{"id":18578,"date":"2019-04-27T17:33:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-27T16:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/?p=18578"},"modified":"2019-04-27T17:33:29","modified_gmt":"2019-04-27T16:33:29","slug":"review-metal-to-the-masses-quarter-final-1-at-firebug-wednesday-24th-april-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/review-metal-to-the-masses-quarter-final-1-at-firebug-wednesday-24th-april-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Metal to the Masses quarter final 1 at Firebug, Wednesday 24th April 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

with G\u00dcNK, Gallows High, BlackHawkDown and 28 Double<\/h2>\n

Reviewed by Aleksandra Brzezicka.<\/a>
\nOrganised by\u00a0Metal 2 the Masses, Leicester<\/a> and\u00a0Resin events<\/a><\/p>\n

The doors of Firebug opened up this Wednesday to all metalheads and fans of the heavier sound for the first quarter-final of this year\u2019s edition of Metal 2 The Masses. G\u00dcNK<\/strong>, Gallows High<\/strong>, BlackHawkDown<\/strong> and 28 Double<\/strong> were there to fight for a slot at Bloodstock Festival.<\/p>\n

First on the bill, G\u00dcNK<\/strong>, took the stage by storm with their grunge\/hard rock, roaring distortions and sick bass solos. Lewis Haynes (vocal\/guitar), Thomas Greene (bass) and Connor Hines (drums), surely influenced by a mix of Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Metallica, generated a sound that\u2019s got a purging rage of heavy metal, dirty grungy riffs and psychedelic breakdowns.<\/p>\n

Thumbs up for Bittersweet<\/em>, the out soon track, full of clashing notes, colliding bangs and soul-wrecking screams sounding like the instruments got into an argument. G\u00dcNK gave it all at the end, finishing off with destructive waves of noise that woke me up faster than a sea of coffee.<\/p>\n

\"\"G\u00dcNK Photo: Kevin Gaughan<\/p>\n

After making it to the semi-finals last year Gallows High<\/strong> came back to the game. Starting off a bit messy, they\u2019ve managed to get on with their stage smashing apocalyptic sound and complexity of layers upon layers that make them stand out on the heavy metal\/hard rock scene. Even though, female-fronted five-piece got the means to possess with their occasional psycho-church like sound, progressions from the haunted ballad moments to the abrupt bangs, this time it felt like they didn\u2019t live up to their potential. Emma Wale\u2019s vocal scale has the ability to amaze though here and there it didn\u2019t make it’s way through the rowdy riffs and blunt noises. In the end, I got the chance to see the true face of evil in Speak of The Devil<\/em>. I liked what I saw.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gallows High Photo: Kevin Gaughan<\/p>\n

BlackHawkDown<\/strong>, started off with thunderstorm energy fuelled Falling<\/em> that forced the audience to fall for them. With no time to catch breath, they jumped straight into screaming\/howling Calling<\/em>. Being a bit of a lovechild of classic Metallica\u2019s vibe and Pantera\u2019s sharpness, their music is melodic enough to shout along with Ben (vocal) and full on aggressive to be an expression of eternal pain, anger and a glimpse of hope, like in Freeman<\/em>, best tune of the set.<\/p>\n

They played most of the tracks of their EP, Prefix<\/em>, and finished with Too Late for You<\/em>, fast and furious with a funky breakdown and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll riffs that made everyone raise raise their fists in unity.<\/p>\n

\"\"BlackHawkDown Photo: Kevin Gaughan<\/p>\n

Last but not least, 28 Double<\/strong>, five-piece groove rock\/metal band from Derby, smashed the stage straightaway with Crossroads<\/em>, a high-energy song. Rob Tallant (guitar\/backing vocals), Josh Woodhouse (drums), Nick Ward (vocals), Gav Archer (bass), Kieran Agnew (guitar\/backing vocals) created the unique cross-genre sound with captivating vocals that makes you wonder why you haven\u2019t heard about them before.<\/p>\n

Hard dirtiness of riffs in Grind<\/em>, the sharpness of sound compromised with smooth vocal in 28 Double and new, energetic bullet aka Witness<\/em>, made the show both a diverse and consistent experience.<\/p>\n

28 Double is the band to listen to live. Come to the next gig.<\/p>\n

\"\"28 Double Photo: Kevin Gaughan<\/p>\n

28 Double (not surprisingly) and Gallows High got to leave Firebug in the glory of victory as they made it to the semi-finals. G\u00dcNK, BlackHawkDown, see you next year?<\/p>\n

