Bloodstock Metal To The Masses Interviews: Manumit - West Heat #3 The Bunkhouse, 01.03.26

Interview With Manumit - West Heat #3 The Bunkhouse, 01.03.26



1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band. 

Hello. We're Manumit a metal electronic six piece with heavy guitars, bass, drums and two vocalists doing dynamic clean and screams. Based in and around the Bridgend area. We released a debut album way back in 2014 which had 4 singles feature on Scuzz TV, Metal Hammer among other platforms. After a long hiatus, we returned with a new EP called 'Reditus' in 2024 and have since been working on a follow up album.

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? Have you had previous experience? Or is this your first time?

M2TM is a fantastic opportunity for bands of all types of genres to play great shows and grow their audiences. It's also a nice way to develop a network of friends in the music scene. It just so happens to have an amazing grand prize if your band is fortunate enough to go all of the way. Nearly every member of Manumit has taken part in M2TM previously in different bands.

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

The local scene is integral to up and coming acts. If there wasn't an active music scene, then growing a fanbase for your music would be far more difficult. It's important to both the bands and fans of the scene to keep it active and thriving. Fans can do that by actively turning up to shows and buying bands merch.

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Bunkhouse & Green Rooms. Have you played the venue before or is this your first time? Are you excited to get on those stages?

Both Bunkhouse and Green Rooms have great stages and great vibes. The venues both have great grassroots history and give opportunities to bands like ourselves to play. We will be gracing the Bunkhouse stage for this year's competition and we're more than excited to do that.

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM? 

For us, it's just a great opportunity to play. Creating music in a studio is obviously amazing and integral to what we do. But, the real buzz is working together on stage and bringing that music to life. It also feels amazing to bring that music to new listening audiences which is what will happen through Metal 2 The Masses.

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

Getting to any final of any competition is amazing. And we'll be extremely fortunate if we do. If we don't, it's because there's a better band who deserved it on the night. The grand prize is a dream come true and any band that gets to do it will have the best time.

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

There's a whole wealth of amazing bands to check out every year. I'd recommend giving Scratch One Grub, Inscape, House Of Hosts, Risperidrone a listen!

8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

You will want to mosh

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Reviews: Ponte Del Diavolo, De L'Abime Naît L'Aube, Slaughterday, Bloodred (Spike)

Ponte Del Diavolo – De Venom Natura (Season Of Mist)

There is a specific, cold-blooded elegance to the way the Italian occult scene handles its darkness. It’s never just about the noise; it’s about the theatre, the grime, and the lingering scent of incense in a room that hasn't seen the sun in decades. 

Ponte Del Diavolo emerged from Turin with a tag they call "blackened post-punk," but their second full-length, De Venom Natura, proves that they are far more interested in the "blackened" side of the equation than most of their contemporaries. Following a relentless two-year stint on the road that saw them haunt stages from Roadburn to Inferno, this new record feels like a band finally realizing that their uncommon architecture, specifically that dual-bass setup is their greatest weapon.

The record opens with Every Tongue Has Its Thorns, and the intent is clear from the first vibration. It’s a six-minute immersion in tension, where Erba del Diavolo’s wave-tinged vocals act as a flickering candle in a very large, very dark room. The dual-bass assault of Khrura Abro and Kratom creates a low-end frequency that feels properly tectonic, allowing the guitars of Nerium to dart around like shadows. The addition of Sergio Bertani’s theremin and Andrea l'Abbate’s programming adds a layer of sci-fi dread to the gothic grime, making the whole thing feel like a transmission from a different, bleaker dimension.

The collaborative spirit of the record is where it truly finds its teeth. Spirit, Blood, Poison, Ferment! features a guest trombone spot from Francesco Bucci (Ottone Pesante) that provides a brassy, apocalyptic funeral march energy. It’s a masterclass in building a "flaming core" of sound without ever losing the rhythmic pulse provided by Segale Cornuta.

You can hear the growth in the songwriting on the Italian-language tracks Lunga Vita Alla Necrosi and Il Vleno Della Natura. There is a raw, dynamic pulse here that refuses to settle into a standard doom-crawl. Instead, it moves with the nervous energy of early 80s post-punk, but with the vocal delivery of someone who has spent far too much time reading the darker corners of the Necronomicon.

The centrepiece of the record is the sprawling, near-nine-minute Delta-9 (Δ9). It’s a monolithic bit of songwriting that features Vittorio Sabelli on bass clarinet, adding a woody, subterranean texture to the usual blackened churn. It’s dense, immersive, and allows the specific "venom" of the instruments to breathe without becoming a muddy mess. It’s interesting that the addition of instruments you don’t associate with this genre really takes it up a level.

Silence Walk With Me brings in Gionata Potenti (Omega/Nubivagant) for a bit of acoustic guitar and vocal support, offering a moment of fragile, atmospheric beauty before the record hits its final, surprising threshold. The closer is a cover of Bauhaus’s In The Flat Field, and it’s a stroke of genius. It’s the sound of the band acknowledging their lineage while simultaneously dragging Peter Murphy’s ghost through a black metal furnace. It’s aggressive, disrespectful in all the right ways, and a perfect final shrug toward the light.

Is it a comfortable listen? Not even slightly. De Venom Natura is a record that demands you inhabit its shadows. It’s delivered with a level of professional, blackened confidence that suggests Ponte Del Diavolo are no longer just a "cult" secret. They are the new architects of the Italian gloom. 9/10

De L'Abîme Naît L'Aube – Rituel: Initiation (Hypnotic Dirge Records)

This took a couple of listens to dial my thoughts into what’s actually happening here. There is a lot going on. So let’s get after it.

Most "atmospheric" bands treat the term as an excuse to hide a lack of ideas behind a wall of reverb. De L'Abîme Naît L'Aube (DANA), however, uses atmosphere as a physical medium. Emerging from the Valais region of Switzerland, this six-piece has spent the last few years refining a sound that they describe, quite accurately, as a "mystical initiation." Their debut full-length, Rituel: Initiation, is a 52-minute journey that blends an essence of folk, bits of tribal rituals and other levels of transcendental vocals with more aggressive margins of post-black metal.

