Hi and Happy Sunday with Blowing Up by Kiwi Jr.
Sonic Blast 2026 – Day 2, 07.08.2026, Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões,Vila Praia de Âncora.
Our coverage of Sonic Blast 2026 continues. Tomorrow we will bring you the report of the festval’s last day.
words: Joana Coelho
photos: Ricardo Silva
Day 2 of Sonic Blast 2026 kicked off at the Second Stage with Jesus The Snake, who mesmerized the early afternoon crowd with their hypnotic blend of progressive synth-rock and spacey passages. A decent crowd gathered to take in the performance, with many festivalgoers taking the opportunity to ease into the afternoon while still recovering from the intense marathon of Day 1.
Offering an immediate contrast, Hög took the stage with a barrage of fast riffs and heavy rock, injecting a burst of energy that quickly invigorated the fans as they arrived. Confirming that a new album is right around the corner, the band treated the crowd to a brand-new track from the upcoming record.
Over on the First Stage, the afternoon brought a sudden lineup change due to a last-minute cancellation by Dead Meadow. Stepping in on short notice were Australia’s Clamm, returning for their second performance of the festival after playing Day 1.
With the crowd initially taking advantage of the shaded areas to rest – and having already caught their set the day before – the turnout started modest, but the grounds filled up significantly as their punk-rock set unfolded, culminating in a well-deserved encore, devilering a performance that was considered by many as better than the day before.
Voivod drew a massive turnout, with the Canadian sci-fi thrash veterans instantly warming up the audience as they launched into a set that quickly generated headbanging and loud singalongs across the Second Stage. Despite the vocalist mentioning he was dealing with a headache, the band delivered a relentless performance, and energy peaked near the end with the musicians sharing fistbumps with fans in the front row.
Up next, Conan delivered a massive, intensely packed set. Bringing their trademark caveman battle-doom with crushing weight and agonizingly heavy vocals, the British trio had the crowd completely engaged from the first note. The performance triggered massive headbanging, continuous crowdsurfing, and a massive circle pit that tore through the crowd towards the end, all set against mesmerizing visuals projected on the backdrop.
Despite brief sound issues right at the start, street-punk legends The Casualties wasted no time tearing the Second Stage apart the moment they kicked off. Demanding movement from the get-go, the band ignited a wild circle pit by their second song, greeting the audience in Portuguese with a loud “Como vocês estão?”. The crowd responded with overwhelming enthusiasm as the frontman leaped off the stage, plunging directly into the middle of the pit before climbing back up to finish the chaotic set.
Hailing as one of the most anticipated acts of the entire festival, Kylesa made a triumphant return, hitting the stage with pure heavy sludge power. Delivering their charismatic, dual-drum-driven sound, the band marked the festival’s first performance led by a female vocalist. Expectedly for a Friday night, attendance peaked dramatically during their set, with the grounds feeling noticeably more packed than on any previous day.
Following a minor ten-minute delay – the first real schedule bump of the day – Turbonegro took the stage as the night’s absolute headliner. Dressed in their signature glam-punk style, surrounded by a sea of fans wearing sailor hats, the Norwegian deathpunk icons were met with an explosive reception. The band shared a brief nod to their history, with Thomas Seltzer recalling his first visit to Portugal 40 years ago, before tearing through a set that reached absolute euphoria when the entire crowd sang All My Friends Are Dead in unanimous chorus. Delivering an encore, the band delivered what was considered by the majority to be the best show of the day.
Deathchant kept the adrenaline at a maximum, stepping out to a fully packed Sonic Blast grounds. Pushing the crowd to give everything they had left, the heavy rock outfit delivered an explosive, raw set, highlighting their brand-new single Enemy – released that very day from their upcoming album Kova. Calling Sonic Blast their “home away from home,” the band fed off the audience’s unmatched energy.
Moving to the Third Stage at around 2:00 AM, Goya delivered heavy, fuzz-laden stoner doom to a remarkably large and surprisingly energized late-night crowd, keeping the festival’s heavy momentum rolling well past midnight.
