Photo Reports

Day 2 of Upheaval Festival at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan was another hot and smokey day, although not quite as intense as day 1. The crowd showed up again well before gates opened and were ready to start day 2.

The Upheaval Stage (main) for day 2 consisted of Silly Goose, Dying Wish, Jinger, Bilmuri and Papa Roach. I was able to catch all 5 bands on the Upheaval Stage!

Starting off strong was Silly Goose, the nu metal/rap/rock/hip-hop/alt fusion band from Atlanta, Georgia! I knew enough about this band to know they were going to be good. What I wasn’t prepared for was the absolute blast it would be. Bands like them are why I do what I do. High energy, chaotic, tons of crowd surfers, mosh pits, something happening everywhere I look. A favorite moment for me was when vocalist Jackson Foster jumped into the crowd and sang while crowd surfing. And I got to document the whole thing!

Next up was Dying Wish, Portland, Oregon based melodic metalcore band. Again, expectations exceeded! Energy off the charts, the crowd was digging them, and it just made for a fun experience. The band is made up of Emma Boster [vocals], Pedro Carrillo [guitar], Sam Reynolds [guitar], Jeff Yambra [drums] and Jon Mackey [bass].

Keeping the vibes going was Bilmuri, solo project of Johnny Franck! I was stoked to see what all the hype was about and this band definitely “brought it”. They are a fusion of about every genre on earth, put in a blender and sipped on like the master piece that it is. Bilmuri has it all, rock, country, pop, a saxophone and somehow it all works! They were a total party from beginning to end and I have no regrets!

Jinjer, the popular Ukranian four piece progressive groove metal powerhouse band took the stage next! The band’s current lineup started in 2010 and consists of Tatiana Shmayluk [vocals], Roman Ibramkhalilov [guitar], Eugene Abdukhanov [bass] and Vlad Ulasevich [drums]. Tatiana is a force to be reckoned with and I thoroughly enjoyed their set.

Closing out the night was the amazing Papa Roach, formed in California in 1993. This band has been part of the soundtrack of my younger years in the early 2000’s to present day!  The only other time I saw them was back in the Ozzfest days. From start to finish, I screamed every song at the top of my lungs. Their set had it all, songs you could sing too, pyro, crowd connection and through the roof energy. They did a really cool “nu metal time machine” bit playing some covers from the nu metal original era which was so fun and included Korn, Deftones and System Of A Down. Jacoby Shaddix is a great front man and the entire band is very good at what they do. If you’re into rock and metal, whether you know their songs or not, you will dance and have a good time with Papa Roach!

To summerize, Upheaval Festival is a great 2-day fest and definitely worth your time if you like a little bit of a smaller fest than some of the bigger ones. All the staff, security and vendors were all helpful and friendly. The fans were all helpful with one another. The vibes were on point. I cannot say enough good things about this festival!

Day one of Upheaval Festival at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan had no shortage of talent on their Lookout and Rising stages. The Lookout Stage consisted of Vexatious, Showing Teeth, Kingdom Collapse, Zero 9:36 and Magnolia Park. The Rising Stage consisted of Enmy, Annex Void, Normundy, and Izzy Reign. I was able to catch Kingdom Collapse, Zero 9:36, Normundy and Izzy Reign.

On the Rising Stage I caught the band Normundy who is a highly energetic band that blends rock, rap, EDM, and metalcore. They are a very well put together band and blew me away. One of their vocalists also got into the middle of the mosh pit which was fun to see!

Closing down the Rising Stage on day 1 was Grand Rapids own Izzy Reign, pop/metalcore blend band! They absolutely crushed it! Their fans showed up too, even forming a conga line in the pit! I was definitely impressed with this well rounded band.

Kingdom Collapse is from the great state of Texas, bringing their hard rock sound to the Lookout Stage. The Lookout Stage is literally on top of a big hill and looks out over Belknap Park. It was definitely worth the trek up to see these guys. This was my 2nd time ever seeing them. They have music you can relate to and also rock out to. 

Zero 9:36 also performed on the Lookout Stage. They are an alt metal band hailing from Pennsylvania. There were some technical difficulties in the beginning of their set, I believe due to the heat affecting some equipment but they eventually got it sorted and put on an amazing show. While we were waiting, there was a person in the crowd that was drawing a picture of the band, whom they brought on stage. That was pretty cool to witness!

Day one of Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan was a hot one and also had the unexpected wrench of poor air quality and smokey conditions thrown into the mix! The smoke got pulled into the jet stream and made its way down into the states. That did not stop the bands and fans from coming out and supporting live music for this 2 day music festival.

Upheaval Fest is held at Belknap Park, nestled on the edge of downtown and was a fairly short walk from my hotel. Upon reaching the entrance, fans were already gathered and spread out all over in lines and groups, hanging out and enjoying the comradery of like-minded people! I gathered my credentials, headed into the empty venue and conducted a few band interviews before starting my day capturing as many bands as I could.

