Live Review : M2TM Merseyside Heat 2 @ Zanzibar, Liverpool on April 22nd 2023

After an incredibly successful first heat, Bloodstocks Metal To The Masses Competition returns to Zanzibar for its second round of heats. 3 More bands will once again be in competition for a spot in the regional finals with the ultimate goal of winning a spot at the iconic Bloodstock Festival up for grabs.  

First to take the stage are Indigo Horizon. They brought to the table a variety of sound from their heavy Mark Tremonti influences on guitar, to these huge, anthemic Architects inspired choruses that at times wouldn’t have looked out of place on an arena stage. Overall, their performance was an extremely professional and polished one, each song had its own unique identity, and you could tell that they were meticulously crafted and designed as opposed to being copy and pasted templates of each other. As mentioned, there was heavy Mark Tremonti influence on guitar, and this made for some incredibly intricate yet crushing riffs that completely engulfed the tiny Zanzibar stage. Everyone could see that they were on the cusp of something great here and the audience reaction along with this brilliant selection of tracks had me thinking the exact same thing.  

Second to perform were Ogun. Ogun flew the flag for no nonsense, no bullshit Thrash Metal goodness. As is usually the case when you see up and coming thrash, there wasn’t much here I hadn’t seen before, but I say it time and time again, this is the beauty of Thrash. The sheer visceral nature of this genre of music hits just as hard on these smaller stages than it would do at a Metallica or Slayer festival headline set. I’ve made it almost a cliché in my reviews when I say there is beauty in simplicity, and much like Heat One Winners Devils’ Henchmen, Ogun too take this ideology and perfect it. There is as much to admire in just tuning your guitars down and letting the riffs do the talking than there is in trying to perfect and craft an ultimately new sound and style and for me this is the beauty of a competition like Metal To The Masses. The difference between what Ogun and Indigo Horizon set out to achieve is night and day, yet they both provide the listener with enough for them to just stand back and admire what they’re seeing on stage.  

The final participants of Metal To The Masses were Seven Days Dead. I found Seven Days Dead the most difficult to pigeonhole into one set of influences as they provided a sweeping sound that encompassed all corners of the Metal world. There were hints of Nu Metal, slithers of Hardcore, even some spoken word passages that reminded me of the ending of O Father, O Satan, O Sun by Behemoth. What this set wasn’t, however, was a mess. Everything Seven Days Dead did, made sense in the context of the songs they were performing. There were meaningful transitions between these different styles and as a result it kept the audience invested and on their toes about where they would be taken next as opposed to losing track of where they were in the music whilst a new section was being performed. I was mightily impressed with Seven Days Dead and hope to see them around the Liverpool scene a lot more after this performance. 

As is tradition at Metal To The Masses, the final set of the night is reserved for a “Guest Headliner” to give the audience a break from focusing on which band they would ultimately decide is their winner of the evening. Tonights Guest Headliner was Apollyon Rising.  Before a note was even played, you could tell Apollyon Rising oozed professionalism. They made the stage their own with bespoke Apollyon Rising banners and had a presence that showed the audience that these guys know their shit. From following them on socials prior to their performance, it seems that they have gone through numerous lineup changes and have had what appears to be a bit of a tough time, however you would not have thought this from this performance. Much like Ogun, they are just a no-nonsense metal band. They provide the audience with a showcase of technical brilliance, crushing vocal hooks and a sense of atmosphere that was unmatched on the night. They proved themselves worthy of the tag on the night and provided the audience with a set where no voting implications were involved so it could be taken for what it was, and what that was, was pretty bloody good.  

With Indigo Horizon taking the top spot and advancing to the final alongside Devils Henchmen, what we have is a pretty bloody stacked final. After already attending Metal to the Masses events in Nottingham and Manchester over the years, I can’t remember a time where the final was looking as stacked as it is in Liverpool. There is a scene here, you’d best believe it.