The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Blind Divide (Paul H)

Of all the bands that have won M2TM in recent years, none will make me smile more that our own Blind Divide. Veteran campaigners, they’ve completed a couple of interviews before the heats and the semi-finals, so I moved away from my standard questions and mixed it up a bit.

Paul: We’ve covered you guys in some detail over the past few months so it would seem a bit ridiculous to ask you some of the more mundane questions. Instead let’s move straight on the THAT final at Fuel. We interviewed you prior to the final. How were the nerves on the night?

Blind Divide: By the final we were comfortable with our set and the crowd at Fuel, but we knew it was going to be a tough choice on the night and we had no option but to give it our all. There were plenty of moments throughout the night watching the other bands when we wondered whether our best was going to be good enough!

Paul: You’d grabbed a couple of other gigs before the final. Did you feel sharp?

Blind Divide: We felt on form and fighting fit, filling our time with more shows allowed us to really work on our performance and iron out any little issues.

Paul: You threw in two new songs during your set. How did they go down with the crazies?

Blind Divide: We’re really stoked with the reception to our newer material, we can’t wait to get it released! We had wondered how Nimis would go down, being a bit of a different vibe from what we usually do, but people seemed to dig it.

Paul: It was a long evening, but it was great fun. Were you able to enjoy it?

Blind Divide: The wait was hard, luckily, we had some of South Wales’ finest to keep us and the rest of the crowd entertained in the meantime! We enjoyed every minute of it.

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

Blind Divide: Just elation. It was really surreal. We were completely prepared to see another band take the top spot, there was a huge collective sigh of relief at some point, after we’d stopped grinning like twats!

Paul: You are in good company with Chaos Trigger, Malum Sky, Agrona and of course those scamps in Democratus. Have you had any words of advice from those excellent chaps about your 30 minutes?

Blind Divide: We’ve had loads of advice from previous winners, which could probably be summarised as: Milk the opportunity for all it’s worth, enjoy every second, because your set will be over before you know it!

Paul: You are on Friday which sounds like a score. Happy with the slot?

Blind Divide: We’re really happy with our slot, we can turn up and play while we’re still feeling fresh, instead of after 3 or 4 days of excessive drinking!

Paul: Moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

Blind Divide: This isn’t the time to be winging it or experimenting, we’re going to go up and do what we do best and play our unique blend of DeathThrashGrooveMetal-Core

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

Blind Divide: Tesseract, Cancer Bats, Fallen Temples, Damim, Krysthla, Incite, Ten Ton Slug, Footprints In The Custard, Rotting Christ, the list goes on…

Paul: I know that some of you have been to Bloodstock before. What would you describe as the three best things about the festival?

Blind Divide:The finest selection of beers, the finest metal (of course) and the finest Sunday roast in a enormous Yorkshire pudding! Also, Dodgems.

Paul: And after Bloodstock? What are the plans for Blind Divide post August?

Blind Divide: We’re looking to release some singles and saving our pennies and flogging our wares until we can record an album!

Many thanks for getting involved. I can’t wait to see you guys rip that stage up in a couple of weeks. As if you need to know, Blind Divide will rip the roof of the New Blood Stage on Friday 9th August. See you in the pit!

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Voluntas (Paul H)

It was a real treat to be invited to review the Bristol M2TM final and the winning band on the night, Voluntas certainly worked their nuts off to win a tough evening. The band are a four-piece thrash Metal band formed in Bristol in 2015, they bring an energetic, thrash/death fusion in the form of pit-inducing riffs, chuggy breakdowns, plenty of fast solos- all tied together with catchy momentum. Originally formed by members Mark Watkins (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and K-lum Schmit (lead guitar), their debut EP Walk to Hell' is released on 3rd August 2019. Guitarist K-lum grabbed the questions and provided some meaty thrash filled responses.

Paul: Who is the current line up?

K-Lum: Well it first started with K-lum and Mark jamming a couple of covers and writing a few riffs, not long after Joe Barton joined on bass and so the beer and metal sessions became a weekly thing. After about a year we had enough material to start gigging so started looking for a drummer. Trialled a couple but eventually found Alex who absolutely blew us away. The line-up has remained the same ever since, with Mark on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, K-lum on lead guitar and Joe providing some nasty death metal growls.

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences

K-Lum: Thrash is our core; Mark is a huge Metallica fan and it shows in his vocal style but with Barton's more death metal style we get to mix and match where we choose. Our collective Influences span from Alter bridge to Bloodshot Dawn and Iron Maiden to Allegaeon so it's hard to pin down our genre, but progressive Thrash seems the most accurate to us.

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

K-Lum: Southwest Heavyfest in 2018 was awesome to be a part of but I think our favourite gig was playing Nipples-A-Booza at the Gryphon in Bristol. The gig was to raise money for a local legend who had suffered a stroke and the support from the community was a true testament to the strength of the local scene.

