Our coverage of Sonic Blast 2026 goes on and we keep bringing you daily reports of the festival.
words: Joana Coelho photos: Ricardo Silva
The first official day of the 2026 edition of Sonic Blast Fest opened with Free Ride that stepped out to a remarkably full Third Stage right from the early afternoon. Delivering a set packed with psychedelic, stoner-tinged heavy rock, the band drew intense headbanging and a great reception from the crowd, making for a perfect festival kickoff.
Meanwhile, travel-related logistical issues with Clamm caused a last-minute schedule shift, leading Elephant Tree to step up and play an earlier slot. Due to health issues that prevented guitarist Jack from traveling, the British group was forced to perform as a trio.
Even without their usual vocal harmonies and offering a raw, stripped-back take on their signature melodic stoner/sludge sound, the band offered a sincere apology for the situation, and the sympathetic crowd welcomed the performance with open arms.
When Clamm later took to the Second Stage, the Australian group brought their energetic fusion of punk and garage rock, unleashing high-octane, danceable riffs full of attitude as the grounds and the audience were just beginning to warm up.
Trash Talk ultimately crowned themselves as the standout band of the day in what was their absolute debut in Portugal, drawing a significantly larger crowd. A quick question from the frontman during the set revealed that the vast majority of those watching were international festivalgoers.
The blistering speed of their hardcore unleashed the day’s first and most intense mosh pits. The interaction was relentless: the vocalist managed to get nearly the entire crowd sitting on the ground, commanded massive circle pits, and threw himself into the pit multiple times, with the guitarist joining the chaos as well. The peak moment arrived near the end when the frontman crowd-surfed all the way from the accessible viewing platform back to the stage.A performance many hailed as the show of the day.
Bringing midnight straight into the daylight hours, the trio Midnight never slowed down for a single second. The vocalist/bassist kept up constant banter, kicking things off by handing out two beers to the front row the moment he stepped on stage.
Packed with jokes, he encouraged fans to storm right into the photo pit to enjoy the show without hesitation, and later had the entire crowd belting out a massive singalong to Satanic Royalty. The energy reached its absolute peak when they dropped You Can’t Stop Steel four tracks in, keeping the crowd’s adrenaline at maximum capacity until the final note.
The explosive powerhouse Frankie and the Witch Fingers then took over with their infectious mix of psych-rock, fierce garage, and funk-infused stoner grooves. Driven by heavy riffs, rapid rhythms, and mesmerizing virtuosity, they set the mood perfectly for the evening ahead.
As the night settled in Deafheaven took to the First Stage to deliver what turned out to be one of the most acclaimed sets of the day, easily rivaling Trash Talk for the top spot. Blending hypnotic soundscapes with an intense, restless physical performance where no musician stood still for a second, the frontman controlled the audience like a master puppeteer without needing lengthy speeches.
As the only band of the festival so far to perform an encore, their set featured continuous mosh pits and a massive circle pit. Closing out the show, the vocalist confirmed they would return to Portugal with new music, teasing a new album on the horizon.
Sharing the First Stage Chat Pile performed for a crowd that was starting to show signs of fatigue, yet still responded enthusiastically to the band’s crushing sound. The spotlight was entirely on the frontman, who maintained non-stop interaction with the crowd, delivering a set filled with movie trivia and a vibe akin to stand-up comedy.
Closing out the Second Stage, Snapped Ankles divided opinions across the grounds. Coming out of the London post-punk scene with a post-apocalyptic, experimental edge, the group delivered danceable, tribal beats while clad in their signature forest-spirit outfits adorned with lights. Their frontman interacted heavily with the audience, venturing off the stage and stepping directly into the middle of the crowd to share the energy up close.
Returning after their appearance the night before, Bongzilla delivered a rock-solid set, though their slower, dragged-out sludge passages felt heavier on an audience dealing with late hours and long hours of continuous music.
Well into the early morning hours, Argentina’s Mephistofeles brought their dark, fuzz-drenched doom and stoner riffs with a heavy Electric Wizard vibe, proving to be one of the most anticipated acts of the night despite the late hour.
To close out the day’s marathon, Portugal’s Madmess were welcomed with a storm of cheers and enthusiastic applause. Presenting their progressive psychedelic rock filled with sprawling instrumental journeys and cosmic solos, they proved the incredible endurance of the festival’s crowd, even with a set time starting at 3:30am.
By the time the final feedback faded into the night air, Day 1 had cemented Sonic Blast 2026 as a relentless celebration of heavy music, leaving a exhausted yet hungry crowd ready for whatever chaos the next days would bring.
As usual, Wave-Gotik-Treffen was captured through the lens of Gustavo Hochman this year supported by image editor Milena Katzman.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the world’s largest gothic festival. It also includes Punk, Rivethead, Romanticism, Steampunk, Victoriana and other alternative and subcultures.
Gustavo Hochman, our photographer, was the only photographer allowed in a fashion show in a medieval castle.
As usual, Wave-Gotik-Treffen was captured through the lens of Gustavo Hochman this year supported by image editor Milena Katzman.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the world’s largest gothic festival. It also includes Punk, Rivethead, Romanticism, Steampunk, Victoriana and other alternative and subcultures.
Gustavo Hochman, our photographer, was the only photographer allowed in a fashion show in a medieval castle.
We also photographed Covenant and She Past Away, the two main bands present at Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2026. You can find Covenant on photolog-1 and She Past Away on photolog-2.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the world’s largest gothic festival. It also includes Punk, Rivethead, Romanticism, Steampunk, Victoriana and other alternative and subcultures.
Gustavo Hochman, our photographer, was the only photographer allowed in a fashion show in a medieval castle.
We also photographed Covenant and She Past Away, the two main bands present at Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2026. She Past Away are represented here.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2026 phptolog 1 is the first of four photologs covering the festival.
photos: Mondo Bizarre Magazine/Gustavo Hochman; edited by Milena Katzman for Mondo Bizarre Magazine.
We have attended Wave-Gotik-Treffen, in Leipzig, since 2019 – minus the pandemic years – and 2026 is no exception.
As usual, Wave-Gotik-Treffen was captured through the lens of Gustavo Hochman this year supported by image editor Milena Katzman.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the world’s largest gothic festival. It also includes Punk, Rivethead, Romanticism, Steampunk, Victoriana and other alternative and subcultures.
Gustavo Hochman, our photographer, was the only one allowed in a fashion show in a medieval castle. We have one photo from the session here. More to come.
We also photographed Covenant and She Past Away, the two main bands present at Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2026. Covenant are represented here.
You can find links to all previous photo logs on Mondo’s site: here.
We have been attending Wave-Gotik-Treffen, in Leipzig, since 2019 – minus the pandemic years – and 2026 is no exception.
As usual, Wave-Gotik-Treffen will be captured through the lens of Gustavo Hochman this year supported by image editor Milena Katzman.
Wave-Gotik-Treffen is the world’s largest gothic festival. It also includes Punk, Rivethead, Romanticism, Steampunk, Victoriana and other alternative and subcultures.
This is our fourth and final photolog of Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2025 held in Leipzig. We will be back to Wave-Gotik-Treffen next. You will find links to this year’s previous photologs, and to other editions next year. It was a pleasure. We will see you in 2026.
Here is our third photolog of Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2025. You can see the previous and last photologs of this edition of the festival below the photos. As well as find your way to other years we attended.
We continue our 2025 Wave-Gotik-Treffen photologs. Here is the second one of four, through, as usual, Gustavo Hochman’s lens. We will be at Wave-Gotik-Treffen next year. Meanwhile you can take a look at the 2025 edition, and other years photologs. You can find them below the photos.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 