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  Doll

• Date: 03/04/2026

Poster Provided by Takedown

My very first Takedown has come and gone, and what a ride it turned out to be. I’d never been before, but co-founder Mikki had experienced the previous event and came back absolutely raving about it. Ever since organiser Sarah dropped into our Promoters’ Pit, I’ve been buzzing for this festival. Her excitement spread through Chaos like wildfire, and from that moment I knew we had to apply for press! AND WE GOT IT! We got it! Takedown approved our press application, and suddenly everything felt very real. This year’s festival took place at the gorgeous Guildford Hall, Portsmouth, so we grabbed a Travelodge just a five‑minute stroll away. If you’ve never been, I genuinely recommend that one, the accessible room was spotless and spacious, which made things so much easier for my co‑host Ruby, who joined me for the weekend.

The site opened at 4pm on Friday, so naturally we rocked up at 3:45pm because if I’m not early, the universe might collapse. We were wristbanded in straight away and guided to the press area, weaving through a backstage maze that eventually opened into a mini museum of musical history.

Jordan – the legend running press – was an absolute standout. He knew everyone’s names, every interview slot, every moving part of the day, and still managed to be one of the friendliest people on site. It really set the tone: the whole Takedown team were switched on, organised, and clearly playing to their strengths.

Friday Stage Times:
TotalRock Stage
16:30 – Stone Soup
17:30 – King Kraken
18:30 – Gurt
19:30 – Wall
20:45 – Gnome

Metal For Good Stage
16:30 – Blacklight Vice
17:30 – The Fear
18:30 – Devere
19:30 – Dendera
20:30 – InMe

The Phil Campbell Stage (changed to honour the legend himself – usually the Kerrang! Stage)
17:00 – Kill The Lights
18:00 – Asomvel
19:00 – South of Salem
20:00 – One Minute of Noise for Phil Capmbell
20:15 – The Wildhearts
21:30 – Therapy?

I tried my best to catch as many acts as possible as you do in a stacked line up such as this. As Chaos is only a few months old, juggling interviews, review writing and actually seeing the acts is something I need to work on!

Stone Soup:
The day kicked off for me with Stone Soup, Metal 2 the Masses winners 2024 and long‑time friends of ours. Opening a festival on day one is no small task – you’re expected to set the tone, light the fire, and get cooking. Stone Soup delivered that in spoonfuls (yes, I’m sticking with the pun). They launched into the TotalRock stage with full‑throttle energy from every member, and the crowd were very responsive!
Everywhere I looked, people were grinning, whether that was because they genuinely loved the music or because they were trying to process the sight of frontman Paul wielding both a harmonica and a tambourine, we may never know. Before I dashed off, I grabbed a couple of quick reactions from festival‑goers. One summed it up perfectly: “It’s not something I’d usually listen to, but they were such a laugh. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them up north.” – Tour coming when?
It seems their blues‑infused metal experiment is paying off, leaving a strong first impression and a crowd warmed up for the rest of the weekend. I caught the first half of their set before sprinting out to catch Blacklight Vice.

We managed to catch Stone Soup for an interview: https://youtu.be/MW20-pkY6Z0?si=vFYFig8zRydV6HnV”

Blacklight Vice:
Next up were Blacklight Vice. I had to weave my way through a sea of bodies just to get close enough, and it was absolutely worth it. Their sound hit hard from the first note, and the crowd responded instantly, people were swaying, dancing as best they could, and headbanging along to their heavy‑rock assault.
The band were pure motion, bouncing across the stage with the kind of confidence that comes from knowing exactly who you are as performers. At one point the front man even leapt down into the photo pit! Blacklight Vice have built a reputation as a Southampton band with a big attitude, and a stage presence that feels impossible to ignore and they lived up to every bit of it! They’re the kind of band who could slot anywhere on a festival bill and still pull the crowd together.
I also have to shout out their guitar solos. Proper, unapologetic solos. The kind you don’t hear enough of in newer bands. It was refreshing, impressive, and honestly just fun. I loved their set, and chatting with them afterwards in a wonderfully chaotic interview only cemented how much impact they made for me.

