Alcatraz Line up: 2022, 2024

The Belgian metal scene is thriving and in every genre there’s no shortage of ambitious young bands that have emerged in recent years. Mechelen-based Hippotraktor started out as a three-piece but have since fleshed out into a quintet. In 2018 they self-released a promising EP with ‘P’eau’ and in 2021 Pelagic Records dropped their full-length debut ‘Meridian’ (2021), an album that serves up a delectable cocktail of prog, post-metal and groove. Their progressive sound appeals to an entire generation of metalheads and the band members earned their stripes in such bands as Psychonaut and L’Itch. Both live and on CD they erect a wall of sound that has endeared them to scores of fans. They are already a popular favourite on the club circuit and festival appearances are the next logical step in their evolution. Hippotraktor’s infectious riffs and relentlessly groovy and complex song structures capture the awe-inspiring power of the natural world as they themselves are on their way to becoming a force of nature.