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LIVE review: Metal2TheMasses final - Cult of Necro

This is the big one. The finals of the Bloodstock Metal 2 the Masses in Belfast. The road here has been full of excellent heats, highlighting some of the best talent performing, not just in this city, but anywhere.

Apologies to SINOCENCE, who We ended up missing thanks to a late arrival.

Making the first band We catch SCIMITAR, who start things off with their high-impact thrash attack. Songs like Behead The Beast add the speed, and new track Sleepy Hollow is well structured, but maintains that fun quality thrash can have. The night before upstairs in the Eglantine was most certainly just a warm up, because all the energy comes out tonight. The crowd are really into it too, getting everyone moving; a solid act.

This is followed by THE CRAWLING, who emit a blackened feeling of impending dread that creeps in and chills your veins from the very beginning. Songs like The Right To Crawl are absolutely savage. The hooks sink in deep, staying with you, with their infliction of melancholia resonating long after the ending. Without a doubt they're the band of the night for Us; it’s absolutely essential that you see them live.

The diversity on show tonight is why you should come to events like this. Next are corpsepainted DRAKONIS, and songs like Bonegrinder are explosive. The theatricality is there, as We’re bound for black metal battle and blood. Their closing track Fear of the Wretched descends Us to the depths, in truly brutal fashion. Three for three, these bands have been the top performers of the night.

And now for something completely different…

This is the most out there We’re going tonight, with SLUTS. Looking like Marduk fucked The Lost Boys, this is hard and heavy sleaze. It’s big solos, big vocals and big hair all the way, and if nothing more this is a bit of fun and something different, perhaps to the point of out of place. They get a point for having a cock-shaped confetti launcher.

And now to our end. CURSED SUN are the chugga-chugga finale to a night of excellent, diverse performances. They’re straight and to the point, and a heavy final note to a heavy night. Does a singer really need three sweatbands on each arm though?

Gathering together for the results, it’s with a cheer and a pint raised that THE CRAWLING go forth to Bloodstock 2016. If you should be there, you must stand witness.

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