Normally, we wouldn’t classify Reading as a heavy metal festival, but this was the one year where we may have been tempted. Bring Me The Horizon headlined the 80,000-capacity gathering a couple weeks ago, solidifying the Sheffield band’s crossover appeal, and the bill that day also included Limp Bizkit and Enter Shikari. So, safe to assume that there were more than a couple metalheads in attendance.
With that in mind, we descended upon Little John’s Farm to sort the wheat from the chaff, presenting bands and attendees alike with some classic metal lyrics to see if they could finish the line they come from. The results were mixed, at best.
In the TikTok video embedded below, you can see how people responded when presented with the words “Run to the hills…” from Iron Maiden’s breakthrough hit of the same name, “Finished with my woman…” from Black Sabbath anthem Paranoid, and “Enter light…” from one of the biggest heavy songs to ever come out, Metallica’s Enter Sandman. What people gave us back ranged from impressive to, let’s say, ‘inventive’.
You may like
Reading festival took place from August 22 to 24, with the event and its twin up in Leeds, held at Bramham Park, always falling on the UK August Bank Holiday weekend. As well as Bring Me The Horizon, it was headlined by Hozier, Chappell Roan and Travis Scott. The 2026 edition will take place from August 28 to 30.
In an interview with NME conducted last weekend, organiser Melvin Benn confirmed that he had two headliners for Reading and Leeds 2026 booked, with the third “not far away” from being confirmed.
“I’ve already got headliners for two of the three nights booked already for next year, and I’m really confident about the artists,” he said. “I feel like we’re in a stronger position than I can remember for an awfully long time. I can’t remember when I’ve ever had two of the three nights booked by this stage. We’ve had one booked by this stage, but I can’t remember ever having two of the three.”