Metal 2 The Masses Quarter Final 3 – Rebellion, Manchester – 30/03/2025
3rd April 2025In the words of A Day To Remember “I’m right back at it again”, and that’s right. I’ve used that as an intro shamefully before and not afraid to go the extra mile of cringe and use it again… but hey! We’re back at Manchester Rebellion for the third quarter final of Manchester Metal To The Masses. My first thought for the day was the fact it was a beautiful day outside, would this effect the level of turn outs for the evening or would the beckoning of mothers around the north west result in a smaller audience? I was slightly surprised to find that it in fact this didn’t seemingly effect the head count for tonight as the venue was fairly busy and had a decent turn out. Tonight’s heat featured Pew Pew Lazer Force, Incarnage, Shred Dibnah and Vmbra with headlining guest band Kringer and the Battle Katz.
Pew Pew Laser Force photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
First band and opening performance for this evening were high-energy (seemingly Duracell powered) Pew Pew Laser Force. I unfortunately was unable to catch PPLF in their qualifying round so this was a new experience for me. Their music could only be described as an electronic synth metalcore blend, which seemed to resonate well with the audience. What a performance; it was fun, it was charismatic and the full band showed an amazing stage presence. The crowd showed energy with the pits going on throughout their entire set, with that being said it was entertaining to be informed vocalist, Ryan Reynold‘s (No we don’t mean Deadpool… let’s not get them confused off the get go) dad was getting stuck in throughout their set in the pit and ended up getting floored by a very eager and younger participant but after all this is what we love to see, music bringing the community together be that in being tossed on the floor or enjoying a drink whilst watching admirably from the sidelines. With the band previously taking the crowd’s vote, was tonight’s performance enough to win the hearts of the audience again?
Shred Dibnah photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
Following on from the animated performance from PPLF, Shred Dibnah took to the stage. Now, for anyone unfamiliar with these guys – there’s smoke… a lot of bloody smoke. With their slow sludgey doom metal vibes, it seemed on this occasion the audience was torn between the beer garden and the performance. I did feel this evening Shred Dibnah did not get the usual reception that they usually do in terms of audience viewing and it did feel that people were dwindling off around half way through the set which was a shame to see. Bringing their signature smoking chimney to the set, visually their performance did bring a slight aesthetically advantage to most who were showcasing tonight, but felt that this could have been slightly elevated as although creatively I love this vibe there was nothing new about it (I know, I know – don’t change what works, but this is a competition, would have been great to see maybe a different colour smoke or just something minor to spice it up!), my question is how far can you push this aesthetic and leave an experience that was not to be forgotten by the audience when the competition standards are so high. I would like to note just one issue with this set in terms of execution, this was another technical issue now hear me out, I know what you’re going to say… technology is the bane of existence and I hear you. I hear you, but with it being a second technical issue on the road to Bloodstock would this be held against them this time?
INCARNAGE photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
Next inline, the smoke clears and time for Incarnage to shine. Incarnage were brought back to the competition on a wild card for a second chance to take to the stage. I do have to state I did love the use of wireless during the set, seeing some of their members get up close and personal with the audience on multiple occasions was a mighty fine addition to the set. In comparison to their previous performance it felt like the guys had gone the extra mile and had been very thoughtful with how they could amp up their set this time around. Bringing new music to the stage with their easily identifiable melodic metalcore sound they definitely did pull out the stops to attempt to grab an edge in the competition. The crowd were receptive of the performance with the occasional pit here and there however, did feel in comparison to performances prior the crowd energy was not as high even with the engagement attempts from the band members. Overall a solid performance from the guys with some out of the box thinking and some exciting ways to up their set, however would it give them the edge in the competition they wanted? They were able to walk off the stage during their set but would they be walking to bloodstock or sadly, walking off home tonight?
VMBA photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
The final act competing tonight were VMBRA. VMBRA were another band who I unfortunately was unable to catch on their qualifying round so like PPLF this was my first experience witnessing them during the Manchester Metal To The Masses competition. They led with a very alluring performance with their progressive sound it was clear there they had come to show why they have gained such a loyal following. The performance was tight and polished and oozed confidence and professionalism from start to finish. Bringing a sound that was clearly influenced from different genres and bands of ages, it was an impressive performance which in my opinion would have a large reach to people in the audience due to the musical style being a blend of many from alt rock, progressive rock and metal with some melodic elements sprinkled in for extra good measure. Would this permit them to move onto the next rounds of the road to bloodstock and seal them a place at the legendary Bloodstock Open Air Festival? … All to be reveled soon (If you haven’t just skipped ahead of my drivel and seen the outcome of the evening, tut tut on you if you have).
Kringer and the Battle Katz photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
Finishing off the evening were local heroes Kringer and the Battle Katz. With their high energy, highly entertaining performance it was clear why they had been invited to close as a headlining band for the evening. I commend this band highly for their top tier acrobatic skills and energy that was put out on stage, my hips were hurting just from admiring the stunts that went on during this set, hanging off the stage to a casual backwards roll. Absolutely Iconic. Having briefly spoken to members of the band since this set it was good news to hear this time there were no a&e trips needed. We love to hear that, right?
Kringer and the Battle Katz photo courtesy of Laura Jane Photography © & Photography for All About The Rock
Musically, for me personally… It’s not something that I would personally seek after but I can admire the talent that each one of these guys brought to the stage and there is 100% an audience out there that would eat this shit up and fortunately for Kringer and and the Battle Katz it was clear tonight this was present. The crowd appeared to absolutely adore the music with dancing and crowd participation being in full swing. Overall, it was a dynamic finale to the leave the evening on a high.
Results for the evening:
