You played Wednesday. How did that feel from your end, because from the crowd, the energy seemed great. The tent filled up. It was a really good vibe, but how was it for you guys?
Cian: t was fantastic. Every time we’ve played at Arctangent has been fantastic because it is the best festival. And to do it on Wednesday as well was nice; it was a really nice way to ease us into the weekend. It was very, very stacked on the lineup, so we’re really happy with it. There were loads of circle pits and stuff as well at the gig, so I don’t know how that started. But I’m glad it did anyway!
And for yourself, Jake? Was the experience of the set similar?
Jake: It was really, really nice. We’ve come over every time for the full weekend, we always see the bands on the Wednesday. And it was really nice to finally play the first day of it and ease us into it now.
You were here performing last year, when you played a silent disco set. I’m fascinated by that from a band’s perspective. How different is it prepping and performing a show to headphones in the audience compared to the regular live set?
Jake: It was really fun. It’s not that much different for us because it’s in-ears. We don’t really use in-ears, but we could still hear it. But then if they pull out slightly, you just hear, like, silence. It was great fun, and I really liked it, but Jack, the drummer, his in-ears broke, and so for the first three songs he couldn’t hear anything. So, he just timed himself off how fast my hand was moving. And he didn’t make any mistakes!
Cian: We didn’t know that until afterwards. He couldn’t hear anything. He’s playing on an electronic drumkit and he couldn’t hear a single thing!
Jake: Yeah, because he bought AliExpress in-ears and they didn’t cut the mustard. It was great, though, and we did two sets last year. We did another one on the Elephant In the Bar Room Stage. Yeah, and that was fantastic as well. We just did slightly different sets. The silent disco one was more kind of dancy stuff. The one after was a bit more heavy.
Having seen you outside of Arctangent, it seems like you feed off the energy of the crowd quite a lot. That connection’s important. You were in and out of the crowd and all over the stage. Is it difficult to have that same connection when you’re playing the silent disco set that you did, and secondly, is it difficult to get that same connection when you’re playing a barrier show like here, as opposed to a smaller room?
Jake: Yeah, I think so. But we, we would perform slightly differently, and I think it works well both ways. The barrier thing is a bit different, it’s not better or worse, it is just different. I would like to be weaving in and out of people getting all freaky, but it’s a bit hard with the barrier.
Cian: Yeah, I’m too old now and my back hurts, so I won’t go over that barrier and into the crown anymore. I used to. I was big into it, but I just can’t. I know my place. I can’t hack it!
Newcastle quartet Giant Walker have been making waves through the UK’s thriving alternative underground since the release of their first singles back in 2021, mixing retro, 70s style psych and prog with contemporary rock and post-metal influences. With their sophomore album Silhouettes stamping their name into the scene in 2024 and a relentless touring schedule in 2025, the four-piece laid their process bare on a scorching hot Friday at this year’s Arctangent festival.
From their inception Giant Walker have cited Australian prog metal powerhouse Karnivool as one of their greatest inspirations, in a brilliant twist of fate Giant Walker’s Arctangent debut takes place hours before Karnivool took the main stage for their UK exclusive headliner set. Frontwoman Steff Fish explains “It’s unreal. We were in the first run of bands announced so it’s kind of funny. Obviously you get confirmed for the festival but then you don’t get the artwork until the morning of the announcement, we’re supposed to make a post at 12 o’clock and only get the poster at 11, it was pretty surreal opening the email and seeing that they’re headlining as well”. Guitarist Jamie Southern dives into Karnivool’s impact, saying “It’s wicked, it’s no secret that they’re near the top of the list in terms of influences. We’ve seen them a few times over the last couple of years but it’ll be our first time seeing them in a festival setting”.
While acts like Karnivool and Deftones make up the modern side of Giant Walker’s sound, their retro prog edge has always set them apart from other bands drawing from the same influences. According to Jamie their old-school stylings run deep, “We all grew up listening to classic rock. That’s what got me into music, your AC/DCs, Rainbow, Free, Creedence, all of that 60s and 70s stuff. There’s so much vibe in those recordings”. On the band’s retro inspired ethos he continues “We’re striving to sound like a band as opposed to a perfect sequence. We’re born to be real, not perfect”.
Sunday Best
This gang of groove-soaked heathens twist emo and post-hardcore into something gloriously raw, radiant, and ready to rip your heart clean out. This London based group deliver brutal honesty as they grapple with death, bigotry, divinity, society and the mess of modern selfhood. The topics may be heavy, but it comes packaged in dreamy soaked riffs and soaring vocals.
