Mad God is a 3 piece doom metal band from Johannesburg, South Africa and take influences from bands such as Electric Wizard, Church of Misery, OM, Sleep, Sons of Otis, The Sword and Black Sabbath. Mad God combine traditional, epic, sludge and stoner doom and play a mix of crushingly slow riffs and psychedelic soundscapes layered with reverb drenched vocals and lyrics touching on horror, madness, drug abuse and interdimensional beings. Our music goes beyond the traditional metal tropes of blast beats and guttural vocals and experiments with slow and atmospheric textures that allows our essence to extend between worlds. Mad God’s show is more than just a live performance but an aural and physical experience that we share with our audience.

Initially a 2-piece acoustic guitar duo, the Wolves are now a 5-piece ensemble with an upbeat West Coast flavour. As the Wolves sound continued to evolve, Pete picked up a banjo as the band started to explore the folk, country and bluegrass genre, fused together with their rock n’ roll, punk rock reggae roots… throw in some surf-punk & left field percussion then you start to get an idea! During the pandemic, the Wolves recorded their first full length LP “Don’t forget to Howl” capturing the live energy of the band, with songs planned for release in 2022.

The Wolves are surfers with strong connections to the Ocean & Kreef Gods of Southern Africa’s diabolical West Coast. Pack animals by nature, the Wolves draw their inspiration from the WES KUS, nourished by fireside acoustic jam sessions, blazin’ banjo, frosted quarts, icy surf and occasionally howling at the moon when the stars are align. The Wolves etho’s ‘music, surf, jol’ is a reflection of the character of the band, who often go against the grain to embrace this lifestyle, and as a result they’ve been building a buzz since they started touring with their upbeat and original West Coast beats. Starting with an acoustic & djembe driven bass, the Wolves throw in a variety of different genres, as a result they have a stripped down set for intimate venues, with the upbeat energy of the full band better suited to bigger shows & festivals.

Excited as they are with the emerging sounds, the Wolves never anticipated the enthusiasm which their audiences have found after releasing their debut EP, “Hold the Wheel”, followed by singles “The City” and ”Uncle Tin”.

“I can’t get over this band”, comments Mike Smith, editor of LMG, “Nobody in SA is doing this kind of music. Local promoter of the Brass Bell agrees, “the Wolves are masquerading as a contemporary folk-rock band, but their approach to blend genres together allows them to create an original sound, enhanced by the raw kinetic energy of the banjo”.

Burn The Mountain is a power trio from Johannesburg South Africa. A mission statement? A rallying cry? Or mankind’s futile struggle against the permanent? You decide.

With live shows like a white-knuckled trip down the rapids, Burn The Mountain is about real music and real connection. No backtracks, no bull. Not ever.

Today sees the release of the band’s new single Runaway, their first for Mongrel Records.  A self-produced escape from the mad times we live in. Driving basslines, pummeling drums and soaring vocals, the track was recorded entirely DIY with the final polish applied by Ryno Zeelie.

“Runaway has been a lot of firsts for us. First self-produced track, first music video, first proper release. It came out of the frustration of the second wave. And what started as a 7-minute-long jam went through tempo shifts, key changes, ruthless trimming of fat and a decision to incorporate some of our more diverse influences. There’s synth bass, EDM in the bridge, industrial snare and exploring more of my vocal range. It signals a step forward for Burn The Mountain and we are beyond excited as to where it is leading us.” Comments vocalist and guitarist Thomas Selmer-Olsen

The video was filmed on location in Johannesburg with almost no crew and directed by Kyle Kemink. One band, a couple of stack amps and an empty warehouse to fill with music

Rest & Resurrection is the new EP from Johannesburg-based, South African blues-infused-hard rock artist, Ross Harding. Displaying a rich and versatile vocal tone as a singer, and accomplishment as a guitarist, he is known for his fusion of blues and hard rock with strong elements of classic rock, 90’s alternative and grunge.

In 2017 Harding formed the blues rock band, Black Harbour, with fellow musician and friend Kevin Hughes, and made local and international progress performing, touring, and recording with the band. Since then, he has focused on his career as a solo musician, performing both as a solo acoustic artist as well as with his full band.

“The ideas of Rest & Resurrection are contrasting musically and thematically (or contextually). The EP is about a new chapter as a musician and deals with elements that I’ve wanted to express in my music – rebellion (about choosing one’s own path), the concept of rebirth or starting afresh, and more personal themes like spirituality and love. There’s a feeling of coming full circle too, as the EP has songs on it that have been with me for years already and are finally being released as I intended them to sound. So, there’s a lot going on for me in the EP. I’m very excited to share it with people – I’ve dreamt about it for quite some time already.” – Ross Harding

Nine is an alternative funk infused heavy rock band from Athlone near Cape Town, South Africa. Formed in 1992, the four piece is Farrell Adams (vocals), James Reynard (guitar), Grenville Williams (bass guitar) and Jerome Reynard (drums). As one of South Africa’s pioneering Black rock bands, Nine represents the fusion of Cape, African and international sounds formed in the dying days of Apartheid South Africa. The separation of people, art and ideas defined that system, and Nine aimed to break it down.

In keeping with this desire to fuse different musical forms, the name Nine is not intended to have any specific connotations. It can mean anything and nothing, and reflects the bands’ intention of breaking down barriers between different cultural and musical paradigms. The band’s wide range of influences take in everything from rock, funk and hip hop to dissonant neo-soul, jazz and reggae. Their constant shifting of boundaries means Nine are a band who defy convenient categorisation.