Paul: Getting to the M2TM final is a great feeling.

K-Lum:Yeah, it's absolutely amazing, this year's semi-final was extra special to us as K-lum and Alex were pulling double duties with Dies Holocaustum and Trayus. The feeling after all 3 bands went through was incredible.

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

K-Lum: Absolute shock and elation, to see 5 years of work get such a payback is very encouraging.

Paul: Moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

K-Lum:Our debut EP Walk to Hell is due out 03/08 so we will be playing it in full for our slot at Bloodstock. It flows nicely as a set and should get the pits churning!

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

K-Lum: K-lum and Alex are really looking forward to Children of Bodom and Mark’s eyeing Tesseract straight after so it's the Dio stage on Friday for us! Other than that, we are looking forward to checking out the rest of the new blood stage bands, the local scene is fierce right now!

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?

K-Lum: No, all first timers for bloodstock!

Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!

K-Lum: There are a few things that spring to mind like K-lum’s Clash addiction, Barton's RuneScape binges, Mark's love of Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Alex's passion for The Darkness but you'll find none of us bare any guilt or even shame on any of these matters!

Having seen these guys ripping the roof of the Exchange in the final, it should be a feisty affair alright. Thanks to K-lum for his time. Voluntas hit the New Blood Stage on Saturday 10th August. A must see if you like your thrash.

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Fear Bound (Paul H)

Fear Bound is a Dread Metal five-piece from Cambridgeshire. Another M2TM veteran outfit, the Hitchin winners had their say.

Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band?

Fear Bound: We originally formed in 2013, after Will Smythe and Jack Harris decided to put up some online ads to look for band members after many years of playing together and recording as a two piece. They found Anthony Woodley on vocals and Alex Wight on bass, and the band has been going strong ever since, with a few changes in line up and musical direction along the way.

Paul: Who is the current line up?

Fear Bound:Vocals/Bass Alex Wight, Guitar Will Smythe, Guitar Andy Coles, Keyboards Craig Burkitt, Drums Alex Townsend

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences

Fear Bound: We describe our sound as "Melodic Dread Metal" or "Melodread" but it might make more sense if we say we play Melodeath/Metalcore. As tends to be the case, we have a vast number of influences, but the most notable ones for us are Children of Bodom, Devin Townsend, In Flames & At the Gates.

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

Fear Bound: Highlight #1 for us would have to be the M2TM experience this year, which was phenominal. Having people in the crowd screaming for "more dread" left us in awe - without a doubt it was the most fun we've had as a band. Other hightlights would be sharing the stage with some incredible bands over the years. Since we started we've been lucky to play with the likes of Divine Chaos, Conjurer, Deified, Countless Skies, Raze the Void, Djinova and 13. Getting to see the vast talent on offer is really enriching and it's a great feeling witnessing others achieve greatness.

Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey?

Fear Bound: This was actually the third time we've taken part in M2TM, once in Leicester and now twice in Hitchin. This year we spent the bulk of our time clumsily stumbling from one round to another, throwing accordions into our set at the last minute for a giggle, relentlessly talking about dread, and playing the most ridiculous intros for the crowd, who seemed to love it all.

Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it?

Fear Bound: To be honest we hadn't expected to get to the finals. Previously we'd never gotten beyond the quarters, so getting through to the semis themselves was a pretty huge achievement for us. It was around that point however that we started to panic. Our drummer was not going to be in the country for the final and our guitarist, Will, was getting married the day after the final. We got a fill in on drums in the form of Aaron from Akkadian (do yourselves a favour and check them out) and Will did an awful lot of apologising.

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

Fear Bound: It was pretty surreal when Simon read out our name. We'd been surprised enough to get to the finals, and given the other talent on stage that night we were expecting any of the other bands to be announced. After the initial shock passed, and we realised what'd happened, then it was pretty euphoric.

Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

Fear Bound: We tend to deliver 3 things in our shows – Generic metal, terrible introductions, and ample quantities of dread. For Bloodstock however we feel that this may not be enough and will be looking to up the ante. Perhaps more accordions? Or maybe new carefully selected outfits? We'll probably just cobble something awful together at the last minute and call it a good job.

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

Fear Bound:As always, the Bloodstock team have put a fantastic line up together and there's a good number of bands we're looking forward to seeing. In particular, we'll be stopping by to see Children of Bodom, Countless Skies, and assuming we don't clash with them on the Sunday, Soilwork and Bloodred Hourglass

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?

Fear Bound: We've been in attendance many times, some of our number were even coming to Bloodstock when it used to be an indoor event!

Paul: If yes, describe the three best things about the festival.

