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Tuesday 5 March 2019

Metal To The Masses South Wales 2019 Heat 4 Preview

Bloodstock Metal To The Masses South Wales 2019 Heat 4

Continuing our previews of the bands contesting the heats for the chance to perform on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Festival in August 2019, we arrive at Heat 4. Wow! This is moving at pace this year. Anyway, with another five-band epic in store for us on 8th March, four of the five bands who are appearing were good enough to get back to us with their answers. Where better place to start than the Grandmother’s favourite, Anal Floss Is Boss.

Anal Floss Is Boss

Let’s start with some background. Give us a potted history of the band. “Anal Floss Is Boss started as a side project in 2007 as a two piece, went solo in 2009, brief hiatus & then came back in 2016 with an aim of taking the band more seriously”. As a solo outfit, let’s have the current line-up. “Current line-up is just me, 'Dirty Dez'”.

With a name like AFIB, your nan might think they would be a good 1950s dance hall combo. But let’s put nan right. How would you describe the band’s sound? “Dirty, groovy beats, great samples, fun dance tracks”. So, nan was right! This will be great. We could have a Fuel first full of filthy octogenarians giving it large. This could be the clincher for your nana though? Who are the main influences for the band? “There are so many, so I'll just name the top five who made me want to start playing this genre of music, Rompeprop, Cock and Ball Torture, Cliteater, Cemetery Rapist and Mortician.” Well, if that doesn’t get your granny on the dance floor, she must be six feet under, and even then, partial to a bit of the old Cemetery Rapist.

Let’s move swiftly on to the lawn question. Lemmy once said “if we moved in next door your grass would die”. If you moved in next door, what would happen to my lawn? “You'll have to share in my allotment of porno mags, porn vids & sexy toys of all varieties.” Amazing. Porno mags are still a thing. Thought the internet killed all that but clearly not for our man Dez.

Onto more serious stuff and ask Dez what prompted AFIB to apply for the MTTM competition? “While I tend not to play Cardiff often, I do enjoy playing at M2TM as it brings a new audience which may not go to a show with a refined/specific bill in place”. And what can we expect from you at Fuel? “An entertaining party that'll last for 30 mins involving sexy samples of many varieties, groovy riffs to make you want to party & busting moves on the stage to dance tunes.”
There is a strong line-up this year and the competition will be fierce. It’s great to have a healthy Welsh Metal scene. Playing this event always seems to raise the game. Tell us a few highlights for the band since you started. "There are many highlights, the best has to be meeting new and old fans in different venues, the bands sharing the stage with and the biggest highlight is playing shows in Europe with more dates TBA soon”

Have you been to Bloodstock before? If so, tell us some of your experiences; why is it such a great festival? “Have indeed, my experiences mainly revolve around the campsites with plenty of beer and food, but of course to soak up the atmosphere of the whole festival”. And finally, tell us something unusual that you feel needs to be shared with the rest of the metal community. “Well, if you come to the show, you'll get all that information in a few mins of watching, that’s for sure. Also, my Drummer is a Phone”.

Fallen Temples

How do you follow that? Well, a bit of old school veteran South Wales metal would be my suggestion. So here is Fallen Temples, who are no doubt ready to smash it. Let’s start with some background. Give us a potted history of the band. “We existed for years as a band called TIDAL playing with the likes of Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, Revoker, Diamond Head and Feeder, however when our singer left (now with Airrace), we thought it a good time to change our name to match our switch down to a three piece”. Tidy. Introduce us to the current line-up. “On guitar and vocals we have Adam Vaughan, on bass Joe Lewis and on drums Joe Stirland. Both Joe's being well over six foot tall!" Okay, this should be a laugh in Fuel then. Better shout out ‘duck’ on a regular basis then!

How would you describe the band’s sound? “Making the biggest sound possible is one of the main goals, and we always get comments after gigs on how impressed people are on how full our sound is, especially for a three piece. We specialise in making huge sounding, catchy, groovy songs with real headbanger riffs that get people moving”. And what about the main influences for the band? “Older bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are pretty close to our heart, but then incorporating more modern textured sounds like Soundgarden, Clutch, Monster Truck and Pantera are equally as prominent meaning we arrive at a pretty varied and unique vibe.” Nice. Rarely do we get a reference to Monster Truck but live they are a real tour de force so looking forward to this.

