Reviews archive

August 2026

Filter

Year
Month

22 articles

August 31
- One of the great 'what if' moments in rock history: Ace by Dee Snider's Desperado. "Had this been released in the early 80s, it would have gone down a storm"
August 29
- "Thank you for always making this feel like home." Turnstile strengthen and expand their UK Love Connection at feel-good All Points East show
August 28
- Turnstile have somehow managed to unite Elton John, Hayley Williams, Slayyyter and Dying Fetus and actually make it work. Never Enough: Versions is one of 2026's boldest and most entertaining releases
- “A catchy, spirited and uplifting reincarnation”: Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo vanquishes his demons on Pure Ecstasy
- Mastodon surmount personal tragedies to deliver stellar ninth album. "Marrow Deep is a defiant album... Not laughing in the face of death, but not crumbling under it either."
August 27
- "Not for the first time, they have snatched joy from the jaws of heartbreak." Mastodon triumph over tragedy with Marrow Deep
August 26
- “A blur of Rhinestones sparkling in the spotlights”: Ghost offer a rare, stylish glimpse behind the curtain with concert film/documentary 2 Big To Rig
August 24
- Deftones dazzle in front of 50,000 fans at their biggest ever UK headline show at All Points East Presents Outbreak
- Rush ascend to prog rock nirvana on the superhuman but radio-ready Moving Pictures. "The crowning achievement in one of the greatest consecutive album runs in music history"
August 17
- Audio-Technica AT-ERP5 earplugs review: absurdly transparent gigging earplugs from an audio tech titan
- "The album's brevity is its biggest advantage. There is no chance of getting bored." J.J. Cale keeps it short on the easygoing Okie
August 10
- Fantasy metal sensations Castle Rat prove why they're being touted as heavy metal's next big thing with epic Bloodstock set
- Judas Priest get an almighty homecoming as they close out Bloodstock Festival 2026
- "A master at bringing the guitar to life and giving it a voice." Fifty years on, Robin Trower's Bridge Of Sighs is still an all-time blues rock classic
August 9
- Cult prog metal heroes Nevermore return to Bloodstock after almost 20 years - and after a patchy start, they put on a hell of a show
- “I feel like Scotland have just won the World Cup!” Scottish metal heroes Bleed From Within just proved why they deserve to be given a chance as Bloodstock headliners one day
- "Suggestions that they'd pull the smallest headline crowd in the festival's history are laughably wide of the mark." Slaughter To Prevail pass their big Bloodstock test with flying colours (and lots of breakdowns)
August 8
- Metal legends Sepultura are bowing out in style as they steal the show at Bloodstock 2026
- Lamb Of God are still setting the bar for live heavy metal as they crush it with an explosive, deceptively fun performance for Bloodstock's 25th anniversary
August 7
- Opeth's prog metal majesty is a triumph at only UK gig of 2026: "It looks like they've opened a portal to another dimension."
August 5
- Electric Callboy hit the apex of their dance-metal era on floor-filling new album Tanzneid – with a little help from Babymetal and The Offspring: “It may not represent a dramatic reinvention, but it doesn’t need to”
August 3
- "Fun, feisty, fast and furious. Grunge with a punk-metal heart." L7's Bricks Are Heavy - A breath of fresh air in a scene that quickly became stale