Bloodstock Open Air Festival // M2TM – Heat 6 // Northern Ireland
This is it kids, The final heat, will Friday nights ever be the same again?
Heat 6 features four bands I have never encountered before, so this is definitely a first. As I land, the venue is dead, and I think to myself, “WTF?” But then I see the usual hallions sitting in the corner chewing the fat, and before you know it, it’s almost 8:45, and the first band is about to hit the stage. The bodies come streaming in from outside and downstairs, where they have been hanging out with their mates, and all is good in the world.
Up first, New Mud.
When the lads hit the stage I realise there’s only three of them and there’s a desk and a MacBook sitting centre stage so I know right away, we’re not in Kansas anymore. What we get is a blend of electronica, fused with a wall of distortion, industrial chaos and screaming vocals, it’s a barrage on the senses and I am standing here thinking to myself WTF is going on here, do I like this, do I need to call a priest, do I need an exorcism?
The bass of the electronica is almost too overpowering for the guitars and I feel they’re lost in the mix a little, you can barely hear the vocals at times, and I am not sure if that’s intentional or not but at least I can say, New Mud are a unique proposition on the local scene. I applaud their vision and approach and can only hope we see more artists like them pushing the boundaries of the local scene, it’s kinda like Trainspotting for the metalhead generation …. On speed! By the end of the set, I dig it, with a little more finesse and a better balance of the instruments and vocals they have something pretty special here that could resonate for sure. When I was here catching Priest play maybe a year or so ago, the thick sound of that Dark-Synthwave and Metal combining is an addictive mix, I hope to see more from these crazy cats to see where this journey will take us.
Up next, Moustache Pipe, with a name like that. I don’t even wanna guess what’s coming, but I’m sure the craic will be 90! And it is, it is Old-school metalheads playing old-school metal, the guys seem to have a following in the room, with a healthy crowd in front of the stage, recording proceedings and banging their heads in approval. The riffs are thick and well delivered, time changes Edmundo keeping the audience on their toes, Moustache Pipe is doing their thing, and Voodoo seems to dig it! A contrast for sure to this evening’s opener, but two bands down and two more to go, with a place in the semis, it’s anyone’s to grab at this stage.
I cant find any socials for Moustache Pipe, so maybe this was all a dream, did it actually happen? Cos like If a tree falls down in the woods and nobody is around, does it actually make a sound?
Next we have Eighty Four, the only band here with merch for sale so kudos for that! Gotta keep that gravy train rolling! So Eighty Four are a four piece punk outfit, a genre we don’t get too much of here at M2TM so I’m glad of the change of pace/genre as we need to diversify a little and bring some fresh blood into the competition. From recent gigs in Belfast with the likes of Bowling for Soup, Rise Against and the big boys Blink 182 there is definitely an appetite for Punk, Pop-Punk and beyond here with such a rich history in Northern Ireland with the legacy we have, now as with every genre it can splinter and we get the easier on the ear, watered down version and Eighty Four probably sit between the two camps, Legacy inspired with an easy on the ear sound. I can see heads bopping, beautiful ladies dancing and the band themselves are living their best lives up there on stage, what more can you ask for in a Friday night! Three bands down and one to go, thus far I can’t call it, so there’s a lot riding on Crude Vernacular’s closing set.
So when Crude Venacular hit the stage there’s a monument of what just happened? Four guys In luminous suits, ties and balaclava’s and you just think to yourself “Is this the twilight zone or what?” Yes, Yes it is!
Then the music starts, and right away you can tell these guys have a vibe and sound all their own, a hard rocking, bunch of lunatics! I’m kinda thinking right now Crude Vernacular for president ? Am I wrong ? Could they do any worse ? Sonically, these guys are talented, the song writing is as chaotic as their dress sense but it all works, highly entertaining and catchy! When you write a song titled “Gloryhole” I’m in ! Not literally, but you know what I mean ! We talked about diversity, about M2TM needing to push boundaries, I wasn’t quite thinking off a cliff but I may just make an exception. Crude Venacular are a treat to the senses, a blend of Steel Panther and Tenacious D all wrapped into one, theatrical quality entertainment these kids clearly are Glee academy graduates with distinction! Or maybe an old GCSE “U’ who knows, but I dig it! More of this please!
As their set wraps up a little earlier than expected the crowd are now all wondering where do we go from here, how do you take four bands so different and make sense of all that! Well thankfully as I wake up on Saturday morning our wee James has made the announcement as to who progressed: “Congratulations to New Mud and Eighty Four on qualifying from last nights sixth and final Metal 2 the Masses NI Heat”
I honestly could not have called how the Voodoo faithful were going to break it all down, so here we are. The Semi-Finals are just around the corner and as James announced:
It’s time to reveal the semi-final line-ups for this years Bloodstock Festival Metal to the Masses NI competition. Tickets from the link below. There’s been a change too, as unfortunately Dirty Casuals had to pull out of the competition as none of the 3 Semi dates suited them. Their place will be taken by the band that finished 3rd in their heat – Cannibalised Seagulls. We have 2 guest headliners this year as well. Nømadus on the 4th April and Lost Brethren on the 10th April.
Ticket Link Below:
https://wegottickets.com/thedistortionproject