October 1, 2026 - Death Metal From Japan!

Lineup:

Subconscious Terror (Japan)

Motör Militia (Bahrain)

Kolahal (Bahrain)

Rock United (venue house band - Philippines)

Venue: Diggers

"Our second Metal Fest of 2026 took place on October 1 at Diggers, and overall it was a really fun night.

I was contacted by a promoter/booking agent in Malaysia about hosting a Japanese death metal band called Subconscious Terror in Bahrain. I had never heard of the band before, but I thought it was a good opportunity to bring over a band from a country that had never played in Bahrain before.

You never really know where these things can lead. One show can lead to another connection, and that connection can eventually lead to something much bigger. That's how a lot of things have happened with Metal Fest over the years. Sometimes a door opens and you just have to go through it and see what happens. Also, with the Iran war and everything going on in the region right now, a lot of international artists are understandably nervous about coming here. So props to Subconscious Terror for having the guts to make the trip and play Bahrain.

To make the bill stronger, we got two of Bahrain's best local bands on board: nu-metal powerhouse Kolahal and thrash metal veterans Motör Militia. Rock United also played two sets, opening the show and then coming back at the end of the night to close things out with a set of metal classics.

Subconscious Terror turned out to be extremely cool and friendly people. Their English was limited, but we managed to communicate fine most of the time. Their vocalist/guitarist spoke the best English and was a really cool, outgoing guy.

Bahrain was the first stop on their Asian tour, so they had come straight from Japan after a few long flights and layovers. They seemed genuinely happy to be in Bahrain, but also understandably tired from the journey. I don't blame them.

The show itself was great and all the bands played really well.

We charged 3 BD entry this time and security was also very strict about checking IDs at the door. Between the two, it filtered out some of the riff raff we had at the previous event.

I would actually love for Metal Fest to be 18+, but I don't know why, or exactly when, Bahrain changed the drinking age from 18 to 21.

During Kolahal's set, a Saudi lady wearing an abaya came to the door and asked me to let her son in. He was clearly underage, probably under 18. "Look how big he is," she told me in Arabic. To be fair, he was tall. But he was also very obviously a young teenager! Anyway, it wasn't my call to make, so I sent the venue manager over to talk to her. I don't think they got in.

After some incidents with idiots causing trouble in the pit at the previous Metal Fest, I came up with an idea that I called the Mosh Patrol. I gave laminates to some of the regulars who always turn up to the shows. Their job wasn't to act as security or police the pit. They were just there to keep an eye on things and let security know if anyone was causing trouble. We also had additional venue security for this show.

It worked really well. There wasn't a single incident all night.

In fact, maybe it worked a little too well because the mosh pit was pretty slow to get started.

About two songs into Motör Militia's set, Meshkhas from Zvindiyar came up to me and said, "How come there's no mosh pit?"

I told him, “Then you should start it.” So he did. The pit got going and continued for the rest of the night.

Subconscious Terror managed to sell a lot of merch, which I'm sure they were happy about. I think they probably could have sold even more if they had an easier way to accept payments. When Carnation from Belgium played Metal Fest, they brought their own credit card machine with them, which I thought was a great idea.

A Bahraini artist showed up with individual portraits he had made of every member of Subconscious Terror and presented them to the band. I bet that was a first for them. Only in Bahrain!

Overall, it was another really fun night. Kolahal, Motör Militia and Subconscious Terror were all on point. Rock United did a great job opening the show and I also had a great time rocking out to them when they came back for the final set.

Most importantly, the crowd was great, there was no trouble, and we got to bring the first Japanese metal band to Bahrain.

Not bad for a Thursday night in Manama.

I paid to have a camera set up to film the entire show because I wanted to have some proper footage from the night. Unfortunately, I discovered that the camera audio was completely distorted and unusable. So sadly, I can't release any of it. Getting good live video in Bahrain is always a pain in the ass. Either you have to pay a lot of money or there's a good chance it's just going to turn out shit. I can handle the audio side myself. That's my specialty. But I really wish there were more reliable videographers in Bahrain who understood how to properly film a loud live show. It's frustrating because this was definitely a show I wanted to have properly documented.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who came down and supported the bands and the Bahrain metal scene. See you at the next one!"

🏆 Historic First: Subconscious Terror became the first Japanese metal band to perform in Bahrain.

September 4, 2026 - Double Album Release

Lineup:

Hellionight (Bahrain)

Zvindiyar (Bahrain)

Rock United (venue house band - Phillippines)

Venue: Diggers

"This was our first Metal Fest of 2026, and it came after by far the most difficult start to a year we’ve experienced in Bahrain.

Unfortunately, Bahrain was caught up in the war between the United States and Iran. It had been a stressful few months for everyone, and the situation still wasn’t completely over.

By early September, I felt it was time to bring Metal Fest back. Hellionight had released their new album Witches’ Sabbat in July, while Zvindiyar were preparing to release Six Rites on September 3. With both albums arriving so close together, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a Metal Fest double album launch party.

I decided to make the show completely free. After everything people had been through this year, we just wanted to put on a great metal show, bring everyone together and give something back to the scene.

Then, just three days before the event, we had another scare when Iran retaliated against targets in Bahrain following a US attack. For a moment, the timing couldn’t have seemed worse.

But we decided the show must go on.