Fresh from packing out rooms snagging support slots with Love Is Noise and Happydaze, and tearing up stages from Multitude to Decolonise Fest, they’re fast carving their own corner in the chaos. Their debut single Past Tense also managed to clock thousands of streams and sparked buzz on both sides of the Atlantic. Sunday Best are a emotional moment of reflection amongst the moshing.
Karnivool is preparing to release one of the most anticipated albums of 2026, titled In Verses. As the year gradually comes to a close (thank goodness for that), the Australian progressive metal band is offering us a sneak peek with their new track ‘Opal’. This song leans more into the melodic aspects of their sound. It functions as a proggy ballad that could easily serve as a backdrop for the end credits of a blockbuster film. However, the outro delves into the concept of escaping a broken space pod, only to fall into the unknown. In terms of the riffs, they are actually outtakes from their Themata era. Drew Goddard recently explained, “The riff in the middle and the end was the first thing I recorded during the Themata era, on a computer at my parents’ house. Twenty years later, it found its place here. Jon dug it up, and we made it feel more current. The verse that begins with ‘You’ve been holding up…’ was a section left off ‘Aeons’ from Asymmetry. The whole track came together in a way we’ve never really experienced before—these old, separate ideas suddenly just fell into place.” – Nessie Spencer
Wot Gorilla? continue their reemergence from hibernation with a marvellous slice of manic math with ‘Young Mans Game’ where they ponder over the insecurities of being a band of older gentleman. Front man Matt Haigh tackles his personal challenges that come with navigating feedback as his voice flicks between tender and unhinged on a dime, the winding melodies bewilder and entice with an effortless flow and even Jonny Heys saxophone appears adding further genius to an entity which feels destined to have a monumental 2026. The upcoming record ‘Stay Home’ is locked in for a February 20th, 2026 via Drongo Records as Wot Gorilla? pick up where the left off with many UK shows already in the calendar. Their live show is a faultless machine with a human heart which will leave your jaw on the floor and looking for a shoulder to cry on. – Andy Calderbank
Latest single ‘Head is Like a Sinking Stone’ from Tigers Jaw’s newly-announced seventh studio album Lost On You is set to release next March, and has been long-awaited by fans since their last release in 2021. Lyrically, the track discusses a personal and recurring dream about being stuck underwater that frontman and guitarist Ben Walsh had when he was young and this reflects through the abstract lyrics, nostalgic 90’s emo esque guitars, and the infectiously repetitive chorus featuring the flourishingly high harmonies and electric piano from long-term vocalist and- keyboardist Brianna Collins that add depth to the three minutes duration of the track. After proving that Tigers Jaw are still a highly proficient live band through their sets at Common Thread alongside other emo and pop-punk heavyweights, Lost On You is set to be another enjoyable listen from one of Pennsylvania’s greatest. – Ez Luscombe
Everyone’s favourite synthwave leather daddy is back. The title track and first taste of Carpenter Brut’s upcoming record which releases early 2026, ‘Leather Temple’ is a dark and seductive swaggering piece of synthwave that’s saturated with the kind of metal-influenced excess that makes this act just so iconic. It’s also a fantastic introduction to the world of Leather Temple as a whole, a record that tales the story of Midwichpolis – a dystopian city risen in the wake of nuclear fallout that’s ruled by excess, repression, corruption and all things neon-lit. The music video, directed by Dehn Sora, visualises it perfectly. – Dan Hillier
While often dubbed as a band purely belonging to the nu-metal revival, Bristol’s Profiler are by no means a band deserving of the scorn some may apply to the genre or its resurgence. Far removed from the brutish ignorance that many still associate with the genre, Profiler take the adolescence energy synonymous with the nu metal sound and it use it as a source of energy to power ruminations on self, relationships and how such things connect to the world at large. The band’s new EP Masquerading Self proves this wonderfully.
A musically progressive record that binds the sound of nu-metal revivalism with subtle motifs of grunge and post-hardcore, Masquerading Self uses its direct, immediate and bedlam inducing sound to explore everything from intricacies of relationship dynamics to mankind’s eternal connection to mother nature. It’s a frank and chaotic record, one designed to cause nowt but mayhem in a live setting, but one that offers significant substance beneath the bedlam.
With that mind, and with Masquerading Self out today independently, we got in touch with the band to break down the EP, track by track.
“Masquerading Self is a massive step up for us, written by Michael Evans and Joe Johnson. This EP is a deliberate, heavier shift from A Digital Nowhere, helping us really find our own sound. It was a seriously collaborative effort by all four of us, with Jacob Andrews and Jay Evans absolutely crushing it on their parts. This is also our first time releasing something completely on our own. A huge shoutout and massive thanks go to our producer, Tom Cory—seriously, his magic shaped the sound of this whole thing. On the visual side, the whole band chipped in: Joe directed and edited all the music videos and visuals, while Mike handled the graphic design, artwork, and all the branding. Masquerading Self is a powerful statement, and we’re buzzing that this is the start of a wild new chapter for the band.
