Just like 2025 and 2024 before it, we are eschewing a "classic", big ol' list of albums we liked from 2026 so far. Lists are fun, but they make no sense ("this album is number 12 and this album is number 9" are words uttered by the insane). Instead, we will be using the next few weeks to highlight our favorite trends, releases, shows, cover art, experiences, and more from the first half of this (musically) excellent year.
If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that I struggle with writing opening lines, like long sentences, and that time is a fickle bastard. In a futile attempt at retaliation, I will ignore the neat concept of calendar years, and regale you with tales of the most memorable (and mostly great) gigs I’ve seen in the past 8-ish months, adding some from the tail end of 2025 since I’ve barely covered them here before.
Starting off in mid November, I was (happily and without too much doubt) convinced by a friend to join an outing back to my hometown Amsterdam to see Belfast hiphop sensation Kneecap. While I’m by no means a superfan, their mix of performative irreverence and heartfelt, intersectional activism (particularly on the genocide still happening in Gaza) convinced me I wanted to see them live. While ticket prices were somewhat steep and I’m not a fan of large, boxy venues, the promise of big vibes and a cultural phenomenon on the cusp of true mainstreamhood convinced me.
Although the size of the room definitely reduced the intimacy and exacerbated an already over-emphasised bass presence and thus drowned out some of the subtler sonic elements, Kneecap leaned into the groovier and danceable aspects of their music, while taking the time to be explicit about their politics between songs. I met some unexpected friends at the gig, got reasonably hammered, and ended up jumping around in a circle to their closing adaptation of The Wolfe Tones moat (in)famous banger. I’d definitely see them again, especially since FENIAN is their most gripping album yet, and was not yet out at the time.
Still in the afterglows of the previous gig, in a venue much smaller yet no less electrified, I saw Vower perform on their EP release tour for A Storm Lined With Silver. I’d already been sufficiently hyped up by their singles and reviewing the release, but was still not prepared for their indomitable live energy. Helmed by insanely talented vocalist Josh McKeown, whose stage presence oscillates between casual and intense on the drop of a dime and with the same ease as his delivery moves from clean to harsh, the band set the venue alight with energy. While I’m still sad I missed the chance to see Palm Reader or Black Peaks live, Vower are a worthy successor in their own right, and delivered my favorite concert of 2025.
Moving on to 2026, the first two noteworthy shows I attended at the excellent local venue VERA were headlined by Truckfighters and Throwing Bricks respectively. Swedish psychedelic hard-rock darlings Truckfighters played to a pretty full room, filling up the small gaps left with massive fuzz and walls of effects seemingly crashing in from every direction. I find this style of music especially enjoyable live, where the enveloping, fuzzy textures can be felt as much as heard. Truckfighters did not disappoint in that regard.
Throwing Bricks were equally if not more impressive. While they’re a Dutch band and have played many a gig in some of my old stomping grounds, I’d somehow never seen them live. Diving into their discography before the gig I quickly became enamoured with their emotional and honest take on black/sludge/hardcore shapeshiftery. Their raw intensity and big melodic payoffs translate beautifully to a live setting, speaking to sore hearts and necks alike. Around their intense stage presence, these guys support local causes and are always in for an honest and down to earth chat at the merch stand. Excellent and highly recommended.
My most anticipated gigs of the year so far took place at Into The Grave festival, where I somewhat morbidly celebrated my 30th birthday with a couple of great friends. Starting off a somewhat chilly June 13th with 1914's spirited performance was both sobering and rousing. Clad in era-appropriate uniformish garb, they interspersed their songs about the horrors of wars past with defiant, thankful and even hopeful interjections about the horrors of the current war going on in their native Ukraine. Between their vocalist taking a snarling stroll through the crowd, highlights from their past two albums aplenty and chants of “Fuck Putin! Fuck War! Fuck Imperialism!”, they made for a worthy start of the day and an important reminder of the dangers of belligerence.
The next highlight and my most anticipated live show in a good long while was Insomnium. The indomitable Finnish melodeath machine burst onto the stage with raucous energy, imbuing each song with extra flair and flourish. To my delight, they played an excellent selection of old and new(er) songs, spanning highlights from Above The Weeping World, Heart Like a Grave and the somewhat underrated latest album Anno 1696. While the sound could have been better and some exuberant whammy outbursts erred on the sloppy side, seeing these guys live was pretty high on my list and they delivered in spades.
As the afternoon rolled into evening, Doodseskader provided the next highlight, creating a bona fide mini rave at the festival's smaller stage. Closing headliner Mastodon unfortunately failed to do anything for me, which is somewhat par for the course as they’ve never really grabbed me on recording either.Somewhat battered and worse for wear, I nonetheless managed to make it back unto the unhallowed festival ground the next day to witness Dormant Ordeal play the best set of the weekend. With vicious riffs, a possessed vocal performance and machine-gun like percussive precision, the Polish tech death formation blew my already high expectations out of the water, with their rendition of “Solvent” being my favourite bit of live death metal since seeing Ulcerate perform in 2024.
Already satisfied after the day’s first gig, I decided to stick around for the rest of the day. Carach Angren exceeded my expectations live, and closer The Gathering played a unique anniversary set with Anneke van Giersbergen, which I regrettably could only see part of. All in all an excellent capstone of my third decade of life and the first half of 2026.