Closing out the night at 3:00 AM, N8NOFACE delivered a wildly unique finale, blasting the grounds with a chaotic fusion of industrial electronic beats, synth-punk, and raw, growling vocals. Despite the extreme hour, the energy remained sky-high, turning the front of the stage into a massive, late-night dance party to wrap up an unforgettable Day 2.
There are photo galleries of Sonic Blast 2026 on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/
Reviews:
Day 0 Warm-Up, 05.08.2026.
Day 1, 06.08.2026. Day 3, 08.08.2026.
Turbonegro Fans at Sonic Blast 2026 gallery at Mondo’s Instagram
Sonic Blast 2026 – Day 1, 06.08.2026, Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões,Vila Praia de Âncora.
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.
There are photo galleries of Sonic Blast 2026 on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/
Reviews: Day 0 Warm-Up, 05.08.2026. Day 2, 07.07.2026. Day 3, 08.08.2026.
Turbonegro Fans at Sonic Blast 2026 on Mondo’s Instagram
Sonic Blast 2026 – Day 0 – Warm-Up, 05.08.2026, Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões,Vila Praia de Âncora.
Sonic Blast 2026 is on and we will be bringing you daily reports of the festival.
words: Joana Coelho
photos: Ricardo Silva
The 2026 edition of Sonic Blast Fest kicked off with an unusually massive turnout, with many festivalgoers noting that the grounds for Day 0 felt significantly busier than in previous years.
This surge in attendance was particularly evident around the intimate 3rd Stage, where the dense crowd made walking around tight for attendees and proved a challenge for photographers trying to capture the action. Yet, the unique ecosystem that defines the festival was alive and well, blending the peaceful backdrop of the beach with the impending chaos of heavy riffs – living up to the event’s signature “Beach and Riffs” spirit.
Wizard Master had the honor of opening the festivities, efficiently warming up the early arrivals and setting the stage for the noise to follow.
The evening’s first major surprise came courtesy of Spin The Skull, who instantly won over the crowd with a blast of catchy riffs and commandingly powerful vocals, throwing the audience into an immediate frenzy.
If Spin The Skull set the standard for high-octane vocals and wild moshpits, Capela Mortuária picked up the torch without missing a beat, channeling that exact energy into a relentless assault of straightforward Thrash. Their explosive set was further elevated by a “double-Paulo” guest appearance, as the frontmen of Vai-te F*der and Besta crashed the stage to lend their voices for a track each, driving the crowd wild.
As the night’s most anticipated act, Bongzilla took the stage to close out the live music with their signature wall of dense, crushing sound. Delivering a set that ultimately divided the audience, the American sludgelords alternated between moments of absolute sonic brilliance and slower, more dragged-out passages, leaving the crowd suspended between raw heaviness and sludge.
The rush to the Festival’s official merch booth proved the strong loyalty of the festivalgoers, with several designs selling out quickly on the first day. Fueled by an electric atmosphere across the grounds, Day 0 set the bar sky-high and laid down the perfect foundation for what promises to be another unforgettable edition of Sonic Blast Fest.
There are photo galleries of Sonic Blast 2026 Warm Up and other days on our Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine
Reviews: Day 1, 06.08.2026. Day 2, 07.08.2026. Day 3, 08.08.2026.
Turbonegro Fans at Sonic Blast 2026 gallery at Mondo’s Instagram
The Strokes – Lonely In The Future
Good morning with Lonely In The Future by The Strokes. Have a nice weekend.
Sweeping Promises – Accent
Good morning with Accent by Sweeping Promises. Have a nice weekend.
Wolf Alice – Gospel Oak
Hi with Gospel Oak by Wolf Alice. Have a nice afternoon.
Bombino, Casa da Música, Porto, 31.05.2026.
With All The Feeling and Soul In The World
words: Raquel Pinheiro
photos: Daniela Tedim
Presenting songs from his latest album, Sahel (2023), Bombino returned with the hypnotic blend of desert blues and rock that has made him one of the most distinctive guitarists of his generation.
Often described as a pioneer of Tuareggae, a fusion of traditional Berber rhythms and rock and roll, Bombino sings and writes primarily in Tamasheq. Watching him perform, however, labels quickly become secondary to the experience itself.
The concert began acoustically. Bombino, accompanied by drummer Corey Wilhelm and a bassist whose name sadly escaped me, eased the audience into the evening with gentle rhythms and fluid melodies. Dressed in traditional Tuareg garments, the trio immediately established an atmosphere that felt both intimate and expansive.
The first songs unfolded with graceful ease. The bass remained smooth and steady beneath Bombino’s singing, while the guitar moved between delicate flourishes and syncopated desert-blues patterns. There were occasional vocal exclamations, almost calls carried on the wind, and moments where the music shifted unexpectedly between melancholy and propulsion.
One particular acoustic number began like a lament, only to transform into something far more rhythmic. What fascinated me was the contrast between the apparent mournfulness of the voice and the increasing momentum generated by the guitar and percussion. It created a tension that felt both ancient and modern.
As the instrumental passages expanded, Bombino and the bassist repeatedly moved face to face, exchanging phrases with a distinctly rock-and-roll energy. The chemistry between them was one of the evening’s recurring pleasures, while Corey Wilhelm’s drumming provided a powerful foundation throughout.
Then came the transition that many in the audience had been waiting for.
The acoustic guitar was set aside and Bombino plugged in.
Instantly we entered the territory for which he is best known: electric desert blues infused with the spirit of Hendrix.
Bombino has often spoken about learning guitar by watching videos of Jimi Hendrix and Dire Straits, and while the influence is present, what emerges is unmistakably his own voice. The economy of movement is remarkable. There are no unnecessary gestures, no theatrical flourishes. The hands move sparingly, yet the sound that emerges is immense.
Addressing the audience in French, Bombino thanked everyone for their support and spoke about the years since his previous visit. The response from the crowd was warm and immediate.
From there the concert steadily gathered momentum. Traditional melodies intertwined with psychedelic textures. Guitar and bass once again found themselves in conversation, sometimes duelling, sometimes dancing around one another. The bassist was extraordinary. More than once I found myself writing the same note in my notebook: “that bass, that bass, that bass.”
One particularly exhilarating piece felt almost like a desert cavalcade. The bass groove was irresistibly danceable, the drums drove relentlessly forward, and Bombino’s guitar soared above it all with long, electrifying solos that somehow felt both effortless and deeply rooted.
As the evening progressed, the audience became increasingly animated. The bassist joked in English that he knew everyone wanted to dance and apologised for the chairs. It was a fair observation. Before long people were standing, moving and swaying wherever space allowed.
I eventually joined those dancing along the upper steps at the side of the auditorium. Down by the stage, one audience member repeatedly appeared, danced enthusiastically and then disappeared again, becoming a small performance within the performance.
The later part of the set moved through a variety of moods. There were moments of traditional singing, extended instrumental passages, slower and almost jazzy sections, and long stretches where the audience clapped along with the rhythm section while Bombino explored melodic pathways on guitar.
By the end, the entire room was on its feet.
One of the final highlights featured a wonderfully grooving drum solo followed by an equally captivating bass feature. Bombino stepped back, danced, and allowed his bandmates to take centre stage before all three musicians returned to a hypnotic, almost primeval groove that felt as though it had emerged directly from the desert itself.
For the encore, Bombino returned alone. Guitar in hand, he began with a solitary groove and a series of twanging phrases before the bassist and drummer gradually rejoined him. It was a fitting ending: a reminder that, whether acoustic or electric, intimate or expansive, Bombino’s music ultimately rests on the power of rhythm, groove and connection.
Desert blues may be the term most often attached to his music, but on this evening it often felt just as much like a rock concert. Not because it abandoned its roots, but because it embraced them with such confidence that they could converse effortlessly with Hendrix, psychedelia, groove and pure rock-and-roll energy.