The record is structured around five expansive movements, and it doesn't bother with a polite introduction. Une Pleine Absence clocks in at nearly twelve minutes, establishing a progressive blueprint of suspended calms and sudden, violent tempo shifts. The vocal interplay here is nothing short of extraordinary; you have the high-pitched, blackened screams of Sébastien Defabiani clashing against shamanic throat singing. 

While Fantine Schütz provides a folkloric, enchanting female counterpoint. It shouldn't work, it sounds like three different centuries fighting for space but under the direction of DANA, it feels like a cohesive, ancient dialect. The vocals for me were the parts that just made this album, this is like a blender of genres producing something greater than it’s parts.

The guitars of Dominique Blanc and Kilian Caddoux are heavily indebted to post-rock, layering airy textures and soaring leads that elevate the compositions out of the "abyss" promised in the band's name. On Un Sanctuaire De Cendres, the 13-minute centrepiece, the rhythm section maintains a minimalistic, hypnotic pulse that allows the "theatre" of the song to breathe. It’s here that the band’s signature gong punctuates the key moments, sealing the ritualistic aspect of the music with a metallic resonance that lingers long after the note has passed.

It’s a record that understands the value of silence just as much as it understands the power of the blast beat. 

Le Vertige D'une Descendance continues this trend of "long-form" storytelling, moving through a series of crescendos that feel genuinely earned rather than just mathematically calculated. After the brief, four-minute respite of Une Première Epiphanie, the record reaches its climax with Une Absolue Présence. It’s a final, 11-minute shrug toward the light, a track that manages to feel both transcendent and grounded. It successfully navigates the "Abyss to Dawn" transition of the band's name, leaving the listener in a state of captivated trance.

Is it a demanding listen? Hell Yes it is, I think I listened to this at least 4 times just to level set. Rituel: Initiation requires you to commit to its pace and its unconventional vocal palette (again the vocals are amazing). But for those willing to step into the circle, it offers one of the most unique and immersive experiences in modern post-metal. This isn't just a debut; it’s a fully formed vision from a band that clearly understands that the best music is often a ceremony. 9/10

Slaughterday – Dread Emperor (Testimony Records)

There is something deeply reassuring about the way Slaughterday approaches death metal. While the rest of the world is busy arguing over sub-genre prefixes and technical wizardry, this duo from Leer has spent sixteen years perfecting the art of the morbid, mid-paced chug. 

Dread Emperor, their sixth full-length, arrives with the kind of "death metal nobility" pedigree that you only get from veterans like Jens Finger (ex-Obscenity, Temple of Dread) and Bernd Reiners. It’s an album that understands that the real power of the genre doesn't come from speed alone, but from the friction between a crushing doom-crawl and an outbreak of total, unadulterated brutality.

The record opens with Enthroned, and immediately makes its presence felt. It’s thick, gritty, and possesses that "no triggers" honesty that acts as a healthy antidote to the over-polished state of modern deathcore. By the time the record moves into Obliteration Crusade and Rapture Of Rot, you realize that Slaughterday haven't just stuck to their Autopsy and Massacre-worshipping roots; they’ve refined them. There’s a melodic sensibility lurking beneath the filth, haunting choruses that stick in your brain long after the last blast beat has subsided.

Lyrically, the band has pivoted away from simple tentacle-horror tropes. While the Great Old Ones still haunt the periphery, these monsters have been repurposed as metaphorical ciphers for the hardening of modern society. It gives tracks like Astral Carnage and Subconscious Pandemonium a weight that goes beyond the typical gore-obsessed tropes. It’s "intellectual" death metal that still manages to sound like it was recorded in a damp cellar during a thunderstorm.

The title track, Dread Emperor, is the record’s tectonic heart. It’s a monolith of tension-building, where the guitar work switches between soaring, cosmic leads and the kind of bone-shaking riffs that anchor the entire Northwestern German scene. It’s a stark, effective reminder that you don't need a nineteen-minute concept piece to describe the end of the world, you just need the right frequency of fuzz.

The back half of the record, The Forsaken Ones, Necrocide, and the aptly titled Dethroned maintains a relentless momentum, refusing to offer a single moment of respite. The experience is then capped off with a cover of Protector’s Golem. It’s a brilliant final nod to their heritage, delivered with a level of aggression that proves the duo still has plenty of venom left in the tank.

Is it a revolutionary departure? No. It’s exactly what the fans want: perfectly executed old-school death metal with a wicked, cosmic twist. Dread Emperor is an essential document of survival for anyone who still values a beating death metal heart. 8/10

Bloodred – Colours Of Pain (Massacre Records)

There is a persistent, hardening shell forming around modern society, a shifting of truth until it becomes as malleable as clay, and it is exactly this friction that this album documents. 

Bloodred has always been a project defined by a singular vision, but Colours Of Pain feels like the moment that vision finally stopped looking at the genre’s horizon and started looking inward. Self-released and unapologetically nonconformist, this is a record that uses the vocabulary of blackened death metal to write a very personal, very uncomfortable letter about the state of the world in 2026.

The collaboration with Alexander Krull at Mastersound Studio remains the structural backbone here, but there is a noticeable grit to the guitars and bass, that prevents the production from becoming too "polite."

The record begins with Ashes, a track that serves as a smouldering preamble to the title track, Colours Of Pain. It’s here that you notice the return of Joris Nijenhuis on the drums; his precision provides a mechanical, almost industrial heartbeat that allows the riffs to sprawl. The title track isn't just a display of force; it’s a canvas for the lyrical themes of shifting boundaries and the "enemy-making" machine of modern discourse.

The centrepiece, Mindvirus, is where the record truly flexes its muscles. There’s a blistering solo that cuts through the thick, rhythmic churn like a lightning strike.

