M2TM // Heat 2 // Northern Ireland

M2TM // Heat 2 // Northern Ireland

Friday nights mean Metal !!! Voodoo Belfast once again hosts this year’s competition, so it’s going to be my home from home on Friday nights from Jan to May! #prayformark

Tonight four more bands all ready to make their mark on the competition and up first a band known to the Belfast Metal community Microtonal. A Death Thrash entity that has been going from strength to strength year on year. A young band packed with talent, two guitarists laying down thick thrash riffs and a killer backline. It gets the night off to a blistering start. Speaking of starts, the band’s opening track kicks off with an old-school acoustic intro, akin to Metallica and the likes, but I didn’t see anyone playing acoustic guitar on stage??? What kind of witchcraft is this !!! Beyond the witchcraft, it was blood, sweat, and tears up there afterwards as they held nothing back in their performance, backs against the wall, Microtonal against the world. Banging!

Up next, Derry band, Hard To Explain. My first time catching this four-piece, and they’re bringing something new to the party with their own brand of hard rock. Female fronted, which is a rare thing these days in M2TM, but not uncommon, which is great to see, as we do love to see the ladies rocking out “ta fuck” to! The band hit the ground running with two hearty numbers, their guitarist slamming out so gnarly riffs on a tasty ESP/LTD with a Sustaniac no less, and then he moved on to a 7-string Ibanez! The cheek ! the cheek I say! The crowd seems to grow more into their performance track by track, and by the time they wrap up a short but sweet set, they have won the room over rightly. Their introduction to M2TM is a good account of themselves. It’ll be interesting to see how voting goes tonight, considering we have 3 new bands on the bill.

Up next Stitch …. Jesus wept ! We haven’t seen a band like Stitch in M2TM before; these cats are pretty unique in the competition. A modern metal, rnb, hip-hop infused metal crossover, me thinks? In the vein of bands like Fever333, Hyro The Hero, etc. Personally, I’m digging it! We don’t have this every day of the week locally, so it’s a cool change in pace, and they do it well, very well. The riffs are thick and gnarly, and the blend of spitting vocals and melodies resonates with the crowd. There are 6 of them up there making it work. More of that please 🙏

Last but not least, Shortest Straw, the third band in a row new to me this evening, going by their social pages and the company they keep when playing live, I think this one is going to be tasty 😋. I was right, a stellar performance that had the crowd in a complete rager again into the wee hours. The competition loves this kinda band, hard-hitting, in your face and unapologetic.

But for me, as I mentioned earlier, Stitch stole my wee heart, #loveyou #callme

But I am not the one deciding the fate of these bands, you sheeple are, and as it goes, our man with the tan, James Loveday, announced: Congratulations to Microtonal and Shortest Straw on going through to the semi-finals from last night’s Metal 2 the Masses NI Heat TWO. Thoroughly enjoyed last night! All 4 bands were superb. Heat 3 is on Fri 20th Feb.

There you go, two heats down, two bands progress, six bands go home ta fuck and rage at being dismissed. THE RAGE!!!

METAL 2 THE MASSES NI – HEAT THREE!

Slight change to this one too, with 4CORE having to pull out and THE NEW NORMAL replacing them. Band details below.

Ticket link: https://wegottickets.com/event/689107

**VOTING INFO AND STAGE TIMES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS!!**

The Distortion Project proudly presents Heat THREE of the 2026 Metal 2 the Masses competition Northern Ireland. Bands will be competing to secure a coveted slot on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock 2026 this year alongside such heavyweights as Judas Priest, Lamb of God, Sepultura, Testament, Body Count, Cryptopsy, Castle Rat and more. In addition, the winning band will have their travel expenses covered up to the value of £400.

Competing in Heat Three we have.

Arc Dakota
“Breathe” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNFZWNCxesM

Final Thirteen
“Wide Eyed Lullabies” Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQUzOCkzTVI

Muted Tweed
“Wilder Seas” Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_T0eXp7i68

The New Normal NI
“Eradication / Damnation” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eUqu4olozo

Friday 20th February 2026
Voodoo Belfast
Doors 8.00pm

Admission: £7.00 + bf (includes 1 voting slip – tickets and pay on the door – cash and card accepted)

Stage times will be:

Band 1: 8.45 – 9.15
Band 2: 9.30 – 10.00
Band 3: 10.15 – 10.45
Band 4: 11.00 – 11.30

Running order will be drawn at random on the day of the show.
Voting will close at 11.45 and the results will be announced between 12.15 and 12.30..

VOTING AND JUDGES

**THIS IS A POINTS BASED SYSTEM**
2 bands from each heat will qualify for the semi-finals, and the judging will be 50% audience vote and 50% judges vote. There will be a panel of between 3 and 5 judges comprised of local journalists/sound engineers/other promoters and/or other music industry folk in Northern Ireland. Punters will be given voting slips as they enter the venue and asked to score points to the bands in descending order, by writing in the boxes on the voting slip.

4 points for the band you want to finish in FIRST PLACE,
3 points for the band you want to finish in SECOND PLACE
2 points for the band you want to finish in THIRD PLACE
1 point for the band you want to finish in FOURTH PLACE

An x or tick beside the band you want to win to will NOT be accepted and these votes will NOT be counted!!

Good luck to all involved and let battle commence!