Technologist

M2TM Manchester 2023 – Heat 6

M2TM Manchester 2023 – Heat 6
The Rebellion, Manchester
19/02/2023
Review by Rob Sutton

So on paper this heat was by far and away the toughest heat and by the sheer number of people that turned up in support also shows that these bands are among the most popular in the competition.

Hitting the stage first was Destroy Planets who have recently promoted their bassist to frontman which has given the band a very different sound vocally than before, although I didn’t manage to watch them previously. Now these guys are very much in the metalcore genre, one which is absolutely flooded with bands these days so personally I’m looking for something a bit different and Destroy Planets do deliver on this. There is a great use of backing tracks and samples within the songs which portray a more dancey side to the genre and this is met with some really interesting rap/screams which to me are insanely cool and performed perfectly. In fact the screams and growls in general are really fucking good, though for some of the lower growls he does cup the mic leading to a bit of feedback. The singing though is lacking a bit, with some parts a little flat and sounding almost forced so this didn’t do anything for me. Musically these guys are tight as fuck and throw that in with lots of movement on stage and a lot of banter they’ve set the bar high for the night – this includes pits straight off the bat. What can I say? This set was really enjoyable and I wanted another song… Oh they had about 4 minutes left of a set… Could have done one more… Never mind at least it wasn’t over their allotted time. I still wanted more!

https://www.facebook.com/destroyplanetsband

Technologist return to the competition after making it to the semi finals last year and begin… Well, very nervously and almost unprepared. They have this wonderful intro but while it’s playing they’re all standing around not really doing anything. Guys, why not walk on stage to the intro? Would look so much better than the awkward as fuck start. OK music time! Technologist kick in like they had done in previous events with their incredibly tight take on progressive death metal and the crowd love it, massive cheers after each song and they respond to everything that’s asked of them. I do really love this band, the way they flick from aggression to technical beauty is such a skill that so few bands can pull off and the guitars absolutely make this! Yes the solos may not be as stand out as last week but they’re subtle and slot right into their overall sound perfectly. Vocally as with Destroy Planets, growls are incredible and have an impressive amount of power but some of the singing again is a little flat (although the harmonies do work really well) and the shouts get completely lost in the mix. Before the last song we are introduced to the band, something I get and understand but with the style of music Technologist play this really could have been done during the last song. Oh and again these guys were under by 4 minutes, if they had cut out the chatter before the last song we could have had another and I would have really liked another song as the performance was simply stunning!

https://www.facebook.com/Technologistband

Another new band for me was Felicia and I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to expect as we have a frontwoman dressed in a business suit, an 8 string guitar, 4 string bass and a huge kit… then as the set starts we have a strip show? (Don’t worry it wasn’t down to bare skin). This is certainly new for me at one of these. So strip show aside the music is definitely reminiscent of KoRn or Deftones but for me this screams Marilyn Mason! Felicia’s musical style is definitely something that isn’t heard too often these days and again is performed really well, perhaps not as tight as the other bands but for me the focus is definitely more on the performance as opposed to the music so this isn’t a huge deal. Though I will say the drums are absolutely fantastic, the beats are brilliant and the fills are sublime and really are a highlight of this set. The guitars are a little quiet and sometimes muddy, while the riffs are played well they do lack punch for me. Vocally there is a massive mix of styles from rapping, singing to screaming. I love the rappy bits and the screams are also performed with a good amount of power and control but the singing again isn’t the best with a few flat notes and sometimes they too get lost in the mix. Now a few weeks ago there were a lot of technical issues which led to a band falling to pieces. Tonight Felicia also were met with technical difficulties but instead of stopping songs or looking confused they powered through their set like professionals. Even more credit as in a competition this could really knock their confidence but they didn’t let it bother them! I must say I enjoyed this show, it’s different and very entertaining. It’s a performance I would love to catch again!

https://www.facebook.com/wearefelicia

Last to take the stage was 40,000 Leagues, a band I have seen on many occasions and do usually enjoy. So was tonight any different? No! They hit the stage in fine bouncy fashion, completely owning the stage. The guitar work is absolutely on point with the solos being a real highlight. Although one of the dual solos did have a strange sound, whether this was the wrong pedal hit I’m not sure but it did sound a bit like bagpipes… Still, their crossover from old school metal with the newer feel of metalcore works perfectly with the vocal range being another highlight of this performance. Definitely some of the best clean vocals I’ve heard in this competition. Throughout the set there is plenty of crowd participation and even the trademarked story time with all the crowd sitting down. 40k also ended up being the first band I actually got in a pit to and had a proper mosh and that in itself is a testament to how much I enjoyed their set and I don’t think I need to say more than that!

https://www.facebook.com/40kLeagues

This heat was seriously good, every band brought their A game and had they not all been in the same heat, should have progressed into the next round. Alas, only 2 can go through and the crowd chose Technologist with the judges choosing 40,000 Leagues. I can’t argue with this as any 2 of the 4 bands would be worthy winners tonight and I have my suspicion that the wild cards could be used on this event. To put it bluntly, this was good enough to have been the final!