Catch the Interview here: https://youtu.be/FUSW7iQGOvg?si=oXV4B3HRymPJtf53

Kill The Lights:
I only managed to catch the first ten minutes of Kill The Lights before sprinting off for interviews, but those ten minutes were enough to make me immediately add them to my playlist. They exploded onto the main stage with a surge of energy, delivering a performance that felt sharp, urgent, and completely dialled in. With harsh vocals coming from the bassist and soaring cleans from the frontman, they whipped the crowd into a frenzy almost instantly.
The lead singer didn’t stay still for a second whilst I was there, bounding from one side of the stage to the other, making sure every eye in that room was focused on the band. Even in the short time I had with them, it was clear why they’ve built such a reputation: they know how to ignite a stage and keep it burning.

King Kraken:
I only managed to catch the final five minutes of King Kraken’s set thanks to interviews running over, but those last moments were enough to tell me I’d missed an absolute storm of heavy‑rock mayhem. We caught the lads for an interview, check it out here: https://youtu.be/TszOzMEIBkk?si=7y06tOyPHTq9S61t

South of Salem:
The next band I managed to catch were Chaos favourites South of Salem. Having interviewed Joey before and having seen the band tear up stages more times than I can count, I already knew I was in for a treat. Their set started with a few technical hiccups, but once the mic decided to cooperate and Joey’s vocals finally blasted through the room, the whole performance snapped into place and the chaos was unleashed.
Joey couldn’t resist a little playful flirting with the crowd, dedicating a song “to the ladies,” before launching into fan favourites like Pretty Little Nightmare, Cold Day in Hell, and Vultures or at least, they’re my favourites!! The entire band delivered a tight, polished set, each member clearly having the time of their lives on stage while the crowd belted out every word right back at them.
And honestly, how could I talk about South of Salem without shouting out the incredible dancers they brought on stage? Their routine added an extra burst of energy and theatrical flair to an already electric performance. The stage setup looked fantastic too! The signature purple coffin backdrop gave everything that extra punch of atmosphere.We were lucky enough to grab the band for a wonderfully manic interview right after their set, riding the high of what was easily one of the standout performances of the day.

South of Salem Interview here: https://youtu.be/EJ-K8p1dsO0?si=j6s4kAQKkWJyO0K2

Wall:
Still recovering from the chaos of last week’s Buried in Smoke festival, courtesy of the Cole Brothers, I knew I had to catch their set again! And just like the week before, they delivered to a crowd that couldn’t have been happier. After the show, they mentioned to me that a few things had gone wrong here and there, but honestly, none of it showed. Whatever tiny hiccups they felt behind the scenes didn’t make a dent in how strong, tight, and downright enjoyable their set was.

Therapy?
Closing out the incredible first day of Takedown 2026, Therapy? delivered a set for the ages. I’ll be honest—I hadn’t listened to much Therapy? before this. I knew they had a loyal following, but I went in with zero expectations and no emotional attachment. By the end of their set, they’d completely won me over.
There wasn’t a single person in that hall who wasn’t moving, even from my spot back in the seats, the energy was electric. And really, would we expect anything less from a band that has spent decades perfecting their craft?
Unfortunately we did leave slightly early due to a flair up but if this madness if what day one looks like than I can only imagine the carnage of what day two would look like.

As a quick side quest between darting from the green room to the press area, I somehow managed to stumble into a handful of brilliant little moments. The first was meeting Ginger from The Wildhearts, which happened entirely because his dog suddenly appeared in the hallway like a fluffy omen. A beautiful border collie, absolute 10/10, would pet again without hesitation but with permission. Naturally, I launched into one of my favourite games: guess my day job. No one ever expects “primary school teacher,” and Ginger was no exception. When he told me I would’ve been his favourite teacher, I swear I ascended. I’m carrying that compliment with me for the rest of my life. Later that night he spotted me again and shouted, “Oh look, it’s the spooky school teacher!” and honestly, I’ve never been happier. What a legend.

Somewhere in the chaos, I also ended up chatting with Ginger and a couple of the lads from Asomvel, which spiralled into a bizarre conversation about dolphins. That’s just what happens when you throw a neurodivergent person into the mix, things get delightfully weird very quickly and I just can’t keep my weird facts to myself.

Also shout-out to the wonderful people we managed to catch! Nickie from Devolution Magazine, George from 601, Jamie from Skin Changer, Rory from Graphicsfix and so many others!