“Your Cross Is an Act of War” sees Motions deliver a fierce, uncompromising stand against racism, channelling the UK’s current climate of division into a raw, heavy track that hits with both intensity and intent.

LOST VELVET are carving a space between post-rock atmosphere, shoegaze haze, and industrial unease with a sound that feels vast, intimate, and slightly unhinged. They release their debut album Dark Cells on Friday 4th September, led by their brand-new single and video, Right Back, which is out now.

UK thrash outfit IMPERIUM will release their new single Tread The Serpent on Friday 10th July. The track features Tony Dolan of Venom Inc and arrives alongside a lyric video on the same day. It’s taken from their debut album Exodus Unknown, due Friday 17th July via Heavy Metal Records.

Brit post-hardcore outfit MERCERS unveil their debut EP, The Liminal Tapes, out everywhere on Friday 17th July. The band’s brand new single and video, New Stockholm, is released on Friday 10th July.

Emerging South Coast UK trio i-ATLAS announce their dynamic debut EP, Beyond The New Horizon, set for release on Friday 11th September, alongside the release of their striking new single and video, 3iAtlas, which is out now.

Fast rising Scottish rock band KELOWNA will release their debut album, Superstar, everywhere on Friday 28th August.

Download Festival 2026 once again took over Donington Park from 10–14 June, headlined by Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses, and Linkin Park. While the scale of the event was as massive as ever, this year’s focus for us shifted firmly toward rising and emerging talent across the lineup, particularly on stages like Dogtooth and beyond.

Across a physically demanding weekend—managed carefully due to accessibility needs and limited energy resources—we prioritised discovery over distance, staying closer to camp-based stages where possible. Despite this, the festival delivered a steady stream of standout performances from both established names and breakthrough acts.

Highlights included explosive sets from Caskets, Lake Malice, Electric Callboy, TropicGold, As Everything Unfolds, Lowen, Unpeople, Bloodywood, and The Plot In You, each bringing their own identity and energy to the weekend. Even brief or distant sets from BABYMETAL, Behemoth, Architects, Ice Nine Kills, Bad Omens, and Linkin Park left a strong impression and rounded out key moments across the festival.

The weekend also reinforced the strength of the UK and international rising scene, with many artists delivering performances that exceeded expectations and drew in new audiences in real time. Alongside this, moments of connection—such as meeting Fangslinger near the Ferris Wheel—added a more personal layer to the experience.

While we weren’t able to catch every act we had hoped to see due to fatigue and the scale of the site, Download 2026 still delivered an unforgettable weekend. That said, this year also marked a turning point, with a decision made to step back from future attendance in favour of smaller gigs and festivals in 2027, allowing for a more focused approach to discovering and supporting emerging artists.

Your Novacaine Festival sub-headliner, TropicGold, has released a brand-new single, “Witch House,” featuring dark-industrial goth-pop act Harpy. The track dropped on June 2nd, 2026 via their new label BLKIIBLK.

Download Festival 2026 opens its gates today, Wednesday 10th June, as the annual pilgrimage to Donington Park gets underway.

Across the campsites, thousands of festival-goers begin the traditional Download ritual: arrive, crack open a drink, and attempt to pitch a tent with varying degrees of success.

Five hours, several drinks, one argument with a tent pole, and a battle against the elements later, a surprisingly sturdy shelter emerges from the chaos.

It might be wonky. It might not survive the weekend. But for now, it’s home. Welcome to Download.

Rising from the UK underground, GARROW HILL return with a new release that builds on everything they’ve been developing over the years: heavy, dark, and firmly on their own terms. The band have just dropped their engulfing new single and video, Eaten by Crows, which will be followed by their five-track stunning EP, IX, out on Friday 31st July.

UK progressive rock outfit, THE TIRITH, return with a powerful new chapter, reaffirming their place in the modern prog scene. Their new single, Save The Oak, is out now, and look out for the band’s new album, Quetzalcoatl, out Friday 3rd July.

Brit hard-hitters RULED BY RAPTORS will release their explosive mini-album, A Shadow That Never Moves, on Friday 2nd October. Marking a clear evolution in their sound, the record pushes their blend of progressive elements, high-octane riffs, and melodic vocals into heavier, more expansive territory. Check out the band’s stunning new single and video, Sleep Dep., out now

THE LARCHES continue their climb with the release of their biting new single and video, Raxidermy, out now. The band will also unveil their much-anticipated new EP, Nihilistic Majesties, on Friday 24th July.

British heavy visionaries BLACKMARKET continue their ascent with the commanding new single and video, ‘Radical Views’, the title track from their explosive new EP, released on 22nd May 2026.

Bath-based progressive-metal three-piece Redshift return with their long-awaited third studio album ‘Down The Wire’, released on May 29th 2026 via Pale Wizard Records. 

Rising modern metal stars DOMINUM expand their catalogue with a new catchy hymn: "Dark Melodies" is a haunting ballad in waltz time, blending an eerie atmosphere, powerful vocals, and a massive melodic hook. The third single from the upcoming album, Night is Calling, which will be released on July 3 via Napalm Records, emphasizes DOMINUM's strong presence in the metal scene, in which they have created their very own niche. Horror aesthetics and arena-ready hooks — this band has it all, and the enticing "Dark Melodies" is another proof of that.

EVERGREY, Gothenburg’s masterminds of melancholia, offer up another outburst of beautiful darkness and turn their inner fire into something unstoppable: their intense fifteenth album, Architects Of A New Weave, will be released on June 5, 2026 via Napalm Records, just days before the band takes the stage as special guest to the undisputed kings of heavy metal, Iron Maiden, for two shows on their Run For Your Lives World Tour.

UK alt-rock crew THE BITTER PILLS reveal their long-awaited debut album later this year, and it’s a full-volume statement built on distortion, urgency, and zero interest in restraint. Prior to the release, the band have dropped their stomping new single and video, Set Me Free, out now.

South East England trio and Novacaine Festival 2026 sub-headliners Tropic Gold returned with their most emotionally exposed work to date: the new EP SICK TO DEATH OF EVERYTHING, released 7th March 2025 via UNFD.