Mayhem Rock Festival 16th May 2026 at The Nest, Nottingham, UK
Mayhem Rock Festival made its debut on the gig calender in London, Nottingham and Wakefield in May last year and after attending the Nottingham show I was looking forward to this years party. Taking place at The Nest which is part of Notts County Football Club, it’s a bigger venue than last year but with a great line up there was a great turn out when the doors opened.
First up were young Swedes Wasted Wizards, who bounced on stage full of energy to
entertain a very healthy crowd, even at the early time of 2 pm, to witness their debut show on these shores. Kicking their set off with the awesome “Hear Me Out”, they proceeded to show why they are getting a lot of good press.
Great guitars blowing the dust from any Friday hangovers (I heard there were a few), these young gents took the crowd and whipped them into a frenzy. Up next was “To The City”, full of that awesome Swedish sound I love, big chorus and even bigger riffs, front man Leo is all over the stage like an energy bunny. By the time it came to the closing song, “Rockstar”, the boys had made a lot of new friends here at MRF, I for one will be keeping an eye on these young rockers.
Smoking Snakes
After a visit to Mayhem last year, Smoking Snakes were welcomed on stage like returning heroes. They kept the energy levels going with an uptempo set mainly taken from their debut album Dangerzone (which is a rocker of a debut album, if you didn’t know already). Opening tracks “Angels Call” and “Excited” set the tempo for a great hard rock workout.
They had the crowd going crazy from the big riffs and singalong choruses from the off. Next up was the excellent “Run For Your Life” with its sleazy guitar riffs and stomping drums, which had the crowd pumping their fists and singing along. Finishing the high-energy set with album closer “Rocking to the Morning Light”, these Swedes know how to put on a great rock show, great stuff !!!!
Trench Dogs
Glam punk’s very own Trench Dogs bring more of a Hanoi/Dogs D’amour sound to the Nest next, which, to these ears, is why I love this
band so much. Kicking off their set with “Fighting Words”, they bring back memories of late 80’s early 90’s rock n’ roll gigs I attended. Their laid back swagger onstage is just what a Saturday afternoon needs.
Led by the charismatic Andy Hekkandi, we get “A Little Overdressed” with its punk rock swagger and glam rock riffing, you just can’t go wrong but love’em. The rest of the set just pulls you in more with every note, the likes of “Churchbelles” and “The Gin Beat” just reinforces why this band have a lot of fans here. Finishing their set with the amazing “Homesick Parade”, the crowd lapped it up and sang along too. Hopefully they will be back on these shores again very soon.
Suicide Bombers
Up next were Suicide Bombers from Norway, bringing their sleazy rock n’ roll to Mayhem Rock Festival. These glam rock playboys bring the party and from the opening riff of “Dynamite Playboys”, it’s a full on glam attack. Up front is the sleaze Fuhrer Chris Damien Doll who has the audience going crazy from the off. Pulling riffs and sneering the lyrics like it’s their last ever show, this lot are here to entertain.
“Let’s Rock N Roll” is just a great big middle finger to everything that is boring. Next we get “All For Candy”, with Stevie Teaze pulling out the big sleazy riffs alongside bassist C.Slim with the great singalong chorus. Suicide Bombers are a fine tuned party car tonight, they’ve been around a while, 5 albums in and still more to come. Alongside Smoking Snakes they’ve just completed a small tour entitled Lock Up Your Daughters Tour; they don’t miss a beat tonight. By the time it’s the last song, “Suicide Idol”, the room is dancing and singing along and we don’t want it to end.
Toxic Rose
Another returning band was Toxic Rose, this glam metal 4-piece from Sweden never fail to impress, having seen them before, I wasn’t
surprised by another excellent set of metal anthems. Kicking the set off with “Blood On Blood” from their album In For The Kill, it was all guns blazing and they had the audience straight away.
