22nd April 2018
at Firebug
with Stonepit Drive, Event Horizon, Dawn of Anubis, Black Chapter, Thuum and Morass of Molasses
Tonight’s show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester.
Reviewed by Martin Baker
So here we have the next exhilarating round of the Metal to the Masses phenomenon and this round was extra special let me tell you that! We had a full bill of bands and some absolute corkers on, if you missed it then make sure you get to the next one because things are hotting up now!
First on were the four piece Stonepit Drive and they set the scene for the evening, hitting hard with an amazing sound, amazing audience inclusion and interaction, impressive original songs and an all round enjoyable and uplifting performance. These guys made some awesome music.
They clearly loved what they were doing and it come through in their performance which helped everyone in the room engage and enjoy their set with them. I’m surprised the drummer wasn’t constantly breaking sticks as he was so powerful with every hit his passion (and the whole band’s) was on fire. Outstanding start to the evening.
We had a five piece up next, Event Horizon. Having not heard these guys before I was excited as to what expect and wow I liked it! For such a young band to be giving off the energy and sheer power they were amazing to watch! After a great intro to their set we got some great songs and Philosophical Paradox was a great change of pace that for me was a favourite, more of that please!
I feel like this band has got so much to give and with a good deal of polishing in their act they could be absolutely brilliant no doubt about it. Guitars needed to be more clear to make out exactly what was going on to fulfill the experience for me but it took nothing away from their powerful performance, these guys were great to watch and interacted with the crowd like second nature.
Dawn of Anubis took to the stage next and they wasted no time getting down and dirty with a high intensity performance. There were some great vocal harmonies and different ranges of talents from all members of the band portrayed across their set, delivered with a good level of professionalism that I can definitely applaud.
The only thing that I couldn’t help noticing was the recurring china cymbal “breakdown” which in my opinion just seemed a bit bland while the other parts of their songs were so vibrant. The crowd were loving their performance though and were well received with some proper headbangers getting their fair share of meaty riffs to get stuck into.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Dawn of Anubis, from tonight’s gig.
Watch another video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Dawn of Anubis, from tonight’s gig.
Last of the competing bands were Black Chapter from Derby who seemed to bring a coach-load of their own fans with them all wearing the same t-shirts saying “all aboard,” a somewhat confusing motto which presumably meant something?
These guys were a bit slower in pace, more classic rock in style with a few heavier/faster passages. Mid way through their set the songs seemed to pick up and get more interesting and there’s no denying the fact that the crowd were absolutely loving it, however, I’ve never seen a more stern faced guitarist in my life! Seemed to be a bit of a chore for him unless he was soloing away which was hard to engage with but I guess that might be his “persona.” Nevertheless a good all round professional performance if a bit pub-band like.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Black Chapter, from tonight’s gig.
We had a treat of Thuum next as a guest band, and let me tell you that these guys are absolute powerhouses. Right from the beginning of their set you were hit with intense catchy riffs and brutal lyrics which I absolutely loved.
Having said this though the clean parts to their songs were just as amazing and captivating as the rest and a welcome addition to their music. Overall still an un-arguably impressive band which have a much better defined performance since coming through Metal to the Masses preciously.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Thuum, from tonight’s gig.
Lastly, another guest band Morass of Molasses finished the night off with their punchy doomy aggressive awesomeness and we all loved every minute of it. They have great charisma on-stage and I love watching Bones the Beard perform, he’s brilliant, not to say the rest of the band aren’t because I love all three of them!
There’s enough power and intensity coming out of these guys’ performance to rip the ears off an elephant, every moment I was wishing their performance not to end and for them to continue bopping around giving me classic catchy riffs upon riffs. Amazing.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Morass of Molasses, from tonight’s gig.
So with the last of the bands performed it was time for the announcements and the bands who made it through to the next round were Dawn of Anubis and Black Chapter. See you at the Semi Finals!