If you would like to share this review, please help us by using the share buttons below instead of a screen print – thanks!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

with G\u00dcNK, Gallows High, BlackHawkDown and 28 Double Reviewed by Aleksandra Brzezicka. Organised by\u00a0Metal 2 the Masses, Leicester and\u00a0Resin events The doors of Firebug opened […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":18580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[214,216],"tags":[115],"class_list":["post-18578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-214","category-gig_reviews","tag-metal-and-hardcore"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_4345.jpg?fit=951%2C616&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73uhX-4PE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18376,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/review-metal-to-the-masses-heat-5-at-duffys-bar-sunday-21st-april-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":18578,"position":0},"title":"Review – Metal to the Masses heat 5 at Duffy’s Bar, Sunday 21st April 2019","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"24\/04\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"with BlackHawkDown, Omen Machine, InSickness and Diceratops Reviewed by Liz Marriott. Organised by\u00a0Metal 2 the Masses, Leicester and\u00a0Resin events Last Easter Sunday at Duffy\u2019s bar saw the final showdown in the first round of Metal 2 The Masses \u2013 and four stalwart contenders entered the arena to give it a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_4029.jpg?fit=798%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_4029.jpg?fit=798%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_4029.jpg?fit=798%2C727&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_4029.jpg?fit=798%2C727&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14440,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/metal-to-the-masses-quarter-final-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":18578,"position":1},"title":"Metal to the Masses quarter final 1","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"15\/04\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"8th April 2018 at Firebug with The Surrealists, Seven Hells, Gallows High and Graves plus special guests, Black Emerald and All Consumed Tonight's show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester. Reviewed by Kashif Hussain The heats have ended and Leicester\u2019s metal scene has showed the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2018"","block_context":{"text":"2018","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2018\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_3607.jpg?fit=1002%2C653&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18269,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/review-metal-to-the-masses-heat-3-at-duffys-bar-sunday-7th-april-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":18578,"position":2},"title":"Review – Metal to the Masses heat 3 at Duffy’s Bar, Sunday 7th April 2019","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"10\/04\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"with G\u00dcNK, Graves and The Fisters Reviewed by Liz Marriott. Organised by\u00a0Metal 2 the Masses, Leicester and\u00a0Resin events A horde (or at the very least, a small raiding party) of metal-heads descended upon Duffy\u2019s Bar last Sunday, for the third in a series of heats to compete for a prime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_3569.jpg?fit=929%2C619&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_3569.jpg?fit=929%2C619&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_3569.jpg?fit=929%2C619&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_3569.jpg?fit=929%2C619&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18704,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/review-metal-to-the-masses-semi-final-1-at-firebug-10th-may-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":18578,"position":3},"title":"Review – Metal to the Masses semi final 1 at Firebug, 10th May 2019","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"14\/05\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Metal to the Masses semi-final 1 at Firebug, 10th May 2019","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/60187459_1210675049113663_1515174031492382720_o.jpg?fit=1198%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/60187459_1210675049113663_1515174031492382720_o.jpg?fit=1198%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/60187459_1210675049113663_1515174031492382720_o.jpg?fit=1198%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/60187459_1210675049113663_1515174031492382720_o.jpg?fit=1198%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/60187459_1210675049113663_1515174031492382720_o.jpg?fit=1198%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14274,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/metal-to-the-masses-heat-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":18578,"position":4},"title":"Metal to the Masses heat 5","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"22\/03\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"18th March 2018 at Firebug with Smack Jack and the Many Grams, Black Chapter, Every Rope a Noose and Scrap Iron Scarecrows Tonight's show was organised by Resin Events and Metal 2 the Masses Leicester. Reviewed by Kashif Hussain Another Sunday means another Metal 2 the Masses heat. 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Organised by\u00a0Metal 2 the Masses, Leicester and\u00a0Resin events Greater stakes warrant a vaster venue, and Metal 2 The Masses decamped to Firebug this Sunday, for the year\u2019s second Quarter Final. With a promising line-up,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4455.jpg?fit=1000%2C659&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4455.jpg?fit=1000%2C659&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4455.jpg?fit=1000%2C659&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_4455.jpg?fit=1000%2C659&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18581,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18578\/revisions\/18581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}