More metal from Leicester

Metal bands, gigs and reviews

Continuing our efforts to make more of metal in Leicester.

Our earlier page on Metal had become very long; so we decided to start this one.

See our previous page on metal in 2016 and the Metal2  to the Masses shows.

Sunday 22nd May

More Semi-finalising

Kevin Gaughan was at Firebug to see the bands that played in the second semi-final of Metal2 The Masses.

Here are Kevin’s photos:

Metal to the Masses Semi final 2 at Firebug, Leicester, 22/05/16

The special guest band at tonight’s show was Ballsdeep.

Resin Events posted on its Facebook page:

Completing the final for Metal 2 the Masses Leicester and joining BLOOD OATH and Final Coil are …
Temple of Lies, Garganjua and Conjurer.
Also joining the ‪#‎UPRISING‬ event on the acoustic stage  – The Midnight Dogs.
And opening the night before Uprising for CAMBION Krysthla and King Leviathan will be The Mire Deep.

Sunday 15th May

Semi-final is far from a semi
Firebug

Tonight’s offering at Metal2 was far from flaccid. With The Mire Deep, The Midnight Dogs, Bload Oath, Final Coil and special guests Collapse on the line-up, we all knew we were in for something hard.

Metal2 has had an extraordinarily good run of gigs all of which have attracted firm attendances. Leicester’s metal scene has enjoyed something of a renaissance since this series started back in March.

Tonight the stage exploded into action with a performance by The Mire Deep. Wrought from deeply impactful riffs, fearsome chords and blazing beats, their set rolled into the room like a tsunami. If metal is to be enjoyed it must hit hard, it must smash and burn; this band did all that and more.

Midnight Dogs started their set with an extended guitar flourish before launching into stomping beats. It might not have been mainstream metal, as someone commented to me later, but it was defintely rock and roll. These guys rocked the room, relentlessly. They poured gallons of high octname fuel into the hall and lit it with rollicking rhythms and a swaggering set of songs that ignited the audience.

We were bombed with the successive ordnance of the set by Blood Oath. Marshaling their heavy guns, they fired volleys of armour-penetraing riffs at us.   Their lead vocalist screaming, shouting and growling into the mic. the drummer pounding the ground with rounds of frantic munitions and together they blasted the room with showers of incendiary devices. The band’s songs had razor-sharp endings, confrontational songs took no hostages, in a fireball set that exploded into the hall with ear-bleeding fury.  It was sensational.

A performance by Final Coil is like waiting at a bus stop; you can stand for ages and nothing comes and then suddenly loads turn up at once. I might not be a seasoned metal-head but I know a good band when I see one. High levels of technical ability. Ear-licking minor key melodies. Compulsive beats that have the front row hair-twirling and head hanging. Sumptuous guitar chords expertly blended into give a hall-mark sound and cunning orchestration behind driven vocals – it all adds up to a performance of monumental proportions. Songs that are full of impact, they energise the audience with exhilarating magic. It was a set that was invigorating right to the last note.

Tonight’s show included a set by special guests Collapse. Not a band I had seen before tonight but I know they are a metal band from London that formed in 2009 and cite their influences as ‘The Haunted, Devildriver, Carcass’ and the band’s lead singer is  man-mountain, ‘a 22 stone giant with a throat like shredded glass.’  The band has received impressive reviews for its recent album ‘…in the Shadow of Man.’

Voting for tonight’s bands started as soon as the lst band had finished playing and fans submitted their first and second choices, which counted for 30% of the results, the rest coming from the panel of judges. The two bands from tonight to go through to the final were Blood Oath and Final Coil.

See photos from tonight’s show by Fletch Photography on Facebook

Sunday 24th April 2016

The Firebug

Metal 2 The Masses quarter finals.

with Hells Addiction, Temple of Lies, Final Coil, The Mire Deep and Beckon Lane.

What phased me at the start of tonight’s gig was hearing heavy metal music and seeing daylight outside. It was a 6pm start for this Sunday show. Hells Addiction to started to play and for a moment you thought Axl Rose was on stage. Their lead singer had that characteristic sound to his voice. Taut, urgent and fired, with blistering guitar solos, this is one hell of a band.  I have been following them for years. They can do with a pedalled guitar what some musicians can do with a violin. Stonkingly good stuff.

I knew before I got there that this woud be a night of superbly good music.  A lot of other people must have had the same idea because the room was full. Having seen Temples of Lies before, I knew what to expect: pounding music, forceful vocals, magnificent playing, lashings of raw energy… What I like about this band is that they don’t just play music – they live it. They gave the crowd a thoroughly good set.

Technical fluency magnified the emotion and musical impact of what was heard from Final Coil. On stage this band gives it their all. I love this band and I think I’m not the only one. What makes them stand out is their originality. They are maestros of metal and they never fail to amaze. Consistently wonderful you can warm your hands on the fire that burns intensely in their music. This is a band that excels, in my opinion.

They played at Duffys bar in one of the early heats of M2M and we said then ‘Opening the show The Mire Deep, from Nuneaton, started its set with deep, fearful, pounding chords that heralded the lead vocalist’s low, gravelly voice, supplemented by shining guitar work and relentlessly forceful beats. Heavy metal in all its glory.’ They come from Nuneaton; a town that has spawned some of the best bands over the years. I watched Alex Rollason’s bass playing; actually I was impressed. Not many people bother with bassists. Flinging himself into the music like the junky of bass-playing. This band produced some deeply sepulchral sounds full of agression and gravity, their riffs cleaved the air and axed the atmosphere. Superb.

The show came a climax with Beckon Lane. Metal is a genre that relies on power, so metal bands have to be fuelled by high octane energy and radiate cart-loads of commitment. This band has a resonance and vitality that hit the mark. With their two vocalists and thrilling performance, this Nottingham band put on a show that was volcanic.  I also liked the way that they bigged up the other bands. It wasn’t all about them; it was about the night.

This series of show was organised by Resin Events and let’s hail them for doing it. They have brought metal to Leicester in a big way. They also set themselves very hard choices; tonight was no exception. Only two bands could go through and all of them were so good you might have chosen the two at random. The bands that went through at tonight’s show were: Temples of Lies and The Mire Deep.

See photos from tonight’s show on the Facebook page for Fletch Photography.

See also:

Our previous article featuring Metal2TheMasses.