Necrosonic Festival returns to Mansfield Tavern on Saturday, August 22 2026 and the full lineup has been revealed to the masses! With dual headliners Rivers of Nihil (USA) and our very own Psycroptic, alongside exclusive reunions, one-off performances and long-awaited resurrections ~ this year’s ritual is the most formidable yet.
With a massive deference to Australian talent, this years line-up is: Rivers of Nihil, Psycroptic, Gravemind, Lynchmada (Exclusive ‘One Last Time’), Segression (30 Year Reunion), Minus Life (Resurrected – Exclusive), Pestilential Shadows, Five Star Prison Cell (Resurrected), Wxrldfxcker, Witchskull, Dreamkillers (Special EP Set), Helm (Resurrected – One-Off Show), M.S.B.I. (Resurrected – One-Off Show), Barriers, Meth Leppard, Permafog, Destruktor, Gutless, F.U.C, RUN, John Lee Spider, The Matador, Body Prison, Growth, Grotesque Bliss, Vyrion, Neomantra, Nembutolik, Slaughtercult, Bruxa.
HEAVY has thrown down the challenge and sent a Q & A sheet out to all bands, with any that don’t return one completed having to buy us a beer at Necrosonic. So while we are quietly hoping we get minimal replies, a couple have gotten back to us already and today we feature the reserrected Five Star Prison Cell.
Tickets and more information NECROSONIC FESTIVAL 2026
FIVE STAR PRISON CELL
Questions answered by Adam Glynn
HEAVY: NECROSONIC 2026 is almost upon us. How far out from August 22 will you allow yourself to get excited?
AG: I’m excited already. It’s great to be back doing all this again. I’ve returned to Frankenbok and been having an absolute ball making new music and playing live again. Now Five Star Prison Cell is reforming to play this amazing festival amongst some of the greatest heavy acts this country has to offer. So yeah. I feel like my musical life has been resurrected and I’ve been given another shot at all of this.
What does it mean to your band to be playing NECROSONIC?
It’s an absolute honour and privilege to be asked to do this. It’s not always easy doing this band thing. It can be hard to get your foot in the door if you don’t know the right people or if you don’t make music that plays it safe and doesn’t resonate with everyone.
How important are festivals like NECROSONIC for the Australian music scene?
Very important. There’s no point having a car if there are no roads to drive it on. Festivals like this give bands a platform. Something for younger and newer bands to aspire to and it gives the punters a great day to be amongst like minded people. At the end of the day. It’s all about community. Kent has always been a visionary in the metal scene and has put on some of the best shows my bands have ever been a part of.
It’s a long day of music. What will you be doing to make sure you will still be standing come your set time?
Well I love my food. But I still get nervous. So I’ll probably eat light and drink plenty of fluids. Hopefully I get a good night’s sleep the evening before. Being in a band is a lot of waiting around and leading up to your moment of justification. But once that first 4 count in comes from the drummer, adrenaline kicks in and it’s all a blur after that. I’m really going to try and savour this moment though if I can.
Give me your Top 3 Festival survival tips.
1. Slip. Slop. Slap. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat!
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Pace yourself. You don’t need to skull 28 beers in 30 minutes.
Which band – other than yourself – do you think will get up to the most mischief on the day?
Hard to say. I think we are all getting older now. I don’t think there are any rock star or immature idiots amongst my colleagues these days.
What one song would you tell festival goers to listen to of yours if they haven’t heard you play before?
I don’t have a favourite song. If I had to choose, I’d say THE IMPARTING OF WISDOM UPON A SUBJECT TURNED TO STONE from THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON or M from our SLAVES OF VIRGO records. My fiancée really likes SWARM from MATRIARCH. Our 3 albums were always meant to be a journey to go on. An experience sadly lost these days with short attention spans.
Will you be taking requests on the day?
Nah.
Run us through your typical live show and what punters can expect.
Lots of energy, riff gymnastics, pelvic thrusts — that sort of thing. Mainly just 4 dudes having fun.
What’s your latest release?
Our last album was MATRIARCH, released about 16 years ago.
Finally, what plans does your band have for the rest of 2026 into 2027?
No real plans. We have some new merch and a few surprises up our sleeves. You’ll just have to wait and see.