Fear Bound: Too many things to choose from... There are a lot of reasons to love Bloodstock but in particular we'd have to hail the New Blood Stage for being a platform for bands like us to partake in something that could otherwise be out of our reach. Next, the Bloodstock community is worthy of praise itself. The metal family is such a warm and welcoming one, which is just such an immense thing to be part of. Finally, the music. As mentioned, Bloodstock always puts on amazing line ups, and it's a great place to see acts that we all know and love, and then also discover a number of awesome bands that we may have never otherwise seen.

Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!

Fear Bound: As a collective, we all enjoy Erasure's A Little Respect more than anyone really should do.

Thanks to the guys in Fear Bound for their time. If you fancy some ‘Dread’ over the weekend, check them out on Sunday 11th August in the New Blood Tent.

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Empire Warning (Paul H)

With a classic metal style, Empire Warning took the honours in the London final of M2TM and were good enough to provide us with some history and share their plans for world domination.

Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band

EW: Empire Warning was formed in 2009 by Adam and Ben. In a conversation about looking for a vocalist Elsio’s name came up, after that very rehearsal we saw Elsio walking down the street so we chalk that up to fate. Our guitarist left Ben on his own for guitar duty and we advertised; lucky for us Grant came along and filled the position flawlessly. After losing three drummers and so many failed auditions Jordan decided to try out. We knew Jordan from the scene and gigging with his old band and after he got behind the kit the rest is history. Our name came from a random conversation standing outside of the Shepherds Bush Empire and there was a warning sign; it was fitting that our name is a reference to where most of the band grew up and to remember where we came from always.

Paul: Who is the current line up?

EW: Elsio - Vocals, Ben - Guitar Backing Vocals, Grant - Guitar, Adam - Bass, Jordan - Drums

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences

EW: Eclectic to say the least. we are a Metal band with a love for all Genres. Lamb of God, Devin Townsend, Anthrax, Machine Head, Spineshank, Dry Kill Logic, to name but a few.

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

EW: We once played a closed show/Jam with an inclusive band based at Ealing Mencap, these guys have various disabilities and Learning disabilities yet played in a very cool very awesome band. We were invited to play songs for them and Jam on a cover of Whiskey in a Jar. It was a beautiful experience.

Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey.

EW: We Entered M2TM four times over five years feeling cursed to be a semi-final band. We went out reassessed and made improvements with the amazing advice from people around us. 2018 was a very hard year for the band due to one member getting seriously ill and again having to look at the band as a whole, making sure we are doing right by ourselves and still loving our journey together. Finally, in 2019 we made it through to the finals. Ben almost cried.

Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it

EW: Strangely we were content., We decided to have fun and to be proud of ourselves for breaking our semi-final curse. We work really hard together, but we felt like lifting that pressure when the standard of the other bands are so high really transformed our whole mindset, we have never enjoyed and fell in love with being on stage together more than that night.

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

EW: Such a mixed bag. Relief, joy, shock, excitement and a strange hint of sadness when the moment started to calm down. We realised we can’t enter the competition again and that caused a little sadness because the family atmosphere you experience and the friends you make with the other bands is something you can’t continue doing. That in essence is one of the most amazing things about M2TM.

Paul: Moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

EW: A high energy metal show. We leave everything on stage for everybody to enjoy. We will give you everything we have got.

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

EW: Karybdis, Resin, Footprints in the Custard, Parkway Drive, Sabaton, Soulfly and the Scorpions just to name a few.

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?

EW: Ben Has Back before it was open air. Massive Orange Goblin fan and literally travelled up for them, Can’t wait to experience it in all its glory now

Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band!

EW: Ben: it’s a song that I know I shouldn’t like called Dum Surfer by King Krule. It’s very much a marmite song

Jordan: Female fronted pop

Elsio: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden

Grant: ABBA, seriously the most Metal pop band in the world.

Adam: Little Big, just google SKIBIDI

At least there is no Coldplay in that list. My grateful thanks to Empire Warning and you can catch them at the New Blood Stage on Saturday 10th August.

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With AeSect (Paul H)

Dublin has a proud tradition of M2TM winners alongside a thriving metal scene. I found time to explore the latest winners, AeSect whose guitarist Dave did the honours.

Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band

Dave: We’ve been together now since 2011 with the core members Luke, Aido and Dave being there from the start. Dave and Luke met through mutual friends and Aido responded to an ad for a guitar player and we’ve been jamming ever since. Willow our bass player has been around for 3 years now and Tony our vocalist is the newest member

Paul: Who is the current line up?

Dave: Tony – vocals, Dave - guitars, Aido – guitars, Willow – bass, Luke – drums

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences

Dave: We classify ourselves as technical death metal but to those outside the group that seems to change with every review and live performance! Our sounds is a mix of thrash, death and prog with some hardcore influences thrown in. We’ve been described as a mix between Lamb of God, Mastodon and Gojira. 