Then we were introduced to the sinister sound of “Reckless Society”, Andi Lipstixx is a towering frontman dressed in black with full war painted face who locks eyes with the audience, he wants your full attention and by the time they launch into “World Of Confusion”, he has everyone. “In For The Kill” was up next with it’s heavy metal riff blasting through the venue keeping everyone focus on the stage. Finishing an excellent set with the emotional sounds of “Song For The Weak”, we were left with mouths open and wondering what we had all just witnessed !!
Confess
On the bill last year and no strangers to these shores were Swedish glam rockers Crashdiet featuring John Elliot. Why am I mentioning this? Well, John fronts another Swedish band called Confess, who were next to take the stage. Having released a brand new album (Metamorphosis) the day before their appearance, we are treated to the 1st track off said album in the shape of “Colorvision” which sets the pace for a full-on hard rock attack.
Following up with the title track “Metamorphosis”, the band had the crowd moving from the off. Not letting up on the energy they hit us with “The Warriors” and an excellent version of “Strange Kind of Affection” off their 2017 album Haunters. The audience were loving it and the band just kept giving us more, this time in the form of “Haunting You”. Finishing off with the awesome “Wicked Temptations”, Confess left the stage to a hero’s reception….. amazing !!
South Of Salem
Up next and hailing from Bournemouth, UK, South Of Salem were nothing but outstanding. The past few years of touring have made this
band a machine. Kicking their set off with “Vultures” from their latest album Death Of The Party, we are treated to a band on top form, and the audience loved it.
“Static” was up next quickly followed by “Let Us Prey”. Frontman Joey Draper was all over the stage like a man possessed, encouraging us all to sing along. “Pretty Little Nightmare” was up next (one of my personal favourites), and Joey has us all involved. Coming up next was “Hellbound Heart” with its emotional riff and heaviness. SOS weren’t finished yet as we get the final trio of “Death of the Party”, “Jet Black Eyes” and the great “Cold Day in Hell”. This was a master class from a young band who are seriously going places.
Eclipse
Returning to the UK next was Eclipse; these boys know how to put on a show and tonight was no different. Opening with “Roses”, full of big riffs and a massive singalong chorus, it was the perfect set opener. This was quickly followed by “All I Want”, a great hook-laden song with a super chorus. “Things We Love” and “Twilight” are up next, which show off Erik’s great song-writing and voice. The whole band are in sync with each other which leads to every song been played with lots of energy and emotion.
“Bleed and Scream” is another singalong for the audience, quickly followed by “Downfall”. Taking the pace down a little for the awesome “Hurt” and then turned it up with “Blood Enemies”, “Saturday Night” and an emotional “Hardest Part”. Erik had the crowd singing and clapping along for the whole set finishing off with three anthems … “Runaways”, “Anthem” and finally “Viva la Nottingham”, and then it was all over.
H.E.A.T.
If there was one band who can match the songwriting and performance of Eclipse, it has to be the final band tonight, H.E.A.T. This was my
first time seeing the band since they swapped singers, (tho’ I have seen them with Kenny in the early days ). They dive headfirst into “Disaster”, and it never lets up. We get “Rock Your Body” and “Dangerous Ground”, the crowd even at this hour singing loudly and punching the air to every note.
The band are all smiles, especially Kenny, who never stands still, not missing a lyric. “Hollywood” is next, with Dave Malone peeling off riffs like his life depends on it. “Rise” hits the heights again, we then get all emotional with “Cry”. Bringing us back into storm we get “Beg, Beg, Beg”. Everything is just go awesome, which is brought even better (if this is possible) by a rousing version of “Back to the Rhythm”.
“Running to You” keeps the party going. The final song closing out this amazing festival was “A Shot of Redemption” with the Nest choir helping Kenny out, not that he needed it, but nevertheless, we did. An awesome way to finish a great day of music. A big thank you to all the organisers for putting on such a great day ….. Roll on next year !!!!
Ian
