Wildfire dropped a new poster last night which, annoyingly courtesy of facebook, I’ve only just seen! The announcement in full:
It’s another sledgehammer announcement as Wildfire Festival pulls out all the stops to bring the cream of rock and metal heritage to Scotland next year.
First up and guaranteed to cause a commotion, New York heavy metal/speed metal legends Riot (aka Riot V) headline Sunday evening and a more accomplished and respected 80’s true metal act you’d be hard pressed to find. With a career stretching back to the late 70’s, Riot’s current incarnation – their fifth, hence the ‘V’ suffix – caused quite the stir with their universally acclaimed album Unleash The Fire just two years ago. This exclusive Scottish show will be your only chance to catch them live in Scotland, next year.
We carry on our romance with the NWOBHM faithful who are now spoilt with the confirmed addition of the 100mph blitzkrieg that is Vardis. Sadly news reached us today about the untimely passing of bass player Terry Horbury, but the band are determined to continue, showcase the new album and leave the legacy that Terry so richly deserves, it will be a poignant show indeed.
The monstrously heavy GORMATHON are set to vanquish Scottish shores, exclusively at Wildfire with their melodic death metal all the way from Sweden while the ‘heavy’ quota is maintained by Scotland’s own Excellent Cadaver, prog metal mavericks Turbyne and the ingenious barreling rhythms of Vice.
We also welcome UK modern metallic rockers Forever Never. A band who originally made tsunami sized waves in the 00’s, their recent reformation is sure to warrant a similar ground-shaking response when they hit Scotland in 2016!
Hard rock lovers are well catered for with the cacophonous convoy of Massive Wagons rolling through Wiston Lodge, the ever-welcome Bad Touch, the majesterial melody of The King Lot, the whiskey-ravaged sleaze of Hell’s Addiction, the hard-edged classic rock of One Last Run, the atmospheric artistry of Crowsaw and the hypnotic dark riffs of The Broken Chords adding further class to proceedings.
For those who love their thrash, we have bought back the savage riffing of Solitary while Wretched Soul – a band who’ve been laying waste to UK venues in 2015 with their terrifying brand of death/thrash – and the immense sound of melodic thrashers Immension make their first appearance.
Two undisputed highlights from 2015’s second stage return to us in the formidable shape of up and coming traditional thrashers DIE NO MORE and proud purveyors of Southern rock boogie Thirteen Stars. Missed ’em last time? This is your chance to make amends!
Also confirmed are anthemic are…………………………..alt-rockers, Life On Standby), riff-worshippers Nest of Vipers, vanguards of vintage hard rock Orangefall and the pop/punk perfection of AlteredSky.
Wildfire Festival – Scotland’s only 3 day rock and metal festival – is looking to celebrate its 5th anniversary in considerable style and these latest additions confirm that ‘bigger and better’ is the only way for us to go!
Now well established and highly acclaimed Wildfire returns to the stunning grounds of Wiston Lodge on 24-26 June and will play host to over 60 acts on 3 stages.
Here’s Wildfire Festival 2016’s line up to date:
All Consumed, Altered Sky, Apriori, Avenford, Bad Touch, The Broken Chords, Chasing Dragons [Official Band Page], Colour of Noise, Crowsaw, The Deep, Die No More, Excellent Cadaver, Forever Never, Gormathon, Halo Tora, Hellbound Hearts, Hell’s Addiction, Immension, The King Lot, Life on Standby, Mad Hatter 2.0, Massive Wagons, Maverick, Nest Of Vipers, One Last Run, Orangefall, Riot (V), RSJ, Screaming Eagles, Sinocence, Sky Valley Mistress, Soldier Nwobhm, Solitary, Spartan Warrior (Official), Stone Broken, Thirteen Stars, Tim “Ripper” Owens, Turbyne, Vardis, Vice, Winter Storm and Wretched Soul.
Tickets, currently held at 2015 prices are still available until the 27th December – head to http://www.wildfirefestival.co.uk/