Review/ M2TM Bristol 2019, Heat 1 @ The Exchange

By Vicki Wolfhart, English Literature

'A great atmosphere, a great night out, and a great opportunity to support local musicians', Vicki Wolfhart reviews M2TM at The Exchange...

When I arrived at The Exchange on Friday night, I was fresh out of an exam and absolutely shattered. It was going to take something pretty special to make me sit up and pay attention. Luckily, the first heat of the Metal to the Masses competition was just that.

Back in Bristol this year, Metal to the Masses runs all over the country and gives local rock and metal bands the chance to perform and compete for a spot on the Hobgoblin Newblood stage at Bloodstock festival. To win the competition, the band must win their heat, the semi final and then the grand final. Two of the competing bands in this first heat; NO:IR, Revello Drive, Trep and Next Stop Olympus would get through to the semi final, based on 50 per cent votes from the audience, and 50 per cent judges panel.

As soon as I entered the room at Exchange, the feeling of camaraderie and community in the packed room was palpable. Everyone was there to support local bands, playing at a local venue. All bands start on small stages like the one at Exchange, and competitions like this help to support the bands and ultimately keep the scene alive.

First up was NO:IR. Their set began with a beautiful melodic guitar riff and vocals, which quickly accelerated into a machine gun like mixture of power and precision, all set to awesome bass licks. Think Rage Against The Machine, meets Pantera, meets Gojira. My favourite moment was watching their bassist grinning as he looked out on the crowd getting swept away by the music.

After a quick break the next band, Revello Drive, were up. They were completely different to the band that came before them, bringing the variety which is part of what makes this competition so special. Hailing from Bristol, Revello Drive are a five piece hard rock band. I was immediately captivated by the deep and soulful vocals and the clean and complex guitar riffs, and then taken off guard when the riffs got heavier and the vocals became a vehicle for pure unadulterated rage. It's a combination guaranteed to deliver an emotional gut punch.

You can check out Revello Drive here

After another break were Trep, a three piece who had travelled across the bridge from Wales to take part. Trep were fantastic to watch, they had great interaction with the crowd and with each other, they looked like they were having a great time and that was infectious. The vocals were clean and perfectly harmonised and the bass lines were captivating. Trep are an intermingling of prog and heavy rock, reminding me of the mighty Tool. They were my personal favourites at this stage of the competition. Having been a fan of Tool since before they released '10,000 Days' (yes THAT long), Trep are exactly the sort of new band I'm excited to discover.

Finally, finishing off the performances for the evening, were Next Stop Olympus. Next Stop Olympus joined us from Salisbury, combining metalcore with rock 'n' roll for an energetic show that was a lot of fun to watch. They were incredibly polished, and their crowd interaction was superb. I loved watching their singer windmill with his impressive mane of Dave Mustaine style ginger locks. His vocal style at times put me in mind of Mikee Goodman from Sikth, expertly moving between screaming and melody. Their cover of 'Written in the Stars' by Tinie Tempah is not to be missed!

With all four performances done, all that was left to do was to wait the agonising 22 minutes until the votes were tallied, the judge's decision made, and the winners chosen. The room emptied and then filled back up again, excitement was building. Finally, the winners were announced. Trep and NO:IR are going through to the semi finals in May! The look of absolute joy on the bands faces as their names were called was fantastic to see. The judges must have had an incredibly difficult job choosing the winners, the quality of bands was so high at this competition. I can't wait to see what the next heat on February 13th has in store! I would encourage anyone to go along and check it out, it's a great atmosphere, a great night out, and a great opportunity to support local musicians.

Featured Image: Metal To The Masses/ Bristol

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