Necrosonic Festival returns to the 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 year’s line-up is: The Bezerker, 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 and 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 John Lee Spider with vocalist LANCE SINCLAIR answering the questions.
John Lee Spider is an underground, genre-bending avant-garde band hailing from Brisbane, Australia. Formed in the late 1990s, they are legendary in the local scene for crafting a chaotic, “tasty musical puzzle” that utterly defies conventional categorization. The group operates in a unique musical space, fearlessly mashing together jarring extremes like free jazz, grindcore, hip-hop, and sample-heavy cinema soundscapes.
The Sound: A wildly unpredictable sonic experiment that plays out like “one of John Zorn’s nightmares.” They juxtapose blistering, aggressive grindcore intensity with complex jazz instrumentation, heavy grooves, and avant-garde arrangement structures.
Q & A
HEAVY: NECROSONIC 2026 is almost upon us. How far out from August 22 will you allow yourself to get excited?
LS: We live in a constant state of excitement that incrementally increases with each passing moment, leading to unbearable levels of humming tension where dread and joy become indistinguishable from one another, and the veil of what it means to be human is left behind like a burning shore giving way to an endless roiling ocean. Also, probably the Berzerker announcement has kicked things up a notch.
H: What does it mean to your band to be playing NECROSONIC?
LS: JLS has a long and intense relationship with the Australian and specifically Brisbane metal world, and it really is an honour to be a small part of an eclectic day like this, which is looking forward just as much as it’s paying tribute to the past.
H: How important are festivals like NECROSONIC for the Australian music scene?
LS: I think Necrosonic in particular has been pretty unique in its approach by keeping costs low in a time where people are under a huge financial crunch, and larger festivals are sprawling out of control to the point where they seem kind of formless to me. There’s a curation displayed by Necro that reflects the well of knowledge and experience that the organisers have in this realm. Though there’s a disparate range of artists on the bill, it feels like something that clicks together and makes sense as a whole.
H: It’s a long day of music. What will you be doing to make sure you will still be standing come your set time?
LS: We’re on pretty early, so our fragile grandpa bones should hold up fairly well, I reckon. Mostly, it’s being match-ready for us, through long, intense rehearsals and really locking into the almost trance-like state that our live shows reach for.
H: Give me your Top 3 Festival survival tips.
LS: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.
H: Which band – other than yourself – do you think will get up to the most mischief on the day?
LS: I feel that Marco Sanchez Brain Intrusion are a concern and should be monitored very closely, at a safe distance.
H: What one song would you tell festival goers to listen to of yours if they haven’t heard you play before?
LS: Go and check out Safety Last, off our Queen Bee album on Bandcamp.
H: Will you be taking requests on the day?
LS: No way, get fucked fuck off.
H: Run us through your typical live show and what punters can expect.
LS: Non-stop jazz grind fusion noise intensity with added sweat and vaguely threatening dad jokes.
H: What’s your latest release?
LS: Our latest release came out before most of the attendees would have been born.
H: Finally, what plans does your band have for the rest of 2026 into 2027?
LS: A new record! Writing and recording is underway, and we’ll be playing select shows. It’s a strange situation that I certainly didn’t ever see happening, but we’re having so much fun with it, and more importantly, making new music that we’re stoked with.
NECROSONIC tickets and more information HERE
