On paper, Heat 3 is one of the more diverse line-ups.
This wasn’t deliberate at all – but – certainly, the type of thing I was hoping for when I started running this competition in Newcastle, so a chance to see bands you’d not normally get to see or get to see together.
In the 2016 competition, no band who took the opening slot progressed. It is a very difficult slot because among anything else you can’t see what you’ve got to “beat”.
But, The Unholy Concoction buck that trend and taken on a riff driven booze metal approach to take them to the semis.
It does take a little while for them to warm, but a lot of people have made the effort to check out the early bands and they leave impressed.
It’s actually the crowd response that tips them through. As every judge has a different second choice band tonight!
I’m in awe watching Snakes Don’t Belong in Alaska. Sublime and hypnotic psychedeliac rock. Stunning riffs and great atmospheres. They help give the judges a nice headache, you know not the “will this noise ever stop” headache, but a “it’s tight, who is going through headache”
Saints of War are competition tradional rock, it’s funny – before they set I noticed Tim “Ripper” Owens has announced show at Think Tank and maybe this has me in mind for the nods towards Priest in SoW’s sound. Pretty good stuff.
Sworn to Secrecy, holy Hell, there’s quite a few young bands in this year and I love it. Absolutely. These kids tear up the stage with a high energy metalcore machine. Unlucky not to go through, but they’re another one of those bands that are good, they have the energy and enthusiasm and will only get better.
I mentioned earlier every judge had a different second choice band – well – they all had the same first choice band… Decrepit Monolith… fuck me. They’re tight. They take the competition to a new depth of Hell with their melodic Black Metal. Fearsome!
I already know the Semis are going to be too tight to call… I am mulling an idea….