The 90s saw their rise in the South African musical underground scene with the band enjoying critical acclaim on the back of two albums releases: their self-titled debut, 9, and the follow up album, Entropy. Despite their fiercely independent outlook and underground status, 9ine developed a sizable following through their regular appearances at South African festivals like Oppikoppie and Up The Creek. As respected musicians, the 2000s saw band members involved with some of South Africa’s leading music artists like Jack Parrow, Arno Carstens and Godessa.

And now they’re back with the release of their EP, Re-ACTivate. The EP contains re-recordings of three of the bands most popular songs: Last Tear, Not Your Fault and Cancelled.

Somewhere between the highway & the railroads of the Moot (Pretoria, South Africa), smothered by its suburban industrial coma, came a one man army (Andi Cappo), filled with punk screams, stoner basslines, pop grooves & screeching guitars. Caution Boy was born to tear your eardrums from your skull. It isn’t all mayhem though –  Caution Boy also has a sensitive side, which can be seen during acoustic shows and on the acoustic album Misty Bedroom Blues (2017).

What started as a one man karaoke from hell, singing to his original pre-recorded backtracks, or playing solo sets acoustically, has evolved into a full live band that is set on setting souls ablaze with pure energy, passion & enthusiasm. The band now consists of Treveshan Pather (bass), Archie Kinnon (drums) & Andi Cappo (vocals & guitar).

Caution Boy’s music is all original and independently written and recorded. In the beginning, all recording was done in a tiny living room space, using mostly borrowed equipment from friends. Now the band records live, having recently finished work on their 10th album, “Alligator”, with sonic-wizard Evert Snyman (Pollinator, Ruff Majik, Evert Snyman) at Pariah Studios in Johannesburg.

Alligator is set for release on September the 10th 2021 with South Africa’s most exciting alternative music label Mongrel Records, available on compact disc, (vinyl – maybe), and across all major digital platforms, including Bandcamp.

Caution Boy has heartily destroyed stages at numerous venues across South Africa. Their live show is their crown jewel, leaving stunned audiences gasping for more while giving the word “sexy” a new meaning; something much dirtier, more electrified and excruciatingly exhilarating.

Caution Boy have performed with South African music heavyweights, Fuzigish, Desmond and the Tutus, Ruff Majik, Van Coke Kartel and Pollinator; as well as Fat Wreck Records’ band Teenage Bottle Rocket (US), the Dumpies (US) and The Black Dahlia Murder (US) at RAM Fest 2020.

After a busy 2019 which saw the release of their acclaimed Lungs Full EP and tours of the UK and South Africa supporting prog-metal pioneers Monuments, a headline performance at 229 in London, a festival slot at UK Tech-Fest and a support slot opening for Ukraine metal machine Jinjer, South Africa’s alternative rock colossus Deity’s Muse is back with a monstrous new EP titled ‘Ennui’.

Deity’s Muse spent most of 2020 writing and recording new music while releasing the dynamic single ‘Erra’ and picking up a South African Metal Award for “Best Alternative Band” along the way. Ennui is part two of an evolving EP trilogy concept which will coalesce into the band’s next full-length album, their first since 2016’s ‘Convergence’. Convergence helped land Deity’s Muse appearances at Euroblast 2017, Bloodstock 2018 and its first UK tour which saw them co-headline venues with the highly rated Sümer.

Produced by Deity’s Muse and Dead Letter Circus guitarist Clint Vincent, Ennui sees the band on a song crafting high, delivering fiery, emotional riffs with dynamic, potent grooves, and inspired by the collective chaos of the current times. Exploring themes surrounding climate change, anxiety, cancel culture, loss and polarisation, Ennui is a salient reality check buoyed by hope and the desire for balance.

‘Into Their Clutches’, the first single from Ennui, is a melodic alternative rock powerhouse featuring soaring rhythms and guitarwork with a sweeping, anthemic chorus. The dulcet vocals offer a balanced study of the cogs that keep the wheels of political polarisation turning. Easily one of the most arresting and important songs Deity’s Muse has released thus far.

Porta Magna is an Angolan metal band formed by Frink Sanda, Manel Kav, Edson Ferraz, Ariel Ricardo, and Claudio Henriques.

The project started during Covid 19 outbreak in Angola, in a emergency state, bored by the restrictive measures, deprived of concerts or rehearsals, they started to develop the project online, an escape to expel the frustrations of being deprived of certain freedoms.

Relieving the restrictive measures and with the studios open, the band hit the studio and records their first single “Swallowed by the ocean” at Estudio 2 in Luanda and was released on October 31, 2020.

The online compositions continue, and the second single “Cult Of the Flesh” was born, which was released on June 25th. The band’s influences go through several metal genres such as Death Metal, Blackned death, and Deathcore.

Born from the gutters of the Mother City , Alive At Midnight are the product of a world gone bad. Drawing inspiration from dive-bars , crashed cars and back ally conversations.

There’s no shortage of mind numbing and stomach churning narrative on this often confusing and complex spinning ball we all call home and sometimes the only thing you can do is turn on the amps and spit in the mic, so you can have a bite .

Soldiers of the night.
Four brothers and looking for a moment of catharsis.

All This For Nothing are a progressive rock band from Pretoria, South Africa.

Formed in 1998, ATFN fuse elements of punk rock, alternative, metal and prog into a hybrid that is unmistakably their own. After recording and performing intensely from their inception to their hiatus in 2005, the group returned in 2019 with a new EP ‘Reverence’ released in December 2019.

2021 proudly sees the band join the Mongrel Records roster and is set to release a string of singles throughout the year. The band also welcomes back their long serving guitar wizard Mark Hinch.