STRANGEFORMS FESTIVAL, DAY 1, BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS, APRIL 18 2026

 We're back in Leeds for the 11th StrangeForms festival. Of course we are.

Line-up:

BIRDWITCH: Off to a grand start with these folks, Norwich based - but partly from Scotland - doomgazers. Rousing stuff, and a big voice from such a slight figure of a singer. Draw a good sized crowd, which is nice for an opening act.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/EqdaMY3n0Ww   https://www.facebook.com/Birdwitch

LAST OF EDEN(L.O.E.): Hefty post-rock. First band of the weekend to have a member join the crowd. There isn't a video for this, because I fucked up somehow. I have video, and I have audio, but they don't match. Which is annoying, because they were more than decent. But barely visible.

https://www.facebook.com/weareloemusic

AS LIVING ARROWS: The first band (of only 4) of the weekend that I've seen before, and happy to see them again. Chunky post-emo-screamo-metal

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/72Ia7XWHpyo   https://www.facebook.com/aslivingarrows.band

FORLORN: Self-described as 'Midsommar metal', stirring stuff with songs of paganism, mythology and folk horror. From that leafy green centre of mysticism, London.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/BHOogmZVIO8   https://www.facebook.com/weareallforlorn

GOD ALONE: Ridiculously skilful explosive dance-math from Cork, and the second of my previously-seen bands. I STILL have no idea how they do it. Inevitably, some of them end up in the crowd.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/ai3P4WSGELs   https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork

COLOSSAL SQUID: Drummer/producer Adam Betts in his squid costume. Gets off to a false start with his computer acting 'like a twat'. Sound cards don't like excessive vibration, apparently. Once sorted, he batters several shades of shit out of his kit and is enormously entertaining. Previously seen act #3.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/iH1pE40UyBI  https://www.facebook.com/colossalsquidmusic1

KNIVES: Blistering punk noise. With a saxophone. And a very turbulent crowd.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/moxXO_aiY9Y  https://www.facebook.com/knivesnoise

MERYL STREEK: Irish 'council house lad' raging against injustice and the cruelty of modern society with a soap-box, a laptop and a flashing torch. Entertainment or education? Why not both? Something to think about on the way home from the show.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Mf2wRaXPshA  https://www.facebook.com/merylstreek

HELLRAISER NIGHT, BANSHEE LABYRINTH, EDINBURGH, APRIL 10 2026

 Edinburgh's semi-regular metal night at the Banshee

Line-up:

OBSIDIAN SAND: Excellent instrumental sludgy post-metal from  relatively new locals. Keen-eyed observers will notice that their guitarist is Lukasz from sludge/noise terrorists A.V.L. Not that this is particularly relevant, it's just interesting. 

Some of the subtleties were lost on part of the audience, who chatted through a few of the more Pink-Floydy bits. Philistines.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/wT09gjLXURQ   https://www.facebook.com/ObsidianSand
 

RAZOR SHARP DEATH BLIZZARD: Grizzled veterans of the Edinburgh punk/metal scene. Featuring a new drummer. As sharp as ever, and as resolutely anti-fascist. Will not be voting Tory/Reform at the upcoming elections.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/R-Rgv4Y2mTY  https://www.facebook.com/razorsharpdeathblizzard

SOULS OF JACK KETCH: Death/thrash from Newcastle. This is their first gig of the year, apparently, and my first time seeing them ever. Also their bass player's last ever SoJK gig. Great fun, especially when their guitarist failed to remember the riff for the new song. They got there eventually. allegedly just doing it to build up the tension. Yeeesss...

For those who don't know, or who can't use a search function on their computer, Jack Ketch was the 17th century inventor of tomato ketchup. Or an English executioner. Perhaps both.

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/QGloV3b52g4  https://www.facebook.com/SoulsofJackKetch 

PRIMITIVE VICES: Doom/sludge from that hotbed of Scottish metal, Penicuik. Featuring an uncertain number of new members, and playing an uncertain number of new songs. Chunky.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/qJCwHOFUw5Q  https://www.facebook.com/PrimitiveVices

ORA COGAN, SNEAKY PETE'S, EDINBURGH, MARCH 24 2026

 Something a bit different. Definitely not metal.

Sneaky Pete's is STILL excessively smokey, though. I don't know why they feel it necessary to pump so much smoke into the room. There's no need for it.

Line-up:

ATTICUS MERCREDI: Canadian/native American singer/songwriter and percussionist in ORA COGAN's band, going solo with songs exploring his childhood and Native American roots. He's never done this before, so maybe that would explain why he seems a little nervous.

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/yrk8GMHLSFQ  https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.mercredi

ORA COGAN: Hard to pin down, this. Part country, part folk, part Americana, part psychedelic and part goth. But not as goth as I expected, to be honest, apart from her bat-winged boots. Also Canadian.

She seems a little bemused by the tiny stage in Sneaky Pete's, and is prone to frequent fits of giggling.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/cR7hMtlOkO8     https://www.facebook.com/oracoganmusic