By Jase Walker
The final day has arrived and despite all the trials and tribulations of such extreme heat, we still persist. Of course I’m not going to miss Mouth Culture kicking off the day in style though.
Getting to see these commanding a much bigger stage than I saw them previously in Utrecht, their brash and punky sound fills up the tent to sound the bell on the few remaining hours of Jera On Air 2026.
Mouth Culture are a young bunch of lads that draw on the rich legacy of Brit rock and punk and package it nicely into a fresh new sound that delivers massive epic choruses that’s got the early birds moving nicely! They’re such a joy to watch as well, this upcoming crop of Brit rock and metal truly captures the essence of showmanship, bands like these, Static Dress, Holding Absence, Vukovi… they’re all so incredibly animated.
Massively amusing is Mouth Culture trying to get the crowd to say “bottle of water” with a terrible Brit accent, a great performance isn’t just the music but just straight up loving the show. Will always make the effort to see these lads, always a treat.
Next up today is some Netherlands home turf talent, Sugar Spine. These guys have wowed me quite a few times now so seeing them take up a slot on the Hawk stage isn’t an opportunity I’m going to skip. It’s time for big riffs and a big ass pit filled with two-steppers and within seconds it’s all fully kicked off!!
I’m having to keep a constant watch around me at all times because I’m in the danger zone here with crowd surfers coming directly overhead from all angles and the pit randomly bubbles outwards in all directions. These guys are properly commanding this show, they want action in the crowd and they’re getting exactly that. There’s so many crowd surfers that people are crashing into each other over the top, this is absolute chaos but what an exciting show to be part of!
These guys are ever thankful and big advocates for the Dutch heavy music scene too, it’s probably not a country most consider on the world stage but now that I live amongst it I can definitely echo the sentiments that it’s a fantastic scene that’s pushing heavy music in its own direction.
Next big hitter for me today is Catch Your Breath, who I’ve missed a number of chances to see live due to varying reasons but no excuse this time. A nice fat sound, solid riffs and mixed vocals, I feel the crowd is suffering from the heat again a bit as movement seems somewhat minimal but I feel like the band understands it’s a bit tough.
I think what surprises me the most about their live show is the very consistent messaging about being valued and seeking help and company when feeling desperate. A lot of bands will often just drop the single line or something during the set but Catch Your Breath consistently intersperses the messaging between every song in the set and I feel like this is hitting harder than the typical one liner.
I do feel a bit like a festival show is somewhat robbing them of the more personal element and feel of seeing them at their own show though. I’m very much enjoying them but they’re just lacking a little bit of engagement that can only be delivered when they’re running a headliner with all the additional bells and whistles that come with it. It’s nothing necessarily negative on the band as there’s quite a few that I’ve seen at festivals over the years and felt similarly about.
This will serve as an appetiser and I need to make sure I don’t miss a chance on their next tour run.
Another bucket list band for me today, La Dispute! I don’t doubt these will get a proper rise out of the heat encumbered crowd. Admittedly I do wish I’d known them a bit better as my familiarity is quite surface level despite their reputation and extremely devoted following.
It’s a bit disappointing that I don’t see much movement really but it’s not like you can always expect that when it’s 34c outside and the air is bloody suffocating. For what it’s worth, you can see the smattering of big fans across the tent that all have their arms up while screaming the words. The overall feel of the set is actually a lot more chill than I was kind of expecting too, probably coloured by a lot of the other bands I’ve seen this weekend that are resoundingly high energy and frantic in their delivery compared to this. Not to say La Dispute are boring mind, just a different delivery.
Next up is Doodseskader, who prior to starting their set explained a bit about them replacing the slot for Harm’s Way. Harms Way meant a lot to the band and as a way of showing respect to them, have decided to play an intro song of Harms Way instead of their normal material.
“And now for the main course” as they switch to their intended set and I immediately get chills as things kick off. This echoes the likes of Massive Attack, Aphex Twin, Faithless and Nine Inch Nails but fronted by a much more aggressive and bombastic singer. There’s even traces of Underworld in their sound too, fully embracing the electropunk sound and I’ve already looked up where I can see them next so guess I’ll be grabbing some tickets for their headliner show in Amsterdam later this year too.
