Live Review : RADAR Festival on August 31st 2026

Rozemary open the day with accessible female-fronted alternative rock metal. There’s obvious potential here yet more definition to their sound and clarity to their songwriting will be needed and undoubtedly will come.

Ghost Iris are the first band to take the mainstage at RADAR festival 2026. And what a way to start the festival. They’ve taken their melodic elements from when we first saw them back in 2019 at Satan’s Hollow, and are now heavier than ever. There’s a beautifully delicious brutality to every aspect of their sound, but it’s not mindless violence musically but rather precision stabs and slashes of technical metal brilliance. They seem to get better and better every time they step foot on stage in front of us and this time is no different. Frontman Jesper Vicencio prowls the stage with intent and charismatic self-awareness, all the time lashing ferocious vocals over the top of gnarling guitar riffs and pounding rhythms. Also don't miss our interview from earlier in the day with them (HERE).

Sixth Wonder meanwhile offer something a lot less aggressive and heavy with their djent-pop. They serve as a pleasant palate cleanser for the crowd who are still warming up to the three festival days ahead. There are some delightful passages and much to enjoy at this stage of their development.

Graphic Nature have been a favourite at ROCKFLESH Towers since they burst onto the scene with their mixture of Emmure-esque technical modern metal and mental health messages. They are definitely becoming more and more slick, professional, cohesive and most importantly established in the British modern metal scene. Frontman Harvey Freeman is full of energy and bounding around the stage commanding and controlling the crowd with every word and action. Grinding metallic nasty guitar tones (in a good way) rip through the tracking and drums at just the right level. It’ll be interesting to see where they take their sound next, but undoubtedly it’ll be a success and one we’ll be on the ride for definitely.

Brighton’s CLT DRP are supposedly pronounced ‘clit drip’ and we're not quite sure what to expect from them today. They actually turn out to be one of the surprise packages of, if not the weekend, certainly the day. Annie Dorrett’s vocals are engaging, unique genre defying and fresh. This is alternative modern electro-punk at its style-blending best, with the important factor being excellent musicality on display. There’s not one head in the crowd doing anything but nodding and not one foot missing a beat.

Bound in Fear are late additions to the bill, but also act as the ‘day job’ band for Pintglass frontman Ben Mason. These guys make serious music though in more than one sense - absent are the jokes of his geezercore band and the musical offering itself is also much more mature, grounded and impressive. Mason’s vocals and stage presence may be the standout factor of Bound in Fear’s sound, but the whole band are excellent at delivering this gritty, authentic example in deathcore.

Cage Fight never fail to disappoint and Rachel Aspe is on absolute fire today with her stage performance, both visually and vocally. Her outfits have got progressively more abstract (checkout our photos to see what I mean) and her vocal range has equally expanded – cleans sit alongside her devilish harsh vocals, both delivered today exquisitely. There’s an additional guitarist on stage these days alongside James Monteith and the whole sound is noticeably fuller in their new tracks. In short, they deliver aggressive snarling unashamedly thrashy metal revisiting past triumphs of the genre. Simply superb.

We saw SikTh earlier this year and they were as fantastic as ever. Fast forward to RADAR festival and if anything they seem even better. The guitar work is magical and technical to a level I can’t even understand sometimes, but it’s never self-indulging or uninteresting the lay ear. Syncopated drums and ever-changing time signatures are naturally part of a band whose calling card has always been that of being at the forefront of progressive technical metal in Britain. Of course, it is the co-vocals of Mikee Goodman and the returning Justin Hill that arguably steal the show. Mikee’s unique grumbling and growling spoken word, alongside his more effervescent vocals, sit beautifully in juxtaposition with Justin’s soaring and emotive cleans. I really hope they keep playing live shows while working towards that fourth album they have teased.

Hacktivist have been at the forefront of the rap/grime/metal category for more years than you realise. It’s probably because their sound and energy still feels so fresh that it's hard to believe how long they've been knocking about now. The addition of JJ Olifent has obviously given them a fresh lease of life and determination to make the most of all their opportunities, and it's for the better for all of us. It’s groovy, bouncy, engaging and everything you could want on an early Friday evening at a festival. The guitar jaggedly sweeps while the co-vocals chatter and chirp over the top of thumping rhythms.

You can’t underestimate how much the festival values and places their trust in Volumes, returning quick sharp to the bill. You’re unlikely to find a more professional and slick sounding band live than these guys, with every strum, beat, and vocal line delivered with the intensity but also definition that shows how seriously they take their craft. These guys received an awesome reception last time they played the festival and it's no surprise to see exactly the same response this year, possibly even more so with more people aware of their work and the catalogue since their previous set.

Pintglass are divisive like lager verses cider. They could really be called Marmite rather than Pintglass with the level of love-them-or-hate-them feeling that they generate. I personally still don’t understand or get the comedy element of the geezercore act and I’m still not convinced by their beatdown hardcore offering. Having said that, there are more than enough fans of this band (as demonstrated by their high vis vest merchandise populating the mosh pit) to warrant them being this high up the bill. I guess I’d say check them out to see if they float your boat or not, but they still certainly don't get my ship sailing.

And so, to our headliners for the first night on the mainstage - the ever changing, vocally, juggernaut of deathcore that is Thy Art is Murder. Yes, they have another frontman now (Jerry Chard) and he is as Australian in his humour, language and attitude as you could ever wish for. He really does seem a perfect fit for the Aussie deathcore crew with the necessary swagger and visceral vocal delivery needed to carry off tracks like ‘Death Squad Anthem’ and ‘Make America Hate Again’. The sound is a veritable wall of intense metal mayhem, and if anything is slightly too heavily compressed. But that takes nothing away from yet another crowning moment in this band’s live offerings, with long-term fans down the front delighted at every gnarling, soaring riff and yell. A perfect way to end the first day of RADAR festival 2026.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Thy Art Is Murder + Pintglass + Volumes + Hacktivist + SikTh + Cage Fight + Bound In Fear + CLT DRP + Graphic Nature + Sixth Wonder + Ghost Iris + Rozemary