‘Illusion’ really dives into the messy, darker side of intense romantic crushes—that whole all-consuming feeling before and during a relationship. The track basically tears apart how attachment driven by ego can be insidious, suggesting that when we desperately cling to our romantic ideals and desires, it’s actually setting us up for pain. It’s a challenge to the listener to look past the ‘rush’ of new love and see the emotional trap it can become. Musically, it’s a non-stop, fast, “in-your-face” heavy banger that perfectly captures the frantic, overwhelming feeling of being caught up in that kind of intense emotion. It’s the sound of the conflict between crazy desire and the painful reality that comes with being attached.”
“‘Dope’ totally shakes things up, marking a raw and definitive new chapter for the band. It’s darker, heavier, and just completely soaked in intense emotion. The whole track is built on these massive riffs and a truly fierce, unbridled vocal delivery that grabs you right away. Lyrically, ‘Dope’ isn’t pulling any punches, diving into stuff like manipulation, mind control, and the grueling fight to survive when you’re caught up in a seriously toxic relationship.
This song gets deeply personal, giving us a look into the mind-games that chip away at your self-worth. Mike breaks down the core idea: ‘Dope’ is specifically about gaslighting and the messed-up techniques people use to disorient and control someone in a toxic dynamic. It’s a completely honest take on the terrifying experience of getting lost in someone else’s story—to the point where your own reality feels warped—but the key thing is, it’s all about the battle and the ultimate win of taking back your power, your identity, and your sense of truth.
The emotional weight of the lyrics is totally matched by the music, which swings between moments of crushing, dense aggression and pockets of uneasy, atmospheric tension, perfectly mirroring the volatile nature of the relationship it’s describing.”
“‘Waste’ is a seriously deep track all about how toxic manipulation can just wreck a relationship. The whole story follows a person’s tough but ultimately awesome journey to finally realise their own worth—a massive lightbulb moment that only happens when they actually slow down and look inward.
We get so caught up in the external chaos and the ridiculous demands of the world, and honestly, all that outside pressure and negativity is what causes a ton of our problems. This constant looking outward makes us miss the quiet, solid strength we have inside.
So, ‘Waste’ is basically a huge anthem for radical self-acceptance and the quiet, monumental win of discovering yourself instead of falling for external lies.”
After announcing their first of names for next year just last month, ArcTanGent are back with yet another wave of names for next year’s event, including all four headliners. Headlining the Thursday of next year will be none other than the pioneers of absurd experimental metal Primus, with the band’s headline set being their first in the UK since 2017. Headlining Friday will be Chelsea Wolfe, who was originally booked to headline ArcTanGent 2020 before it was sadly cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As for Saturday’s headliner, it appears the stars have finally aligned; Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas will finally be returning to Fernhill Farm for an exclusive performance of their collaborative record Mariner to mark it’s 10th anniversary.
“In 2016, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Somewhere Along the Highway. At the time, it already felt like a lifetime had passed since we recorded it. That same year, we released Mariner with Julie Christmas and somehow, ten more years have gone by in what feels like an instant”, states Cult of Luna’s Johannes Persson on today’s announcement. was about to make a clever analogy about the speed of light and the passage of time to connect it all to the themes of the album, but it’s too early in the morning for that kind of thinking. It probably just comes down to the fact I’m getting older faster.”
“What I’m really trying to say is simple: I take every chance I get to be on stage with Julie. As a band, we spent a lot of time considering what it would mean to revisit these songs again. Making this album was a risk, we didn’t know what the creative process would look like with someone who wasn’t part of our world at the time. Julie is now a dear friend, and we’re grateful to ArcTanGent for giving us the opportunity to return to this material together. So with a mix of excitement and a fair bit of fear, we’re preparing to bring these songs back to life next summer.”
Also joining the bill today are Wednesday headliners Sikth, grindfathers Napalm Death, rifflords High on Fire, local scene legends Conjurer and the wonderful cellist and composer Jo Quail, who will be performing a UK exclusive set alongside the crossbones assemble. All these names will be joining an already stacked lineup featuring the likes of TTNG, Igorrr, Perturbator, Alcest, Svalbard, Oathbreaker, BRUIT ≤ and load of brilliant talent from all corners of the global math, post, prog, experimental and noise scene.
As usual, ArcTanGent 2026 will take place at it’s home of Fernhill Farm, Bristol, between the dates of 19-22nd August. Peep the lineup thus far below and find tickets and further information can be found here.