I honestly wasn’t expecting a huge turnout. I thought the situation would understandably make a lot of people hesitant to come out.

I was completely wrong.

Diggers was packed to capacity, and the atmosphere was incredible. The crowd was loud, energetic and clearly ready for a night of metal.

Rock United opened the show and immediately got things moving with metal and hard rock classics from bands including Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC. The pit was already going during their set. It was obvious that people had been hungry for a metal show.

Zvindiyar were up next, performing material from their newly released album Six Rites. The band delivered a crushing set full of heavy riffs and atmosphere, despite having to overcome a major problem just days before the show. Their lead guitarist Prasad suffered a serious arm injury around ten days before Metal Fest and was forced to pull out. Thankfully, veteran guitarist Sunny stepped in at the last minute. With very little preparation time, he did a great job, and the entire band sounded incredibly tight.

Hellionight closed the night with a brutal thrash assault. They performed Witches’ Sabbat in its entirety along with a few covers, bringing the energy from beginning to end and giving everything they had onstage.

There were also a lot of new faces in the crowd, which is something we always want to see. However, we did have a few incidents involving people who seemed to misunderstand what a mosh pit is supposed to be about. A metal pit can look violent from the outside, but there’s a huge difference between moshing and actually trying to hurt someone. The pit should always be controlled chaos with respect for the people around you. Thankfully, the incidents were quickly broken up.

For future Metal Fest shows, we’ll be increasing security to make sure everyone can enjoy themselves safely. Go crazy in the pit, pick someone up when they fall, and look after each other.

Apart from those few incidents, it was an awesome night.

After such a terrible start to the year, seeing Diggers packed with people supporting live metal in Bahrain meant a lot. For a few hours, everyone could forget about everything happening around us and just enjoy the music.

Hopefully, peace returns to the region soon and we can get back to what we want to be doing: bringing bigger and better metal shows to Bahrain.

Thank you to everyone who came out, supported the bands and made the first Metal Fest of 2026 one to remember."

December 3, 2025 - Opening for Metallica!

Lineup:

Bloodshel (Bahrain)

Motör Militia (Bahrain)

Necrosin (Bahrain)

Venue: Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre

“In April 2025, Beyon Al Dana Amphitheatre announced that Metallica was booked to play Bahrain in December. Of course, we were all super excited, but I also had one thought: if we could send a Bahrain band to Wacken, why couldn't a Bahrain band open for Metallica? I made the following post on Instagram and it got a lot of attention.

Ultimately, we got the attention of Lance at Al Dana, who was awesome enough to push the idea to local management and to Metallica themselves! Metallica's management were on board, and they chose Bloodshel to open for them on the main stage. Motör Militia and Necrosin played before that, on a smaller stage in the Plaza area of the venue. How cool is that, from Metallica's side, that they allowed all this to happen. Plus, they treated Bloodshel unbelievably well. That is why they are the legends that they are. Unreal!

This wasn't a typical Metal Fest. The goal was to work alongside Al Dana Amphitheatre and introduce the bands that make Metal Fest possible to a much bigger audience. Huge thanks to everyone at Al Dana for believing in the local scene and giving Bahrain's metal bands the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage they could ask for. We'd love to do it again.

Unfortunately, there's one part of that night I'll never get over. A few days earlier, after the November 27 Metal Fest, I came down with a brutal virus that swept through much of the island. Quite a few people who attended that show got sick as well. I was in no condition to attend the Metallica concert, so I had to miss one of the biggest moments in Bahrain's metal history. It still hurts to think about.

Even so, I'm incredibly grateful it happened. It made 2025 the greatest year the Bahrain metal scene has ever had."

🏆 Historic First: Bloodshel became the first Bahrain metal band to open for Metallica.

November 27, 2025 - The record-breaking fourth Metal Fest event of 2025.

Lineup: 

Blood Red Throne (Norway)

Angelus Apatrida (Spain)

Amorphia (India)

Gridlok (Oman)

Venue: Diggers

"This event almost went sideways. The original headliner was a well-known veteran death metal band, but the agent running their Asian tour turned out to be, let's just say, nowhere near professional. Cost me time, money, and a lot of stress I didn't need.

Cancelling was never on the table, though. And looking back, I think the lineup we ended up with was actually stronger.

Our brothers from Oman, Gridlok, opened the show and made history doing it, the first Omani metal band to ever play Bahrain. Amorphia came back for their second Metal Fest run and were just as incredible as the first time. I could watch those guys every night and it'd hit just as hard every time.

Angelus Apatrida were tight as hell. Every song, dead on. Total pros from the first note to the last. Then Blood Red Throne came out and wrecked the place. What a set.

Plenty of partying after, especially with the Blood Red Throne guys. Hell of a way to cap off a record year for Metal Fest Bahrain!"

🏆 Historic Milestones:

• Angelus Apatrida became the first Spanish metal band to perform at Metal Fest Bahrain.
• Gridlok became the first Omani metal band to perform in Bahrain.
• Blood Red Throne became the first Norwegian metal band to perform in Bahrain.

Videos:

Angelus Apatrida

YouTube - “Indoctrinate” (Live)

YouTube - “Cold” (Live)

Blood Red Throne

YouTube - “Smite” (Live)

Amorphia

YouTube - Full Set (Live)

Gridlok

YouTube - Full Set (Live)