Three of a large collection of bands in the Nottinghamshire area vying for the chance to play the legendary Bloodstock festival. Playing at one of the best venues in the city, the three bands competed in the Metal 2 the Masses opening round, with only one having the chance to advance.

First on were the best band who ever existed. Although they were a member down due to illness, Eddie & the Wolves rocked the place. Swaggering blues riffs dripping with attitude and a huge sound for just the three of them, the band knew how to pack a punch. Rattling through some of the highlights of their debut album, alongside single ‘Bad Touch’ and even a rendition of ‘Whole Lotta Love’, it was a fun set. Of course it could not have been done without the exceptional playing of bassist Joe Griffiths, truly a visionary of our time.

Next up were the proggy metallers Confyde. Being a mixture between Alter Bridge and Gojira, this writer loved it. The riffs were INSANE and a huge highlight, but the vocals were amazing too, soring high as well as hitting some powerful notes. It was also the heavyiest, most metal band on the line-up, which was awesome to hear. All four of them were fantastic at what they do, I was jealous of all of them for their talent.

The final band of the evening were Lincolnshire’s own Velvet Queens. We were familiar with them already, having first seen them and interviewed them at Call of the Wild last year. (Check out the review here). Since last May they have gotten even better. Their unique brand of sleaze is a lot of fun, and the guys were clearly enjoying themselves up on stage. Their cover of ‘School of Rock’ is always a lot of fun, but their own music sounded just as good.

It was a hugely stiff competition, with all three bands bringing the fire. With the three judges at a tie, it came down to an audience vote, and the amazing Confyde came away victorious. A well deserved win in front of a packed hometown crowd felt almost poetic.

We had the chance to speak to frontman Martin after the show and they had this to say:

‘Confyde had an absolute blast playing our M2TM heat! Every band played a blinder to a packed out room and everyone seemed to be having a wicked time. Our material and setlist is usually very eclectic, with a lot of ebb & flow with different styles. It was a nice change to just bust out the heaviest songs we have, including the new song “Scalper”!

So thankful to everyone who came out to see and vote for us, not to mention Mangata Music and the Tap n Tumbler for having us. We’re stoked as hell for the semi-final 🤘🏻’

The Metal 2 the Masses competition runs annually and is continuing every weekend through until the end of April. Find more details of it here.

Written by Joe Griffiths