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

Dave: We’ve been lucky to support some good bands over the years. We opened for Decapitated and Xerath on their EU tour stop in Dublin. We’ve shared the stage with The Faceless most recently on their last EU run and Heart of A Coward before that. We’ve toured all around Ireland and had a short stint in the UK that was a lot of fun. 

Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey?

Dave: We started prep for the competition late last year. Tony had just come on board and we had a new sound and energy on stage. We spent time on our set list and really took a hard look at what we felt was working and what wasn’t. Some songs we scrapped entirely and some we re-wrote from the beginning only keeping a few select sections. Overall its been a positive exercise as we feel our songs are a step above what we were writing and performing even a year ago.

Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it?

Dave: Now that it’s passed and we’re looking towards the festival the build up seems quite brief. We played the semi-final and then the final in a few weeks and didn’t really change our set as we felt it was so strong. So, for us it was business as usual and we just rehearsed and tightened everything up for our live show. 

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

Dave: Shock. Joy. Relief. We had put so much into prep, promo, rehearsals and song writing that knowing it was all worth it just made the victory that little sweeter. We had done the competition before and lost so we know how hearing another band being called really takes the wind out of you so hearing our name being said was just amazing. 

Paul: Moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

Dave: We are aiming to bring the heaviest set the New Blood Stage has ever seen! We’ve been working hard behind the scenes on the set and our live show to ensure it’ll be 30 ferocious minutes no one will forget! We’ve a few things queued up social medial wise so keep focused on our Instagram, Facebook and Big Cartel and all will become clear soon. 

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

Dave: Ten Ton Slug, Black Shuck, Thy Art is Murder, Soilwork, Anthrax, Sabaton, Parkway Drive.

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before? 

Dave: Dave and Aido have been there before a few times but for the rest of us it’s the first visit. 

Paul: If yes, describe the three best things about the festival?

Dave: The selection of bands is always top class, the people that go there are just some of the friendliest and soundest bunch of lads. Bin jousting (we do not endorse Bin Jousting here at MoM - Legal Ed)

Paul: And finally, tell us a guilty pleasure about each member of the band! 

Whole band – Seal, Kiss from a Rose. There are multiple videos of us after playing a gig and having a few beers loudly belting out a version of this classic. 

Dave – Cascada, Everytime We Touch

Luke – Post Malone, WOW

Willow – Envogue, Don’t let go

Aido – Has no guilty pleasures. If he likes it, he likes it

Tony – SNAP!, Rhythm Is A Dancer

So with that filth mopped up, now might be the time to say cheers to Dave and also to invite you to get your head stoved in at the New Blood Stage on Sunday 11th August. You know you want it!

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Pravitas (Paul H)

Pravitas is a technical death metal outfit from Leeds. For fans of Decapitated, Thy Art Is Murder and Periphery, the band stormed to a M2TM win in their final and were kind enough to give us the answers.

Paul: Let’s start with a brief history of the band?

Pravitas: Instrumentally we got together in November 2013 in Leeds, adding our singer Josh that December and playing our first gig in April 2014. We released our first EP (Queen Nothing EP) in September 2014, our second (The Synthetic Peregrination) in November 2017, and we are currently working on our third, to be released late 2019 / early 2020.

Paul: Who is the current line up?

Pravitas: We have: Joshua Barnett – vocals Richard Barnes – Guitars Joseph Taylor – Guitars Les Harrison – Drums Conor Devlin – Bass

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences?

Pravitas: We are most easily encompassed by ‘technical death metal’. We like crazy shred and heavy riffs, so bands like Archspire, Soreption, Nexilva, Godeater, Beneath the Massacre, Car Bomb, Decapitated, Revocation are some what we like to listen to.

Paul: Prior to Bloodstock, what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

Pravitas: We had an amazing time playing TechFest 2016 and 2018, it’s such an amazing festival! We got an amazing opportunity after our second ever gig, back in 2014, when we were offered a main support slot on a UK tour with Whorion, a tech death band from Finland. We jumped at the opportunity and loaded up our bassist’s mum’s Citroen C1 to go on tour, and we had a really good experience and a lot of fun. We named one of the tunes on our first EP on this tour, with the help of Whorion – Jaatelotottero, which means ice cream cone in Finnish.

Paul: Let’s move on to Bloodstock and your road to the festival. Please tell us about your journey?

Pravitas: We have entered M2TM on two previous occasions, both times in Selby and both times coming out in the semi finals. When we saw it was being held in our hometown in 2019, we thought it would be silly not to enter, so we did, and third times the charm. It must have been our year!

Paul: Tell us about the build up to your final and how you handled it?

Pravitas: We were just really excited to get through the Semi finals, which we hadn’t done on our previous attempts, and at the prospect of playing one final show and having the chance to play bloodstock. We prepared just the same as any other gig - lots of rehearsal!

