The
sold-out signs are up at The Roadhouse tonight and there is a palpable sense of
anticipation in the air. The reason is absolutely obvious. Tonight is a Battle
of the Bands with a difference. The winners get a place at Bloodstock next
month – if that’s not enough there is a chance they will be going to Wacken
2014 too. So of course there are some nerves in the air.
The format
for this evening is quite simple. Six bands have won through the heats and
semi-finals to be here and the band that is considered to be the best by
Bloodstock’s Simon Hall (who tells us that he has seen 100 bands in the last
four weeks on his travels all around the UK at these things) will get the
prize.
Husk have
been drawn out of the hat first. The Wolverhampton band are a metal-cum-thrash
band and one that has been gigging for a while. “Confessional” and “Remnant”
are great big slabs of heaviness and the group are extremely entertaining.
Following them
are Eyes of a Raven. Playing with less of a straight bat than the openers, they
claim to be One Direction and have a break halfway through their half hour for
a drink. Best described as groove metal, and with a sound not too dissimilar from
Beholder (the band that tonight’s compere fronts) songs like “Never Broken” and
“Bury Your Demons” have huge choruses and great huge riffs.
Next up are
Eradikator. RTM is a huge fan of the band, and their “Dystopia” record is as
good an album of straight up thrash with no pretensions as there has been for a
while. They are quite fantastic, playing the most polished show we have seen
from them. “Hells Sentinels” and “World Of Compulsion” are the best songs
played this evening. But do they win…….?
Aceldama
are billed as “something different.” In practice this means they are the only
ones tonight with a female singer and the only ones to play a cover (“I’m So
Excited” by the Pointer Sisters). They have problems with their drums, and play
a simple brand of rock – one of the tracks is called “Metal And Beer” for example.
Valous have
been on the Brum metal scene for a good few years, and like Eradikator, RTM has
seen them before and like the group. We find ourselves sitting with their fans
tonight too, and they let no one down. “Fools Dance,” “Justified” and “Blistered”
are excellent tracks and they can still have a bright future win or lose
tonight.
The
performances of the five bands already had made it an excellent night, then it
was Gethika’s turn.
In the
words of one of the other bands tonight, what Gethika did was “hit the stage
and blow the fuckin’ walls off.” The band are the most extreme band on show – blending
black metal with conventional heavy stuff – and they put on a quite stunning
performance. Dressed in dinner jackets and bow ties and complete with painted
faces, they throw plastic top hats into the crowd and set a smoke machine off
while they are at it. Their songs are tight too, “Impossible Question” and “We
will Prevail” are excellent, while “Bedlam” sums up what they do perfectly.
In the end
the winner was fairly obvious, and RTM wishes Gethika (who had lost out in a
previous final) well when they play the New Blood Tent on that Saturday
afternoon, but what this evening did prove was just how many magnificent bands
of all types we have in this area.
The whole
of the unsigned metal scene can be very proud – and Bloodstock proved again why
it is such a marvelous thing.
