Metal To The Masses Manchester Heat 8 Rebellion, Manchester 09:03:2025

Spring had arrived in Manchester with the city being bathed in unusually hot sun for the time of year. Things at Rebellion would be hotting up too, especially given that this would be the final preliminary heat before the round of quarter finals. Despite losing two bands during the week, a replacement band was found to join a lineup that featured two previous semi-finalists and strong contenders for the regional title and all important slot at this summer’s BOA. We would also see a guest headline act for the first time in The Dead XIII, a band who have gone all the way played at the famed New Blood Stage in 2023. Would any of the competing bands tonight be able to follow in their footsteps?

VMBRA

Opening up the evening but certainly not lacking in support given the range of the band’s merch you could spy within the audience. An audience certainly locked in and engaged. After all, it’s kind of hard not to admire VMBRA and everything that they stand for. It’s not just the elite individual musicianship the quartet showed on this night. It’s the all-encompassing positive aura they radiated, with their accessible melodic compositions and instantly likeable personalities and charisma that shone on that stage. Surely it would be hard for the judges to overlook them tonight?

MoriaH

The competition had been void of black metal acts this year, up until Preston’s MoriaH hit the stage. Austere, intimidating, and mysterious…and that’s just the band’s attire we’re talking about. Draped in cloaks and corpse paint, the band churned out everything you’d expect from a black metal act; the thunderous blast beats, KVLT shrieked vocals, and the blackened thrash inspired riffs that were reminiscent of the earlier days of the genre. Metal To The Masses wasn’t quite sure what had hit it tonight. Would this shock to the system and novelty be enough for them to progress to the next stage?

Technologist

Another band tipped to go far and potentially win the whole thing, Manchester’s answer to Opeth were up next. This was intense! Technologist’s progressive death metal sound is vast, combining ambient and melodic soundscapes through to face melting heaviness that can match anybody in the competition. With the sheer structural complexity and advanced textures employed, one false note out of place could turn the whole set into a puddle of garbled mush. Yet they were tighter than a mechanic’s wrench and demonstrated why they’re one of the most revered and respected artists in the local scene.

Occulent

Late additions to the lineup, new kids on the block in Manchester’s stacked metal scene who offered a rather impressive blend of progressive metalcore. Think Spiritbox, Jinjer. And yes, the vocals from the band’s frontwoman were demonic and fierce like those aforementioned bands, as fierce and heavy as any of the chest rattling breakdowns emerging from the band’s instrumentation. Yet there was still a pleasant melodic quality sitting in the subtlety deployed backing tracks and sublime lead guitar riffs which weren’t as subtle. If they put out this kind of performance with only a few days’ notice, imagine what they could have done with a few weeks or longer!

 

Cruel Addiction

The final competition band of the evening. Whilst we’ve seen other classic and glam metal acts, we hadn’t quite seen anything as flamboyant to date! Each member had certainly done their homework with their eccentric stage attire employed and the overall stage presence. This felt like you had entered a time capsule and reverted straight back to the glory days of glam metal, which certainly struck a cord with the more mature attendees, such was the level of dad dancing reserved for weddings and family gatherings. Engagement is engagement though and may well have earned the band a place in the next round.

The Dead XIII

The competition bands had played their final notes and thus it was time for our guest headliner. After trouncing the competition in Burnley 2023, The Dead XIII have been on an impressive upward trajectory that’s seen them secure support slots with the likes of Combichrist. It seems as though they have moved away from a more hard rock oriented sound and incorporated more of these industrial and metalcore elements into their sound. As well as a more polished stage show with light bars and strobes. It was getting late yet they still retained audience engagement and gave a flavour of what it takes to get to that New Blood Stage.

Verdict

Crowd vote: Technologist

Judges vote: VMBRA

Little complaints here. The judges’ comment on the standard of competition,n adding that any of the bands could have been a finalist in previous years. The night also saw the Syntara and Incarnage announce wildcards who would advance to the quarter finals. The camaraderie and mutual respect shown amongst the musicians after the show demonstrates that those bands that didn’t ‘win’ also won tonight, though, and hopefully got a lot from the experience. An experience we can all thank Rebellion and the 0161 MUMC for.

Photos used with permission from Rich Price Photography (https://www.facebook.com/RichPricePhotography)