M2TM North Wales, Heat 3 – Central Live Music Venue, Wrexham – 08/04/2022
M2TM North Wales, Heat 3
Central Live Music Venue, Wrexham
08/04/2022
Live Review and Photos by Beth Jones
After missing the first two heats of this years Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses North Wales competition because I became afflicted with the plague, I was raring to go for heat 3! I was judging too, so t was handy that I was rona-free really! It was set to be an interesting one, with an eclectic mix of style.
First to the stage was an instrumental 4 piece who were a completely new name on me – Grief. They hammered straight into a heavy hitting Modern Progressive style, with plenty of chunk and groove. The drummer was an absolute machine, and the bass player was throwing some pretty lively shapes, and pulling some mad faces. One guitarist looked slightly out of place – very nervous and timid compared to the larger-than-life personas o the other 3. That said, they gave a superb, tight performance, and it was a great way to start the night. My only constructive criticism would be that adding in vocals would really take it to the next level. And then we discovered something… This was only their second ever gig! That actually blew my mind. Bar raised most definitely. Well done chaps!
https://www.facebook.com/GRIEFBAND
Next up was Psychcircuit. These guys looked promising, if a little mis-matched. We had a guitarist who looked like he’d just come from a 90’s Nu-Metal gig, a second guitarist who looked like he’d been roadieing and sound checking for Maiden since the early days, a drummer who looked like he’d just popped out for a quiet pint, and a frontman who had the look of someone about to go on tour as main support for U2. Eclectic, but it just might work, right?… Meh… the sound wasn’t right. It was sloppy, and a mix of styles that didn’t really work. The frontman was using in-ear monitors, and I’m still yet to work out why. The Nu-Metal looking guitarist was shit-hot though, on the plus side.
https://www.facebook.com/Psychcircuit.band
Bogans brought some heavy pop punk to proceedings next. They were good, loud, very tight, and fun… However, and I will stress this absolutely changed my voting decision, the vocalist decided to do something a little, err… daft, shall we say (for the purposes of remaining polite). So, here’s my piece of advice. When a female photographer (AKA me) is just trying their job, don’t wrap a mic cable round her neck, and then lean on her head with your elbow so hard that you hurt her back. Without wanting to sound like a feminazi snowflake, there were two male photographers there too, yet the singer decided to leave them alone… It might have been ‘just a bit of fun’ or to ‘fit with the musical genre’, but I switched off at that point, because I won’t tolerate that bullshit for anyone.
Soapbox dismount.
https://www.facebook.com/boganspunkrock
Our final act of the night where Preston-based Wrath Of Man. I’d seen these guys at Pentre Fest a few weeks ago, and to be honest I wasn’t that keen then. However, this performance absolutely blew me away. It raised the roof, and the bar, to a whole new level. It was tight, brutal Death Metal of the highest calibre, and from about half a song in I knew exactly who was getting my judge’s vote! This was one of the most quality performances I have seen in a while. Brilliant.
https://www.facebook.com/wrathofman
And with that, it was time for the audience to cast their votes, and us judges to head into the side room to deliberate. We were unanimous, and agreed with the audience. The bands making it to the semi-finals would be Grief and Wrath Of Man. Clear cut, and totally the correct decision. Well done to both bands, and I can’t wait to see them at the semis. It’s going to be a mighty tough job choosing a winner this year!
LINKS:
N.E.W Metal Productions:
M2TM North Wales:
Bloostock:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. All photographic images are the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Excellent review. Brutal but excellent, a refreshing read.