The lineup on the Upheaval Stage (main) of day one was made up of Thousand Below, LANDMVRKS, Story Of The Year, Poppy and Gojira. I was able to catch every band except Thousand Below. 

My first band of the fest (and my first fest that I have ever captured), was LANDMVRKS. The crowd was pretty fired up at this point and it was a fun set. The band was formed in France in 2014. The band is made up of Florent Salfati [vocals], Rudy Purkart [bass], Nicolas Exposito [guitar],Paul Cordebard [rhythm guitar] and Kévin D’Agostino [drums]. I loved their energy and hard-hitting breakdowns.

Next up was Story Of The Year! The band formed in the mid-late 90s under a couple of different names and eventually landed on their current sound and name in 2002. SOTY is not my typical sound but I knew they had a big following and I had heard nothing but good things about them. I was excited to check them out and they did not disappoint! The lineup consists of Dan Marsala [vocals], Ryan Phillips [guitar], Adam Russell [bass] and Josh Wills [drums]. My favorite part of their set was when they did a little mash-up that included a bit of Korn and Deftones. 

Poppy (band only) came out on the main stage next and played a completely instrumental set without actually Poppy. Her band is a talented group of musicians and the crowd took it surprisingly well that she did not come out to sing any songs.

The headliner closing out day 1 was the mighty French heavy metal band Gojira. They formed in the mid nineties under another name and came to be Gojira in 2001. The band is made up of Joe Duplantier [vocals/guitar], Mario Duplantier [drums], Christian Andreu [guitar] and Jean-Michel Lambadie [drums]. Drummer Mario had some trouble getting into the United States so Paleface Swiss drummer Luigi Paraventi stepped in on very short notice and absolutely crushed it! I was blown away by their performance and enjoyed them very much. They had lots of pyro and streamers were also shot out into the audience which made for a cool photo!

A cathartic, quality night out with two brilliant heavy-hitting bands @ Kavka Zappa

At the end of last month, UK band Heriot kicked off their set right off the bat with ‘Commander of Pain’, an ominous gem that immediately set the tone, creating an intensely heavy atmosphere filled with raw, distorted dual vocals, hefty basslines, plenty of satisfying pinch harmonics, and thunderous kick drums, to mention but a few. Despite a rather tough crowd that seemed to be eagerly awaiting the hardcore veterans headlining the night, as well as a few technical issues, Heriot truly delivered.

The band set the bar pretty high, bringing together an intricate blend of doom, hardcore, shoegaze and groovier influences that merged seamlessly into a very unique sound signature. The entire set felt as though each member had contributed their favourite heavy elements and influences, leading to very distinctive genre-bending melodies combined with lead singer Debbie Gough‘s harsh and moody vocals.

Next up : Converge.

30 seconds. That’s the time it took them to send the entire crowd into a frenzy with their abrasive and relentless sound, driven by a whole bunch of cathartic shrieks and crushing kick drums once they set foot on stage. Suddenly, stage divers, crowd surfers and moshers appeared here and there, as if summoned, feeding off the band’s energy and multiplying quick interactions with the frontman song after song, oftentimes sharing the microphone with him.

With high-gain amps cranked to the absolute max, the 15-track set kept resonating through the night almost without pause, as Converge never seems to stand still and has no interest in theatricality. That no-fuss approach and their constant interactions with the audience has become one of the defining traits of their identity, and that is exactly the path they chose to ride on that night.

Expectations were exceeded at every turn!

Boston-based US hard rockers LANSDOWNE were on a summer trip across Europe, visiting several festival stages and having a number of headline shows. At the second to last stop in Germany, they entered the stage of the Im Wizemann Studio in Stuttgart (Germany). Packed and hot—not only the show but also inside and outside temperatures too. The opening act has been German alternative rockers SMOKING LIPS. A well-chosen band that perfectly fits musically with LANSDOWNE and was able to excite the audience immediately.

Finally, LANSDOWNE entered the stage, and the excitement got massive. Their energy-loaded show and their stage appearance pulled in the crowd from the first note and never let it go until the end. The voice of Jon Ricci is live even more impressive than on record. You do feel the pure joy these guys have being on stage and performing. Every gig is a great experience.

Look out for the upcoming dates in October!

Album release shows always carry a little extra excitement, but Nenerchy‘s celebration of her debut full-length album ‘Bailarina’ felt like something truly special. On a sold-out night at On The Rocks in Helsinki, the drum ‘n’ bass princess gathered fans, friends and curious newcomers alike to mark an important milestone in her career.

Before the party truly kicked into high gear, Finnish punk outfit Kirkkovene warmed up the crowd, adding their own energy to an evening that brought together people from very different musical backgrounds. From punk fans to ravers and everything in between, the packed venue became a melting pot of scenes united by a shared desire to celebrate music. Check out the pictures of a night that felt less like a concert and more like one big party.

Left On Red came out to Venue 18 in Fostoria, Ohio on June 12, 2026 and let me tell you, they absolutely burned the place to the ground!!!

