Bloodstock Open Air festival or “BOA” to you and I, has become a true beacon for undiscovered metal bands, especially in the last three years. The overall concept of Metal 2 The Masses not only gives up and coming bands the chance to play at the highly successful festival, but offers a varied array of platforms that are virtually non-existent for most bands.
The journey for any band taking part in the many Metal 2 The Masses, which take place not only in Ireland and the UK but across mainland Europe and as far as Norway with a total of 28 different regions, does not just begin once they take to the stage at the festival, but from the moment they become involved. This is due to the phenomenally unified support from each one of the M2TM’s promoters and their affiliation with local metal related media outlets and or course, the Bloodstock team themselves.
Overdrive has seen bands rise from their local scenes – or in some cases obscurity, to a slot on the main Ronnie James Dio stage (Evil Scarecrow, Cambion) and Sophie Lancaster stage (Psykosis, Dead Label) alongside some of the world’s most treasured metal bands. Using the tools provided, (punters, press, media, agents, scouts etc) with a combination of positive perseverance and clever marketing, Bloodstock could be the launching platform that will take your band to destinations you could only dream of.
Just looking at the Irish bands that have graced the festival’s stages over the last few years will justify the merits of taking part in Bloodstock. Dead Label, Psykosis, Ten Ton Slug, Animator, Two Tales of Woe and Snowblind have all been busy opening for international touring bands and have been welcoming bookings from promoters and agents across the UK and beyond, thanks to their work ethic and a considerable amount of interest from agents and fans, following outstanding performances at the festival over the last few years.
This year will see another 35 bands take to the stage in Dublin’s Fibber Magees in the hope of making it to the final which will be based on votes from the punters and judges across ten events before Bloodstock booking agent and promoter, Simon Hall flyers in from the UK to personally handpick the winning band that will go on to represent Ireland at Bloodstock Open Air 2017.
Below you will find each of the bands that will be taking part in this year’s campaign. *Please click on the event below to access the official event page.
HEAT 1 – JANUARY 28th
HEAT 2 – FEBRUARY 4TH
HEAT 3 – FEBRUARY 18th
HEAT 4 – FEBRUARY 25th
HEAT 5 – MARCH 11th
HEAT 6 – MARCH 18th
HEAT 7 – MARCH 25th
Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masters Ireland will be taking place in Dublin’s Fibber Magees with the first event taking place on Saturday, January 28th and the final on Saturday, May 13th.
The first seven events will be FREE ADMISSION to all punters with official voting slips being sold for €3.00 each at the judge’s table. Semi-Final A, B & C will revert to €5.00 door admission and this will include your official voting slip.
The voting system will remain the same as always, which you can see below;
VOTING RULES
A) Two bands will proceed from each heat (total of seven heats).
B) One band will be chosen based on crowd votes, by purchasing the official Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Ireland voting slips for €3.00. Once you have voted, you MUST submit your vote no later than 15 mins after the final band has performed. You can submit your voting slip at any time during each event.
C) One band will be chosen by the official Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses judges which will include guest judges (TBC).
D) The chosen bands will then be scheduled to play one of the three semi-finals which will be taking place on the following dates;
SEMI FINAL A – 15th APRIL
SEMI FINAL B – 22nd APRIL
SEMI FINAL C – 29th APRIL
Details of each semi-final line-up will be revealed prior to the show.
Bloodstock Open Air will be taking place in Catton Hall, between Thursday, August 10th through Sunday, August 14th. So far, Bloodstock has announced two of its headliners which are the mighty Amon Amarth and Megadeth who will be joined by Blind Guardian, Testament, Decapitated, Whitechapel, Hatebreed, Municipal Waste, Annihilator, Possessed, Skindred, HELL, Brujeria and Obituary.
Over the coming months, Bloodstock will be announcing a plethora of bands that will be filling up the four stages across the festival grounds. Tickets are on sale now, with a special payment plan in place for punters that are budgeting especially after the Christmas break. Click here for more information on Bloodstock Tickets!
For more information on Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Ireland, please click this link or contact either mail@overdrive.ie / kevin@jetrocker.com.
All Metal 2 The Masses Ireland photography – Down The Barrel Photography © 2017
Oran O’Beirne
© OVERDRIVE.IE 2017