What about the lawn issue? Lemmy once said “if we moved in next door your grass would die”. If you moved in next door, what would happen to my lawn? “All the grass would all migrate into our garden and bounce in unison to the riffage seeping through the brickwork”.
What prompted the band to apply for the M2TM competition? “The vibe on the nights of the competition when we've attended has just been so good. Whilst it's a competition, the bands are there to have a good night with likeminded people. Obviously, the prize of a slot at Bloodstock would be a dream. There’re just no negatives!” What can we expect from Fallen Temples at Fuel? “We're just going to do our thing! We love what we do, and others seem to be into it too. With plenty of headbanging opportunities, we very much partake and have never finished show without looking like we've been in a shower fully clothed. Everyone should have a great time”. Fully clothed showers. Better for everyone I reckon.

Apart from the shower thing, what about a few highlights for the band since you started.

“We've got a few really. Playing Planet Rockstock with Black Stone Cherry was incredible, great day to see our name on the same t-shirts and posters. Reaching the final ten out of 500 bands in the Hard Rock Highway to Hell 2017 competition was insane, a real honour. And performing as the closing Sunday night headliner of mid-Wales festival Kingsfest was a night to remember. We've never seen people so alive at any live show before - we can't wait to go back in May”. To be fair, those are impressive highlights. This should be good fun.

Okay, on to the festival itself. Who in the band has been? “Our bassist Joe has been to Bloodstock in both 2014 and 2016. He had a great time! It's just right size to get around easily and roll your way out of the tent into the venue and back when on the booze. He said it was a friendly atmosphere with everyone there to enjoy some great heavy music.” I’d say Joe has it spot on.

And finally, tell us something unusual about each band member that you feel needs to be shared with the rest of the metal community. “Lewis: He has spent several summers as a Gladiator reenactor, performing at Caerphilly Big Cheese event and the Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon. So, he's used to handling heavy metal. Stirland: He brews his own beer including a batch called Ace of Spades as a tribute to Lemmy. He also builds and fly's his own drones!" Is it too late to ask Stirland if he was anywhere near Gatwick Airport before Christmas then? Sounds a bit dodgy to me. Anyway, what about Vaughan? “I'm lucky to still be here to talk to you having bumped into a shark whilst snorkelling in the Indian Ocean last week!” That sounds like a tale to explore on Friday night. Thanks to Fallen Temples. Looking forward to seeing these guys perform.

Incursion

Heat 4 promises to be another tough one and next up last year’s finalists Incursion. Having regrouped, the band are ready to go again. Here’s what Jonny had to say.

Let’s start with some background. Give us a potted history of the band. “Starting in early 2015 this was always meant to be for fun, I mean how could you take us seriously? Guitarist and bassist playing along with drum tracks, and just having a laugh with it all. We started getting invited to more and more shows in England and Wales and getting a good response from those who watched us play. Fast forward to becoming a three-piece and although we still have our sense of humour and have a lot of fun playing we've been picked up by Enso Music Management, endorsed by Vocalzone, found ourselves in the finals for Metal To The Masses twice, battle for Mammothfest finalists, an EP that we're proud of and a whole new take on what lies in 2019 and beyond.”

Incursion is “me (Jonny) on guitar and vocals, Adam bass and Robbie on drums.”

How would Jonny describe the band’s sound? “Anthems for the end of the world! We're a mix of a lot of sounds. We've always maintained we're a metal band, others have coined us as “industrial thrash metal", ultimately come check us out and figure out what we are!” Fair play, I can’t argue with that. Always the best place to find out is the live arena. So, who are the main influences for the band? “Strapping Young Lad, Avatar, Devildriver, Machine Head and then comedy and cartoons.”

We arrive at the lawn question once more. Lemmy once said “if we moved in next door your grass would die”. If you moved in next door, what would happen to my lawn? “Adam would more than likely be collapsed in it, Robbie would be peeking over the fence, and Jonny would probably mow it, before setting it on fire.” A conscientious Firestarter. Jonny has his morals in completely the right place.

