Welcome to Call of the Wild 2026. A festival where you can watch your fave band play, then go stand next to them in the crowd. Where no one can make it to the toilet in good time because everyone knows each other and we all need to have a chat and a catch-up on route. Where punk, thrash, prog, metal, piratecore, fancy dress, dancing, singing and sweating (goddamn, it was a hot one) and rock – lots and lots of glorious hard rock – fill the days and nights. Wanna go back there? Wanna live vicariously through us? Go get yourself a nice cup of something nice, then come have a read of Jo Wright, aka Goth Girl Writing’s, review…
FRIDAY
Slinging out slabs of soul and blues, sizzling keys and filthy classic rock, the first band of the day, Beggars Bliss, blends stoner and psychedelic elements in their set. Less than subtle seduction songs are this band’s specialty (“Forbidden Fruit“, “Peaches N’ Cream“). “Train Song” is Call of the Wild’s chance to get their lungs warmed up by sounding like a locomotive. Thunderous drumming, lightning guitar solos and a dual vocal attack make “Spiralling” an almost religious experience.
DEAD ZEBRAS
Sleaze with a capital S… here come the Dead Zebras boys. Hair metal, crushing beats, crazy catchy choruses and even crazier trousers come as standard with this band. Injecting red-hot hard rock into their songs, they look like a party, sound like one and deploy confetti cannons to hammer their point home. “Picture” revs up, rocks out and has the crowd’s hands right in the air.
DEAD REYNOLDS
Every ounce of energy Dead Reynolds has is gonna be left in the Trailblazer tent today. Frontman Rossco prowls the stage and spits out the lyrics to “Parasite“, injecting shot after adrenaline-fuelled shot of high octane energy throughout the performance of this tune – and every other one on their scorching set list. “Caught in the Middle” brings a poppier, bouncy vibe to the tent, which is getting busy now. This is standard for Dead Reynolds – every performance, they leave with more fans than they came with. Fans? Sorry. Family. This is feel-good music that makes you dance, sing, and feel special.
FOXX
Bringing full throttle basslines and beats to the Southall Lawless stage, Foxx sure do sling some classy blues and dirty riffs around. These boys have been in the business for some time and are a safe pair of hard-rocking hands. Finishing on a slightly more mellow, acoustic lead ballad? No problem. Foxx shakes the arena, soothes it, then leaves the audience ready to go again.
FANGSLINGER
And there is no better band to fill the gap left by Foxx than Fangslinger. Friends, if you are not riding with these guys and gal, this isn’t a sign to come get some of their ‘undead redneck rock n roll’. It’s an order. Fangslinger fill out the Trailblazer tent with folk who have either seen their gallows and rose-adorned stage show before, or fans who are ready for their first taste. Fangslinger serve relentless drums, chunky riffs and crisp vocals (“On Leather Wings“), heavy hoedown headbangers (“As the Crow Flies” and “The Lost Souls Saloon“) and inhibition-free wild and colossal country and western bangers (“Bloodsucker Blues” and “Wanted Undead“).
STRAIGHT FROM THE SUN
Massive melodic metal vibes from Straight for the Sun – a band intent on doing eardrums (and their own drums) some serious damage. This is a loud five-piece. And they are (quite rightly) proud of the volume they are inflicting on their crowd. Stood as far to the front of the stage as possible without falling into the photographers, these guys built a solid wall of sound which they could knock right back down with the power of their songs.
BRIGHT BLACK
Dominating the stage like the high priestess of sludgy doom psychedelic metal that she is, Bright Black’s lead singer unleashes her lyrics from deep within the darkest parts of her soul. She thrives on the rough vocals and could sharpen knives with her clean ones. Bright Black’s set gets heavier and heavier. There’s some serious riffage and hard-hitting bass to be had in this nu metal screamo amalgam. But it’s those heavenly/harsh vocals that truly bring this band’s headbanging tracks to life.
RATCHET DOLLS
Fist-pumping, full-on, classic metal attack all the way from Texas… Ratchet Dolls have not come to play about. Their muscle rock, revving guitared, heavy metal firepower blasts across the rural Lincolnshire landscape. “Loud Loud Loud” is self-explanatory, really, with white-hot shredding and insatiable rock chick-worshipping lyrics. The tone and standard of Ratchet Dolls’ set? Six strings in overdrive and oozing sex. That’ll do nicely.
