DREICH, BANSHEE LABYRINTH, EDINBURGH, FEBRUARY 21 2026

METAL MAYHEM, Vol. 7: IN ETREMIS. Apparently.

It's good to see a metal show featuring a wide range of humans - male, female, non-binary, trans, etc - on stage and in the crowd with NOBODY being a dick about it. We need more of this.

Line-up:

THE BLEACHED: Blackened death from Dundee, not to be confused with other bands/artists of the same name. That singer will be back later.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Rny87fZkPDY  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574675222812

MARAIGH: Blackened crusty gothy alt-metal from (mostly) Glasgow. Playing tonight with JENNY, sitting in on drums at short notice.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/PvNL-DQH07E             https://www.facebook.com/Maraighband

MISOPHONIA: Glaswegian progressive melodeath metal. Last time I saw these folks they were having a really bad time. They were missing a guitarist, they hated the venue and they were having endless tech issues. Tonight, they are in a much happier place, although the gremlins are not entirely absent.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/4bfWohFAG1Y  https://www.facebook.com/Misophoniauk

DREKAVAC: Black metal, masked and leathery, from 'the cold north of the UK', AKA Scotland. Impractical teeth on that lad with the guitar.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/7GSSDxhhTjY    https://www.facebook.com/Drekavacmusic

DREICH: I have seen DREICH before, but I'm not convinced that that's the same singer. This one seems smaller, and has less beard. Still quality atmospheric black metal, still from Aberdeen. Joined for a song by the lad from THE BLEACHED, as you will be able to see from the video below. 

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/HGAWnqtWXzU   https://www.facebook.com/dreich.doom

BLACK GROOVE, LEGENDS, EDINBURGH, FEBRUARY 20 2026

Sludge, chaos and riffs. I'm guessing that NOTAFLOF is not some kind of Pokemon, but means 'No one turned away for lack of funds'.

Another night with very few lights, hence the questionable quality of the pics. 

Line-up:

A.V.L: If you've ever checked out this blog, you'll probably have come across A.V.L. before now. They're as good as ever, angry and intense, and bust out a NEW SONG at the end of their set. Drummer is sad, though, as Finland lost the ice-hockey to Canada in the Olympics 

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/-WZ84wRXNJM       https://www.facebook.com/avlband

 

ACID THRONE: Nasty blackened sludge/doom/hardcore from Norwich

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/ag-KrpkgI8A   https://www.facebook.com/acidthroneband

BLACK GROOVE: Chaos sludge from dahn sarf, featuring confrontation, contortion, gurning and a bit of bottleneck guitar, Great stuff.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/lzNrADDDDBk   https://www.facebook.com/Blackgroovedoom

Sadly, I found out tonight that the rumours of the sale of LEGENDS are, very probably true, and we will be losing one of the best venues in Edinburgh. It will, apparently, be added to a chain of themed bars, most likely with a 'Western' vibe. Good news, perhaps, for the stag & hen scene, not so good for rock'n'metal. At least it's not going to be another Wetherspoons...

HELICON, VOODOO ROOMS, EDINBURGH, FEBRUARY 7 2026

An evening of psychedelia in one of Edinburgh's nicest rooms.

Line-up:

KAVUS TORABI: London based, Iranian born serial collaborator, has worked with Gong, Knifeworld, Utopia Strong, Steve Davis, Guapo, Cardiacs, amongst (many) others. Gentle psych/prog from a very nice man.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/UBGVCxowvqE   https://www.facebook.com/KavusTorabi

HELICON: Glaswegian psychedelic brain-spinners. Swirly lights, hypno-riffs, sitars, that sort of thing. Last time I saw them was in the fog in Sneaky Pete's, but tonight they're fog-free and so much better for it. They play songs that, I imagine, could go on for hours if unleashed, but they control themselves and keep it snappy.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/_vwbYGeoKcI   https://www.facebook.com/HeliconGlasgow

YOWL, SNEAKY PETE'S, EDINBURGH, JANUARY 20 2026

2026 continues to be a year of bands I've never seen before, have never heard of, and have no clue about.  Here's another three. The only thing I know about these bands is how to spell their names.

Please excuse the appalling pics, but the smoke machine was working overtime and the bands were barely visible much of the time.

Line-up:

SAVE FACE: Gentle indie-pop. With a trumpet. At the merch desk they have many t-shirts for sale, but no recorded music. Nice stuff, though, even if it's very hard to see them at times, due to the ridiculously thick smoke on stage.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/bk1RsMVg3Zg   https://www.instagram.com/savefaceband/

3P SLOT MACHINE: Psychedelic alt-folk oddness featuring lap-steel guitar, something which might be a djembe, and slacker-esque vocals. And a very tall bass player. They have an EP available, but they don't play any of the songs from it, for... reasons. Great fun.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/LqfJxmAxmyE   https://www.instagram.com/3pslotmachine/

YOWL: Robust indie/post-punk balladeers based in, but not actually from, London, not unlike a rougher DAY SLEEPER. They go down well with the crowd, and quite rightly so.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/vO-qglILw1k  https://www.facebook.com/yowlmusic