Radar Festival 2026: The Review – Friday
Radar Festival has grown significantly since its founding days in Guildford. This being its last year in Manchester before setting sail for Sheffield in 2027, the organisers and bands certainly wanted to go out with a bang at the Victoria Warehouse. Starting off with a fiery Friday.
Words by Andy Calderbank & Vee Richardson.
Rozemary
The jewel in the Merseyside heavy music scene cut the ribbon on Radar Fest 2026 with ferocious intent. Marrying violent panic with a brutal melancholy somewhere between Long Goodbye and Dying Wish, Rozemary stands tall and thrives with a confidence befitting festival veterans. Sing or scream: vocalist Izabel Lavin is a bright spark and pendulums in ‘Starlit Ballroom’ with style and ease. Rozemary setting the bar for the rest of the day. AC.
Ghost Iris
Ghost Iris wasted little time turning the early afternoon into something considerably heavier. Their low-end grooves landed with real weight, while Jesper Gün’s restless stage presence kept the set from ever feeling overly clinical. By the time he made his way into the crowd, Ghost Iris found a neat balance between technical precision and the sort of blunt-force metalcore that simply demanded movement. VR.
Sixth Wonder
Sixth Wonder continued to make a strong case for themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting newer progressive metalcore bands. ‘Death Departed’ and ‘Missile’ balanced intricate guitar work with genuinely memorable hooks, keeping the technicality accessible without sanding away any of the weight.
There was plenty for the fretboard-watchers to obsess over, but Sixth Wonder’s real strength was how naturally the melody sat alongside the heavier elements. We tipped them before the weekend, and their RADAR performance only reinforced the feeling that their current position on festival bills wouldn’t last particularly long. VR.
Photo Credit: Gabby Adler
Graphic Nature
A lengthy ambient intro steadies every heartbeat in the main stage crowd. The London packs Iowa style nu-metal is a Tasmanian devil style tornado to whip the early crowds into a frenzy. Rattling through a set dominated by their standout album “A Mind Waiting to Die” it’s like Stray from the Path never went away. A surefire way to get the blood pumping on the main stage. AC.
Cage Fight
Back to the second stage for a much more thrashy affair in Cage Fight, which is led by a crystallised valkyrie warrior in Rachel Aspe. A formidable presence with screams cutting through some of the stage’s early technical goblins. Otherworldly in her range to the point where the microphone felt like an accessory, she devoured every syllable and delivered every word with an impressive venom. Technically astute with Tesseract’s James Monteith delivers monolith-sized riffs while Aspes ventures into the crowd, creating an orbit of eager fans lapping up her presence without the bravery to get too close. AC.
Sikth
So much more than veterans, Sikth have pioneered the technical metal sound decades before it was a glint in youngsters’ eyes. Deep into their 20-year anniversary of the classic Death of a Dead Day which contributes to the genesis of progressive metal, which gave way to every djent influenced band that exists today. Both Mike Goodman and Dan Weller are sharp and in sync; it’s a tandem of wicked delivery as Goodman’s menacing tones weave between the soaring and angelic Weller. The reception shows that they are lauded as they deserve to be. A talk on stage sees talk of new music, and here’s to another 20 years of Death of a Dead Day. AC.
Photo Credit: Charlie Bluck
Volumes
Main stage saviours put on a literal clinic answering some questions early on in the day, a Q&A delivered by both Michael and Myke, speaking on everything from influence and experiences as veterans of the prog metal scene today. Their set was a celebration of the bounce and ricochet which sits at the DNA of djent and progressive metal. A fresh run out for tracks from 2025’s Mirror Touch where ‘Sidewinder’ and ‘Bottom Dollar’ see heads bobbing and our excitable vocalists ping pong from either side of the stage delivering this definitive version of the band. Both handling the clean and the harsh with infectious energy. Pop infused singalongs ‘Bad Habit’ and ‘Adrenaline’ leave the lips of everyone in the crowd, and even the VIA army get what they came for in classics ‘Edge of the Earth’, ‘Wormholes’ and a rare bonus in ‘Intake’. Volumes regularly speak on their appreciation on receiving the reception they do from the UK. Radar feels like a perfect home for Volumes, and they are welcome any time. AC.
Thy Art is Murder
Friday’s headliners are in a state of a flux with the exit of a vocalist and the quick integration of another. Whispers and rumours dominate talk of the band rather than the music itself. Step up Jerry Grimefeld (Honest Crooks/Vengeance) who announces himself, flying out from the side stage like a springer spaniel who’s been promised a walk, diving headfirst into ‘Blood Throne’ and ‘Purest Strain of Hate’. It’s a deathcore litmus test, but there are no teething issues here, as every shriek and bellow feels faultless. Thy Art is Murder looked rejuvenated, with a hearty mix of the band’s discography to exorcise any uncertainty about the band’s condition. As pyro licks the ceiling to enunciate the machine gun triggers and the crowd is bathed in blood red lights, any sign of negativity feels unfounded. Grimefield’s unapologetic presence and energy are the adrenaline these deathcore heavyweights need to get to the top again. AC.
Photo Credit: Lauren Robey