UPDATE – Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Ireland Heat 1.

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Oran

With the launch of the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Ireland campaign on the 10th of January, the six bands that took part, threw down in spectacular style, allowing the Fibber Magees capacity to forget the January blues and soak up some Metal performed by some of the best unsigned bands in the Country. Find out all you need to know and what to expect from the rest of the heats.

It’s hard to believe that we are now in 2015 and already standing in Fibber Magees at the launch of the Metal 2 The Masses Ireland leg of the official Bloodstock Open Air competition. This year’s thirty six bands were hand picked from hundreds that applied to take part in the hope of gracing the New Blood stage at this years festival along side Trivium, Within Temptation and the mighty Rob Zombie.

Tonight’s line up is packed with quality and blistering riff’s in the shape of Within Without, Damage Assessment, Words That Burn, Crossfire and one of last years finalists, Theories Divide.

Kicking things off tonight are Damage Assessment, who wast no time in getting things started. The guys have been together since February of 2007 and consist of, Jack Vocals / Bass, Adam Drums and Chris on Guitars and have a solid sound that grabs the venue’s attention from the get go.

damage assesment

With a quick changeover, Words That Burn make their way to the stage and begin with an audio assault that instantly connects with the crowd. Their music is unpredictable, powerful and performed with a quality that is few and far between.

Referring to themselves as Alternative Metal, there are moments of Tool and Deftones laced with Meshuggah style riffing that just work so well together, especially in a live setting. The band are from the Dundalk / Carrickmacross area and have been together since 2010. Members include, Roni MacRuairi on Vocals and Guitar, Shane “Beano” Martin on Guitar and Vocals, Ger Murphy on Bass and Vocals, and Jason Christy on Drums.

words that burn 3

Words That Burn use every moment on stage to prove that they have the stones to take on a Bloodstock crowd and Overdrive has to agree with them. Keep your eyes locked on these guys as they will no doubt explode over the next 12 months.

For more information on Words That Burn, click on this link.

Having reached the final during last years epic Metal 2 The Masses Ireland, Theories Divide come prepared for war. Guitarist / vocalist Gareth Quinn is harboring a swollen kneecap from an accident that he sustained earlier in the week. This does not seem to stop him as he launches into berserk mode on stage and powers through the pain.

theories divide

Theories Divide are a band that have grown from strength to strength over the last year and don’t seem to be anywhere near reaching their deadly potential. Overdrive discovered that shortly after the bands appearance at Metal 2 The Masses, bassist Darragh O’Connor was no longer part of the band for reasons that are unclear. However, Theories Divide are looking for a replacement to fill the bass players shoes. For any interested potential bassists that are looking to join the band, you can contact them here.

Theories Divide – Bassist Darragh O’Connor’s last appearance with the band.

Thrash four piece Crossfire, burst onto the stage, clad in denim and hi-tops before launching into the soundtrack to The Terminator. Ignoring the “NO COVERS” rule, they continue with Metallica‘s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and Annihilator‘s “Alice In Hell“. Although they did a decent job of said covers, it’s a real shame that we did not hear more original material.

For more information on Crossfire, hit this link.

crossfire 1

Up next is Dublin’s Within Without, who launch into their own brand of Hard Rock, with a surge of energy and passion. The four piece create a very unusual and interesting mix of styles in their sound and are clearly enjoying them selves on stage as they rip through their 25 minute set. For more information on Within Without, you can get the hook up on this link.

within without

Our final band of the night is Victimised, who hail from Kilkenny and have been breaking necks since 1993. With five member’s Pat Gleeson (vocals), Eric Gleeson (lead guitars), Pat Ryan (rhythm guitars), Serghei Orlov (Bass) and Frankie Larkin (Drums), they create a huge sound that almost blows the venue capacity to the ground. These guys have a crushing heavy sound that touches on Slayer style riffs marinating in some early Sepultura and well worth checking out and you can do so on this link.

With the judges vote going to Theories Divide and the crowd vote bringing Within Without though to the next round there is just speculation as to who secured the Wildcard for the night, This information will be disclosed after heat six on March 28th and will be announced exclusively on Overdrive.ie, so keep your eyes peeled and your head banging!

Metal 2 The Masses Heat 1 photo gallery Saturday 10th January 2015.