CELL GAMES
Dressed like they’ve gone on to smash their ParkRun PB straight from a 90’s rave, Cell Games destroy the stage while wearing some pretty stylish shorts, a little neon and using some deep, ole pulverizing grooves. These Irish nu metallers do NOT look like they sound. Rattling and raw fronted by a scraping, scorching voice, Cell Games are hell raisers with a heart and a sense of humour.
THE HOT ONE TWO
New wave of classic rockers The Hot One Two have brought their fans with them, looking at the amount of their merch that is being worn today. So they’ve clearly shifted a fair few tees in their time, but do their tunes have the same reach from the Southall Lawless Stage? For sure! It’s absolutely hot – weather and music-wise – when the boys hit the stage. Their electrifying set is pacey and polished, and brings the fire even before the pyro is set off.
KURO
Visually enthralling, aurally enticing, Kuro rage through their industrial nu/melodic metal set, which should come with a health warning. Because involuntary headbanging is a hazard with this band. Strong, confident and committed song after skull-crushing song, Kuro are alt, aggy and are either gonna leave this captivated crowd in need of fixing their flung around hair or making an appointment with a chiropractor.
CHUCK NORRIS EXPERIMENT
Explosive Scandi rockers Chuck Norris Experiment are not messing about here. They thrust their rock monsters out into the (Call of the) wild and shake the ground on which the crowd stands. Earth-shaking drums clatter while the band mercilessly use their guitars to within an inch of their six-stringed lives. Chuck Norris Experiment are fast, furious and great fun.
THIEVES OF LIBERTY
Thieves of Liberty are back where they belong – not just headlining Trailblazer but packing the tent out too. New songs? Older stuff? Lead singer James belts it all out regardless, with his soulful voice that sounds like it came straight from one of the hard rock heavyweight singers of times gone by. These boys are catchy, classic and have a commanding stage presence which will keep them on top of festival running orders for a long time to come.
TOMORROW IS LOST
Closing their chapter on the Southall Lawless, Tomorrow is Lost get together on stage for the first time in four years. This set of hard-rocking, heart-breaking, electric, emotive tracks is likely to be their last. Sob. Some songs hurt to hear (“Black and Blue“). Others crackle with fast, feral urgency and pop with a pounding bassline (“Wildchild“). All are sung with note-perfect precision by lead singer Cass’s razor-sharp vox. Deploying DIY pyro in the form of confetti cannons makes band anthem “Hideaway” explode with colour while ringing out like the heavyweight banger it is.
MYKE GRAY
Guitar god Myke Gray and his band of hard-rockin’ hombres have a bit of a supergroup vibe going on here. With the golden era of rock/glory days of roll swagger, and a set boasting classics including “Raised on Radio“, Myke and co close down the Southall Lawless Stage in style.
FLORENCE BLACK
With one helluva voice, frontman Tristan Thomas leads the Florence Black boys through their headline set with sheer power. There are only three of them; they’re all attached to instruments, but one of the many joys of these boys is that they still manage to fill the stage. If you can tear your eyes from Tristan and rock god-stance masterclass leader Fozzi (on bass), blur of hair, hands and headbanging drummer Perry looks like he’s having the time of his life. And we see you lighting up during encore “Sun and Moon” Mr Davies…
The boys have a new album out (Pouring Rain), but this show isn’t heavy on promoting it. It’s a proper headline set which guarantees the satisfaction of old fans while recruiting new ones. “Coloured In” is epic, “Rocking Ring” is carnage and “Bed of Nails” is an absolute low-end, troubling monster. Florence Black can hammer and send sparks flying – literally, but it’s their less aggressive songs that get the crowd going tonight.
CREDITS:
Photographs supplied by Ian “Roadie” Owen, shooting for CGCM Rock Radio in collaboration with Rock Radio UK. For more of Ian‘s captures, visit his Facebook page: Ian Owen Photo Albums
Stay tuned for Jo Wright (aka Goth Girl)’s report of Saturday at Call Of The Wild Festival 2026, coming soon to CGCM Rock Radio/Website. And check out her GothGirlWriting Website for more of her coverage of events and albums: Goth Girl Writing