Paul: What about when you were announced as winners? What were the emotions like?

Pravitas: It was such a great moment! We had decided from the beginning that if we were going to enter, we were going to aim for the top and hope to come out as winners, so to get the that final moment and have all that anticipation come to a head, it was really special.

Paul: So, moving on to the festival itself, what can we expect from you?

Pravitas: Lots of notes! Haha! blast beats, sweeps, shred, riffs, and also a nod to our favourite Swedish extreme metal band…

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing there?

Pravitas: We’re particularly looking forward to Aborted, Harbinger, Karybdis, Thy Art is Murder, Dimmu Borgir and TesseracT.

Paul: Have you been to Bloodstock before?

Pravitas: We are all first timers, apart from our guitarist Richard who attended a few years back when he joined Pteroglyph on the new blood stage on bass guitar! We’re excited to get stuck in, have a laugh, and watch some great bands.

Massive thanks to the guys from Pravitas. Enjoy the festival! If you fancy having your face melted by the most ridiculous riffage, then Friday 9th August in the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage is the place for you.

Reviews: The Price, Barbarian, Overt Enemy, Disentomb (Matt, Manus, Paul H & Liam)

The Price: A Second Chance To Rise (Graviton Music Services) [Matt Bladen]

Marco Barusso is something of a jack of all trades not only is he the songwriter of Heavy Metal Kids and Cayne he is also a producer, arranger, session musician and sound engineer for Lacuna Coil, 30 Seconds To Mars, Coldplay and HIM. With those kind of credits you can see why his new project The Price has a definitive US rock radio sound to it with Barusso drawing from his storied history and his links to Italian mainstream artists. Think Alter Bridge, Sevendust and even Shinedown A Second Chance To Rise has muscular riffs, smoky powerful vocals and big hook laden songs but also a darkly melodic edge.

He's got numerous different musicians on this record but none of them really outshine the others making this album sound not only very solid but also cohesive as if it was one set of musicians on the album not the multiple singers, guitarists, drummers and bassists. To accompany the album the band have made numerous mini films that deal with "macro-issue of pathological human relationships and often morbid and degenerative implications". If the darker side of US radio rock appeals to you then A Second Chance To Rise will be making it's way to your stereo. 7/10

Barbarian: To No God Shall I Kneel (Hells Headbangers) [Manus Hopkins]

A little Italian speed metal is always a good thing to go for. Well, in this case it is, anyway. Barbarian’s To No God Shall I Kneel might be a bit cliché and a little corny at times, but it’s great music to spin around the room or slam some beers to. Its seven tracks are an unrelenting assault of typical but well-done thrash that would instantly get some necks spinning and a circle pit going at any gig. The riffage stands out, particularly in songs like Hope Annihilator and The Old Worship Of Pain, which boast NWOBHM style guitar work, and the brutal vocals are perfect laid overtop of the powerful instrumentation. All in all, this is a fine work of thrash. 8/10

Overt Enemy: Possession (Vault 32 Media/Confused Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr!! There’s little to add. EP number two for the four-piece from Mission, Texas. A band that mix original compositions in the style of Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr along with live tributes and covers. This EP contains four songs that could sit comfortably on most early Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr albums, along with a cover of At Dawn They Sleep which, whilst well delivered, merely demonstrates the difference in song writing quality. Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr fans will either love this or hate it. I’m ambivalent but then I love Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr! To be fair, Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr tributes are a bit weird. There can be only one Sllaaayyyeeerrrrrrrrrr! 5/10

Disentomb: The Decaying Light (Unique Leader Records) [Liam True]

Over the last few years death metal has become quite stagnant in my opinion. With new up and coming bands systematically pumping out the same sounds as previous bands in the scene with no originality. And as unfortunate it is to say, Disentomb are one of those sounding bands. With no originality it sounds like someone has just re-recorded a Cannibal Corpse record with lower production. The guitar sounds exactly the same as there's no differentiation so it sounds like one continuous song. The vocals are barely audible and sound like a fork in a fan. It's just not a good sounding album. But the structure is there and does need a little bit of improvement. If they can do this, and get a better sounding record and sound original rather than a death metal cover band, they can work their way through the ranks, no question. 5/10

Reviews: Hemina, Deadwood Lake, Dream Troll, Northtale (Matt, Paul H & Val)

Hemina: Night Echoes (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Australian progressive metal is probably at the best it's ever been with bands such as Voyager, Caligula's Horse and Chaos Divide all flying the flag for musically adventurous, conceptually dense and most importantly accessible to non prog fans. Hemina are one of those bands who can be held up with their countrymen as an exemplar for the Australian progressive scene. Night Echoes is their fourth album and once again it's a concept piece building the character of a child conceived in their previous album (how meta) trying to rebuild his life 10 years after his father's suicide, so it's a hefty concept that lead into the most accomplished album of Hemina's career. One that brings together three albums and 10 years of craft into an album, that deserves to be listened too in full as all good prog albums have to be. Production wise it's very modern and pumped up making it positively burst out of your speakers allowing you to hear every nuance in the compositions.