The band’s decision to move toward more personal lyrics pays dividends on Heretics and A New Dark Age. These aren't just fantasy tropes; they are reflections on a society that is accelerating toward an uncertain conclusion while its empathy hardens into something unrecognizable. The music matches this intensity, moving between high-velocity blackened thrash and the kind of mid-paced, crushing weight found on Death Machine.

By the time the record closes with Resist, the intent is clear. Bloodred hasn't just made a death metal album; they’ve made a document of defiance. It’s an honest, unvarnished look at the "flexible truths" of our era, delivered with a level of professional craft that justifies its place in the upper echelons of the independent scene. It’s a heavy, thoughtful, and ultimately necessary bit of noise for anyone who feels the same hardening of the world that they describe. 8/10

Reviews: Domhain, Michael Monroe, Rollerball, Avalanche (Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

Domhain - In Perfect Stillness (These Hands Melt) [Matt Bladen]

Northern Ireland has some awesome bands in the extreme metal genre. Many thrilling mixtures of various genres all brought together with a distinct humanity and Celtic mysticism. Domhain are categorised as a post-atmospheric black metal band, a mouthful for sure but accurate as they create a potent concoction of blackgaze, post and atmospheric black metal that allows them to sail to musical shores that many black metal bands can't.

Consisting of players who all come from long tenured groups in their scene, they have been creating their own niche as a band for a few years now with an EP in 2023 that featured noted cellist and extreme metal collaborator of choice Jo Quail and a spilt EP with Ephemeral in 2024. What sets Domhain apart from so many of their peers is that sense of sorrow, odes to the natural world that ring true with Irish folk traditions including vocal harmonies and cello/strings.

It's music to lose yourself in and with their debut full length Domhain want you to do just that, let the music embrace you, Una Tarra Ci Hé opening the auspices with ghostly vocals and cello from drummer Anaïs Chareyre-Méjan before Talamh Lom breaks the stillness with tremolo picking from guitarists Nathan Irvine and Ashley Irwin, launching the album proper with blasts coming from Chareyre-Méjan as the bass of Andy Ennis guides the shifting rhythms.

It's a sprawling, intense style of black metal where cinematic soundscapes take the place of raging raw aggression, the opening of Footsteps II adding clean vocals and delicious harmonies from Andy and Anaïs, this one builds layers added every time the riff repeats, gothic overtones driven by guitars that balance melodic moments with distorted riffs, here the band are joined by John Wilson on piano and Raul Andueza on cello, to create a colossal mid-album epic.

You could make comparisons to the likes of Primordial and Darkest Era, as they certainly share musical and cultural identities, heck on the title track they even share members as Sarah Fielding provides ethereal vocals against the harshness of this doom-laden black metal track. The gargantuan sound of the record coming from Chris Fielding at Foel studios, culminating in the Opeth-like mastery of My Tomb Beneath The Tide, the multifaceted vocals really in effect to create fantastic harmonies in the introspective moments when the black metal flurries subside.

In Perfect Stillness is an incredibly polished, mature and emotionally powerful debut full length from Domhain, post, atmospheric, black, doom, call it whatever you want, it’s brilliant music from a band with a serious skillset. 9/10

Michael Monroe - Outerstellar (Silver Lining Music) [Rich Piva]

If the shit that went down in the 80s that destroyed Hanoi Rocks never happened they very well may have taken over the world. But it did, and here we are, with Michael Monroe pumping out another solid solo record of his fast-paced hard rock with touches of glam and punk that made Hanoi Rocks so special. The tracks on Outerstellar are enjoyable, but not all necessarily memorable.

The record sounds good, if maybe leaning towards a bit over produced, like a lot of the older rockers seem to be drawn to these days. His band is solid, with some guys he has played with for decades to the point you can hear how tight they are. The songs are good, but there are twelve tracks, which is a couple too many, but there are some keepers. 

My favourite is the ripper Precious, with Monroe doing his snottiest rock star thing that he does so well. This has Hanoi all over it, with the big chorus and glam but punk vibe. Dig the harmonica too. Black Cadillac is a fun song with some nice guitar work and Monroe’s voice sounding great. Others I dig include the up tempo opener, Rockin’ Horse, and the what could have been ballad Glitter & Dust.

If you dig Monroe’s solo work you will dig this. I would not start here, but Outerstellar is a solid effort. When he leans into his roots, he really still has it. But, please, after listening to this, go listen to anything by Hanoi Rocks you can get your hands on. 7/10

Rollerball - Submarine: Beneath The Desert Floor- Chapter 9 (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

I have said it before and I will say it again, Ripple Music, the best label in heavy underground rock, is doing us all a solid by re-releasing/repressing amazing, out of print records for us all to enjoy. 

One of the catalogues that Todd has picked up is from Australian stoner rockers Rollerball, an underappreciated band except by those who know. Let’s hope more and more people join that club, given Ripple gave us all the gift of their 1999 classic Lost In Space as Chapter 5 of the amazing Beneath The Desert Floor series. Now, with Chapter 9, more Rollerball goodness in the form of their 2009 album, Submarine.

Submarine is the band’s last album, and you can hear a maturity of the group from their debut EP Lost In Space that I mentioned above. Also, it’s amazing. The song Seasoar is so great. It is the perfect interception of classic rock and stoner rock, at times sounding like a stoner Doobies or Allmans. Just killer stuff. 

The violins on Your Lullaby are so great, bringing such an American Southern Rock vibe to all the other Rollerball goodness. This album is an end to end banger, like all the Rollerball stuff, but Run Aground into Tame Existence is probably my favourite part of the record, because it rips, should be a prototype for bands who want to play killer, memorable, stoner rock, and does QOTSA better than QOTSA. Amazing stuff.

I once again bow to the master of heavy rock, Todd Severin, for bringing us this lost classic on wax for the first time in a long time. Check out Submarine, all things Rollerball, and the other eight chapters of the amazing Beneath The Desert Floor series. 9/10

Avalanche - Armed to the Teeth (MGM) [Matt Bladen]

If you were one of the many that will be heading to Aussie rockers Airbourne on their up coming UK dates, then if you want a bit more rock n rolling, get in early to catch fellow Aussies Avalanche.

