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Words: Kahmel Farahani Photos: Dawn Osborne Nuno Bettencourt on stage in London “Who has been with us since the 1900s?” asks a smiling Nuno Bettencourt to the packed crowd at London’s O2 Arena. “Who here is watching their first extreme gig tonight?“. Another sea of hands shoots up in the crowd.

Diamond Dave chooses his twelve favourite performances from Hellfest 2026 plus more musings from the Northern Irish Rocker. Thursday Hellfest is one of the premier festivals in the world. It takes place in the village of Clisson (close to Nantes) in France. The greatest thing about this festival is the site itself, which comes to life at night where there are enough flames and pyrotechnics to make even Rammstein blush.

If a show that drags a chronically sceptical Berlin crowd into a continuous mosh pit at sauna-inspired 40 degrees Celsius inside a semi-air-conditioned venue sounds like horror, then the duo’s name is doing exactly what it promised. On 27 June, Ho99o9 were quite possibly partly responsible for Berlin’s unbearable heatwave. After all, this was not just the versatile genre symbiosis they are known for, but a collision of musical brutalism and inward-facing vulnerability.

Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger Laid Bare: A Profoundly Human London Triumph! Stepping away from the towering speaker stacks and thunderous arena theatrics, Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger arrived at London’s Islington Assembly Hall armed with little more than acoustic guitars and a mountain of shared history. The applause that greeted the Halestorm frontwoman and her long-time partner was nothing short of deafening.

19 June 2026, Wembley Arena Review & Photography: Aggie Anthimidou Foreigner © Aggie Anthimidou Photography Luis Maldonado © Aggie Anthimidou Photography Frontman Luis Maldonado powered through classics such as ‘Cold as Ice’, ‘That Was Yesterday’ and ‘Urgent’, while power ballads like ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You’ inevitably transported the audience back to teenage bedrooms, brooding over first loves and heartbreaks.

19 June 2026, Wembley Arena Review & Photography: Aggie Anthimidou David Freiberg © Aggie Anthimidou Photography Freiberg’s energy and vocal power remain astonishing, making it a genuine privilege to witness a musician whose career spans some of the most influential decades in rock history. Cathy Richardson © Aggie Anthimidou Photography Alongside him, the current Jefferson Starship lineup proved why the band’s legacy remains so enduring.

Yes – Aurora (InsideOut Music) This twenty fourth Yes studio album is the fourth fronted album release by former Glass Hammer singer Jon Davison who replaced Benoit David who replaced… It is also the third studio release by this Steve Howe helmed line-up and is their best to date. New Yes albums always require a few spins to digest the musical gubbins going on and Aurora is no exception to this rule.

Papa Roach Announce New Dates on 2026 “Rise of the Roach” World Tour It is not called the Rise of the Roach World Tour for nothing. Because oh boy, the roach has risen — literally. Flown in à la ’90s blockbuster — by helicopter, naturally — Papa Roach landed in full style at Rock am Ring Festival. 90,000 pairs of eyes can testify. Good, then, that this high-flying moment has no intention of landing just yet.

Eighty years ago, one of rock music’s most influential creative minds entered the world. On 7 July 2006, almost exactly 20 years ago, that light went out. Yet Syd Barrett’s musical and eccentric influence remains stronger than ever. After all, Barrett was not only one of the creative engines behind Pink Floyd — he helped plant psychedelic rock’s earliest seeds into the cultural soil of the 1960s. Seeds that, clearly, have grown very deep roots.

Joe & David from Spitting Glass with the Hobo on the Radio @TotalRockOnline #dlxxiii Black Veil Brides talk to Neil Jones #dlxxiii @TotalRockOnline Bassist Paolo from Trivium with the Hobo on the Radio @TotalRockOnline #dlxxiii Hollywood Undead chat to Neil Jones @TotalRockOnline #dlxxiii Ginger Wildheart chats with the Hobo on the Radio @TotalRockOnline #dlxxiii Pepper Kenan from Corrosion of Conformity chats to Neil Jones @TotalRockOnline #dlxxiii Black Water County talk to Andy Baqone for...