LINKS:

Promoter:

Venue:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rob Sutton and Ever Metal. 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.

M2TM 2022 – Manchester – Semi-Final 1

M2TM 2022 – Manchester – Semi-Final 1
Asleep at the Helm (Guest Headliner)
Dead Retinas, Technologist, Vlka Fenryka, Portrayal Of Ruinn
Rebellion, Manchester
24/04/22
Live Review by Rob Sutton
Photos by Callum Burgoyne

Metal to the Masses is a great place to go to find new bands and also watch bands progress through a competition for the ultimate prize, a place on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock. This year I have been following Manchester’s M2TM but felt like it wouldn’t be right to review until we got to the Semi finals. So after 8 heats and 4 quarter finals we arrive at the first semi final and to a massive 250+ turn out!

Taking to the stage first is Deathcore outfit Portrayal of Ruinn, a band I have reviewed on a number of occasions. Going on first at any point in the competition is daunting but these guys don’t mess around kicking right into their set and commanding the pits to be opened. Normally the way these guys control the crowd is unrivalled in the competition, but I think tonight nerves have got the better of them as we are asked for circle pits during a breakdown (doesn’t work so well) and walls of death are formed by the crowd without a leader to say when to charge. It just felt a bit scripted tonight almost like they had all sat down before the gig and said ‘wall of death here’ or ‘jump in the crowd then.’ Portrayal previously feed off the crowd and go with the flow and normally this sets them apart from other bands in the competition, whether it was scripted I don’t know but it seemed like they were over thinking or trying too hard. Another example of this ‘trying too hard’ was when the vocalist fucked off stage and beyond the crowd to the very back of the venue. Why? Fuck knows. He just seemed to stand around a bit then wander back to the stage. This was completely unnecessary and had the whole crowd facing the wrong way leaving the rest of the band playing to basically a photographer. One of the guitarists also tried this trick of going into the crowd but stayed firmly in the pit, this worked better, though because he decided to stop playing for a moment towards the end of the song, the outro lacked oomph so perhaps this wasn’t the wisest of moves. Having said that, when they are all on stage and head banging or bouncing on stage, they are a real pleasure to watch, the synchronised head banging is so nice to see and having the crowd all banging their heads in unison just adds to the feel. One other thing that seemed slightly off was the guitars, there are twangs in the final song which for some reason were just pained tonight but they weren’t the only band with this issue so this maybe sound related. However the transitions between clean and distorted guitars felt like an afterthought, I feel more of a build up with the drums or the other guitar feeding in would have made this change much smoother. This review really sounds like I am ripping Portrayal and I kind of am. Their performance in the quarter final was by far the best performance of any band this competition but this one felt try-hard and messy. I genuinely love Portrayal and so did the crowd but I know they can do better so, I would take what they did in the quarter final and play that if they progress to the final.

https://www.facebook.com/portrayalofruinn

With the stage now littered with Viking shields this can only mean one thing, Vlka Fenryka are next up. Starting off with a Viking chant without a backing track is something a bit different, adding the addition of a few horns (couldn’t hear them, gutted as this would have been cool) and a bit of dancing, yeah this is different! Their whole get up is fantastic and seems to whip the crowd in the Viking party atmosphere. We also have a nice mix of vocal styles as well, from the shouting/chanting to screaming to singing. The singing being a personal highlight as I felt his voice was spot on, not too much on the power metal side to be cheesy and not proggy enough to drone on. The screams I wasn’t so keen on, while the style of screams are done well, I don’t feel they were aggressive enough for the whole Viking style. Without sounding cliché, I would have liked growls instead. This would move them closer to the Amon Amarth style but with the addition of the cleans, I feel they would have enough of a unique selling point to make them stand out. As I said though there wasn’t actually anything wrong with the screams. This being my first time watching Vlka Fenryka I didn’t really know fully what to expect but being a Viking band I felt there would have been a crowd rowboat… there wasn’t. Maybe they are trying to make sure they don’t fall into the trap of copying others and seemed quite happy to stick with the horns in the sky or the chants and I don’t mind that. Very metal! Also harking back to the first set, a couple of the guitar solos here were also a bit everywhere. So much so, in one part I am pretty sure each member was playing a different song; I did wince as it was just so messy I couldn’t find the beat or tell what was going on. For that matter the tone of the guitar really didn’t fit the solos in general, they ended up cutting through and almost piercing the ear drums of the crowd. It was actually painful. Again this could have been a sound issue. Besides all of this Vlka Fenryka were great fun to watch, the whole set up completely changed the feel of the stage and the night. This was a very strong set. Skol guys!

