Posts by Author : Matt Fraser
Live Review : RADAR Festival on July 6th 2025

The final day of RADAR Festival 2025 kicks off with serious momentum as Waterlines launch into their set with enough energy to shake off any lingering festival fatigue. From the first note, they’re firing on all cylinders - tight, explosive, and clearly here to make a statement. Frontman Benji Mars is magnetic, effortlessly switching between razor-sharp cleans and thunderous gutturals, all ...

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Live Review : RADAR Festival on July 5th 2025

Saturday morning of RADAR Festival 2025 begins with a surprise opener in the form of Break Fifty, who launch into their set like they’ve been fixtures on the bill all along. There’s a gritty, raw energy to them - very much a DIY take on Graphic Nature, with that Pitchshifter, industrial-sounding drumming and vocals reminiscent of Feed The Rhino’s more feral moments. Slamming breakdowns and sudden tempo dives give it a Knocked Loose punch, and there’s more than a nod to Heart of a Coward’s dense metallic sheen. Just a standard four-piece, no gimmicks and it absolutely works.

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Live Review : RADAR Festival on July 4th 2025

Friday at RADAR Festival 2025 begins in suitably unhinged fashion with openers on the second SNEAK stage Mother Vulture. Their chaotic, hair-whipping, guitar-slinging madness sets the bar absurdly high right out the gate. Their vocalist hits some glass-shattering banshee-like highs, but there’s gravely harshness too - scraping and snarling in all the right ways. It’s like The Fall of Troy jamming with Counting Crows during a Royal Blood soundcheck, and somehow it all just works. Wild, theatrical, and very, very fun.

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Live Review : No Play Festival on September 7th 2024

No Play Festival 2024 comes at a perfect time—hovering right on the cusp of summer’s end and autumn’s first cool breeze. Held across three venues in Liverpool centre, it provides a fittingly chaotic yet immersive experience, with acts ranging from brutal hardcore to dreamy post-hardcore, all set against the backdrop of dimly lit rooms filled with the buzz of underground music culture.

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Live Review : Bloodstock Festival 2024 - New Blood & EMP Stages

Bloodstock Festival, more than any other, promotes and showcases best new and rising talent. 2024 was no different and ROCKFLESH managed to watch a number of impressive bands across both the New Blood and EMP Stages. Here's a short summary of some of the bands that stood out to us, and for many of these acts you can find interviews (HERE) and live photos (HERE) on our site as well.

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Bloodstock Festival 2024 : New Blood & EMP Stages Preview

Bloodstock Festival 2024 is set to showcase an impressive array of rising talent on both the New Blood and EMP Stages. From the ethereal sounds of post-metal to the raw aggression of hardcore and thrash, this year’s lineup promises a diverse and electrifying experience. Here's a look at some of the bands that have stood out to us here at ROCKFLESH and we think you should checkout.

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Live Review : RADAR on July 28th 2024

RADAR Festival 2024 at the O2 Victoria Warehouse is a vibrant and diverse showcase of progressive and alternative metal/rock acts, featuring both established names and rising stars in the genre. The festival not only covers progressive/technical metal and rock though, it also pushes those boundaries and often breaks them with genre-spanning and unexpected acts that positively challenge the way we look at music and performance.

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Live Review : RADAR on July 27th 2024

RADAR Festival 2024 at the O2 Victoria Warehouse is a vibrant and diverse showcase of progressive and alternative metal/rock acts, featuring both established names and rising stars in the genre. The festival not only covers progressive/technical metal and rock though, it also pushes those boundaries and often breaks them with genre-spanning and unexpected acts that positively challenge the way we look at music and performance. Much like we saw with Tech-Fest UK, at the heart of RADAR is that sense of building a genuine community.

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Live Review : RADAR on July 26th 2024

RADAR Festival 2024 at the O2 Victoria Warehouse is a vibrant and diverse showcase of progressive and alternative metal/rock acts, featuring both established names and rising stars in the genre. The festival not only covers progressive/technical metal and rock though, it also pushes those boundaries and often breaks them with genre-spanning and unexpected acts that positively challenge the way we look at music and performance. Much like we saw with Tech-Fest UK, at the heart of RADAR is that sense of building a genuine community.

