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

RIPCORD FEST, NICE'N'SLEAZY, GLASGOW, MARCH 21 2026

Hefty new post-metal, etc. festival from those nice folks at RIPCORD RECORDS. It's the last gig of the month (It's not, as it happens. Got a short notice one on the 24th), a Saturday, a 70 mile drive away and I've got work tomorrow. This might kill me.

LINE-UP:

WOLVES:  First up, post-hardcore noisy boys from...oh, I don't know. Somewhere grim in England, probably. Fine stuff.

VIDEO:     https://youtu.be/59GwlEXhx74   https://www.facebook.com/theycalluswolves

SOLARS: Sturdy post-rock from Birmingham. 

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/JxLL5qHgxRE   https://www.facebook.com/solarsuk

CIVIL SERVICE:  First band of the day that I've seen before. Synth/sample heavy post-rock from Manchester. Their recent new album is called 'DARK', which is appropriate since they play, mostly, in the...dark.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/zucXqGDBa68  https://www.facebook.com/CivilServiceBand

HELVE: The heftiest of post-sludge, from Leeds. Massive. And that bass players tone is pure filth. Been waiting for aaaaages to see Helve. Totally worth it. Oh, and Andy from WOLVES pops up for a song.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/42fCnMSe4BQ   https://www.facebook.com/Helveband

MILLION MOONS: Last of the day's post-rockers, atmospheric and joyous. That stage-left guitarist can't half throw some shapes, though.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/zWKq-Es6RUs   https://www.facebook.com/millionmoonsband

BENEATH A STEEL SKY: Local lads, post-metal of the most subtle kind, until it isn't. And then it kicks your head in. Singer Greg's first appearance of the day. 

VIDEO:     https://youtu.be/6N-oqQ_ftL8   https://www.facebook.com/beneathasteelskyband

INDIFFERENT ENGINE: Intense and chaotic math-punk. How they can play whilst being dragged around the stage by their singer, I don't really know. Practice, I guess. (Don't try this at home, kids)

VIDEO:        https://youtu.be/dJ8vFcMQ_q8         https://www.facebook.com/IndifferentEngine

CODESPEAKER: Greg's back! His other band, notorious retina-destroyers and ear-damagers, and one of the finest post-metal bands in the country.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/JmckmI-JflQ   https://www.facebook.com/codespeakertheband

HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN: Post-metal again, but the absolute best post-metal in the country. New material, new members, but still the same emotionally and physically devastating noise. Also, still as hard as ever to photograph, with their smoke and their ultra-hostile lighting, the little tykes. Including Greg's third and final appearance, albeit a brief one right at the end.

I can't add a video right now because they need to check any footage before allowing it to be released into the wild. Fingers crossed. I've seen it and it's awesome.

EDIT: Thumbs up from HYOM! Video added.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/XXgpbGcDiGI      https://www.facebook.com/hundredyearoldman

Well, it didn't kill me, but I was good for nothing at work on Sunday. And Monday, to be honest.

As a first attempt at an all-dayer, there can be no complaints here. Nine bands, all killer, no filler, as the young folks used to say. Hefty bits, subtle bits, turbulent bits, intense bits. Well organised, no messing about, totally sold out. RIPCORD will be back on 10th October. You should watch out for it.

Hopefully, the Glasgow roadworks will be finished by then, but I doubt it. Getting to the carpark was a fucking nightmare.

UNMAKING, HOME BAR, EDINBURGH, MARCH 15 2026

 Noisy folks in a tiny room

Line-up:

DISTILL: Two-piece D-beat/grindcore drum'n'bass combo. The sound of a wheelie-bin full of cutlery falling down a hill. Excellent stuff.

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/P6QUIRwF_YM    https://www.instagram.com/distill_grind/

OF SPIRE AND THRONE: Edinburgh's favourite abyssal doom trio make a glorious return to the live stage, now featuring new bass man Stuart Bendiks of ACIDSAURUS BONG, and sounding as hefty as ever. Ali told me that the first song would be a new one so I could catch it on video( see below), but he neglected to tell me that it is 20 MINIUTES LONG! 

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/-XC571q5Y5A   https://www.facebook.com/ofspireandthrone

UNMAKING: Bleak blackened death metal from Glasgow. Ferocious stuff. You'll not find them on the socials, but they are on Bandcamp. And, yes - although he's probably fed up with people mentioning it - that drummer used to be in FRANZ FERDINAND.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/3A-gYCkIBfQ  https://unmaking.bandcamp.com/

SERPENT, LEGENDS, EDINBURGH, MARCH 14 2026

Local groove-metal crew hold party to celebrate release of new album. Also, likely to be my last ever gig in LEGENDS, as the building has been bought by an outfit which prefers the idea of the 'theme bar'. Great news for hen parties and fans of fake cowboy hats. Yee and, indeed, haw.

Anyway, the place is rammed tonight, sold out and more. It will get hot, sweaty and very, very messy. Hi-jinks and goings-on will ensue.

Line-up:

ACID REFLUX: Doomy sludge (sludgy doom?) from Glasgow. I looked on t'internet for info on this band once, and now I get a lot of ads for belly ache medicine and discussion groups. Not helpful.

There's three of them, very young, and they don't talk much. And play their set in almost total darkness. It's nice to (almost) see a young band that doesn't want to sound like Metallica or Pantera. These kids sound, rather, like something dragged from the sulphurous depths of a tar-pit. Slow, thick and filthy.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/daFl2Y4-hNc   https://www.instagram.com/acid.reflux.band.official

ROBOT DEATH MONKEY: The year's first appearance of the 'Hardest Band In Scotland'. Certainly won't be the last. I really shouldn't need to tell you anything about these lads by now. Seriously.

Even faster than usual, they will be joined by a number of guest singers during their set, both invited and not. Chaotic and immense fun.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/tRSrhHzXero  https://www.facebook.com/RobotDeathMonkey

STATE OF DECEIT: 'No nonsense metal' from South Wales. Not NEW South Wales, but the original one. The one that's not in Australia, but in actual Wales. They're down one guitarist tonight, so his place is taken by their bass player. They carry on regardless, sans bass. They seem impressed by the enthusiastic Edinburgh crowd.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/az4ZTzDBbIw  https://www.facebook.com/StateofDeceit

SERPENT: Local 'groove metal juggernauts', it says here. A tad hyperbolic, perhaps, but maybe they're thinking ahead. I have seen them before (a statement that applies equally to all of the above, except for the Welsh lads) and, y'never know, they might be right.

Actually, they seem to have come on a lot since I last saw them. They're bursting with confidence and ability. They look the part, and sound it. They COULD be huge. Best o' luck to them.

They (m ore or less) end their set with a chaotic version of 'Ace of Spades' dedicated to the memory of PHIL CAMPBELL whose death was announced this morning. They invited the crowd onto the stage, and the crowd obliged. There was upwards of forty people up there, I reckon.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/lk8OF_-hjpY    https://www.instagram.com/serpent_metal

So, a fitting end to LEGENDS. Messy, sweaty, turbulent, noisy. It was easy to see it as a farewell party and to forget the fact that this was SERPENT's EP release show. Good luck in the future for everybody involved, sound crew, bar staff, gig bookers, all of them. You'll be missed. 

And, it may be petty of me, but I look forward to the rodeo bar we get in it's place crashing and failing, rapidly and miserably.