5th March 2018
at Duffy’s bar
with Supersonic Death Monkey, Gallows High, Monachopsis and Graves
Tonight’s show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester.
Reviewed by Kashif Hussain
Music in Leicester returns to Duffy’s for the third heat of Leicester’s Metal 2 The Masses, where four more bands compete to have a shot at playing this year’s instalment of Bloodstock Open Air.
Kicking things off this week are the interestingly named Supersonic Death Monkey, hailing from Derby. Formerly a trio, they recently added a bassist to their line-up, who made his first stage appearance tonight and gave the band a more complete sound. They played tracks from their debut EP Blueprints for Destruction, which they released towards the end of last year. Their old school, hard rock sound is sure to remind listeners of a golden age Metallica, particularly the Hetfield-esque vocals.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Supersonic Death Monkey, performing at tonight’s gig.
Next up were Gallows High, from Leicester. They already have some experience with Metal 2 The Masses, as they were quarter finalists in last year’s competition. Their brand of alt/hard rock was just as energetic as their stage presence. Singer Emma Wale’s vocal range was impressive to say the least, as was their melodic guitar work. Their set consisted of their self-titled debut EP released last year, as well as new songs such as Pills and Telepath.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Gallows High, performing at tonight’s gig.
Monachopsis were definitely the odd ones out in tonight’s line-up. After being deemed “too chaotic” by the judges in last year’s M2TM competition, they returned with their signature blisteringly fast technical death metal. Fresh off their awesome debut EP release on Friday, the quintet returned to the stage at Duffy’s for another chaotic live performance. Despite a few technical issues towards the start of their set, they finished strong and inspired plenty of moshing and movement in the crowd.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Monachopsis, performing at tonight’s gig.
The final band of the night was Graves from Leicestershire. Billing themselves as “Original Hard Rock Grunge,” the four-piece had a distinctive sound that was kind of like a cross between nineties alt rock bands like Pearl Jam and more modern rock such as Queens of the Stone Age. Interestingly, their set featured a light up cactus on stage as they played, possibly as a good luck charm which ended up working in their favour.
Watch this video, by Kevin Gaughan, of Graves, performing at tonight’s gig.
A short wait after the final set and the results were in: Graves and Monachopsis are through to the next round, while Gallows High were named this week’s wildcard and are still in with a chance to win. With half of the heats over and three left the competition is already in full swing. Six bands are already through to the quarter finals, and metal fans across Leicester are surely eager to see who will be joining them in the coming weeks.