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Live Review : RADAR on July 30th 2023

The final morning of the festival sees us welcomed by local favourites Where Oceans Burn. The band is growing from strength to strength and there are elements of grunge, tech-metal, and groove metal throughout.

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Live Review : RADAR on July 28th 2023

RADAR Festival is only in its third year, but already it’s attracting some massive names in the prog/tech scene. It’s also changed location this year from Guildford to Manchester, and a nightclub to a full-blown venue in O2 Victoria Warehouse. Eager and excited, we get our passes and make our way down to the press area. We eventually find it down in the basement of the adjacent building, and are immediately greeted by some familiar faces.

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Live Review : Tech-Fest on July 2nd 2023

It’s the final morning of the festival but we’re still ready for even more tech-metal. We’ve plenty of press logistics to work through this morning, but we make sure we don’t miss one of the bands we’ve been most eagerly awaiting, Karmanjakah. Having chatted and watched this young Swedish band at Sweden Rock (here) earlier this year, we knew what a special and perfect-for-Tech-Fest set they would produce.

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Live Review : Tech-Fest on July 1st 2023

Despite everyone going hard on the Friday, there’s no lack of appetite for more tech-metal…and more drinking. We make our way to two interviews with Vexed (Here) and Harbinger (Here), before making our way to the stages to be met by the energetic Monasteries. They continue to offer us their unique take on experimental deathcore, which is deliciously vicious and ferocious.

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Live Review : Tech-Fest on June 30th 2023

We wake up early, roll out of the tents and make our way to the press area to grab a coffee and prepare for a full day of live bands and interviews. We start the day with Cavekiller, complete with Hawaiian shirts, and Glower offering us some hardcore tinged metal.

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Live Review : Tech-Fest on June 29th 2023

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again - UK Tech-Fest is more than a festival, it’s a family and a community. That feel of returning to a place you know and people you care for when you pass through the entrance and pop your wristband on. It’s always been welcoming, inclusive, passionate and dedicated to its punters. Those who hold it dear often say the festival community has changed their lives, and it’s no understatement for many. It’s a celebratory yet sad edition this year though. Whilst we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival, it’s also been announced as the last UK Tech-Fest in this iteration.

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Matt and Johann do Sweden Rock : Bellends in Abbaland

Matt Fraser and Johann Wierzbicki of ROCKFLESH report on the 30 years anniversary of the Sweden Rock Festival in Southern Sweden which happens every June. The 4 days festival was a true gem to experience. We tried balancing work and pleasure and although a sound problem with a GoPro means we lost a lot of footage, we hope you will find something of value in this motion picture. Until the next festival, rock on!

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Live Review : Sweden Rock Festival on June 10th 2023

We start the final day early on with an incredible interview with Sammy Urwin from Employed to Serve. A truly great guy from an awesome band. There’s also a chance for us to do some uploading and admin before the bands start playing, and it’s worth noting that both 5G and 4G networks perform admirably throughout the festival, not just for the press but for all punters, ensuring seamless connectivity. Too often you go to a festival in the UK and can’t stay in touch with friends and family to meet them.

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Live Review : Sweden Rock Festival on June 9th 2023

The third day arrives with a sigh of relief as a breeze graces us with its presence. It's a welcome breeze, although it does play havoc with the sound at times. Nonetheless, to be fair, it’s been noticeable that all the stages boast excellent sound. We snag an interview with the incredible hardcore legends Raised Fist before making our way past H.E.A.T. to catch Vended on the Blåkläder Stage. Griffin Taylor’s vocals undeniably bear a striking resemblance to his old man's, not just in style but also in phrasing and vocal melodies. Still, he and the band are carving out their own path and making a name for themselves, not just riding on the coattails of their family ties.

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