Fans of metal that leans in the more extreme direction, rejoice, for Lords of the Land is back! Three years since the UK thrash-centric version stormed Audio and Slay, the full festival will descend on those same two sweaty and intimate venues once more for what is shaping up to be a triumphant return. After some delays in announcing the full line-up due to tour cancellations and bands losing members, it’s finally locked in and I think we can all agree it was worth the wait. Combining some of the best up-and-coming Scottish names with absolute legends of the scene, there’s something for everyone to enjoy, make new discoveries, and support the scene.
Anaal Nathrakh and the rest of the big dogs will be taking over Slay from 6pm onwards, but we’ll get to them later. Before we do, we’ve got five of the best young bands the scene has to offer, four of which are from Scotland. So it’s off under the arches at Glasgow Central to start the day at Audio. Doors open at 12 noon, with the first band on at 1pm, so there’s really no excuse for missing any bands. You certainly won’t want to miss Dissolving Entity taking to the stage. The Edinburgh-based brutal death metal band only released their debut EP, Parasite Enthroned, towards the end of last year in October, and if their live show is anything like the record, you certainly won’t be disappointed. They are brutal, they are heavy, and they will hopefully blow you away early doors to set you up for a great day.
Make sure you’re down to see these guys and give them some love. Like Lothian Buses, the Edinburgh bands keep coming, with Hammer up next. Extreme metal played with a ferocious intensity, I’m not sure if the confines of Audio will be able to contain the level of horror and riffs these guys will be bringing. 2025’s Trapped is an absolute belter of an album, and songs like “Trapped in a House with a Maniac” and “Gorehound” will go down a treat and should be an early highlight of the festival. Looking to keep up the momentum with their brand of proper old-school death metal will be Suffering Rites. While they often draw comparisons to Bolt Thrower, they’re a band who are entirely their own, taking influences from the greats but adding a hard edge and modern take – check out their 2024 EP Eternal War to get you in the mood for their set. Special mention to both “Dark Future” and “Eternal War”, which are real highlights we’ll hopefully hear live.
The penultimate band of the Audio section of the day, and a band I think could steal the show and be the highlight of the whole thing, is Penny Coffin. Their brand of death metal incorporates everything from bleak, suffocating doom to rapid industrial-style noise, and getting to see them up close and personal in Audio will be a real treat. Their EP Conscripted Morality is what got me hooked on them; give it a go and get down the front for these guys. After a pure Scottish death-metal assault, London-based Urne will close out proceedings in Audio, bringing with them something a bit different. Fresh off the release of their highly anticipated third album, Setting Fire to the Sky (Lindsay’s awesome review of which can be found here), the band are set for big things and I highly doubt you’ll be able to see them in such intimate surroundings like Audio for long. Expect some stoner/sludge-meets-thrash from these guys, who count Mastodon’s Troy Sanders and Gojira’s Joe Duplantier as pals.
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After all that, you’ll have just enough time to grab something to eat, make the trip across towards the Merchant City and down into Slay, and hopefully catch your breath and get ready for the evening’s entertainment. While these four may be the “headline acts”, I’ve no doubt they’re going to have a job to do following the first five bands. To be fair, if you’re looking for anyone to do that job and steal the show while blowing the doors, walls, and ceiling off, it’s going to be recently reformed metalcore legends Stampin’ Ground. Worth the admission price to see these guys alone, they’ve been laying waste to venues across the land since they reformed in late 2024 and, realistically, Slay doesn’t stand a chance. With their combination of groove-laden riffs and hardcore punk, the whole set is going to be something to behold, and it’s only the beginning of the night!
The sunshine of Florida is really no place for death metal; it’s more suited to a nice dark basement in Glasgow. Good news, then, for Florida’s finest old-school death metal lads Gruesome, who are bringing their brand of Death-legacy death metal to Glasgow. Following 2025’s Silent Echo, where they shifted from raw death metal to something more technical, the band are another that I’m personally looking forward to. It’s going to be fast and heavy. Following this with Exhumed is a real one-two punch from Lords of the Land. The Californians will take the stage to deliver a gore-grind masterclass. Having released a new album in February this year, Red Asphalt, as well as an extensive back catalogue to tear through, the legends of the scene will make sure the crowd are still alive and moving while screaming about death on the American highway (and other delights).
And then, after all that, after hours of the finest death metal bands around, after the riffs, the pits, and the headbanging, comes the headliner. After 11 years, the mighty Anaal Nathrakh will return to a Glasgow stage. There can be no better band to close the night out. To try and put new words on what to expect would be a waste of everyone’s time; they’re already known as “The Soundtrack to Armageddon”. What better way to describe it? Given the guys haven’t been to our fine country for so long, you know they’re going to put on a show and you know it’s going to be one of the heavy metal calendar’s highlights this year. You can’t afford to miss this.
Last I heard, as I sit typing this, full-day tickets (which include all the sets across both venues) are almost sold out, so if you don’t want to miss out on an Easter Weekend all-dayer, get on it. You can still also bag yourself a ticket for the Slay-only part of the event (should you be otherwise engaged during the day), but that won’t last long either. You’re not going to want to miss being a part of this festival in some way, so make sure you get yourself a ticket in some form. Let’s be honest, supporting local bands and tasty death metal is much better than Easter eggs and whatever sub-par films they’ll have on TV that day. Get yourself down for this one.
Lords of the Land takes place on 4th April 2026 in Glasgow across Audio and Slay.
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Check out my Lords of The Land playlist
Lords of The Land: official | facebook
Dissolving Entity: facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp
Hammer: facebook | instagram | spotify | tiktok
Suffering Rites: facebook | instagram | bandcamp
Penny Coffin: facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
URNE: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
Stampin’ Ground: facebook | instagram | tiktok
Gruesome: facebook | instagram | bandcamp
Exhumed: facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp | youtube