https://www.facebook.com/vlkafenrykaband

Again with the sound issues but this time a monumental issue where the intro track doesn’t play and there are no vocals whatsoever! Never the less, Technologist start their set but in honesty this was completely pointless as they only got a tiny way through their first song before giving up. I don’t blame them either, nothing was working properly. While this was being sorted they did treat us to a nice jazz interlude so not all was lost. Once their set did start most of the issues were resolved but honestly the sound really fucked these guys both musically and with their confidence. And that unfortunately sets the tone for the rest of their set as they were fighting a losing battle. For me their confidence had been well and truly shaken and while they still showed their usual smiles with the hint of arrogance about their playing ability, you can tell they were not on form. The first half of their set did sound messy and uncoordinated. It was a real shame as throughout the entire competition these guys have been stunning to watch. Don’t get me wrong though, the second half of their 4 song set list was tight and their technical ability did shine through here but the addition of a new song into the set this close to the final was a very brave move. Having seen Technologist the Tuesday prior to this gig and they absolutely smashed it then, I am complete baffled as to why they decided now of all times to add a new song? Yes it was a good song but it didn’t feel like it had the mileage the other songs had already got and it really showed. Luckily they did keep a personal favourite of mine in the set and closed with ‘Reborn’ but even here, vocal queues were missed and it was noticeable with the drummer reminding the vocalist to come in. again this is a band I absolutely love and really wanted this set to be as good as all their others but everyone has off nights and they picked the wrong night to do so and, for me, has cost them going through.

https://www.facebook.com/Technologistband

Another band I watched last Tuesday, and frankly they pissed me right off at that gig by openly admitting that they were performing at 80%. This means that I have come to this gig expecting to be blown away and with a bit of a cloud over my head. So Dead Retinas at 100% then… Musically again their blend of Punk and Hardcore is just brilliant, I really love the mash up of these 2 genres and tonight is no exception. They are playing with full ferocity and sound amazing. Vocally again he sounds on point, with the punk shouts and metal growls sounding pretty damn good. Not only do these guys sound on point tonight but they also have the energy on stage. Much like Portrayal earlier there is a lot of head banging, a lot of movement and a great deal of crowd engagement. This includes a number of pits which are again present throughout their set. From this point these guys seem to be taking this competition by the balls and making it theirs. As with the previous bands having a few niggles or things that just didn’t work for me, Dead Retinas also have a few. I will start with the lack of a wireless microphone. The vocalist also makes a habit of spending more time in the crowd than on stage, again this doesn’t always work and with a wired mic less so. Because of this he has to have half the crowd holding the cable in the air so anyone moshing doesn’t trip over. I could make a joke about health and safety but in all seriousness just get a wireless and make everyone’s lives a little easier. Also climbing all around the venue is all fun and games but this is just overkill. As I have said before, there is a balance between being on stage and in the crowd and while they have found the balance in the music, they haven’t with this. Also, mentioning the voting tokens for me is a massive no, especially when it’s to vote for your own band, it makes you look arrogant in a bad way. Dead Retinas played a solid set but were again let down by little things/comments and it really is a shame.

https://www.facebook.com/DeadRetinas

Finally onto our guest headliners Asleep at the Helm, now if you have read any of my reviews of these guys before you will know how much I rave about them. Tonight was no exception, they were absolutely on it and that is even without a bassist! (Though the sound was a bit thin but this couldn’t be helped). Their whole set felt like they had made this specifically for me with a good mix of old and new songs, each of which having been played on my spotify countless times. AATH boast a mix of screamed and clean vocals and are performed by multiple members as well, each of the screams and growls are nailed to perfection and the clean vocal harmonies just tug at your heartstrings. Drums are absolutely on point as well, pretty sure there wasn’t a beat missed here which is impressive! AATH seemed to do away with the wandering around off stage and instead let their music and on stage performance do the talking and it works so well. Couple this with a charismatic front man and an engaging guitarist shouting at the crowd, they have the audience in the palm of their hands. It goes to show you don’t need to be constantly in the crowd to engage with the crowd. Everything these guys played tonight was just head and shoulders above the other bands and just shows that AATH are on a different level in terms of quality and professionalism by comparison. For me this was by far one of my favourite sets of the year, I just wish the promoter had let them finish with their cover of ‘Lady.’

https://www.facebook.com/AsleepAtTheHelmOfficial

So before I go into the results I would actually like to say that I am being overly critical on the bands but this is the semi final of M2TM so really these bands should be on top form. Don’t get me wrong, I did really enjoy each set but this being a semi final for Bloodstock and the final being only a matter of weeks away, I felt a lot of the bands needed to step their game up from the previous rounds and that just didn’t happen tonight. It really shows when the guest band completely owns the competing bands as they were on another level. Also the crowd voting system really showed its flaws that night; everyone who paid was given a token to vote. This meant people were walking in 1 song from the end and voting for a band that had already played! How is that remotely fair? I would love to see this voting system changed for next year where you get a token if you turn up before the first band starts and then open the voting when the last band finishes. This would stop people only turning up for the band they want and at least watching the other bands before making a decision. I’ll be honest the vote felt like a mockery of the system and extremely unfair to all bands.

Anyway going through was Vlka Fenryka and Portrayal of Ruinn, Vlka certainly deserved to go through and I would say so did Portrayal if I forget about this set and remember their quarter final set. Commiserations to Dead Retinas and Technologist, again I have seen both bands play a lot better than tonight but there is always next time.

On another note I will be back next week with the second semi final where hopefully I can be a bit more positive.

LINKS:

Rebellion:

Bloodstock M2TM Manchester:

Callum Burgoyne Photography:

Drew Scott Photographic:

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rob Sutton and Ever Metal. All photographic images are the property of Callum Burgoyne. 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.

Agent 47, Dead Retinas, Riot Eye, Technologist

Agent 47, Dead Retinas, Riot Eye, Technologist
The Peer Hat, Manchester
19/04/22
Live review by Rob Sutton

The Peer hat is a strange venue with what seems like a quaint pub upstairs and downstairs a small gloomy room with a low stage nestled in the corner. While it isn’t the biggest venue in Manchester, it certainly has a charm about it, although the smoking area (if you can call it that) is just an alleyway with no ashtray in sight… Venue aside, this was my first venture to an RR Promotions event, the promoter himself is probably one of the youngest I have seen, but this doesn’t mean he lacked professionalism – quite the opposite in fact, as the whole night ran incredibly smoothly and had a line-up featuring four bands who had been competing in M2TM Manchester, 2 of which were playing the semi-final the following Sunday.

First up was one of these bands, Technologist. Now I have seen these guys at pretty much every gig they have played, so I probably should know them inside out by now. Their mix of Opeth-style Progressive Metal with the melodies of bands such as Ne Obliviscaris is something I have mentioned during the review of their first gig, so I won’t waffle on about that side too much. Having watched Technologist a number of times it is fantastic to watch their confidence grow on stage, now we can see massive smiles on their faces, constant head banging and general showing off on their instruments. In doing this they consistently have the crowd’s jaws dropping as their sheer talent and precision during their set shines through and is simply unbelievable to watch! I mean let’s be honest here, who doesn’t love some face-melting guitar solos, a bass that slaps harder than Will Smith or a vocal range that rivals Michael Akerfeldt?

Musically this was close to perfection but I’m pretty sure I heard the phrase ‘last chance’ about 4 times during the set which really did begin to grate on me, even more so when their set time was forty minutes and they only played thirty minutes… I wanted 1 more chance!!!! Aside from this Technologist never cease to amaze me, a band to watch going forward.

https://www.facebook.com/Technologistband

Riot Eye are one of a very select group of bands that I have been looking forward to reviewing, not just because they are exceptionally young and talented, but because they are a genre that doesn’t really appeal to me but has me intrigued. Having first caught them during M2TM I found myself really enjoying their show, their old school Punk sound harks back to those good old days of a young teenage Rob at his local venue wearing baggy pants and eyeliner that looked like he had been crying just before entering the venue (not ashamed). They also bring the Punk attitude of being quite literally in the crowd’s faces and pushing them about, yes pits have begun.

Vocally, while not my personal preference, works perfectly for this genre and with a couple of cheeky solos on guitar for good measure it’s an enjoyable musical affair. For me however there are a couple of little niggles with the song writing, firstly way too many of their songs started with guitar alone, it would have been nice to mix this up a bit with maybe the bass starting or kicking in all at once. Also I’m pretty sure one of the riffs was from ‘Gay bar’ which was really noticeable and lastly the chant of ‘Riot Eye are Shit’ goes on for wayyyyyy too long. Besides all this Riot Eye are fantastic fun to watch and insane on stage. If there was an advert for Monster Energy drinks these guys would be that advert, they are plain and simply fun and that’s all that matters!

https://www.facebook.com/R%C3%AFot-Eye-100725635654448

From one Punk band to another Punk influenced band, this time with a nice hint of Hardcore to go with it. Dead Retinas pick up exactly where Riot Eye left off with some more, fast, punchy tracks but this time with a more metal twist. Dead Retina’s tread the line beautifully between these two genres and blend them almost seamlessly. The mix of skippy Punk beats to heavy breakdowns is just brilliant; throw this with the mash up of shouting and growling vocals just ticks so many boxes! Because of this yet more pits are present through their set as the whole band bounce around the stage or in some cases dancing on stage and again that seems to be what this band go for, high energy music.

However, at this point 1 comment got me: ‘we are only at 80% tonight as we have Metal to the Masses on Sunday.’ FUCK OFF! The crowd have paid money to watch bands give it their all and these guys openly admit they aren’t going to play 100%?! Shame as I really enjoyed their set and probably will again but this comment pissed me off so I’m only going to write 80% of their review tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/DeadRetinas

Agent 47 or 4gen7 or those guys with 3 guitarists and a drummer with dreadlocks longer than the M56, are one of those bands which have made a name for themselves as being fun! Tonight is no exception – their charisma onstage and inviting numerous guests to fill the void of Mark (another victim of the plague) was a very nice touch. Speaking of the guests we had Chris from Kringer and the Battle Katz filling on some vocals (shame the mix on these was so high he managed to drown even the drummer) and Luke on bass from Beyond Salvation. Both played their parts brilliantly and looked like they had been practicing with the band for a good while beforehand, even though they hadn’t.

Speaking of sound it did really let Agent 47 down as vocals were either too high or inaudible, guitars disappeared during some songs, it was all a bit messy but this wasn’t down to the band. Now whether this caused them to fall out of time with each other I’m not fully convinced. There were parts where I think a bit more practice wouldn’t hurt such as the stabs during one song and a few endings just felt un-polished. Asides from this there is a lot to really sink your teeth into here, the ‘almost’ Nu-Metal style rapping is phenomenally cool to listen to and their Death Metal tune grabs you by the nut sack and swings you across the room! While this was a little short of being a full headline set (can be excused as they are a man down) Agent 47 were really fun to watch and have a bit of a bounce around to. Bags of humour, lots of fun and some quality tunes to go with it… Fab!

https://www.facebook.com/Agent47UK

It was a night where all four bands I really enjoyed and Riley has done a cracking job of getting this many people in on a Tuesday night all while finishing early enough for people to get home for work the next day. I take my hat off to him on this one, bloody brilliant!

LINKS:

Venue:

Promoter:

…And Heavy Metal For Wigan January Showcase: The Boulevard – Wigan 15/01/2022

And Heavy Metal For Wigan January 2022 Showcase Poster

…And Heavy Metal For Wigan
January Showcase: The Boulevard – Wigan
15/01/2022
Review by Rob Sutton

The boulevard, Wigan, is a venue I’ve been to, and spoken about, in previous reviews so I am not going to waste your time by saying it all again, I’ll just say it’s a great venue! And even though this January showcase clashed with a lot of other gigs in the North West, there was a fairly good turnout, and this was down to the promoter and the fact that the line up was fantastic!