They have never been a band afraid to experiment and here there is probably as much experimentation as there is on any Devin Townsend and like Devy they aren't afraid to get hevy, they have always had a tonne of thick grooves in their music bringing big riffs to more directly metallic tracks such as Flicker and The Only Way but also they are a band who take great care to make sure their more melodic songs like Everything Unsaid and the end of In Technicolour have a pastoral sound that takes great care to be emotive without being to maudlin. Musically Hemina are as experimental as you'd expect them to be but for every ounce of virtuosity that they possess they never sacrifice the songwriting letting the synths shimmer and buzz throughout while the dual guitars of Douglas and Mitch bring twin guitar harmonies, fluid arpeggios and crunchy riffs while the rhythm section of Jessica and Nathan are a brawny engine room, making them sound similar to the UK's Haken.

However where the Brit's have Ross Jennings it's in the vocal harmonies between Douglas, Jessica and Mitch that Hemina distance themselves from many of their peers. Night Echoes is a reflective album in a number of ways set 10 years after the concept of a previous release, it's also a chance for them to bring together everything they have been working towards on their last three releases. Progressive music when it's like this remind me why I love it so much, just press play and let Hemina get you to feel. 9/10

Deadwood Lake: Immortalised In Death (UKEM Records) [Val D'Arcy]

Immortalised In Death is the fourth release and second full length album from UK black metal band Deadwood Lake. This album harnesses the very best of its predecessors not only in terms of music but also in its raw emotion. Consistent with previous releases of the band, this album covers themes of loss, grief and passing that have become synonymous with Deadwood Lake's lyrical subject matter. They have stayed true to their sound, mixing elements of melodic and atmospheric black metal but elevating the combined finish to new heights; this is easily the bands most accomplished work so far. Although true to their past, there are elements of experimentation on this album that provide a new dimension to their profile. Melodic riffing, more solos, use of acoustic guitars and ambient synths, even groovey passages in the second and fifth tracks but not in anyway compromising on heaviness or brutality.

Bruce Powell's unmistakable vocals are the perfect vessel to deliver all the feeling of primal, frustrated melancholy that makes their sound so unique. The songs are sufficiently diverse to hold their own identity, whilst moulding together to form a beautifully flowing album that doesn't feel like it carries any unnecessary weight or filler. Alone I Fly was a personal favourite. Deadwood Lake have taken a significant stride forwards with this album in establishing their place at the fore of what is becoming an increasingly crowded UK black metal scene. With enough character and originality to set them apart from their peers, Deadwood Lake are a welcome evolutionary force in what can be a conservative sub-genre. 8/10

Dream Tröll: Second To None (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Famously hitting the headlines in 2017 when long time mate and fellow metal head MP Richard Burgon added some spoken word to one of their tracks, Leeds based Dream Tröll’s second album was something of a shock. I’d been prepared for dark, NWOBHM style UK metal but this was anything but that. Carefully crafted, melodic metal with some of the cleanest vocal harmonies I’ve heard for years, Second To None is simply stunning. A strong opening duo, I Will Not Die Today preceded by Steel Winged Warrior are merely appetisers for the middle section of this album. Sandwiched between two seven-minute beauties (Chrome Skull Viper and Darkness Lies Within The Sun.)

The Art Of Death clocks in at over eight minutes long and is a progressive epic which demands your attention. It smulders and broods, slowly building in intensity, the clever lyrics weaving a tale around the spine of the song. A pumping bass line gives girth, whilst the crisp drum sound anchors everything down.  It may well be one of my favourite songs of the years. Shades of The Von Hertzen Brothers, Opeth, Katatonia and Vola are all present in this magical release. At 57 minutes in length, there are some long tracks on the album, none more so than the closing ten-minute Legion which allows the band to really express themselves in epic style, as it ebbs and flows but never wanes. Second To None is an album that keeps on giving, with new finds on every listen. Quite simply, a gorgeous album that is a joy to listen to. 9/10

Northtale: Welcome To Paradise (Nuclear Blast) [Matt Bladen]

It's normally Frontiers records that bring together musicians from other bands to form a new project, but Northtale is a bit different. Welcome To Paradise is the debut album from Northtale who are made up of three world class musicians, each of whom had the urge to work with each other. The three men in question are Brazilian-American guitarist Bill Hudson (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage, U.D.O, Jon Oliva's Pain, Circle II Circle, Vital Remains, Nightrage and Power Quest), Swedish drummer Patrick Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen and W.A.S.P.) and Swedish singer Christian Eriksson (ex-Twilight Force), they form the core of the band and wanted to bring back those glory days of 90's power metal where Hammerfall, Helloween and Stratovarius were playing some of their best material.