Formed by husband and wife duo Steven Campbell on vocals/bass, and Veronica ‘V’ Campbell on lead guitar. Joining Steven in the rocking rhythm section of these powerful pub rockers, are Bon Lowe on drums and rhythm guitarist Blake Poulton, So what do they sound like? Well AC/DC on Armed To The Teeth and Down For The Count, Rose Tattoo on Going For Broke and tourmates Airbourne too. I’d also throw out some names in the UK rock revivals of the 2000-2010’s with Tokyo Dragons, Black Spiders and others on The Hand That Feeds and On The Bags Again.

It’s shameless, it’s saucy and skilled, taking a lot of talent to sound this easy. With the full force drive of Campbell, Poulton and Lowe carrying tracks such as Ride Or Die, Steven can also deliver that sneering vocals while his wife channels Angus with leads and solos that will get you salivating. Armed To The Teeth is their debut record and it gives them a 12 song arena ready resume, a belly full of beer and blues, sweat drenched riff slinging and solos ready for your air guitar.

Recorded 90% live, with all the fire of a band ready to do battle with Airbourne every night, their amps are turned up to eleven, Avalanche are Armed To The Teeth on their debut album. Play at full volume for maximum effect. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: MØL (Alex Swift)

MØL, TAYNE & Cold Night For Alligators, The Exchange, Bristol, 17.02.26

MØL only came on to my radar a few weeks ago – I have always characterised myself as someone who adores melodic black metal when it’s performed well! Without intending to start an argument over genre specifics, acts in the vein of Saor and Defheaven have crafted some of my favourite richly melodious and detailed black metal albums. However, I’ve never felt truly immersed in the scene. My tastes tend to skew towards alternative and progressive metal styles, only occasionally wandering into the more sonorous aspects. As such, I always appreciate acts who introduce me to new dimensions within the genre.

Opening tonight’s proceedings is Cold Night For Alligators (7) Their combination of complex instrumentation and soaring clean vocals allows them to speak to the side of our headliners fanbase who appreciate intricate melodies, and theatrical scale. Frontman Johan Jack Pedersen confesses to feeling unwell, and yet there are no signs of that in his performance, which is animated and impassioned. Admittedly, the songs and melodies have the tendency to blur into one, and there’s an argument that the attempts at dynamic contrast feel generic and lacking in any distinct identity. On its own terms however, this is an impressive opening set.

TAYNE (6) are intriguing, if not to my tastes. It would be cruel and describe them as “a worse Nine Inch Nails”, even if they are proudly influenced by industrial metal. Sharp electronic textures are contrasted against down tuned guitars. There’s a seething quality to these songs which sets them apart from the vivid creations of our opening and headline acts. The experimentation, and ability to combine divergent soundscapes is fascinating, even if I struggled to latch on to their style emotionally.

Translated from Danish, MØL (9) means ‘moth’. Performing a form of metal know as blackgaze, throughout their set, the band gracefully flit between the ambient, vibrant textures of shoegaze and the visceral extremes of black metal. It’s a combination which is immersive and leaves the audience in awe of the technical skill, and the multifaceted compositions. I mean that literally as well as figuratively – this is an audience who are there to observe and appreciate, perhaps setting them apart from a typical metal crowd.

That however does not prevent frontman Kim Song Sternkopf from selling the hell out of these songs through his performances. I’d be tempted to use the word cliché to describe his raised hands clutched into claws, and his wielding of the mic stand like a weapon, if not for how entertaining his stage presence proves! He even spends the penultimate song Jord in the crowd, further endearing him to the audience and allowing us to feel a closer emotional connection to the show as a whole!

MØL’s tight eleven song setlist spans songs from across their three albums, from the distinct black-metal stylings of their debut to the more expansive experimentations of Diorama, to the deeply melodic swerves of new album DREAMCRUSH. Each member performs with absolute precision, proving that the set has been rehearsed to within an inch of its existence. And yet, the set never feels sterile or self-indulgent, showing that these performers have learnt how to keep an audience enthralled and are committed to that art, in spite of their ever-evolving skill as musicians. 

“Thank you for choosing to spend your Tuesday with us, and not sitting at home” Sternkopf says at one point during a monologue about the value of human connection. In the case of songs this aggressively beautiful, experiencing them live adds a whole new dimension to both this genre and to live music as a whole!

A View From The Back Of The Room: Faetooth (Matt Bladen)

Faetooth & Coltaine, Sin City Swansea, 13.02.26

Friday the 13th the perfect night for the auspices to make their appearance, throughout the years it's had a link to witchery, the occult and the unexplainable. So gig that features 'fairy doom' and mystical Black Forest psychedelia was probably the right one to go to.

Heading upstairs in Swansea's Sin City (didn't even know they had an upstairs), there was already quite an eclectic crowd by the time I'd arrived. Hippies, doomheads, psych fans, guys with Amenra shirts and and even some totally mad bugger with a rotisserie chicken on his hand, that he was eating and offering to others like some kind of weird ceremony.

I politely declined as it was time to feast on gargantuan, mournful riffs courtesy of Coltaine (8), a band I've wanted to see since reviewing their brilliant 2025 album Brandung. Weaving psychedelic post rock with doom, through passages of glistening shoegaze and explosions of hardcore aggression, the band use the slow build brilliantly, each of their songs building layers of complexity around the impassioned, irrepressible cathartic vocal of Julia French.

Like a high priestess offering a shamanic sermon the music whips around her understated but entrancing stage presence. The guitars building on top of one another in jangly, melodic dissonance while the drumming draws out the slow impulsive beats and the bass throbs with distortion and constant sense of impending emotional release. Leaning more on their doomier, psychadelic sound, I personally would have liked a few more of the screaming outbursts they use on their records, however suit the set to the gig and by the time the last notes had been delivered anyone who didn't know Coltaine, knew them now.

A change over and on to the headliner, a two band bill a real novelty as many of the other shows have had an opening act, still I'm never one to complain about a 10pm finish! The room filled out a little more as the doom trio that is Faetooth (7) took to the stage. The L.A purveioyrs of 'fairy doom' immediately dove into some heavily fuzzed, blissed out doom, complete with those Electric Wizard-like reverbed vocals.

Sounding a little discombobulated at first, there was a stop and there seemed to be a few technical gremlins that knocked them off their stride and stalled the momentum. Once this was resolved though the triumvirate of Ari May (guitar/vocals), Jenna Garcia (bass/vocals) Rah Kanan (drums), restarted and dialed up the riffs again. Most of the crowd were here for them as watching a band with this much buzz around then in an intimate venue won't happen again I'd expect. For me Faetooth play their style of hypnotic doom well, but perhaps don't do it with the same crushing heaviness as Wales' own MWWB, a band who they have a lot of similarities with.

Still you can't argue with ticket sales and Faetooth, and Coltaine, both brought out the Swansea crowd on a wet and windy Friday, even with a double booked venue. Both bands deserve your attention, so make sure to catch them on the next go round.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Motionless In White (Alex Tobias)

Motionless In White, Dayseeker & Make the Suffer, Utilita Arena, Cardiff, 13.02.26

Motionless In White roll into Wales for the very first time and bring Dayseeker and Make Them Suffer with them on there Afraid Of The Dark European/UK tour, so lets get to it and see what went down at the Utilita arena in Cardiff last Friday.

Its a very cold night in Cardiff but by the time Make Them Suffer (6) come to the stage everyone here is warmed up and ready to get there mosh on, the band start the night off with plenty of heavy riffs and pits opening up almost immediately. 

Me being old and on a journey of discovery of new bands I am not going to lie I have never heard of this band before a few weeks ago, so checking them out on record I was looking forward to seeing what they could bring to a live setting, while not really being a band I would normally listen to myself they actually have a good stage presence and have a good connection with the crowd who show there support and enjoyment by in mass jumping to almost every song and breaking out pits left right and centre. 

Musically unfortunately for me their was not much to stand out that really got me going but I am not the controller of any music just another person with an opinion, there are plenty of people that love this band and it shows tonight as the band go down really well and get plenty of love sent there way. I see lots of people coming away from the set very happy and smiles say to me that this band is very much loved, liked and left wanting more. As for me I just didn't find anything that made them stand out from any other band that is doing things in this generation of music.

The buzz around the next band is high not just in the building tonight but everywhere online, Dayseeker (5) come to the stage to the biggest roar of the night so far and the crowd go wild as they walk out. I feel lonely in my opinion once again after a few songs as the crowd here are loving the music and show that this band is putting on, me however I just cant get into it. 

The backing tracks are strong and really makes this whole set seem like someone just pressed play and the band are going through the motions on stage. This proves to be an issue as you can clearly hear the band is talented and do have a heavy yet electronic softer side with some really good singing and screaming mixes with some really decent break downs in their songs but for me it really feeling like everyone on stage is letting the backing tracks do most of the work.

I know a lot of bands use backing tracks that add depth and atmosphere to there songs, also with harmony's it can add a lot to vocals but this just feels way too much. Layer upon layer of effects and added substance to every single song I just felt like you could close your eyes and just be listening to one of there albums, that is sometimes a good thing but not when your eyes are open and everything coming from the stage feels like someone pressed play on a playlist. 

Once again though let me be clear this is just my opinion and that does not take away from the reaction the band gets from the majority of people here, they get big roars and cheers before during and after each song and after the set is finished and I can definitely see there were a lot of people that loved them and were actually here to just see them also so don't be put off by what I say, go check them out for yourself and make your own decisions.

A short break doesn't last long and we are bang into the now famous intro for the headliners, the noise is deafening as the band walk to the stage and we get underway for Motionless In White's (8) first ever gig in Wales. 

We kick off with the now famous spinning cat meme which goes straight into Meltdown from the bands 2023 album Scoring The End Of The World which sets the bar for the rest of the night, high energy and lots of bouncing and moshing is had by all here. Having a sneak peak beforehand of the band live you can tell they certainly know how to put on a show with amazing pyro, a great video wall behind them and to top it off they have The Cherry Bombs doing what they do best, dancing and playing with fire and the angle grinders, a spectacle that you have to see first hand, go check them out as they do many other shows and events as well as tour with bands. 

Getting back to the band we get a barrage of songs from the bands back catalogue like AMERICA, Thoughts And Prayers and Voices before vocalist Chris Motionless slows things down to speak to the crowd and thank them for the amazing welcoming they have gotten so far and to say he is so happy to finally be playing in Wales due to hearing how good the crowds are here. He then introduces the next song and thanks anyone that downloaded it or purchased it for it to get to No1 on the hot hard rock songs chart, the bands first in 20 plus years of existence which is testament to hard work and persistence over the years to finally get their.

Afraid Of The Dark goes down great with this crowd and the roars and screams get significantly louder for this song. Like I said previously the stage show is spot on and very entertaining with the band having a good stage presence and interactions with the crowd. A good bit of fan service comes out at one point with the band flaying the Welsh flag high throughout a number of songs but I mean we do have a sick dragon on it so its understandable. 

We get more from the bands last release with Werewolf then we go back to the bands 2017 album Graveyard Shift for Necessary Evil which is followed by the pulsing heavy song that gets thing even more sweaty, Slaughterhouse, to which the crowd is going crazy for. As we get close to the end of the night the band pull out some classic and newer songs in the shape of Cyberhex and Another Life from the bands 2019 album, Disguise. We end the night with the huge song Eternally Yours from 2017s album Graveyard Shift which brings this crowd to a climactic end of what was a very entertaining and fun first live show in the Welsh capitol. 

While not being a band a listen to often myself having heard and seen bits of how entertaining they are live I am glad I got to witness this for myself, so I do very much recommend you get out there and see them for yourself, fan or not.

Review: Sylosis - The New Flesh (GC)

Sylosis - The New Flesh (Nuclear Blast)

The rise of Sylosis from sweaty little clubs in the Reading metal scene to one of the most promising bands in the whole of the UK and now to be a leading light of the metal scene full stop has really been something special to witness, they have freshness about their sound and are always innovating and evolving. They are back and following on from 2024’s EP The Path they have a new album The New Flesh.

Beneath The Surface is just everything want you want it to be, its full of the sort of confidence and swagger that only a band at the very top of their game can have, it has a monstrous groove that is infectious, it thrashes and explodes at every interval and the switches of tempo are neck-breakingly furious every time and it just makes for an unbelievable start to this album.

Erased is next and offers a more tactical approach to sonic violence, the absolute rage and spite that is involved in every stab of the guitars and the drums is vitriolic and cathartic and then the way the melodic section bounce off the pure savageness in an amazing juxtaposition of styles which shows a masterful songwriting ability and just wait until you hear the end section of this track, if you fail to bang your head clean off your shoulders then you may be clinically dead! 

All Glory, No Valour has all the modern thrash hallmarks, with the crisp and shredding guitars playing off each other and a vicious pace with some thunderous drumming, the whole track is just pummelling and has a vital energy running through its veins and the guitar solos are just utter perfection, a completely barnstormingly brilliant track. 

On Lacerations there is a slight switch up tempo wise there are slower more menacing sections but also there are plenty of bruising thrashy sections, we also get vocal performance that mixes the harsh and melodic verses which give this a more melodic feel to things, the closest I can get to summing it up is I think that this is what I imagine everyone wishes Trivium actually sounded like?! 

Mirror Mirror reminds me of a prime Slipknot, like when they were just banging out hit song after hit song and even if you didn’t like them you couldn’t help but enjoy their sound, this is just that and the bounce in the track, the vocals styling and patterns it’s just a moshpit fuelling beast of a track, its simple, it’s to the point and it’s just a bloody good listen all round. 

Spared From The Guillotine gets us back to the signature sound that make Sylosis such a force, the speed and energy is there in spades and the fury emanating from this track is just wonderfully executed and then they sprinkle in some pitch harmonics in for good measure to give it a nostalgic feeling but not dating it at all, it’s all executed in a perfect storm of extreme violence which keep you hooked all the way through.

Then we get the utterly triumphant Adorn My Throne which comes in with another slower pace but when it gets going the epicness that is packed in just explodes everywhere, the riffs are sharp, chugging and powerful with another wonderful solo to add to the epic feel and then the music that backs it up is chunky and the wonderfully dark and the vocals cover everything in a layer of menace that makes it another vital listen. 

Into the final third of the album and title track The New Flesh gives us a little melodic death metal flourish before more energetic and powerful thrash takes over, it obviously has a more modern day take to the genre and mixes more savage grooves into the song that just keep coming an giving you a new surprise at every turn and with it begin the title track you can feel the extra importance of the track as it perfectly sums up their sound in just over 4 minutes!!

Once they have finished defining themselves, they then throw a spanner into the works on Everywhere At Once in a very Pantera-eqse Cemetery Gates-y type of way, it’s all gorgeous acoustics and softness and then comes the big epic singalong verses this feels like a complete 360 and while its not at all expected it is very welcome as it shows a completely different side to their sound and shows there isn’t really much they can’t turn their hand too if they wanted.

Circle Of Swords follows and its back to business as usual with a track the stomps and crashes into being, there is no subtlety here and no room for emotion or any of that nonsense, its just a full force, balls to the wall rager, they do give you a little breather midway but it doesn’t last long before the galloping riffs are back, the drums are just breathtakingly good as always and the whole track is just a complete win for heavy music.

You almost don’t want Seeds In The River to be the last track but alas nothing lasts forever and all you want is for this to really go out with a bang and thankfully it does all the recognizable power and precision is on show and so is the full force brutality that has made this album stand out so much, it’s a perfect ending to a an unbelievably brilliant album.

Wow, it is only February and I can safely say that this album is going to take some serious beating this year, yes, I’m already going there!! It seriously defies any expectations you may have had going in and obliterates everything you may have expected, there was literally not 1 single nano-second on this record that I didn’t completely love! Every note hit, every vocal was on point, there was nothing I could find to pick fault with and that’s usually my strong point! 

I expected a good record of course, but what I got was almost beyond description despite me writing more than 1000 words to describe it, I could have probably written twice the amount and still not be able to explain just how good it is! Please, if you do one thing this weekend make it your business to listen to The New Flesh and once you have listened to it again, listen again and so on until you understand what a truly special record you are listening to. 

If this doesn’t catapult Sylosis into the major leagues of metal and have them playing arenas there is truly no justice in this world. Absolute perfection. 10/10

Bloodstock M2TM South Wales Interviews: Grindhorse83 - West Heat #2 The Bunkhouse, 22.02.26

Interview With Grindhorse83 - West Heat #2 The Bunkhouse, 22.02.26

1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band.

Grindhorse 83 are a surfsplotation, metal, horror fusion group from Swansea. 

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? Have you had previous experience? Or is this your first time?

We are extremely excited to be included in this year’s line up as our members have all entered in the past with different bands including Grym, Adfeilion and Godbomber. 

One thing that unites its members is the excitement about being part of Metal to the Masses due to the amazing bands we’ve all had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with in the past. 

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

The metal scene in South Wales is stronger than it’s ever been and the camaraderie and community is what makes it so strong. 

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Bunkhouse/Green Rooms. Have you played the venue before or is this your first time? Are you excited to get on those stages?

We've played Bunkhouse before, it's always a perfect place for us crabs to do our thing so we look forward to going there again.

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM?

We absolutely cannot wait to hear some new and more seasoned bands and to make some new friends along the way. 

Each year has bought surprises and immense talent and we can’t wait to be at the front, cheering everyone along! 

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

It would be incredible to have the privilege of making it to the final and playing with the best South Wales has to offer and to have the opportunity to proudly represent our local scene would be a dream come true. 

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

Whomever makes it, we’ll be proudly cheering you on all the way!

8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

In 5 words, people should come see us because we want to settle the argument…Is surfrock, blackmetal, without distortion? 

We’ll see you at the front! Let’s party!!! https://www.facebook.com/share/18AEG5RA89/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Bloodstock M2TM South Wales Interviews: Mould - West Heat #2 The Bunkhouse, 22.02.26

Interview With Mould - West Heat #2 The Bunkhouse, 22.02.26



1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band.

We’re Mould, we’re a stoner sludge band from Swansea, we’ve been playing together properly since may 2025, but a few of us have known each other for longer than that, we were just waiting on finding the right fit for a drummer which we found in our drummer Henry. Since starting to play together we’ve made some slow, heavy music which we all love and really taken influence from some of the titans of the genre and we hope that it shows with what we play.

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? Have you had previous experience? Or is this your first time?

We don’t have any experience playing M2TM but have attended bunkhouse heats and the finals for a few years , we feel attempting it this year would just be a great progression for us as a band, and being able to network with the other bands on the bills is a huge plus too.

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

The local scene is huge to us, we all make as much of an effort as we can to attend as many shows as we can , as without people to watch the bands, what's the point of the scene.

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Bunkhouse/Green Rooms. Have you played the venue before or is this your first time? Are you excited to get on those stages?

We’ve played the bunkhouse once before and by the time of our heat it’ll be the second time as we’re there on the 25th of January supporting goat major and Pvriah, but from our last time playing there we absolutely love it , and can’t wait to go again.

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM?

Our main hopes of playing M2TM this year is just establishing ourselves more as a band. We’ve only been a unit for a short amount of time and we all feel we’ve had a good start especially with playing eradication festival on the Saturday, but we just want to get on peoples radars that much more.

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

That would mean everything to us and would be the best encouragement we could get , especially being a new band , just having the biggest stage in the UK would give us a huge opportunity to showcase ourselves

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

Well we’ve played with Pvriah once before and a 2nd time coming up and they’re absolutely phenomenal, they’re a must watch . They’re playing the east heats but we can absolutely recommend Paroxism, we’ve played with them before and they’re a great watch. Same goes for Risperidrone, we played with them quite recently too and again, a must watch


8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

Swampy, slow, tinnitus, heavy, catchy

Reviews: Unmother, Mortal Blood, Struck/Down, Defaced (Matt Bladen, Spike, Mark Young & GC)

Unmother - State Dependent Memory (Fiadh Productions) [Matt Bladen]

While many bands in the black metal bands often lean into the occult, the pastoral, the natural world, magic and mysticism, Unmother have an affinity with the city, showing that concrete architecture, abandoned areas and being just a number in vast hollow cityscape can be just as terrifying and isolating as environmental disaster, the witchcraft and Lovecraftian visions. 

Having formed in 2019 and featuring veteran members of the UK underground scene, Unmother’s debut, Lay Down The Sun was a record where black metal ferocity merged with post metal dissonance. Their music isn’t written and performed to make you feel safe and warm, it’s in your face, shouting the odds from moment one with very little slowing it down or dulling it.

Unmother play a punk rock iteration of black metal, spitting venom and bile to make the listener as uncomfortable as possible, proudly anti-fascist something that is becoming more resonant in music today. They create a feeling of disassociation and an atmosphere of fear that comes from the vast, lifeless cityscapes they were raised in. 

Their debut was highly regarded here and so when their follow up State Dependent Memory landed I wanted to see where they would take their unwavering aggression and commitment to progression and experimentalism. Because Unmother are a band that don’t hide away from breaking some rules, they want to make their albums uneasy, want you to be in a heightened state of awareness, unsure of what is next, the crushing weight of your own existence enclosing around you as they provide the soundtrack to your insanity.

On their debut they snuck in a Siouxie And The Banshees cover, here it’s Greek synthwave act ΟΔΟΣ 55 (at least two members of the band are Greek), who get the treatment as Attiki Victoria is brought into the volatile sound. Another difference between the debut and here is that on State Dependent Memory, Unmother christen a new vocalist.

VOAK brings fewer unhinged screams than his predecessor, opting for bloodcurdling growls from the post-black and blackgaze style, to continue the evolution of the band, the band embracing fuller production and sound design to add industrial elements on the hallucinogenic Modern Dystopia, Unmother flexing their musical muscles into realms as yet untested but nestled in that influence of urban desolation and ominous dread, they carry with them.

A redirection rather than total reinvention, Unmother are just as visceral as they were on their debut but with State Dependant Memory, they find new and interesting ways to consume you with their disenfranchised extreme assault. 9/10

Mortal Blood– Vigil For A Hollowed Earth (Independent) [Spike]

If you’re going to name your album Vigil For A Hollowed Earth, you’re not exactly inviting the listener to a summer barbecue. This self-released debut from Mortal Blood is a sprawling, ten-track study in atmospheric weight, a record that refuses to be pinned down by a single genre tag. 

Instead, it pulls from the darker corners of doom, gothic, black, and death metal to create something that feels like a physical manifestation of grief. It’s an album that understands that true heaviness doesn't always come from a high BPM; sometimes, it’s the silence between the notes that crushes you.

The record opens with Crow's Sweet Caress, and immediately, the band’s evolution is evident. What starts as a sorrow-laden soundscape quickly descends into a dense, oppressive arrangement where the death-doom vocals cut through the fog like a serrated blade. It sets a precedent for the rest of the album: a constant, shifting tension between clean, gothic vocal passages and the visceral force of extreme metal.

The transition through Shuvah and Mask Of Gilded Skin highlights a mastery of pacing that’s rare for a debut. This isn't just "slow for the sake of it" doom; it’s a calculated, layered crawl that allows the melodies to breathe before they are inevitably smothered by the distortion. There is a "suffocating intensity" here that feels deeply human, avoiding the fantasy tropes of the genre in favour of something much more grounded and emotionally taxing.