This was my first gig of 2022 and the first band had a lot of unknown pressure on them because of this! 2021 was incredible for me in terms of gigs and finding new bands and this first band were not only new to me, but also new to the stage, playing their first ever show! Judging by the way the first song went, there were a lot of nerves, thus it was a little ropey. However, once they heard the cheers after the first song their confidence sky-rocketed and they presented the crowd with a fantastic mix of Prog/Tech Death and Djent. Throughout the set the riffs were on another level, with a clear mix of heavy and technical. Throw in with this some powerful growls and some good cleans, and it really hit the spot. Having said this, their presence onstage was far from confident, but I think with time this will definitely improve, as these guys seriously have talent. That imposing nature which goes with this genre will come. Technologist also made a note to introduce ‘Reborn’ and I am glad they did! This was by far the strongest song of their set, and showcased their ability to blend both brutality and melody to perfection. For the first band of 2022 this was a surprise and a welcome one. By far and away the best debut show I have ever seen!

https://www.facebook.com/Technologistband/

A very late addition to the gig was Karma’s Puppet, who I did review late last year in Macclesfield. At that gig I commented on the clean vocals not quite being my cup of tea, but this time they seemed a little more refined – somehow they seemed to have upped their game in a month! There was a very Alter Bridge feel to the cleans and it worked. Add these to the Linkin Park style screams and you have a Groovy/Hard Metal style, coupled with old school mid 00’s Metalcore, and almost Bullet for my Valentine style music, and it creates catchy, nostalgic brilliance. Karma’s Puppet brought an atmosphere of professionalism (when they remembered the song order!) that feels like they should be playing bigger stages. They probably should have been higher on this bill, but again they were a last minute addition. To pick a little bit at this set, Simon (Mayo) needs to get closer to the mic when providing backing vocals, as most of the time we couldn’t hear him at all. Also a few of the breakdowns did end up sounding a little samey, but Karma’s Puppet packed so much energy into this set and made their 30 minutes fly by that quickly, that I actually wanted so much more, this was such a huge improvement on the first time I saw them, and they even threw in an absolute belter of a new song. Honestly watch these guys! This was amazing!

https://www.facebook.com/karmaspuppet/

Dive South were next up – again another band I have not seen before. Looking at the logo I was expecting their set to be very heavy – Deathcore or heavier. What I was met with was strangely, Metalcore? Now I am a huge fan of Metalcore, most of the gigs I went to last year were Metalcore. However, the addition of clean vocals here did nothing for me. In some cases they were flat and dare I say, sounded like karaoke. Their second song was a prime example of this. Although, as a complete contrast to this, their heavier, more growly side was exceptional, their breakdowns and low vocals really reminded me of old school Parkway Drive and this got my head moving. Dive South also suffered with a few technical difficulties and while the vocalist did his best to try and cover up the issues, these were still blatantly obvious to the audience. At no point am I saying that Dive South are a bad band but this set didn’t show what I believe is their hidden true potential. The pieces are most certainly here but I feel they need to play to their strengths and not what the rest of the genre does.

https://www.facebook.com/Divesouthofficial/

If you have read any of my reviews before then you have probably heard the name Asleep At The Helm. I have previously raved about these guys and even put their live set in Blackpool in my top 10 of 2021. I will be straight up and honest first off, this wasn’t as good as that set. But that is by no means saying this was a bad set; in fact it was far from it. Despite being down a bassist, you could not tell, as the low end on both guitars covered this beautifully, meaning the sound was as full as ever. I always love a cheeky use of backing tracks and yet again these guys used them sparingly but effectively. This was also one of their first gigs showcasing their new album, “Keepsake” (absolute gem of an album which they need to send for review). The new songs they played from this sounded fantastic. They have so much oomph live and they had the crowd completely in their hands when they threw in a couple of oldies. Their set saw the only pits of the night, including spin kicking and leaving me with a very sore back, neck, and life for the next 3 days! If you can’t tell, I love this band, they are the new age of Metalcore, which I cannot get enough of. There were a couple of slip ups and mistakes but all in all, this was another fantastic set from them. I seriously cannot recommend these guys enough!

https://www.facebook.com/AsleepAtTheHelmOfficial

The Boulevard is an amazing venue and while I hear people say that the line ups on here get a bit samey, I can’t see it! This was a night where 2 bands I have seen before stepped it up and 2 bands that I haven’t seen before made me want to see them again. Oli at …And Heavy Metal For Wigan smashed it yet again and I will be back again as much as I can!

One more shout out for tonight. Sadly 40,000 Leagues couldn’t play due to the dreaded virus and I was looking forward to watching them again but despite this 2 of the members did turn up to the gig and this was incredible to see. I’ve already reviewed them and if you haven’t heard them, go check them!

…And Heavy Metal For Wigan Link: