Reviews

Distorted Sound Magazine • 16th January 2026

ALBUM REVIEW: With All That's Left - Cold Night For Alligators

The needle on COLD NIGHT FOR ALLIGATORS’ musical compass has been flickering in their expansive pursuit of self, but with their latest studio album, With All That’s Left, it is clear that a constantly evolving, experimental soundscape is where these Danish alt metallers thrive.

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 16th January 2026

Ensiferum Stir Up A Winter Storm Of Folk Metal Magic In London

Inflatable swords, the happiest Metal band in the world, and whirling mosh pits paying tribute to the Viking Gods of War are but three of the ingredients in Ensiferum, Freedom Call and Dragony’s storming takeover of London.

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 23rd November 2025

Drowning Pool Lead A Night Of Nu Metal Nostalgia

Even if some people have come out for the sole purpose of getting in the moshpit for the infamous song Bodies, Drowning Pool, with the help of Spineshank and (Hed) P.E., put on a show that blasts Nu Metal nostalgia from every beer-soaked gap in the O2 Academy Islington’s only slightly ageing crowd.

MetalTalk • 22nd November 2025

Gorilla Biscuits And Terror Give London A Hardcore Spanking

Tonight is about celebrating three generations of Hardcore history, tracing back to one of the Hardcore Punk greats: Gorilla Biscuits, along with their very special guests Terror, No Pressure and Dynamite.

MetalTalk • 13th November 2025

earthtone9 Celebrate 25 Years Of Cult-Classic Album ArcTanGent In London

earthtone9 bring fellow Nottingham-based band The Five Hundred to London for the 25th anniversary of ArcTanGent, in an evening where meditative melodies collide with wrenching heaviness and the force of the present beats out the enticing grip of nostalgia.  25 years ago, earthtone9, the British Alternative Metal band that almost rose to the top, released their cult-classic album ArcTanGent. So iconic is this album that not only has it had a festival named after it, but it is also considered to...

The Indiependent • 8th November 2025

Halloween Burlesque At The Courtyard Theatre Is A Tantalising Treat

There is only one appropriately devilish way to end a treat-filled Halloween weekend: at a burlesque show. Thankfully, the finale to The Courtyard Theatre’s first-ever Horror Festival is a night of Halloween Burlesque, led by host duo Dolly Dark and J’ai Me. They take the audience through a series of performances that capture all the spiciest ingredients of a night of thrilling burlesque. That is, after J’ai Me has removed his Medieval, sack-like robe to reveal a silk white corset and sh...

MetalTalk • 23rd October 2025

Sinsaenum: A Brutally Intimate Display Of Blackened Death Metal

Blackened Death Metal supergroup Sinsaenum stamp their mark on the UK in an intimately brutal return to the stage with their new album In Devastation, four years after the passing of drummer Joey Jordison. Despite the fierce competition Sinsaenum’s London show faced, in the form of clashes with Killswitch Engage and their formidable support lineup, as well as Paradise Lost and Sonata Arctica performing at venues across the capital, their visit to the Underworld is a compact gathering of dedicate...

MetalTalk • 29th September 2025

Harbinger Celebrate 10 Years Of Uncompromising Riffs At The Dome

Harbinger’s 10-year anniversary is an emotionally-charged, furious display of what the UK’s heavy music scene is all about. Obeyer, Hounds Of War, and Black Coast join Harbinger for their 10-year anniversary, their differing sounds testament to Harbinger’s own genre-crossing concoctions and refusal to fit in. Whether you relish the complimentary infusion of Hardcore violence with Nu Metal ethereality in the span of one night, or err on the side of predictability, the night is a turbulent celebra...

MetalTalk • 16th September 2025

Dinosaur Pile-Up Make Explosive Return At The Electric Ballroom And It Couldn’t Have Been Better

Alt-rock heroes Dinosaur Pile-Up rip back into touring with a five-date whizz around the UK that ends in a sold-out, rowdy triumph at the Electric Ballroom, London. With support from The XCERTS and snake eyes, this tour was a raging celebration of Dinosaur Pile-Up’s latest album, I’ve Felt Better, and their marked return following frontman Matt Bigland’s six years of health struggles. Before they head off to the USA as support to A Day To Remember, they made this London show extra special by thr...

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 20th August 2025

New Dinosaur Pile-Up Album I've Felt Better Is Packed With Emotion and Straight-Up Rippers

The new Dinosaur Pile-Up album, I’ve Felt Better, is an absolute beast of a record packed with emotion, “straight-up rippers” and stomping pop-punk splattered rock tunes.

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 18th August 2025

Bloodstock Festival 2025: The Sunday Review

The consensus running across the arena that this was the best Bloodstock ever was pretty much unanimous. And that was before Gojira had delivered the most upending display of Metal mastery in their Sunday headline set, launching us off this planet in their Progressive Death rocket that we were senselessly clinging onto for dear life.

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 15th August 2025

Bloodstock Festival 2025: The Saturday Review

No matter how your Friday night at Bloodstock 2025 was spent, whether it was competing in bouts of sumo wrestling or consuming excessive amounts of mango cider, Saturday morning was spent in the queues for coffee – queues which almost exceeded the dreaded lines for a shower. The caffeine cravings came close to flying out the unzipped tent hole, however, when the main stage openers, Cage Fight, kicked off their set with the force of a steel-toed boot. And Thrash Metal overlords Warbringer later s...

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 13th August 2025

Bloodstock Festival 2025: The Friday Review

With the perfect festival weather making it easy to bounce out of our tents in the morning, Friday at Bloodstock 2025 began in high spirited circle pits for Shrapnel’s Ronnie James Dio Stage opening set, and finished drenched in Trivium’s addictive blend of rock spirit and vicious Metal riffs.

The Indiependent • 25th May 2025

Abi Clarke: Role Model Or Not Is Snort-Inducingly Good

Abi Clarke, TikTokker turned stand-up comedian, finally hits the road with her debut show, Role Model. It is hard to tell who is having more fun: the audience, who have been waiting five years for their “toxic best friend” to make them laugh in person, or Abi, who rolls about the stage like a pair of leopard trousers returning to their natural habitat.

MetalTalk - Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Intervie • 1st March 2025

Four Year Strong / Hardcore pop punk never felt so good

There are good gigs, there are great gigs, and then there is what Four Year Strong, Koyo, and Shoreline did at KOKO on Wednesday. It was a sweat from all orifices, pee yourself, and worry it won’t get better than this kind of Hardcore pop punk gig; days later, we are still getting told off for singing Wasting Time at work.

Bring the Noise UK • 12th December 2024

ALBUM REVIEW: State Champs – State Champs

State Champs are a band that embody all of the addictive qualities of modern-day pop punk: catchy-as-hell choruses, energetic guitar melodies and relatable lyrics on the joys and tribulations of growing up. After popping around the scene for over 14 years, they decided that 2024 was the year to share with the world the big, shiny State Champs trophy, albeit a cracked one on the cover of their self-titled album.