As the record descends further into the dark, Speak In Silence and Decay And Burn act as a claustrophobic anchor for the album’s central metaphor. It’s here that the "Hollowed Earth" concept stops being a title and starts feeling like a physical environment, particularly on the seven-minute monolith of Sanctum Of Nightmares. This track moves through peaks of blackened aggression and valleys of melancholic, gothic drifting, captured with a gravity that perfectly embodies the "mood over excess" ethos the band describes. It sounds like it was recorded in a space where the air is too thin to breathe.

That sense of exhaustion carries into the desolation of Where Hope Has Fled and Stench Of Borrowed Truth, tracks that refuse to offer any easy resolution. The themes of "borrowed truth" and "void" aren't just lyrical window dressing; they are baked into the very structure of the music, leading the listener toward the final, lightless threshold of Voices Of The Void.

The experience is anchored by the closing titan, Clay Born Titan. It’s a fitting finale, a mid-paced, crushing weight that feels like something massive finally coming to rest. It’s a final melodic sigh before the lights go out.

You don't simply "listen" to a record like this; you inhabit it. Vigil For A Hollowed Earth is an album for the long nights, for when the world feels too hollow and the ground feels too far away. Mortal Blood haven't just made a doom record; they’ve created a cinematic account of survival in a hardening world. It’s honest, it’s expansive, and it stands as one of the most immersive independent releases to hit the desk this year, a grim, necessary document for a world that has forgotten how to mourn. 

From a very personal point of view I needed this soundtrack. 9/10

Struck/Down - Queue For The Cure (Self Released) [Mark Young]

A change of pace for Mr Young with Struck/Down, who provide a satisfying alternative to the steady fare of death and thrash metal. It has to be said that on balance that generally it’s not something I would go out of my way to listen to, but as they say variety is the spice of life so with that in mind, I’ve dove straight in.

On balance, it’s a pretty decent slab of metal that succeeds on a number of levels and is not rigid to stay within one formula or approach that works in their favour. That attention to thudding groove, densely woven riffs is repeated time after time, but only after we get past album opener One Last Drag. It’s a kind of hybrid that sees them adopt a grittier vocal style that I didn’t like at all. It seemed ill fitting to me, so when that powerful clean drops in amongst the unhinged arrangement of Keep Your Chin Held Why which possesses a face-melter of a solo, well its all change. 

The cleaner approach from Linden Twyman sits so much better, supporting the melodic moments when they come in as well as providing a lighter shade when held against those super heavy riffs. Like I said, its not my normal bag but when it’s a collection of well-built material that is played with energy and talent, you can’t help but be swept along with it. 

The Slog is a prime example of this. Switching from heavy to uplifting at ease within its 4-minute runtime neither seems out of place within the context of it. Don’t Be Like That throws that approach out for an in-your-face burner, relying heavily on the drum talents of Tommy Rogers to do a ton of heavy lifting with this one. It’s a quality piece and another example of them going with what they know to work.

Its something that they continue with right through, bringing that composed mix of quality riffs and melodic touches to bear on each track. There is this cracking section on This Tall To Ride, about 2 minutes in where they casually switch it around dropping in a building pattern that just changes the whole tone of the song. You really can’t fault it, or the execution of the album as a whole. Its sounds good, and as a debut it’s a strong release that Is worth checking out. 8/10

Defaced - Icon (Massacre Records) [Spike]

Apparently, it’s been a whole decade since Defaced’s last record was released, they used to be called something else, and this is their 3rd album? Not sure why it has taken so long for them to get round to releasing new material but there must be a good reason which I am sure if you’re that interested you can find out, I’m not really fussed about the past as I am here to review new album Icon.

There is no time to waste on opener The Antagonist which is a blast of a track in all the right ways, it has some fantastic guitar work that mixes technical elements with pure brute force death metal and has the sense to also slow some sections down to try and give us different dimensions to the track, Perception takes a bit to get going with a bit of a drawn out spoken word intro going on but its more of the same aggressive death metal with flourishes of technicality thrown in and also there is a groove metal type of flow to some parts of the song which make it a bit more solid structurally.

As My Will Prevails isn’t much different from what you would expect of this record so far, its got the relentless heaviness that is always welcome and there are thrash bits mixed in here and there and while its all very well done, you wonder if there are any tricks up the sleeve to make it a bit more varied? They answer this with a big fat no on The Initiation which does offer more in the way of melody but it just feels liked it’s slightly forced and doesn’t really fit with the rest of the styles, the song thunders and bellows forcefully but lacks a little personality in places, it just feels like it needs something to really push it forward. 

Forever Mine unfortunately sound like a nu-metal track when it starts which is not what I meant when I said to change it up and in all honesty from start to finish it feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be stylistically speaking, and about halfway through it does try and re-establish the all too familiar sound but it never really sits right and just feels like a slightly throw away track. 

Anthem Of Vermin feels like more of a statement than anything else has so far it has a set structure and is full of purpose and urgency, the melodic tendencies shine through well and allow the sound to really progress fully, the solos lift everything up and cut through the noise to be a standout part of the track, Sonate is just an interlude with some acoustic guitars noodling and that about it, it serves no purpose and is just an annoyance really.

Icon is another track that feels like it takes an eternity to really get going and when it does, it doesn’t really do very much, it’s more mid-paced and feels like it might be building towards something but never really gets there it just keeps the same tone and pace throughout and barring some excellent drum work feels slightly underwhelming, Culling The Herd does however get thigs firmly back on track with a furious and urgent attack of death metal anger, barring the slight drop in the middle of the track, this hits in all the right places and is short and sweet doesn’t overstay it welcome at all.

Following this with Betrayer feels like a bit of a missed chance to end on a high, there is some nice technicality and plenty of gusto in most parts but it just all sounds so similar to earlier tracks, I understand that some people think that death metal doesn’t need to be varied, but I am not one of those people I need more to keep me interested and this has all just fallen that little bit short.

Icon started well but gradually got increasingly samey, there were a few decent bits here and there but not enough to make this a great record. It needs a bit more personality to really lift it up, it’s a good listen but I’m not sure I will go back to it in a hurry and that says everything you really need to know about it. Good but not great. 6/10