Bloodstock,
Metal to the Masses Battle of the Bands.
Bristol Final. Thursday 12th July
Bands playing were :- Fever Sea
:-
Seprevation
:-
Control the Storm
:-
Somnus
The premise behind this gig was
that the many bands in Bristol were
competing for a place on the Bloodstock stage and even being sent out to Waken.
With such a prize, was it any wonder that some very talented bands tried to get
to the place?
Carol and I were invited to the
final of the events by the organiser Lawrence and frankly it was not a
disappointment. Every band that played showed a level of professionalism
unsurpassed by many actually signed bands. Not every band was to my personal
taste, but it was not possible to fault them for effort, talent or showmanship.
Frankly, having four bands of this quality on one stage in the same night is
just spoiling the appreciative fans.
Now as a reviewer, I am looking
to be critical, offer my opinion and let you know if I think that seeing these
bands is worth while, but you know what? You need to check out these bands
yourselves, if you get the chance, do so. You will not be disappointed because
each one of them was awesome.
The intro by Simon from
Bloodstock was fun and informative, seeing that metal is alive and well in the UK
was obviously a boost for him and seeing the fans responding to his comments
and free t-shirts was pretty cool. He then told the crowd that tonights winner
was going to Bloodstock. You could feel the excitement in the air.
The first band was my personal
favourite, which is one hell of a statement given the impressive display that
was about to commence. So
Fever Sea,
a band so heavy that they have their own gravity! If you want to categorise
them, imagine a band made up of six parts Neurosis and four parts
Isis.
With elements of evil and pain, the sound that came from these guys was bleak
and dark. Frankly, it was beautiful. I could feel every blast beat in my heart,
physically and metaphorically. The music is punishing, angry and aggressive and
just when you thought that the torment on stage could not get worse, the singer
starts hitting himself with the mic. It symbolises the pain of the music and
the show is utterly epic.
 |
| Fever Sea |
The singers vocals are mixed
between the guttural despairing howls of a dying animal and the clean crisp
sound of a man who knows how to use his voice to touch the heart of Gods. This
band are the sort of band that you want to spend time listening too, this is
not a band to have in the back ground when you have friends over, this is a
band that want you to feel the emotion of every song and I think that they are
right. I want to hear them on an album because it think that they have the sort
of sound that can pull in light. A thirty minute set was not enough.
As Fever
Sea left the stage, the change over
crew hit it running and the next band started to set up. Carol popped outside for a fag and I watched
the crowd sudden swell, including a couple who were clearly the parents of one
of the bands members.
Seprevation were all smiles,
innocent smiles and Iron Maiden patches. Nothing indicated that we were about
to be battered about the head with some brutal Thrash Metal! The lead singer is
everything that is good about Old School Thrash, he has the smile that screams
out loudly “I love what I fucking do!”
He has the gurns needed to front a band like this and he works his face
as hard as he works his Bass. Kids this young throwing out Thrash of this
quality cannot be a bad thing, the roots of the scene can be heard in there,
but this is all original and the crowd are clearly and rightly on their side.
 |
| Seprevation |
One word of warning though, if
you go and see this band, make an appointment with your spinal unit for the
next day! Head Banging that hard must cause damage! Fuck me, they went for it
and you can see the allegiance to the scene in their denim cut offs and band
shirts.
Now I have stated that you can
hear the influences in the sound and this is not a bad thing, I could hear the
old school being channelled by this band, bands I have not listened to or thought
about since I was in my late teens. This is a band that will be worshipped in
modern German Thrash circles and we all know how mad German Thrash fans can be
for the music. The pace is typical of thrash, it gallops along, no that is not
right, this is beyond gallop, This is the equivalent of a drag bike on a
quarter mile, damn they are fast!
The vocals came through loud and
clear, clearly enjoying his singing and yet bashing away at that bass, which
leads me to a question. How the fuck does a guy like this head bang like a
loon, continue to play his guitar like it is a tactical weapon and sing like
that, all at the same time! I would hazard that this guy can rub his tummy, pat
his head and juggle chainsaws at the same time!
The energy coming from the stage
is huge, you could have run a city on the power produced, these kids are
energised with a love of thrash and the influence is so clear it pats them on
the back with gratitude for keeping the scene alive. The Slayer influenced
solos are accomplished and expertly executed, have these guys done anything
else in their youth other than listen to the best musicians out there? I knew
that they would be successful, but at the end of the night when they were
announced as winners, I do not think that they believed it. Well done lads,
Bloodstock and Waken will love you.
The third band to hit the stage
were
Control the Storm, a six piece band with a woman vocalist, a manic
keyboardist and a lead guitarist who has probably been intimate with that
guitar! Now let me state for the record, I am not a fan of power metal for any
of it’s dramatic solos and squawking vocals, but even I can see when a band is
worthy of respect. Sadly for the first couple of songs, the sound levels were
somewhat out and the singers vocals were buried in the guitars along with the
keyboard. However, once this was sorted, a talented and exceptional band rocked
through the sort of set that makes men in kilts want to quaff ale and rampage!
 |
| Control the Storm |
When I saw them hit the stage I
had horrible fears of a Nightwish clone, but this is actually a long way from
the reality. This band are a disciplined, practiced and relentless force to be
reckoned with. Carol the photographer looked at me and gave me her biggest
smile of the night, her thumbs up only added to the message. This band was
Carol’s band of the night and I am pretty sure that she would have been happy
to just see this band all evening. Knowing that I am a nasty cow who loves
black metal she has told me that I have to tell you how much she enjoyed their
performance.
For me, I can admit that they
know their stuff, but I would ask that they sutbly change their mix a little so
that the vocals, keyboard and backing vocals are a little higher in the mix.
The drumming and guitar though are mesmerising and played with an honest intent
and brutality that is refreshing in the power metal scene. Each song is
performed with an honest integrity, this band earnestly want you to believe in
them as mush as they do themselves and to be honest it is not hard to be drawn
along, even if you are a jaded Black Metal fan like me. The fan that climbed
the support beams that hold up the ceiling just so that he could rock out is a
clear sign that these guys know what they are doing and when they get you in
their sights, they absolutely shine. Power Metal is pure escapist fun and if
that is your thing, you will love this band, but maybe not as much as Carol
did!
The last band of the night was
Somnus, and as soon as I saw the Bass player, I knew that I would enjoy the
music about to start. You see as every one in the metal scene knows, when you
see a man with his head on upside down, it is going to get heavy! Yes, the
ubiquitous Heavy Metal Beard and shaved head look is an indicator that the next
band mean serious business. The Anthrax shirt on the guitarist suggests that
they know what heavy stuff is and then the painfully sharp witted singer comes
forward. Noise annihilates the crowd, the screamed vocals brutalise the room.
Oh fuck yes…
 |
| Somnus |
Somnus bring you the Death
strike. I stood there watching that stage and I knew that this band were going
to hurt us, but it was ok, they had to do so! When Simon introduced them he
warned us that they were going to rip our faces off and he played it down.
Musically they are deeply intense, it comes at you wave after wave of
brutality, clearly a professional band, doing what is encoded in their genes,
this is the terminator of death metal, they just do not stop! The first two
tracks decimate the room, the suddenly enlarged crown worship them for doing
so. The vocalist is terrifying in his intensity, this is not a band you want to
face when you are in the wrong, they will flatten you with a look.
In terms of delivery, this band
is by a head, above the other bands that played, yet the political side to them
makes them a difficult pill for the fun loving metal heads to swallow. Do not
listen to this band if you like songs about riding on freight trains, roses
with thorns or girls who are poison. Do listen to this band if you are mature
enough to understand that the world is shit, to know that capitalism is eating
the soul of humanity and that fascism is not the way ahead for a thinking
society. This band are making a point and it is nailed on to their performance
with integrity and anger and hatred of injustice. I knew this after three songs
and then he said it, “This song is about my desire to punch Simon Cowell in the
face… with Jason’s (Bass player) cock!”
Leaping into the crowds and
surfing over the hands of those who adore them while still managing to
brutalise the crowd with evil vocals is a skill that this man has mastered,
their stage presence is intimidating and yet loving. There is a feral quality
to them, like a hungry tiger, you want to approach, but worry that you may get
eaten! With the last song played, I was reminded of Ripley in Aliens. We were
just Nuked from Orbit! What a gig.
Through out the night, the
biggest problem was the sound levels, given the difficulties of the room, it
was impressively handled, but it was there for almost every act. The final
speech from Bloodstock Simon was heartfelt and earnest. Heavy metal music is
about passion and the scene is alive and well despite what the mainstream wants
you to believe. I have been lucky in that I have seen some great bands in the
last couple of weeks, but the message is important here. You must absolutely
support the new up and coming bands, give them a place to play, congratulate
them when they succeed and don’t hold a grudge if they need to practice a
little more. With out the musicians and fans, there is no scene, yet with out
the scene, you will be drip fed the sort of music that Simon Cowell believes is
right for you. Say no to manufactured Pop Music, organised number ones that put
the latest radio friendly shite in the sales lists. Say no to this bollocks and
embrace your local scene. There are bands out there who are blowing peoples
minds and at this gig I saw four of them.
Support your local scene and have
your mind blown, you will not regret it and send the corporate music machine
this message. FUCK YOU!
We would like to give a big Thank you to Lawrence
from Megalith Pro Motions for the tickets and warm welcome at the venue. Folks,
you need to keep your eye on these guys, because they have some good stuff on
the books and they support the scene. Keep it real guys, we need more promoters
like you at Megalith Pro Motions to make brilliant events like this work as
well as this one.