I’m genuinely quite caught off guard with how much I’m into this, little wonder they’ve caught quite solid support slots on tours with Health and Igorrr. I definitely want to see how they approach their aesthetics in a dark room though, there’s little scope for really feeling surrounded and suffocated by this in a large festival tent but despite that they’ve fully caught my attention in a way no other band this weekend has.
One of my final few bands for the weekend is Turbonegro! A band I’ve been a super long time fan of and last saw before their singer Hank passed away, anyway time for some super gay Norwegian punk rock! Even after all these years they still go so hard, clearly some new material has landed between the last time I gave them a proper listen but I’m still hoping for at least a couple of ‘Apocalypse Dudes’ era ‘bangers.
I’ve no idea how their guitarist is managing to survive with a full size trench coat on though, I’m a complete mess with just shorts and T-shirt on! I do get my wish of older stuff though with ‘Get It On!’ and I like it, love it! Okay I guess I’m getting an even bigger helping with actually getting ‘Selfdestructo Bust’, yeah this is working pretty well as a rediscovery with some new stuff thrown into the mix then.
Their singer runs on stage at one point waving a massive flag adorned with their signature cap symbol similar to the one Rob Halford of Judas Priest was known to wear. ‘All My Friends Are Dead’ still making a solid appearance in their set is great to see too! ‘FTW’ also popping up blindsided me a bit as I completely forgot about it honestly but clearly I still remember most of the words!
One song I’m not surprised about is ‘I Got Erection!’ and going off the noise of the crowd, they aren’t either! And it seems to finish things off, it’s time for ‘The Age Of Pamparius’, which I’m super buzzed about! It’s a brief set but one that has fully reignited my love for Turbonegro, what a fucking great band I just forgot about them so time to fix that.
As a bit of a break from the usual music programming, I’ve poked my head into a showing of the Wall Of Death which I didn’t actually expect to also be a music show! The band sits in the middle while people on bikes and cards tear around the walls of the circular arena!
As for the penultimate band of the weekend, it’s time for a bit of Hatebreed but so far to start with it seems a bit quiet really! But I don’t mind too much because my brain is fully mush by this point.
While I’m not the outright biggest Hatebreed fan ever, I’m still pretty happy they’ve made a proper return and are showing all the young bloods in the hardcore scene that they still go hard as hell. With a new album on the way too, whatever hiatus slump they were in has firmly been kicked to the kerb.
Just as I remember from their set last year at South Of Heaven, they roll on a bloody gigantic Ball Of Death which slowly bounces around over the crowd due to its colossal size. Hatebreed absolutely smashes the set and the amount of people pouring out of the tent following the end of the set shows a staggering amount of people must have been up close down the front. I wish I had the energy to get a bit more stuck in but I’m running on empty by this point so just one more set remains.
It’s time for Papa Roach. A defining band of my late teens as it is for many with their Infest album setting the soundtrack for frustrated teens around the world. As I set my broken self down in a comfortable position to take in what is left of the weekend, Papa Roach is a great way to play it out.
Kicking off their set with an insane amount of pyro and light rigging that fires massive pillars of light around every angle. There is a ton going on besides the band themselves and it’s quite a flashy show. ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Dead Cell’ suddenly triggers my ability to remember the words for it as if it hasn’t been years since I was screaming this song regularly in my local metal club.
Moving a bit further forward to their more emo-y phase with ‘…To Be Loved’ I get the feeling that this set is straight up designed to be a full banger set. The dazzling visuals are absolutely fantastic and I really wish I had the energy left to really get stuck into it so I guess I’ll just have to make sure I see them again in Rotterdam?
‘Getting Away With Murder’ is another great banger in the list and sees several people around me immediately jump up and dance off into the crowd. One song uses a bunch of anime clips that look familiar and a quick search lets me know that ‘See U In Hell’ is actually the new opening theme for the second upcoming season of ‘Devil May Cry’, how about that?
Sadly I can’t quite stay for the full set due to travel arrangements so the last thing I can catch is ‘Falling Apart’, so it’s rough that I’ll miss a couple of classics out but just a good reason to go see them again at their own show when I’m not totally exhausted.
Jera On Air 2026, you have absolutely ruined me but daring to continue despite the insane heat, you’ll stay with me for a lifetime to come.