And judging by the number of people dancing by the end, the audience understood that perfectly.
Maruja | Pomadinha, Mouco, Porto, 24.05.2026.
words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro)
photos: Ricardo Silva
At the appointed hour, Pomadinha, a quartet from Vila Nova de Gaia, took to the stage at Mouco, all dressed only in boxers. For half an hour, they warmed up the audience with their energetic, predominantly instrumental rock, with some humor mixed in. But nothing prepared us for what was to come.
At 9:30 pm, a new quartet took to the stage, all with slight clownish makeup on their eyes.
Harry Wilkinson, the muscular, shirtless vocalist, immediately established a connection with the crowd, greeting some people in the front row and asking for space in the sold-out venue, creating a brief tension.
Although the rhythm section wasn’t very audible in the initial songs, that didn’t stop the crowd from responding, and the mosh pit exploded to the sound of Bloodsport. With a vocal style between rap and punk, Harry criticizes the social pressures on individuals over a sound that is very much the band’s modus operandi: alternating between intense and serene moments, in a dynamic tension/release, and an original blend of musical genres.
Joe Carroll’s alto saxophone is almost ubiquitous, accompanying the register, sometimes aggressive, sometimes contemplative, where jazz and rock meet. Trenches infuses hip hop into the structure, with the hypnotic saxophone mantra accompanying the incitement to war against bad traditions.
Break The Tension expresses the frustration of modern times over the relentless rhythmic pace of Matt Buonaccorsi and Jacob Hayes, which doesn’t allow the tension to break. Harry briefly descends into the audience and, upon returning, abandons his score of rapper gestures for a hypnotic undulation of his arms above his head.
The debut album, Pain To Power, released last year, is the main attraction, whose live versions are more extensive and turbocharged, but there was also room for older songs, such as Zeitgeist, where a post-punk pulse intertwines with words against large corporations, punctuated by some guitar distortion and saxophone oscillations. The guitar comes in with more force in Thunder, where the discourse intensifies in a crescendo, softens in the middle section and resumes the crescendo.
The beautiful and lengthy Born To Die, in which Harry’s initial spoken word gives way to a virtuoso and powerful vocal performance has various movements, where free jazz swirls noise rock, where vocals and saxophone get lost in arabesques, where a guitar solo is soaked, and where, in a moment of near silence, Joe shouts in the middle of the corridor created in the crowd, purging his and others’ demons through shouts, before climbing back to the stage and resuming the final stretch of the song, returning to the crowd in crowd surf mode.
This is followed by the equally beautiful Saoirse, a hymn to individuality in 3/4, in which the band closes in around the drums and expands physically and musically. Mental health and the need for connection were highlighted before The Invisible Man, and we were invited to hug the person closest to us.
In this song, melancholic beauty alternates with fury and incitement, the saxophone sounds urgent, ritualistic gestures hand in hand with chants, the syncopated rhythms and breaks of the drums create organized chaos, and the deep bass stirs the guts and agitates the bodies. The intense Look Down on Us is followed by Harry’s request to “raise your fists in solidarity and love,” something we gladly did for long seconds.
They ended the concert with the instrumental Resisting Resistance, a post-rock song with the landform of a hill to rest the ears but not the consciences. The people of Palestine (with a flag displayed on stage), Lebanon, Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, and other conflict zones were not forgotten.
Harry highlighted at the end that this concert is a unique human experience of connection, and this communion was very palpable. Spontaneous hugs at the end between the band members reinforce this truth.
No matter how many words I put here, nothing would compare to the intensity of emotions in harmony during those couple of hours, nor to everything I witnessed. If you can, don’t miss the next opportunity to see Maruja.
There are photo galleries of both concerts on our Instagram http://www.instagram.com/mondobizarremagazine/
Julez and The Rollerz – Call Me Up
Hi and Happy Sunday with Call Me Up by Julez and The Rollerz.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 