Reviews
Vulture God/Convey/Mandragora
The Croft, Bristol - 10th January
Mandragora
Floral displays and heavy riffs - Mandragora show their Metal
The first gig of 2026 was a cracker, with Vulture God, Convey, and Mandragora on the bill.
The Croft filled up nicely as Bristol’s own Mandragora kicked things off. With their now signature floral stage display, the five-piece opened with ‘Godspeed’ and, despite some early technical hiccups, powered through, with Maisie’s vocals shining.
They followed with ‘Double Negatives,’ a track that showcased both their songwriting prowess and musical skill.
Hitting their stride, they launched into 2025’s ‘Watch Me Drown’ before tearing into ‘I Can Make You Beautiful’ with its punchy riffs and gritty lyrics. The crowd responded with headbanging and a few thrown shapes as the energy built.
‘Egomanical’ (a as yet unreleased song coming out this year) came next, and they closed with ‘Bedroom,’ which kept the heads moving. A well-earned round of applause wrapped up their set—an impressive start to the night and a promising year ahead for Mandragora.
(Catch them at The Junction, Plymouth on February 7th.)
Convey
Infectious sound, lots of energy -Convey own the stage
Up next were Convey, a four-piece nu-hardcore band from Worcester.
From the very start, it was clear this set would be loud and full of fury as they tore into 'The Broken Anonymous,' a mix of clean vocals with rhythmic riffs and raw, growling aggression over choppy guitar work. This instantly drew the hardcore fans to the front, though plenty of others were nodding along too.
The crowd had grown noticeably by the time they launched into the second track, 'Born to be Hanged,' a true headbanger’s anthem. Their latest release, 'Eternal,' followed—perfect for the hardcore faithful who eagerly dove into the mosh pit.
'Masquerade,' 'Death Rattle,' and 'FTC' flew by before a killer cover of Machine Head’s 'Davidian.' The penultimate track, 'Say it Again,' was met with great enthusiasm before they closed with 'The Road.'
With an infectious sound, boundless energy, and a frontman firmly in control of his vocals, Convey are definitely one to watch in 2026, and the roar of the crowd at the end said it all.
Vulture God
EP launch, 1st time headliners, sold out show -Vulture God have landed
And so to the first time headliners Vulture God who tonight showcase their new EP 'No Easy Answer' to a sold out hometown crowd.
The Bristolian regressive death metallers started with 'Murmur' a short instrumental with brutal drumming that leads into 'One Size Fits All', a song that shows off their death metal roots with riffs and drums that drive the whole piece forward. The mosh pit at this time is now a sea of headbanging and bumping.
'Finally at Peace' follows before they launch into 'Safe Haven' a clever song that starts with a melody before crashing into a thunderstorm of guitars, drums and harsh vocals.
'Derailed in Orbit', '? & ?' and 'Legacy' are the next three songs up and these encourage even more crowd participation before 'Undergrounded and 'Exile' are rolled out.
They end the evening and show with their latest single and title track 'No Easy Answer'. Riff laden and truly a crowd favourite, ticking all the boxes with great breakdowns and chugging guitars.
All in all they delivered a great set and hopefully go on to headline more shows.
