Metal 2 The Masses East Anglia kicked off with a great variety line-up of talent, each with the hopes to win and play at Bloodstock Festival 2023. And what better venue to host than The Brickmakers in Norwich? A venue notorious with hosting a wide variety of talent and previous winners of the competition such as Collapse The Sky who played in 2022 and Alpha Omega who played in 2018.
First up we had CTOAN, which cleverly stands for Can’t Think Of A Name. A four-piece metal band, CTOAN have a unique blend of heavy vocals and melodic riffs, with their breakdowns being mosh-pit worthy. Despite having the added pressure of being on first, they delivered a performance that introduced what M2TM is all about and brought support for local bands, staying for the remainder of the evening to support the other bands playing. With songs such as “Fall Down” and “Mercy”, CTOAN are a band to keep on the radar and a band I have followed for a very long time and will continue to.
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OBSESA followed, classing themselves as a metal/thrash/stoner/groove band which perfectly describes their sound and personality. Coming from Bury St. Edmunds with the hopes to snatch the crown, OBSESA balance the deep and raspy vocals with clever riffs, their music feels like the kind of music to get stuff done to; you can enjoy and dance whilst being heavily motivated. Their new EP The Unconquered Sunne is available now, rostering 4 great and immersive songs; my favourite of which must be “Eat Your Soul”, a heavy and fast thrash metal banger that just makes me want to start a circle pit.
After a short break to stretch out our backs and necks, Bind took to The Brickmakers’ stage. I couldn’t find out much information on Bind, which leads me to believe they could be a relatively new band. Regardless, they were not what I was expecting; consisting of 4 members each with a different visual style, Bind came together to create an atmosphere which took us all my surprise. They commanded the stage and clearly enjoyed themselves whilst performing, starting heavy and finishing heavy. Their breakdowns offered the chance to move around with epic guitar solos and heavy bass. Pair that with bass drums kicking off and deep growling vocals you have Bind who can be found on Instagram.
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Finishing off the night was Falling Gods, who put on a killer performance. I discovered their first upload on their YouTube channel is actually a metal cover of “Mr Blobby” from 1994 which I find iconic and hilarious and shows they are a band that likes to just have fun and enjoy what they produce. Falling Gods remind me a lot of Halestorm not just from their sound but from the emotion and power propelled. They haven’t released a lot of songs, but “Pyre” and “Hold The Line” are ones to listen to and keep on the radar for future performances.
I really liked the variety of bands that played at Heat 1, no two were the same or even similar and that’s what made it so exciting – Metal 2 The Masses is an amazing representation of metal and a great way to bring the community together. Bind won this heat with CTOAN coming a close second; massive congratulations to both bands and I can’t wait to see what they bring next!