To flesh out the band they have brought in Mikael Planefeldt (bass) and Jimmy Pitts (keyboards) and set about recording this debut record. A debut record that opens with the kind of gallops you'd want from any 'proper' power metal band, soaring vocals, big drum beats and riffs that bring a huge smile to a man brought up on the bands mentioned previously. Higher the second song on the album is brilliant mixing Hammerfall's love of an anthem with the neo-classical sounds of Stratovarius as Hudson and Pitts dual, the Finns also loom large on Follow Me which also has a rampaging rhythm section and classical sounds, even using that traditional Strato harpsichord sound that featured on Black Diamond.

As you can appreciate if you've ever heard any power metal album, for all the bluster, hooky choruses and speedy solos there are also slower more romantic moments such as Way Of The Light which does sound a little like Manowar, for better or worse. Thankfully things go back to speed metal on Shape Your Reality, however Everyone's A Star reminds me of latter day Helloween due to its satirical nature. If power metal with an old school vibe is your bag then I suggest you seek out Welcome To Paradise as it's a blast from power metal's glorious past by musicians that treat it with reverence. 8/10

The Spotlight: BOA New Blood Interview With Bastard (Paul H)

Bastard, almost the original name for Motörhead [that was Bastards], and a thousand bands since. This bunch of hardcore in your face maniacs hail from Norwich and won their M2TM final. Here’s what they had to say about the band, M2TM and metal.

Paul: How did you form, how long have you been around etc?

Sam: The band formed unofficially quite a few years ago with a couple of different members but it never properly got going other than writing a few songs and having a few practices. The band as it is now has been a thing for roughly a year and a half!

Paul: Tell us who is in the current line up?

Sam: The current line-up is Alex on Drums, Verty on Bass, G on guitar and Jim is the vocalist.

Paul: Describe the band’s sound and influences?

Sam: As cliché as it is for bands to say this, we really can’t pin it down to a certain sound! We go by as being a hardcore band and the earlier songs are more hardcore, but I think it’s more the DIY hardcore attitude rather than the sound. Our influences vary massively from each member, but currently for writing music we’re taking influences from Cancer Bats, Gallows, Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes and Every Time I Die, Red Fang and Bring Me The Horizon.

Paul: Prior to bloodstock what are some of the highlights for the band so far?

Sam: We’ve played some awesome shows in the last year but a couple of highlights that come to mind is playing in Camden, we love that place, and we got to play the main stage at The Waterfront in our own city Norwich which if you know Norwich well or live there you’ll know it’s a big privilege to play on that stage.

Paul: Tell us about your journey up to Bloodstock?

Sam: We really feel like the band is picking up quite a bit of momentum, released our debut EP last year and recorded 3 singles which we’ve put out this year one after another. Got great responses from each song even though every single we’ve put out has been very different not only to our debut EP but from each other also! None of the singles have the same genre or vibe. Put out a music video for our single Mouth Breather which was actually debuted on the Bloodstock podcast, footage taken from some shows that our mate Will filmed and edited together for us so if you want to get an idea of one of our live shows watch that video!

Paul: Tell us about the build up to the final and how you handled it

Sam: Every round we played in this year’s M2TM we just treated as a regular gig, we didn’t wanna get too far ahead of ourselves and get our hopes up as we were against a lot of good bands! We give 100% at every show but when we knew we were playing the final we really needed to make sure we stepped up our game, again we didn’t wanna get our hopes up but we played our set well and then just got drunk and had a good time with friends and getting to know the bands we were playing with and just overall having a really good night so even if we didn’t win we’d made some new friends and contacts in bands!

Paul: What were your emotions like being announced as winners of M2TM?

Sam: We really couldn’t believe it! Even though we were treating every round like a regular gig we’d be lying if we said once we knew we were in the final that we weren’t all drooling at the mouth to play Bloodstock. We know how big of an opportunity this is so when our name was announced Is was quite surreal, didn’t seem real at all!

Paul: What can we expect from you at bloodstock?

Sam: Just pure high energy from the start of the set all the way to the end. We like to think we’re quite an honest band, from the music and our live performances. We write heavy songs we like to play and hopefully other people like too, we don’t write stuff we can’t play live and we’re just 4 regular guys jumping around the stage like a bunch of idiots but we have the best time when we’re playing live and I think people recognise that and that makes them enjoy it even more, what you see is what you get with us and I think people generally appreciate that. We love it when people get involved and mosh at our shows. We have a panda as our mascot, so the rule is if you see someone wearing a panda mask, they’re the target!

Paul: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing at Bloodstock?

