Summer Bash 2025: An Introduction to Gutlocker!

Guess what? Yes! It’s that time of year again! We’re talking our way through the line up of this years Summer Bash in preparation for the annual Hawaiian themed beach party hosted by those loveable rogues in Reading Progressive Death Metal act Mercury’s Well. As the headline suggests, the first of the eleven bands we’re going to talk about is Gutlocker, but first a little reminder. The event is a one day festival that will take place on 26th July 2025 at The Facebar in Reading. As ever, tickets will be available on the door but do yourself a favour and save a few quid by getting them in advance here.

Here’s the complete line up for the seventh incarnation of Summer Bash:

Hidden Mothers
Masquerader
Black Skull Ritual
Buds.
Tape It Shut
Turning Point
Skin Reaper
Mercury’s Well
Gutlocker
Remnant
Killswitch Enchambers (Killswitch Engage Tribute featuring former members of Kill Chambers)

In time honoured fashion we ask the ultimate question: Who the f*** are Gutlocker and why are they worth paying Mercury’s Well the Summer Bash admission fee alone? Elementary my dear Watson. A Groove Metal four piece hailing from the wrong side of the tracks in Woking England, they’ve been doing the work of Ronnie James Dio and creating Metal mayhem up and down this green and pleasant land with alarming regularity for as long as we can remember. They’re the kind of force to be reckoned with that only stops to change their underwear or their drummer before moving swiftly onto the next venue and reducing it to rubble. On a personal level, having witnessed more Gutlocker shows than is probably healthy, memories include guitarist Pete Tucker playing an infinite number of well known riffs from bands like Slayer and Pantera to keep a hostile crowd entertained in Oxford while bassist Ben Rollinson sorted out technical issues. So what can you expect from them at Summer Bash? Aside from a wealth of classics from their 2022 album “To Be Alive” and vocalist Craig McBrearty inciting violence in the mosh pit, we also hope for singles “The Payoff” and Jamiroquai cover “Deeper Underground” in a repeat of what they did at Rabidfest in 2023.

We’re proud confirm that Metal Noise dot Net is returning for a third consecutive year as the Media Partner for Summer Bash! Mercury’s Well will be hosting the seventh incarnation of their annual Hawaiian beach party themed event on 26th July 2025 at The Facebar in Reading.

Get your tickets -> here