18th March 2018
at Firebug
with Smack Jack and the Many Grams, Black Chapter, Every Rope a Noose and Scrap Iron Scarecrows
Tonight’s show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester.
Reviewed by Kashif Hussain
Another Sunday means another Metal 2 the Masses heat. Resin Events hosts the final heat at Firebug, where four more bands duked it out for the honour of being able to advance to the next stage of the competition, and bring them one step closer to gracing the stage at Bloodstock.
Post-hardcore group Smack Jack & the Many Grams were first to take to the stage. Featuring grunge-inspired riffs and vocals sure to be hit among fans of bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden. Every now and then they had a few atmospheric, spoken word sections before continuing the riffs, which were bound to catch the audience’s attention
Derby quartet Black Chapter were up next, after having to cancel playing last week’s heat. Playing a no-nonsense form of hard rock fused with heavy metal and plenty of grooves and shredding. Their old-school style was belied by the distinct microphone used by vocalist Carl, whose crooning and shouting was a great fit for the music.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Black Chapter, from tonight’s gig.
Up next were Every Rope a Noose, a local metalcore quintet. There was plenty of energy as singer Vic jumped and danced her way across the stage, her clean vocals offset by guitarist Hayden’s death metal growls. Groove-laden riffs and breakdowns lead to plenty of headbanging in the crowd, eventually resulting in a moshpit or two.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Every Rope a Noose, from tonight’s gig.
Last but not least were Scrap Iron Scarecrows, a symphonic/industrial metal duo made up of former member of The Relinquished. What this amounted to was two guys in edgy Halloween outfits singing and screaming over a backing track, all the while their vocals were muffled from the masks they were wearing. On-stage theatrics and costumes are fine, but Metal 2 the Masses is a battle of the bands, not a karaoke contest. Maybe they could’ve had a better shot with an actual band behind them, but until then the crowd were having none of it.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Scrap Iron Scarecrows, from tonight’s gig.
When the results finally came in, it was revealed that Smack Jack & the Many Grams and Black Chapter are through to the next round, while Every Rope a Noose were crowned wildcard. Previous wildcards Gallows High and Event Horizon were also chosen to advance in the competition. Every band that’s been voted through has performed admirably so far, so it’ll be interesting to see what they’ll do to make it past the quarter finals starting next month.