Tranquilized, the Manchester Academy greets Acid Bath with an orgiastic frenzy as the floor explodes with moshers, dancers and crowdsurfers while cups fly overhead offering sweet - if all too small - relief from the clammy press. This is doom set through a psychedelic prism and enough ecstasy and performance enhancers to get Hugh Heffner bouncing back from the grave.

Even the slow, brutal drag of a song like Bleed Me An Ocean becomes a euphoric sing-along, fans singing along with such fervour you'd think someone was handing out hymn sheets at the door. There's no corny patter, no insistence on "give us a circle". The crowd hardly needs encouragement to lose their minds, and the band play with a brooding intensity befitting their status as long-lost legends, vocalist Dax Riggs channelling Jim Morrison via Jim Jones.

At just over an hour, Acid Bath leave the crowd wanting more - inevitably. Some of their biggest 'hits' - Scream Of The Butterfly, Cassie Eats Cockroaches - are left out. But the mix of bad-trip psych, end-of-life blues and guttural sludge is just too potent not to love, and when the crowd belt out "Dying felt so goddamn good today" from Paegan Love Song, there's a sense of overwhelming gratitude that Acid Bath are even back at all, let alone bigger than ever. Doom metal has never felt so utterly euphoric.

Acid Bath support System Of A Down in the UK on July 13 and July 15.

Acid Bath Manchester Academy Setlist June 25 2026

1. Tranquilized
2. Bleed Me An Ocean
3. Venus Blue
4. The Bones Of Baby Dolls
5. Dead Girl
6. The Mortician's Flame
7. New Death Sensation
8. Graveflower
9. Paegan Love Song
10. The Blue

50 years, 17 albums, over 2,500 shows under their belt – Iron Maiden show no signs of stopping.

On 10-11 July, Maiden celebrate their half-century in style, with Eddfest, an Iron Maiden party in the grounds of Knebworth. To mark it, Classic Rock and Metal Hammer have teamed up with Maiden to create a killer-collectible: the official programme and museum guide!

Eddited by Iron Maiden Fan Club Edditor Alexander Milas, the programme features exclusive interviews, including founder Steve Harris looking back at over 50 years of heavy metal mayhem, plus the official guide to the Infinite Dreams Experience, the open-air Maiden Museum full of stage props and Maiden memorabilia collected over a half-century of historic tours.

There’s an all-new interview with Blaze Bayley, archive content from the pages of Metal Hammer and Classic Rock (and sister magazines like Guitarist, Guitar Player and more), a letter from Rod Smallwood, interviews with the festival’s many guests, chats with Maiden artists Alberto ‘Akirant’ Quirantes and Hervé Monjeaud, the inside story of Trooper beer and more besides.

The programme is going to become a must-have collector’s item – so get it while you can. Available at the festival or via our exclusive pre-sale on the Classic Rock and Metal Hammer online store.

PLEASE NOTE: ANY PRE-ORDERED ITEMS WILL NOT BE DELIVERED BEFORE EDDFEST IN JULY.

They are Iron Maiden. Hallowed be thy name.

When it comes to alternative music, Canada may as well be the Phantom Zone: so many artists who fill arenas and enjoy legend status in the Great White North find themselves playing to far fewer people whenever they step beyond the border. Billy Talent and Alexisonfire aren’t as big here as they are at home, where pretty much everything they do charts in the top 10, but they’re each still pioneers of millennial post-hardcore with cult international followings. London demonstrates its dedication tonight, as thousands of fans come out during a 35-degree heatwave to see them play their respective 2006 albums in full.

“Tonight is all about gratitude,” says BILLY TALENT vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz. The opening co-headliners swagger their way through second effort II with genuine glee, and during such standouts as Devil In A Midnight Mass, Red Flag and Fallen Leaves, Wembley Arena reaches the same level of joy, singing along en masse. The highlight of the set, though, is the video production the four-piece have brought with them. Throughout, vocal hooks from Kowalewicz and guitar lines from Ian D’Sa are paired with footage of the band laying down the exact same part in clubs 20 years ago. The videos run in perfect sync with the performance, making for a pleasing full-circle moment.

But, the second the Mississaugans leave the stage, it’s obvious who the crowd’s really here for. A wave of tatted, skate-apparel-sporting punks instantly surges forward in anticipation of ALEXISONFIRE, so enthusiastic that they’re happy to be rammed together in this scorching weather. The St Catharines aggressors stride out under ironic archive footage of the 1977 New York snowstorm, which inspired the imagery of their lauded breakthrough album Crisis.

Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And Saints starts with a declaration of their DIY ethos – “This is from our hearts! Sincerity over simple chords!” – which London recites like a pledge of allegiance. What follows is both rawer and more dynamic than the first show of the night, screamer George Pettit leading the band through passages of rampant hardcore before co-singers/guitarists Dallas Green and Wade MacNeil steal the grand, melodic highs. This Could Be Anywhere In The World, Boiled Frogs and the title track are all time-tested favourites that get a pit swirling in between moments of sweet reprieve.

It’s testament to Crisis’ excellence that, unlike so many front-loaded album-in-full sets we’ve seen, the deep cuts keep the energy high. Keep It On Wax hasn’t been played live since 2012, yet the audience fills in the gaps during MacNeil’s cries of “I! I guess! The only thing cheap to you is your friends!” Many a phone is held high for the following To A Friend, as Green flexes the vocal muscles that have made his indie solo project, City And Colour, a chart-topping juggernaut in its own right.

2006 b-side Thrones is played for the first time ever during the encore, cementing this evening as a truly special occasion. As Alexis then default to early hits Pulmonary Archery and Happiness By The Kilowatt, the set ends with the kind of rich, textured but savage material which made them once-in-a-generation. The self-described ‘only band ever’ have once again proved why no one else matters.

Billy Talent setlist: Wembley Arena, London – June 24, 2026

1. Devil In A Midnight Mass
2. Red Flag
3. This Suffering
4. Worker Bees
5. Pins And Needles
6. Fallen Leaves
7. Where Is The Line?
8. Covered In Cowardice
9. Surrender
10. The Navy Song
11. Perfect World
12. Sympathy
13. Burn The Evidence
14. Rusted From The Rain
15. Devil On My Shoulder
16. Reckless Paradise
17. Viking Death March

Alexisonfire setlist: Wembley Arena, London – June 24, 2026

1. Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And Saints
2. This Could Be Anywhere In The World
3. Mailbox Arson
4. Boiled Frogs
5. We Are The Sound
6. You Burn First
7. We Are The End
8. Crisis
9. Keep It On Wax
10. To A Friend
11. Rough Hands
12. Thrones (live debut)
13. Pulmonary Archery
14. Happiness By The Kilowatt

Pro-shot video of Linkin Park’s 100-minute headline set at Rock In Rio Lisbon is on YouTube.

The Diamond-selling nu metal giants played a 23-song set at the Portuguese festival on Sunday, June 21, as they made their way across Europe for the final dates of their ongoing From Zero world tour.

The footage captures the entire performance, which included airings of such old-school cuts as One Step Closer, Breaking The Habit, Faint, In The End, Numb and What I’ve Done alongside songs from 2024 comeback album From Zero.

The set also featured a rendition of Where’d You Go, a song by singer, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Mike Shinoda’s solo project Fort Minor. Watch the whole thing below.

Linkin Park’s 2026 summer European tour kicked off on May 29 at 3Arena in Stockholm, Sweden and is set to wrap up at Letzigrund Stadion in Zurich, Switzerland on June 30. Along the way, the six-piece headlined Download festival in the UK on June 14; as they’re now co-fronted by Emily Armstrong, who joined in 2024, they became the first band with a female singer to close the mainstage of the Donington weekender.

The members responded to the distinction during an interview with BBC News on the day of the show.

“So, I’ll start with the fact that I don’t feel like I should be answering the question, that Emily should be answering, so I went and asked her, because she can’t be here right now,” said Shinoda.

“I asked her and she said: ‘If it wasn’t us, it would’ve just been someone else, because there are so many great female-fronted bands.’ But, she’s so grateful, she wanted you guys to know, she’s so grateful that she is the one and that she’ll remember it forever.”

Armstrong joined the band as they reactivated following a seven-year hiatus, which started shortly after the death of previous singer Chester Bennington aged 51 in July 2017. Her appointment was initially met with controversy, as fans highlighted her past ties to the Church Of Scientology and her support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson at his trial in 2020.

Armstrong responded to the concerns in a statement, saying that she does “not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathise with the victims of these crimes”. Although she didn’t clarify whether she is or has ever been a follower of Scientology, the BBC reported that lyrics in her rock band Dead Sara hint at a rejection of the church’s teachings.

At Download, Shinoda spoke about how Armstrong came to join the band two years ago.

“Even when it was, like, choosing Emily as a singer, the top priority was, like, whoever the person is, are they somebody that we can spend a lot of time with?” he remembered.

“Do we get along, both personally and creatively? We were all just a good fit that way. Obviously, the person has to be a world-class singer, but they don’t have to be a world-class female singer. It’s just whoever’s the best singer. So, for us, all of those things connected us with Em.”

Formed in 1996 under the name Xero, Linkin Park are one of the best-selling rock bands of all time. Their 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory was certified Diamond in the United States in 2005, having sold upwards of 10 million units. They’ve also won two Grammy Awards: Hybrid Theory single Crawling won the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy in 2002 and Numb/Encore, a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, earned them the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration prize in 2006.