Given Incursion’s history, this is a bit of a daft question but what prompted them to apply for the M2TM competition? “It's where Incursion started and after being finalists twice in a row we feel as though we have something to prove in winning. The other side we always like checking out bands we've not had much contact with, the ladies and gentlemen at Fuel are always great to us too which always makes the experience playing there very enjoyable!” So, what can we expect from you at Fuel? “A lot of pent up rage mixed with fun, games and chaos!”

Incursion already have a healthy list of achievements, but Jonny provides a few more highlights for the band since you started. “A highlight for me personally was that in 2018 we'd just released Scourge a few days before the show, building up to that song and when playing it the room went nuts couple that with the crowd singing my lyrics back to me that was a surreal moment, but totally awesome too! Another highlight may have been seeing Adam's mother in a wall of death [that was epic!], or even back in 2017 when we made the training montage for the finals which people still talk about today.” If you haven’t seen this video, you really should check it out. Absolutely smashed it.

Have you been to Bloodstock before? If so, tell us some of your experiences; why is it such a great festival? “I myself am a festival n00b, I've worked rigging for some festivals years ago, and went to one last year and thoroughly enjoyed, so win/lose I'll be attending more this year for sure! I can call back to the Lemmy garden question here and replace garden with festival as an answer for Rob and Adam!” With some trepidation we approach the final question. Tell us something unusual about each band member that you feel needs to be shared with the rest of the metal community. “Adam is actually Post Malone’s stunt double. Eagles have been known to be confused by Rob due to his nose, and I am by far the funniest of this trio.” Phew! That could have been a lot worse. Thanks to Jonny and Incursion for their time. Be sure to check these guys out as they bring a lot to the South Wales scene.

Lead By Lies

We finally eked some words out of Lead By Lies, crawling over the line way after the deadline. Fingers crossed that their delivery is more efficient on the stage at Fuel. Here’s what Ryan Griffiths told us about the band. 

“The origins of the music started when Lewis (Lead Guitarist) started recording out bedroom recordings probably around six -eight years ago and being the baby of the band, that's a long time for the little guy! One of the tracks from way back then, albeit reworked became our track we now play known as Watching Out. After a couple of years, he came together with Joe (rhythm guitar) and then Sam (drums) along with a now ex-bassist. From there, they contacted a Vocalist (Ryan) that was recommended through a friend, but it turned out that Lewis and Ryan already knew each other. Months went by with small improvements made here andthere. A new bassist was found, and a new lease of life is given to the band, playing a Chester Bennington Memorial gig at Fuel Rock Club. Soon after, issues occurred that meant we started to look for a new bassist once again. After months upon months, the band fell stagnant until the addition of bassist, Ashley. This gave us all a huge kick and we all agreed: “If we are gonna make
something of this band, let's fucking do it." This brings us up to late 2018 and
since then, we are hitting as hard as possible, as often as possible.”

Lead By Lies current line-up is: “Vocals: Ryan Griffiths. A guitarist at first instrument but a multi-instrumentalist. He started singing around the age of 14- 15 by waiting until he has his home to himself so he could get up a backingtrack and try his luck at Alter Bridge songs. His description of how he soundedfirst off recording these kinds of tracks was the cross between a dying cat and an old man getting a kick to the nuts!” (Bit like Alter Bridge then!) “Only over time his technique improved, and he today sounds not as bad...I hope! Bass Ashley Ball. He is a typical metal bassist in which I mean he's a guitarist butpicked up a bass because 'no one else would' a few years ago. He is definitelynot the typical ‘guitarist playing bass’ player, however. He has homed in his own style and character that never fails to bring raunchy, sexy low-end. Lead Guitar: Lewis Matthews. Lewis first picked up the guitar at the age of 6 or 7. From a young age, he found a huge interest in playing guitar whilst finding his love for metal around the same time. This long-time association with metal has helped him work for the most part exclusively on metal stylings. In recent years, he has found his love for obscure guitar solos with a blend of harmonically beautiful sounds with more dissonant and atonal inflections; this helps set his solo style quite recognisable. Rhythm Guitar: Joe Clissold. Joe is not the typical guitarist who started playing at a young age and had year to perfect his skill. A good friend of Lewis (Lead Guitarist) he was taught by Lewis how to play. Joe picked up the instrument very quickly and was soon able to play to a competent level. A few years later, he is always now providing a solid rhythm drive. Drums: Sam Williams. Sam started playing drums at the age of 14 when he saw a friendtaking drum lessons and thought it "looked aiyt". He had a slightly more casual start than most but seemed to take to the kit like a duck to a loaf of bread. Starting out, his influences included Paramore and Green day but over time, he has developed a heavier style of playing as he progressed his playing into a more technical and virtuosic skill set.” 

