Summer Bash 2026: An Introduction to Mercury’s Well!

If the weather was a snack we’re talking Doctor Salsa’s Extremely Spicy Habanero Potato Chips rather than Doritos Extra Flamin’ Hot Crisps at the minute. Other varieties are of course available and this isn’t a sponsored piece so don’t go writing in, it’s all for fun. Honest guv’nor. WTF are we talking about? Oh yes! Summer Bash! So… If you haven’t already heard, a band called Mercury’s Well are hosting the eighth incarnation of their annual Hawaiian themed beach party of a one day festival on Saturday 18th July at The Facebar in Reading. Why not drop by, check out some cool bands, buy their cool merchandise, enjoy the air conditioning, drinks from the bar and of course slapping your friends around the head with an inflatable palm tree? Sound like fun? Cool! See you there!

Here’s the line up in full:

Vanitas (headliner)
a-tota-so
Mercury’s Well
Masquerader
Monovoid
Maxwelltheband
Bobby Mandala’s Midnight Elite
Halloran
In Maluum
Pain Itself

So… Mercury’s Well are hosting the party but just who are they and why should you check them out? You’re in the right place for the answer to that question. The simplest way to describe the sound that guitarist and lead vocalist Simon Davies, bassist and vocalist James Tiffin and drummer Liam Fogarty have been formulating for the past decade is as Progressive Death Metal. As with most genre tagging, that is pretty much the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic because there is so much more too it than those three words.

As a band, their journey began more than a decade ago with a concept EP in “The Way of Ashes”, a tale of a man who is transformed into a tree and wages war against the sun following the untimely death of his father. A little eclectic and eccentric in some ways, it has Scandinavian roots and is both heavy and avant-garde in formulation, as if Nick Cave was fronting Opeth. After taking their show in the road for a while, they returned to write a sophomore album with the help of Sammy Ragheb, man who recently joined Ocean Planet as a third guitarist. 2022 saw the release of that self titled debut album, a record which reaches inception level madness with a song titled “Mercury’s Well” from an album titled “Mercury’s Well” by a band called… An album of contrasting textures, it has a great balance to it with gentle sounds and clean vocal passages in amongst rumbling bass, thunderous percussion and abrasive riffs, not to mention the harsh unclean vocal parts. There is an intelligence to it all too with lyrics referencing works by Richard Wagner and Robert Bly offer something to think about long after its finished, the lyric sheet available for quiet refection.

Over the past couple of years or so, the three amigos have been working on new material with last years Summer Bash seeing them perform a new tune. There were plans for song in three parts or movements that would form an EP of around twenty minutes worth of music. In past years they’ve rolled out a cover or partial cover during their set at Summer Bash with Slipknot and Killswitch Engage songs chosen for the purpose, so it pays to expect the unexpected…

We’re proud confirm that Metal Noise dot Net is returning for a fourth consecutive year as the Media Partner for Summer Bash! Mercury’s Well will be hosting the eighth incarnation of their annual Hawaiian beach party themed event on 18th July 2026 at The Facebar in Reading!

Fancy a ticket? You can get yours -> here