RITUAL KING, THE HIVE, EDINBURGH, OCTOBER 22 2026

Heavy psych/stoners on tour, in an oddly lightless Hive. Not sure why it was so dark. Maybe somebody forgot to put 50p in the meter...

Line-up:

ARDUA: Local metalcore lads. Their first ever gig, it seems. Confident and clearly well-rehearsed. Singer sometimes seems unsure of what to do on stage when he's not singing. 

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/eKE7S3qcz6g   https://www.facebook.com/ArduaUK

KURNEL FIST: The first hefty psych/blues stoner power trio of the evening, this one from Dundee.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/7xrJi_qNatQ  https://www.facebook.com/kurnelfist

OBSIDIAN SAND: Sludgy post-metal trio, mostly very loud, occasionally less so. Fond of long songs.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/wlTbHqbLy98   https://www.facebook.com/ObsidianSand

RITUAL KING: Tonight's main feature, and the second hefty psych/blues stoner power trio of the evening. All the way from Manchester. Didn't let a couple of feedback gremlins spoil the fun.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/QHH6kLfjSTg   https://www.facebook.com/ritualking

INTREPID, BANSHEE LABYRINTH, EDINBURGH, MAY 5 2026

 Death metal. From Estonia. And the return of RED CRUST!

And it's dead busy in here, for a Tuesday.

Line-up:

SPIRIT WARDEN: New kids from Glasgow, doing 'death metal sludge', and doing it very well indeed. Interesting use of a baritone guitar instead of bass.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/rZfqKcAyKqc  https://www.instagram.com/spiritwarden_band

HAMMER: Popular local beat combo, performing a fine set of 'extreme metal' classics. Whatever THAT is.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/uEjcbBJwyU0  https://www.facebook.com/HammerTheBand

DISPOSABLE: Local 'thrash/groove energy ball'. Very fast, very furious.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pBSphLWL_Ic    https://www.facebook.com/DisposableMetal

INTREPID: Proper death metal from Estonia, and owners of that enormous drum kit that everybody's been using.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/y82KCJCqYtA             https://www.facebook.com/IntrepidEST

 

WHORES, HIVE, EDINBURGH, MAY 24 2025

 Americans out on tour. I've never been in this venue before. Sound's decent, smells funny.

Line-up:

CODESPEAKER: Local post-metal favourites. You should know them by now.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/-rV5eigRohA   https://www.facebook.com/codespeakertheband

HELP: Post-punk/noise(in that order) trio from Portland, Oregon. Spiky, fast and angry. I reckon they brought that tyre with them all the way from America, just so they could jump on it. He threw that mic at me, y'know. Hit me on the hand. Don't THINK it was deliberate...

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/1LpWu4d5RIE    https://www.instagram.com/helpifuckingneedit/?hl=en

WHORES: Noise/post-punk(in THAT order) trio from Atlanta, Georgia. They've been around for a while, but they can still destroy an eardrum or two. PART CHIMP levels of volume. Surprised he only broke ONE string, to be honest.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/WkBHc0qv2L8   https://www.facebook.com/whrsband