Okay, I take it all back. I can see why, with such lengthy answers, that it’s taken these guys so long to get it back to us. This isn’t an exam guys!!

So, what about the band’s sound? “For a while, we struggled to put a name on our style, but I think the best and most concise way to describe our sound is a mix between old Avenged Sevenfold and new Avenged Sevenfold with a touch of Bullet for My Valentine.” 

It probably isn’t going to be a surprise but what about
influences? “I think I may have covered this with the last question!” (I think you have but for the sake of routine let’s Carry on and drag this bit out a bit more!) 

“As already talked about, old Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet as some of our heavy hard rock/Metal riffs blending with some screamed verses making sure every riff is strong enough to be memorable. The reason I also mention Avenged newer material is because we also have a healthy blend of some symphonicphrases with Lewis's lead parts. Other influences include Bullet for MyValentine, Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, Trivium and touches of Slipknot.”

It’s time for the lawn question and perhaps a warning to us all. “Oh, that’s hard one! Hmm, see straight away I have a mental image of Joe sat on a sofa on the lawn drinking Budweiser leaving his cans everywhere. He's earnt the name 'Redneck' and I have no idea why or where it came from, but I can't help but seeing him in a big ass pickup truck... MURICA! YEAH!” Keep an eye out if the neighbours move folks. Joe may or may not be your ideal neighbour". Fucking Budweiser though???

Back to the sensible questions and why did the band apply. “The reason we applied for Metal To The Masses is because we plan to hit it hard this year and what better way? It has huge potential for unknown bands to show the world what they're made of.” 

A fair point and we look forward to the guys delivering the goods. What can we expect at Fuel then? “Dirt, grit, punch, anger, maybe at touchof comedy and giving every damn ounce of energy.” 

That is the correct answer (although just a reminder, this isn’t an exam!) What about highlights for the band? “Probably our biggest highlight as a band was after almost a year off and a change of line-up, we came back to the scene by playing our first gig back at an all-day event at the Tramshed.” 

Sadly, none of the guys have made it to BOA yet. “I (Ryan the Vocalist) has never been and as far as I know, none of the guys have been. It's always been one on the bucket list but damn those bills gotta come first.” 

And finally, what do we need to know about this lovable bunch? “Lewis is weird. And no, I don't mean just a bit of an odd person. He can be a regular guy for most of the time but when you're in the middle of the band practice, something just... snaps. He ends up using his musical abilities to slip Jingle Bells into the middle of a shred filled solo! I mean sometimes you wanna slap him out of it, but he's got such a baby face, you can't bring yourself to do it. Sam is simply an awesome guy to have around. Not only for his drum skills but he is so damn grounded that he'll ask me what I thought about the smallest little details in his drumming and he really cares about the feedback. Also, he's essentially that one rational guy in a group of drunk nutcases, even when everyone’s sober but not in a way that he's boring, he's just as damn insane as everyone in the band but seems to tap into a mental state that most people don't. When asking Joe about this question all I got was "I got a medium sized penis". Do I need to say more? Ashley is probably the quietest of band and as I think about it, it makes him seem more intelligent. You know. I think he might think before he says something when he does say something, it's nowhere near as dumb as some of the shit that comes out of the rest of our mouths. Ryan has a bit of a pre-show routine. Essentially the 'Jim Carey' anyone who is in a car with him on the way to a venue deserves a medal for not opening the door and pushing him out on the M4. To make sure he has energy onstage, he starts working up that energy in the few hours leading up to it.”
Rapture's End were playing this heat and did give us answers to the questions, but unfortunately they had to pull out of the M2TM this year. So once again, we wish all the bands the best of luck with their heat. It should be another cracker. See you at Fuel.

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