BONE TOMB, MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH, MAY 9 2026

 Black metal, death metal and general grimness. It's dark in here, and I'm forced to use flash for pics, and I don't like doing that. Also explains the dark'n'gritty video footage.

Line-up:

FÉINMHARÚ: Depressive black metal new kids from Glasgow. Raw. Barely audible vocals. Start with a song called 'I Will Always Fucking Hate You', which says it all, really. The only band of the night to feature corpse paint.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/-8Z6W1s7FCY    https://www.instagram.com/feinmharu666

ÚIR: Local atmospheric black metal favourites, returned to playing live in 2025. Currently working on new material, some of which gets an airing tonight. 

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/vssjMZjyCD4   https://www.facebook.com/Uirfraech

BONE TOMB: Black/death metal from Newcastle, this is their first gig in Scotland. Out on tour, fresh from the WEEKEND OF DARKNESS in Cumbria. Most pronounceable name of the gig.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/EttAHkG97wM   https://www.instagram.com/bone.tomb

EMPTY SPACES, MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH, APRIL 24 2026

Irish rockers on tour. Poster running order not entirely correct. Still, a wildly assorted range of stuff on the bill.

LINE-UP:

PAEIZI: Something a bit unusual to start us off - a fusion of western metal and Iranian classical sounds. Plus an ALTER BRIDGE cover. Things were running a bit late and the sound man tried to cut them off after only 3 songs. They were having none of it. Crowd unreasonably chatty.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/JomiMqpONcY   https://www.instagram.com/paeiziproject/

RETROSKEPTIC: Local youths playing a kind of indie/alt rock. There isn't a video for them, as my sound recording was terrible. Very popular with a certain section of the crowd, one of whom attempted to 'break dance', with only small success. Not, to be entirely fair, my cup of tea, but good luck to them anyway.

https://www.instagram.com/retroskeptic.band/

EMPTY SPACES: Technically, this was their gig. From Northern Ireland, playing Edinburgh for the first time. Sturdy old-school twin-guitar rock. Pretentious rating : 0/10.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/7O6nrIdGaB4  https://www.facebook.com/emptyspacesuk

SCARRED LIP: Local alt-rock 'veterans', topping the bill despite the running order on the poster. Featuring, for the very first time, their new drummer and bass player, and a guest appearance from former drummer Edwin, now on guitar.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/D3yCV0HgCNU   https://www.instagram.com/scarredlipband/

PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH, NOVEMBER 5 2025

Following on from Sunday's photo/video fail in Glasgow, here are some noisy boys

in Edinburgh. Will there be fireworks?

This is a very last-minute outing, as I usually have to work Wednesdays and I had totally forgotten it was happening. 

Before I go on, I have to make excuses for the appalling quality of the pics and videos. It is very dark in the venue, and there is a lot of smoke, It is also VERY LOUD, so the sound quality is lower than I would prefer. Indeed, the sound on the headliner's recordings is so broken that it will be unusable.

 

Line-up:

KAKIHARA: Local 'beatdoon' kings. We know what to expect from these lads. And we get it.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/uTuOP-2ZXG8   https://www.facebook.com/kakihara.life

GOUT: Most excellent Glasgow sludge kids. It'll be good to see them in Edinburgh, at last. Will they play 'Newcastle'? I hope they do.

And, indeed, they do. Third time I've seen them - first time I missed it, second time they didn't play it, this time I get it! 

They'll be back in town in a few weeks with CWFEN. Which is nice.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/p1kWmpyqYmM   https://www.instagram.com/__gout/

PORTRAYAL OF GUILT: On tour with DEAFHEAVEN,  Texans PoG stop off for a little side-quest in Edinburgh. Not entirely sure how to classify these lads - the internet calls them 'black metal', but I reckon it's more like some kind of filthy black sludge. Like my morning coffee. Either way, they're VERY LOUD and my mic doesn't like it, so there's no video. Which is annoying because they are very good.

https://www.facebook.com/portrayalofguilt

RED CRUST WINTER WARMER, EDINBURGH, FEBRUARY 1 2025

Red Crust's annual winter metal feast takes over SEVEN venues in Edinburgh. I didn't get to all of them, and I didn't see all the bands. I am not a magician.

I was at: LA BELLE ANGELE, LEGENDS, MASH HOUSE 1, 2 & 3

I saw: 

POLYJAMORY: Regular readers might recall my less-than-favourable opinion of cover bands. POLYJAMORY are no exception. Normally can be relied to pull in a fair crowd of students early on, but not this time. Played to a mostly empty Mash House. To their credit, they played a somewhat more adventurous selection of covers, but still... Not for me.

TUSK:  Up now to the top of a very narrow and twisty staircase to Room 3, where we find Glasgow metal trio TUSK. Unfussy and straightforward metal. It's bloody cold up here, and the sound is a bit murky. 

VIDEO:     https://youtu.be/R91cMFtw4gU   https://www.facebook.com/tusksco

SWARMS: The first of today's foreigners. Riffs, slams and beatdowns from Co Durham's SWARMS, out on tour with HAMMER and VERMINTHRONE, both of whom will be along shortly.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/nlplSdHNl7U    https://www.facebook.com/swarmsnortheast

LO RAYS: Glaswegian apocalyptic electro-punks. A bit breathless, because they just got here from Inverness ten minutes before their set was due to start. The floor in Room 2 is disconcertingly bouncy, and it's just as cold as Room 3 upstairs.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/9-hvXfS2cfI   https://www.facebook.com/loraysmusic

VERMINTHRONE: Sludge/hardcore crossover - Sludge-core? - from exotic Milton Keynes. I was expecting black metal, judging solely by the name. Didn't get it. Clearly.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/CrAptPnFVgA   https://www.facebook.com/Verminthrone

ELD VARG: Unashamed heavy metal, songs about Vikings and wolves and fists of steel. No video for this one, because I fucked it up.

https://www.facebook.com/eldvargofficial

KURO: Electro-industrial alt-metal from Glasgow. No video for this one either, because the sound was terrible.

https://www.facebook.com/KUROMUSICOFFICIAL/

HAMMER: Appropriately named death-tinged extreme metal. Local lads.

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/xiRpYPjGFc4           https://www.facebook.com/HammerScotland

THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS: Immensely entertaining Glaswegian Celtic folk-punks. Instigated a 'wall of ceilidh' in the crowd, wherein violence is replaced by linked arms and reels. Which is nice.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/LC3UjZYD-i8    https://www.facebook.com/thegallowgatemrdrs

SCORDATURA: Glaswegian death-metal. Violent, but fun.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/xQT0c5Jt3Bs   https://www.facebook.com/Scordaturaofficial

CODESPEAKER: Bruisingly hefty sludgy post-metal from Edinburgh's finest. Photographer in the pit beside me said they were the worst band ever to get pics of. Hard to disagree...

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/lrlZAhCtat0      https://www.facebook.com/codespeakertheband

TIBERIUS: Local 'anthemic progressive metal'. They get the award for the most flowery mic stand of the day.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/iQ11sK5RIFI    https://www.facebook.com/TiberiusUK

BENEATH A STEEL SKY: Off to LEGENDS for one last band, and more of that post-metal. Another band nigh on impossible to photograph. I blame the singer, Greg - he's also in CODESPEAKER.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/tCZIVQHP8rI     https://www.facebook.com/beneathasteelskyband