BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 3 -SET TO RISE - DRAGONTHRONE - A HIGHER DEMISE -MONUMENTOMB (21/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS

BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 3 -SET TO RISE - DRAGONTHRONE - A HIGHER DEMISE -MONUMENTOMB (21/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS

Set to rise start us off.. Not sure what to make of this lot. The front guy looks out of place, but he's giving it some! Plenty of energy, and a voice that you don’t expect from his 'look' It fun hard rock and another good start.

Dragonthrone, do that cardinal sin in a battle of the bands. Cover songs. Plus a Metallica cover. I hate Metallica. But that aside, another young group with a sound along the lines of Iron maiden and Metallica. They are having fun up there, if the nerves do show a little. They aint my cup of tea, but they are a good lot.

A higher demise. Well. Another hardcore style group. Not the crusty nasty punk hardcore, that emo breakdowns r' us hardcore. They are a little more rock than other bands doing the hardcore thing, and they have a good energy. They play well and it’s a good set, its just nothing new. Other than the female bass player. Don’t see that too often!

Monumentomb. You know you see a band with loads of merch, custom amp covers.. all the set up, and you think 'yeah these have been around, worked hard to get all set up'? Well, these guys have that stuff, but its only their second gig! Theres been a lot of 'buzz' about them going round lattly, and I can kinda see why. They play some Blasting death type noise. They play it well and tight. But, it’s a bit.. 'meh' I loves me some death metal so maybe I've just heard it all before, these guys are good, but not great, and after all the hype it’s a bit disappointing. Maybe more time on getting the songs to that next level, and less time on making merch would do them well.

BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 2 - PRESSUREHEAD - WORD OF NOD - NEAR RUIN - LOS ALCATRAZ (14/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS

BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 2 - PRESSUREHEAD - WORD OF NOD - NEAR RUIN - LOS ALCATRAZ (14/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS - by Cez

Heat 2 starts off with Pressurehead. A band I've seen before, although at that gig, they had 2 of the 4 out due to what ever reasons, so they performed an accoustic set, which I have to say, was awful. So Iwasn't expecting much from tonight.. But I was wrong! Playing some fun grunge rock with smiles on their faces, it may not be 'metal' enough for Bloodstock, but it’s a good start.

Word of nod are an odd bunch. Older than most of the other bands in the contest and very... unique. Their front man is all 'hairy chest out, epic mustache on, mad metal posses go and voice high!' I guess you could call them heavy rock meets power metal? Not really sure.. The front man is a performer for sure, although the audience seem to float away through the set it’s a good one.

Near ruin are a young lot. Possibly the youngest in the contest. Playing generic melodic hardcore its all pretty standard other than the keybored playing irritating 90s ring tone randomly in the tracks. sure they got energy and are having fun up there, but I am not.

Los alcatraz. Another band I've seen before. always calling for everyone to come watch them, never watching the other bands. Want to know what they sound like? the front man is wearing 'Whitechappel' ' Chealsea grin' and ' Carnifex' logos. says it all really. Everything is by the numbers, the music, tone, body language and posturing. Its hardcore. Plain, boring and simple. Yawn.

BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 1 - ABYSS - MANTORA - VULGATE - HUNTER/KILLER (07/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS

BATTLE FOR BLOODSTOCK HEAT 1 - ABYSS - MANTORA - VULGATE - HUNTER/KILLER (07/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS - by Cez

Bloodstock battle of the bands in Kent kicks off at last! Running through March and April, with the semi final and final in May and bringing out some of the best in local unsigned bands, giving them the chance to play the legendary bloodstock festival!

Kicking of events is Abyss. A hard rock / grunge type group. At first, the whole thing was very … dull. Band members standing like cardboard, vocals forced and fake sounding. But, after 2 / 3 tracks, the boys started to relax and things started to get better! I imagine the weak start was down to nerves, but I'll be catching them in about a month so we shall see!

Next up is Mantora, filling in for some band who I don’t remember who dropped out.. Now, this is more like it! These boys don’t fuck about, getting stuck in straight away with their heavy / hardcore metal along the lines of Lamb of God with a couple of breakdowns thrown in for good measure, and a front man who spends the whole show on the floor, not one touching the stage.

Vulgate are a band I've heard of a lot, but never heard. I'll admit seeing a guitar without a head on just gets on my tits. They just look... wrong. But they prove they deserve the hype with some pretty in your face blackened metal. Its pretty much by the numbers, and the guys are a bit static on the stage, but the crowd love it and the musicianship is just spot on.. Which may explain why they won the vote on the night!

Last up is Hunter/Killer. Silly name if you ask me, since if you try to find them on line you just get US navy ships or rockets, but anyway. Not sure what these boys are about. The whole thing was very dull and strained. I hear their guitarist has only just joined and it shows, stood motionless in the corner in his smart shirt and tidy hair, while the others are all scruffy dress and hair down to their arse. During the set they play 2 covers (not a good move at a battle of the bands lads) and admit that the previous bands have made them realise they have a long way to go. They ain't wrong, but respect due to them for admitting it.

GREG(O)RIAN - SKARTHIA - CURSED AS ANGELS - VICTIM IDENTIFIED - INFECTED DEAD (08/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS

GREG(O)RIAN - SKARTHIA - CURSED AS ANGELS - VICTIM IDENTIFIED - INFECTED DEAD (08/03/14) @ THE IVY, SHEERNESS - by Cez

So, after 4 years, local death grind due Victim Identified are making a come back. Since I have in the past taken a photo of the front mans cock, I thought I should drop by...

First up is Greg(o)rian. Doom drone trio from London / Essex way. After seeing them in 2013 I was looking forward to their set, and had dragged down a bunch of mates to see them, and we was not disappointed! Performing a much more 'in your face' and aggressive set than last time, with a few joking about 'br000tlzz' poses for laughs, these boys hold the audience and churn stomachs with their low end doom.

Skarthia have the novelty of having a girl in the band, and during the first track they have her doing backing vocal. Bad move. She just does not have the power behind her voice to fit the rest of the band, and I nearly give up. But I stuck around and glad I did! They spend their set smashing through some super fast heavy metal, loud chunky and in your face bruv!

Cursed as angels, I missed these chaps.. my bad..

Victim Identified... So 4 years since their last shows, they are back. No new songs, no rehearsals.. no new members.. So what's different? The drum track. There is bass with the pre recorded drums, and the boys have gained some weight. The joy of getting old I guess.

After 4 years, it was like going back to the old days. The set and performance was just as it used to be.. But its not all the same. Back in the day these lads used to pull a pretty big crowd, and with this being a come back show for local(ish) lads, you would think that there would be a big crowd for them, but no. Not really. There seemed to be more people sitting outside smoking and chatting than in the venue. Sadly this is the norm at the Ivy these days. Bad times. A decent set, a disappointing turn out.

Head liners tonight are Infected dead, another popular local troop who play some decent heavy death trash type noise. I think. I didn’t stick about to catch them on this night, since I was turtle heading and ain't no way in hell I'm doing a crap at the Ivy!

A good night. A fair few people about, just a shame most people spent most of the night out in the garden.