Metal 2 the Masses Final – Donum Dei, Overoth, Sinocence, Conjuring Fate, Cursed Sun
Friday 8th May, Voodoo Belfast
So after five heats, two semi finals and twenty eight performances, it all came down to this: the final of the inaugural Northern Irish entry into Bloodstock’s Metal 2 the Masses in Voodoo last Friday night. The winning band earns a place on the much revered New Blood stage, as well as a chance to play either Metalcamp in Slovenia or Wacken in Germany, so the pressure was really on the five bands who made the final. Prior to the show Bloodstock rep, Beholder vocalist and tonight’s sole judge Simon Hall introduced himself and the bands, and explained the prizes available to the lucky winners. Then without further ado, it was time.
First up it was time for Donum Dei to show us what they’re made of – and from their performance tonight, the answer would be ‘energy, grit, determination and bucketloads of talent’. This young band has grown in leaps and bounds throughout this contest in terms of both confidence and ability. They smash their way through their set of modern tech-laced metal to a room that is rapidly filling up with enthusiastic punters. Final number ‘Justice Fails’ induces the first crowd singalong of the night, and the band leave the stage surely knowing that they put in a fantastic performance.
Melodic death metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for those who are fans of the genre Overoth serve it up hot and heavy. They are immediately impressive, rattling through a set that is visceral and guttural. Wisely, they play their fastest and most earworm-y songs, such as ‘God of Delusion’, ‘Kingdom of Shadows’ and a gobsmacking ‘The Forlorn’. They play with mesmerising intensity and impress the hell out of even the punters who wouldn’t normally listen to music this heavy. A flawless performance.
Crowd favourites Sinocence are up next, opening with their traditional ‘Long Way Down’. Sadly there are a few sound issues with them tonight: the bass guitar and snare drum are too loud initially, not to mention vocalist Moro’s voice suffering the occasional wobble. They are still a tight, cohesive unit but they seem to be missing a little of their usual moxie tonight. They’re also the only band to run over time: by the time their final track fades they’ve been onstage a full ten minutes over their allotted half hour slot. Artists, eh?
No such issues with next act Conjuring Fate, who receive a heroes welcome from the crowd, many of whom are wearing CF tshirts. Their traditional opener ‘House on Haunted Hill’ kicks off the second singalong of the night, led by the powerful, clear vocals of frontman Tommy Daly. CF are a hugely entertaining band, solidly professional but also warm and approachable and with a clear sense of fun, which is endearing and magnetic. Their set of crowd favourites such as ‘Where Eagles Fly’ and ‘Backwoods Witch’ is brilliantly executed, with time signature changes turning on a dime – particularly impressive when we discover that their fill-in drummer (local thrashers Bakken’s Niall McGrotty) has only been learning the material for around a week and never actually rehearsed with the band! The entire set is ecstatically received and surely puts them in with a great chance.
Wild cards entrants Cursed Sun wrap the night up in their own inimitable fashion, with their ‘nu metal meets hardcore’ sound pounding Voodoo into submission. Vocalist Andrew ‘Jones’ Cassidy is as tightly coiled and ‘in your face’ as the music; he possesses a grinning intensity, similar to SOAD’s Serj Tankian, with a voice as clear and penetrating as his ice blue contact lenses. His vocal style has a delightfully schizophrenic quality, tumbling between clean singing and screaming as quick as a flash. Their music takes us on a (slightly bonkers) adventure, full of twists, turns and unexpected segues such as whirly, breathless guitar solos and rapid time signature changes. The crowd, initially a touch reticent, are eventually won over by the band’s uniqueness, as well as the sheer weight of their enthusiasm.
And then it’s time for Simon Hall to take the mike again. He praises each band and their support for each other (true; it was a real bro-down in here tonight, which was lovely). After giving away a raffle prize (tickets to Bloodstock, natch) and begging us not to hate him didn’t announce who we each would want to win (ha), he announces the winner…it’s Overoth. The room simply erupts into a paroxysm of whoops and clapping, with even the other bands surging forward to congratulate these most worthy winners.
Local scribe Mark Ashby then announces a rather tasty slab of icing on the cake: Belfast City Council are creating an event to give the lucky lads “a civic send off” to Bloodstock! Wow!
This contest has really confirmed to us here at Chordblossom just how diverse and chock full of talent the local metal scene is. See you same time next year, because oh yes, Metal 2 the Masses Belfast will be back!
Photography by Carolyn McGimpsey