Sam: The main bands we’re looking forward to watching are Parkway Drive, Thy Art Is Murder, Cancer Bats just to name a few. Oh, and rock legends Scorpions obviously as we’re playing on the Sunday too, Rock You Like A Hurricane is one of the biggest riffs ever!

Paul:  Have you been to Bloodstock before?

Sam: Jim has been before, the rest of us are new to Bloodstock!

Paul: If yes describe the best 3 things about the festival

Sam: Beer; Awesome atmosphere; Killer line ups

My thanks to Sam for taking the time to get this interview completed. Looking forward to a bit of Bastard? Then get to the New Blood tent on Sunday 11th August for a dose of in your face metal.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Agrona (Live Review By Matt)

Agrona, Blind Divide, Black Pyre & Misanthropia, Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff

This was supposed to be a headline gig from Liverpool black metal band Ethereal, unfortunately the band had to withdraw from the gig with around a week to go. Now this left everyone with a conundrum, cancel the gig? Or continue with Agrona (who were due to be the main support) taking the headline set and Black Pyre in support? Thankfully due to some string pulling from Agrona, they managed to get a four band bill on what was billed as a black metal showcase.

We got to Fuel Rock club just as Misanthropia (6) kicked off, according to their Facebook they are a three piece however all I could see was one man and a guitar playing a set of black metal featuring some fluid guitar playing, frantic riffs and programmed drums. I've never been that 'into' one man projects but it was a evil enough start to the evening keeping those that had turned up entertained ready for what was to come.

The room started to fill a lot more as M2TM alumni Black Pyre (7) returned to the Fuel stage once again to bring Nordic darkness. The gloom was immediate as Asbjorn Daemonium de Noctis, Dominus de Octopus and Kjøttflate The Mighty Ravendork powered through their furious, classic black metal sound, croaky vocals, tremolo picking and blastbeats agogo Black Pyre are a band who take their music seriously but do have their tongues in their cheeks about the cvlt nature of the black metal scene. Unfortunately due to forces of light (or logistical errors) they didn't have their now trademark Grapefruit but that didn't matter because the crowd were pitting and enjoying Black Pyre's frozen darkness. A band going from strength to strength they will be on more black metal showcases soon I'm sure.

Ah yes the previously mentioned black metal showcase tag, now M2TM 2019 winners Blind Divide (7) are not a black metal band, not by a long stretch and unfortunately they had an absolute mare of a show. Getting into the spirit of things they were made to look as cvlt as possible by Agrona's Kreulon and took to the stage with their usual aggression, however it was very clear that there was something amiss. The sound was muddy from the very start (apparently it was also very soupy on stage), the grooves were not that audible due to the swampy mix, leaving James' vocals very low in the mix. Still they battled on regardless getting some action down the front. However they are not a black metal band so were a little out of place on this bill and their addition was very last minute due to the issues mentioned previously but they plowed on playing older and newer tracks before finishing their set properly. It's said that you win some and lose some in this life but with Bloodstock looming, they need to regroup and get ready to lay waste to the Newblood Stage in August.

So time for the headliners and we've waxed lyrical about South Wales' premier black metal band in these pages numerous times. Personally I've seen the band more times than I can remember, through numerous line ups and performances, however I have never sound Agrona (10) so as vital and vicious as they did here. Taking the headline show in their stride they are now old hands at this and with a partisan audience in tow, many of whom have also seen the band numerous times, they took the vast crowd by the scruff of the neck from the beginning and began the bloodletting early as they went straight into Burn, the song many will know due to it's excellent lyric video. It was an great track to start out on establishing the nifty guitar work of the twin axeslingers Aeron and Arawn who lock in together for wrist shattering tremolo riffs. The engine room is human drum machine Ankou who blasts away with total abandon as Kreulon stalks the stage bringing the low-end devastation.

Agrona were on fine form from the very beginning determined to prove that they could replace Ethereal with ease. The instrumental elements were tight, syncopated but most importantly audible, there was a serious clarity meaning you could hear every single note being cranked out of Fuel's PA but also the dual lead vocals from the warlike Taranis and the bewitching Adara, with Kreulon also giving some barks later on as Taranis prowled the crowd anointing them with blood. The setlist too was excellent featuring some of the deeper cuts from their debut album such as Unbound and Risen along with favourites like Storm's End and Summoning The Void, which is now officially a singalong and new track A Feast Of Warlords while Unbound featured a brilliant new orchestral intro. This was Agrona at their most vital, muscular, tight as hell and showing anyone that may doubt them that not only are they capable of headlining venues such as Fuel and ones bigger of course but also that they are long overdue another appearance at Bloodstock to show how they have evolved into a blaspheming black metal machine.

A very enjoyable night with some very dear friends and some great live music from the South Wales scene which is still on fire.