I have been wanting to catch this band for a bit and they happened to be playing less than 50 minutes away from me (which for rural Ohio, that’s a short drive!). So it was a no-brainer that I had to go to this show. 

Left On Red was formed in Missouri and is made up of Myles Clayborne[vocals], Shea Spence[drums], Corey Harness[guitar] and Anthony Brummer[bass]. They have been a pretty active band the past couple of years and I see them continuing to grow their fan base as they tour all over the United States. The band is very personable and approachable as well, hanging out watching the other bands and afterwards. Their stage presence was non-stop, high energy and they seemed to be just doing what they love and having a blast while they do it! I caught myself grinning from ear to ear witnessing them just being in their element! As far as their set-they are everything you would want in a metalcore band: screams, melodies that hit deep and lyrics that we can all relate to. To summarize, Left On Red will have you smiling, dancing, head banging and everything in between. I highly recommend catching them live when they are in your area!

Filling their time between summer festival gigs HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD are giving a very few shows on their own in Germany in summer 2026. One of these rare gigs took place in Stuttgart.

Support act were THE PRETTY WILD. And pretty wild they have been. The Wylde sisters Jill and Julia are the core and the voices of the heavy metal band from Las Vegas, USA.  Strong dual‑vocal dynamics are the band’s trademark. This night’s performance was simply great and the audience got warmed up pretty well. THE PRETTY WILD will definitely create some more attention in the future if they keep going like this.

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD live in Europe 2026 brought their unique high‑energy mix of rap‑rock, metal to a selected number of shows. Sold out almost immediately the roof of the venue was blown off the second when the band got on stage. The permanent movement, jumps, change of vocalists and instruments results in a high energetic show that is fun to watch. It was pretty obvious that the whole gang was in a pretty good mood, joking around live on stage with each other and enjoyed their performance as much as the crowd. Their song material was kind of career spanning which is no surprise for a band with more than 20 years of history.

This nu-metal night with these 2 fantastic bands was just leaving you wanting more and hopefully both bands will return to the local stages soon.

All aboard Paledusk‘s tour bus!! Where the creativity hits as hard as the supercharged energy, and nobody’s tipping off their next move.

On Wednesday May 27 in Antwerp, we squeezed into a packed room for what turned out to be a surprisingly intimate run-in with Knosis — the kind of band that shows up, takes over, and somehow sends you home more fired up about life than when you walked in. They threw down heavy experimental riffs, supercharged melodic swells, big smiles, and crowd dives that didn’t let up for a second. And did we mention very warm, big smiles? Because there was a lot of that too.

Then Paledusk came tearing out of backstage as if they had just landed from Fukuoka, Japan. These guys don’t ease you in — they pile it on by bringing their genre-bending chaos straight to the stage : metalcore and hardcore as the backbone, hip-hop bleeding into groovy, pop hooks, all blowing up into glitchy, pattern-wrecking electronica that keeps barging in unannounced. Hypercharged as they come!

Back to back, Knosis and Paledusk pull off something very genuine — a set that hits like a fist and wraps up like a big, cheerful hug. And since this was the final night of their run together, both bands collided on stage for their closing songs in the most chaotically unhinged way possible: someone wandering on with a plate of spaghetti, a TV screen getting wheeled out mid-riff, and a live round of Super Smash Bros. kicking off over screaming guitars and battering drums. Completely unscripted and unpredictable, yet it felt like they had it all under control. Never let them know your next move!

By the time it all wound down, nobody was walking out straight-faced, and why would they be? That’s what Knosis‘ and Paledusk‘s energy is all about.

ROYAL SORROW opened the night with a blend of modern melodic dark metal and subtle post‑metal elements. The band is definitely one of the more exciting newcomers in the scene. Their style thrives on sharp contrasts: fragile, almost delicate vocal lines collide with heavy riffs and rhythmic surges. On stage, the quartet displayed remarkable presence.

CEMETERY SKYLINE delivered a performance in Stuttgart that showcased a band deeply rooted in Scandinavian gothic and dark‑metal traditions. Their sound blends cold synth layers, melancholic melodies and heavy, almost doom‑tinged guitars, while the vocals shift between a clear baritone and harsher outbursts. Vocalist MIKAEL STANNE (who’s birthday was celebrated at the Stuttgart gig) is stepping away from any growling for CEMETERY SKYLINE and focusing on clear vocals. Considering the group members’ origins, this is a kind of nordic dark gothic supergroup merged from the firmly established forces within the European gothic‑metal scene. And all the expectations of the crowd were fullfilled, even though this performance would have been worth a significantly larger audience and a fully sold-out venue. Live, they rely heavily on atmosphere: fog, dimmed lighting and a set constructed with a strong sense of dramaturgy, moving from quiet, introspective passages to eruptive peaks. Not to forget a really unique cover version of ‘I Drove All Night’, that has it’s own character and is highlight in itself. Let’s look foward to hopefully many more live appearances because CEMETERY SKYLINE is a fantastic live band. Their Stuttgart gig was 100% proof.