Gnome & Wall @ Rebellion, Manchester 31st March 2026

Having witnessed the spectacle that was Belgium’s beloved stoner rockers Gnome last year, I persuaded The Shaman to charge up his camera and head into the Rebellionin Manchesterto watch them at this Buried In Smokepromoted night.

After going into the venue via a completely different entrance, I was informed that the long queue inside was for the merch table and there was no doubting what item was outselling everything else, but more on that later.

As with the last time I saw Gnome, Oxford’s finest instrumental doomsters Wall were the support, with the Cole twins once again demonstrating their might on stage. Opening with lots of feedback for Wrath Of The Serpent the drums get a pummelling from Elliot while Ryan looks calm and assured on the guitar, launching into several fast and heavy sections. There’s no chat, as they crack on with the heavier Sonic Mass, with heads and bodies starting to move.

They dedicate The Tusk to Bolton’s Shred Dibnah, who should have been opening tonight, but for reasons known, were unable to do so, get well soon David. They up the pace with precision and perfect timing as the solos from Ryan explode all over the rhythm. It’s energetic music, which turns a bit psychedelic at the start of Speedfreak before the double bass is given a hammering. They mix their tempos well, especially on Masking My Contempt before they play a top track of mine, Legion, which has a heavily used cowbell flowing throughout.

Ryan is more animated on this one as he wanders closer to his brother, before they play their cover version of Karma To Burn’s Nineteen with more silky guitars and metronomic drumming. ‘This is a new song, which we’ve only played in the soundcheck, it’s called Battlejaw Galactica’,as expected, it has more great riffs and flows really well, before they finish with a flourish with the mighty Avalanche to conclude a stunning set.

Several things are guaranteed at a Gnome gig – amazing songs, fun atmosphere, great riffs and loads of red pointy hats! These were selling in huge amounts at the merch stall earlier, and as the trio walked onto the stage, there’s a gluttony of red getting ready to have one hell of a night.

With flashing lights, they open with my favourite song, Duke Of Disgrace, which sets the tone for a pulsating set, where they demonstrate their mind-blowing musicianship to the full. With the crowd clapping along, Wenceslas gets the venue bouncing to the addictive beat as the melody gets deep inside your body. Vocalist/guitarist Rutger Verbist hopes that we ‘all have a wonderful night with us’ as the first stage diver appears during the stunning instrumental Jebediah Supreme.

I hadn’t heard this live before, but the bass sound from Geoffrey Verhulst was off the scale and it energised the pit as it got progressively rowdier.  They move seamlessly into Golden Fool, which is fast and raucous, with big drums from Egon Loosveldt setting the agenda and tempo. It’s always great to see bands smiling on stage, and the trio give off the impression that they are enjoying themselves, and no wonder, as the sea of red hats bopping about must be great to see from their vantage point.

‘We’ve been going for 10 years as a band in 2026, and this is the oldest song we have, it’s called Blacksmith’ which has so many twists and turns, from monumental doom riffs to a groovier sound that effuses Belgian swagger. It gets the crowd moving even more and with the recorded intro and outro of John Frum next, the dual vocals see the audience swaying and headbanging in unison. ‘I don’t know what religion you believe in, but The Gods Are Evil’ says Verbist as the next song blasts out and it’s an absolute screamer. Even in the slow sections, they are heavy and menacing with a killer bass line, but after asking people to ‘be careful not to dive into someone’s head’, they turn to the slower, fuzz-induced brilliance of Antibeast.

It’s a relentless seventy-five-minute set from the band, full of high-energy songs that make you want to dance as The Ogreclearly displays, with all inside the seemingly sold-out venue enjoying themselves with their Belgian brothers. The frontman informs us the next song ‘is about politicians everywhere’ as the glorious Rotten Tongue rings out, before Verbist tells us that his wife ‘is lovely and she says that I have an Old Soul’.

That was the cue for more mayhem and madness, with the deep blue lights adding a touch of menace to the growled chorus line, although they did stop midway as they thought someone had hurt themselves in the melee, but luckily everyone was OK. With the bass being on another level as they kick back in, you can feel the dynamism on the stage is being replicated off stage as the crowd are politely encouraged not to ‘kill each other down there’.

However, they don’t help the situation by playing the utterly monstrous Kraken Wanker, which hypes the masses up even further, but it’s great fun to watch. They finish with the groovy power of Ambrosius, another exuberant song which pumps up everyone inside Rebellion tonight. I could quite happily watch these all night long, but thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long to do it all over again at Desertfest 2026.

Gnome

Wall

Scribed by: Matthew Williams
Photos by: Lee Edwards