TotalRock

There’s always something special about heading to one of my favorite venues, KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton, and Quest Fest gave me another great reason to make the trip. This was my first time attending the event, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that Quest Fest is something a little different from your usual metal festival. What really stood out to me was just how much there was going on beyond the music.

Jayler have already proved that success does not always need to take its sweet time. The absolute newcomers only released their debut album Voices Unheard a few months ago, in May 2026, but luckily, the album title did not manifest itself in real life. Let us bring out the chart trophies collected so far: No. 2 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart, No. 3 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart and No. 5 on the Official Independent Albums Chart.

7 October 2026, Barfly, London Review & Photography: Aggie Anthimidou Give me a piece of paper and a pencil and ask me to define a modern rock ’n’ roll band, and I’d sketch Palaye Royale. Nine years ago, the trio of brothers, Emerson Barrett, Sebastian Danzig and Remington Leith, set out to break the UK scene with a sold-out show at what was then the Camden Assembly. They won over fans and media alike almost immediately, and the Royal Council was born.

Sunday, 27 September 2026 – The Garage, London Just as a typical Sunday — the week-ending minimalist — preaches restraint, day three of Stoomfest 2026 continued in a slightly stripped-back fashion. This time, taking place on the smaller upper floor of The Garage, the whole atmosphere felt more familiar. Known faces kept appearing, like an initially strange group that had successfully completed a team-building event. Voluntarily, even.

The lights of the venue go down and the air is filled with chants of ‘MOO!’ and the Inspiral Carpets take to the stage to put in an impressive set on this second gig of a 16 date your round the UK with The Wonder Stuff. I have always had a soft spot for Inspiral Carpets but for some reason hadn’t seen them play in a very long time. Clint Boon, the jovial keyboard player describes the band’s sound as Garage Pop and to be honest, it’s not a bad description.

A little over two months ago, Mongolian folk metal lords The Hu were in a field in Knebworth, taking on the stifling Herdfordshire sun at Iron Maiden’s Eddfest. Tonight they were in a cooler Dublin, under a roof, and within the legendary walls of the Olympia Theatre. But ahead of the main course, another bunch of folk-ers called SKÁLD from France kicked off the night with something way beyond the norm.

Saturday, 26 September 2026 – The Garage, London Stoomfest 2026: London’s mothership for doom, stoner and desert rock, packaging the genre into one organised, coherent and suspiciously brain-massaging musical experience. With a versatile pile of highly qualified bands that should have caused at least a decent shot of dopamine in every attendee. But let us let this little brain-chemistry-altering experience pass in slightly more detail, shall we?

It was understandable, but also sad when Queen confirmed that they would not tour again after fifty years and in the wake of some recent health difficulties experienced by Brian May. However, tonight the Roundhouse was packed with the Queen faithful who had come to see Roger Taylor after the release of his latest solo album ‘Violence Insane In A Beautiful World’. While he alone would be more than enough, the night is also ripe with anticipation after Brian May was spotted arriving at the venue.

A day of punk and hardcore with plenty of reasons to come back There ought to be a warning on No Play’s timetable: you will eventually need to eat. It is surprisingly easy to overlook that detail when another band worth seeing is about to start upstairs. Liverpool’s No Play festival makes a compelling argument for spending the day chasing riffs, catching up with people and trusting that the basic business of keeping yourself alive can be squeezed into a changeover. Hardcore is very much my thing.

written by MikeP © Manos Koukakis https://www.instagram.com/manosphoto For Jason Momoa, this wasn’t simply another date on the band’s UK run. It was his first time back in the city since Back to the Beginning, the extraordinary Black Sabbath farewell at Villa Park in July 2025 a night that saw Momoa take on hosting duties as Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath line-up made their final live appearance.