Heading over to the Swansea side of things was a bit of an unknown quantity, well kind of. I had seen two of the bands that had made it through to the semi final before when we were just Cardiff based before the expansion of M2TM South Wales.
Still this was the first time in this year's competition that I'd been over to Swansea to check out the talent they fielded this year. Mental note is to go more next year and catch the heats and quarters.
Anyway once more into the Bunkhouse which while retaining the "rock bar" feel of Fuel, is just that little bit more welcoming, despite the massive building site next door making outside space a little cramped. Still it's a great venue and bands always sound a look excellent in there so kudos to all the staff, but especially sound man Kalebh.
First up were Apathy Avenue, an alt/nu rock styled outfit that put post grunge, with rap vocals and grooving riffs. Their music isn't my style at all if I'm honest but they've got some chops, unfortunately there was a lot of talking amongst the crowd while they were playing and they had a few audio gremlins too. In their last song though they gained a burst of energy, diving off the stage on to the floor and whipping up a frenzy, if their whole set was like this then they would have won over everyone much earlier and perhaps not missed out on a place on the final.
A decent opening but we got into the crux of this semi with the next two bands, the two fans favourites of the completion and the two most experienced bands in terms of M2TM. First on stage was the Killdozing groove/thrash of Kill By Mouth, part Pantera, part Machine Head and all aggression, these guys have been crushing the South Wales scene for a good while now and and tonight was no different. Even when there was guitar issues frontman Cassar picked up a mic and started going full Anselmo with vitriolic rage. Impressive and aggressive Kill By Mouth had the crowd in their hand and progressed easily to the final on this display.
Then it was time for a sermon, a black metal sermon to a heavily partisan, black metal crowd all wearing their best leather, studs and corpse paint. I've been constantly surprised and entertained by this youthful trio and they were the best I've ever seen them on that Bunkhouse stage. Verletzen let everyone know what they were aiming for, Patti Pavilion, ritualistic introductions, riffy black metal that sounds so much like Immortal, lots of movement to keep the hair flowing, triumphant posing and even capes. They played it like arena headliners, savagery and melody together, they'll be ones to watch at the final.
Last on stage were a band whose members are veterans but have only actually been playing gigs in this format for M2TM and a few other shows. Confessions Of A Serial Killer, have been called audio violence and they take that mantra seriously, decked out in masks, their frontman's is very disconcerting if I'm honest, especially when he's prowling the crowd looking for victims. More than one person compared them to early Slipknot which I totally get but there's a bit more to them than just that. Also comparing them to the Iowa band when two of their sons were playing with Vended in Sin City is a happy coincidence. Confined to a small stage it's a bit like an interactive horror show, how this will translate to the final is anyone's guess.
So there we have it the three bands from the Swansea side heading to Day Of Wreckoning on 29th June at Patti Pavilion are Confessions Of A Serial Killer, Kill By Mouth and Verletzen. They join Rites To Ruin, Root Zero and Thrakian for a 6 way showcase of the South Wales scene and place at Bloodstock Festival at stake
Tickets available through the event link here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/97FhikT82rJrvZ1E/
Still this was the first time in this year's competition that I'd been over to Swansea to check out the talent they fielded this year. Mental note is to go more next year and catch the heats and quarters.
Anyway once more into the Bunkhouse which while retaining the "rock bar" feel of Fuel, is just that little bit more welcoming, despite the massive building site next door making outside space a little cramped. Still it's a great venue and bands always sound a look excellent in there so kudos to all the staff, but especially sound man Kalebh.
First up were Apathy Avenue, an alt/nu rock styled outfit that put post grunge, with rap vocals and grooving riffs. Their music isn't my style at all if I'm honest but they've got some chops, unfortunately there was a lot of talking amongst the crowd while they were playing and they had a few audio gremlins too. In their last song though they gained a burst of energy, diving off the stage on to the floor and whipping up a frenzy, if their whole set was like this then they would have won over everyone much earlier and perhaps not missed out on a place on the final.
A decent opening but we got into the crux of this semi with the next two bands, the two fans favourites of the completion and the two most experienced bands in terms of M2TM. First on stage was the Killdozing groove/thrash of Kill By Mouth, part Pantera, part Machine Head and all aggression, these guys have been crushing the South Wales scene for a good while now and and tonight was no different. Even when there was guitar issues frontman Cassar picked up a mic and started going full Anselmo with vitriolic rage. Impressive and aggressive Kill By Mouth had the crowd in their hand and progressed easily to the final on this display.
Then it was time for a sermon, a black metal sermon to a heavily partisan, black metal crowd all wearing their best leather, studs and corpse paint. I've been constantly surprised and entertained by this youthful trio and they were the best I've ever seen them on that Bunkhouse stage. Verletzen let everyone know what they were aiming for, Patti Pavilion, ritualistic introductions, riffy black metal that sounds so much like Immortal, lots of movement to keep the hair flowing, triumphant posing and even capes. They played it like arena headliners, savagery and melody together, they'll be ones to watch at the final.
Last on stage were a band whose members are veterans but have only actually been playing gigs in this format for M2TM and a few other shows. Confessions Of A Serial Killer, have been called audio violence and they take that mantra seriously, decked out in masks, their frontman's is very disconcerting if I'm honest, especially when he's prowling the crowd looking for victims. More than one person compared them to early Slipknot which I totally get but there's a bit more to them than just that. Also comparing them to the Iowa band when two of their sons were playing with Vended in Sin City is a happy coincidence. Confined to a small stage it's a bit like an interactive horror show, how this will translate to the final is anyone's guess.
So there we have it the three bands from the Swansea side heading to Day Of Wreckoning on 29th June at Patti Pavilion are Confessions Of A Serial Killer, Kill By Mouth and Verletzen. They join Rites To Ruin, Root Zero and Thrakian for a 6 way showcase of the South Wales scene and place at Bloodstock Festival at stake
Tickets available through the event link here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/97FhikT82rJrvZ1E/
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