Semi-Final 1 Preview: The Eagle Battle Of The Bands
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Six heats. Six bands. Two semi-finals. Three bands. One final. One prize. One tortured opening to a preview piece. Shut up, so-called “What's On North”, and tell us about them, eh? Alright then.
This weekend sees the two-legged semi-finals of the Eagle's Battle Of The Bands. Over the course of the weekend six bands will play their hearts out – but of those only three will make it to the final for their chance of winning that grand prize of a professionally recorded song and video (and don't forget the National BOTB chance!). Here, embittered could-have-been rock star Kyle Walker goes over the acts for Friday's semi-final.
Tune your Les Pauls to Drop-C and buy up as many shares in Fisherman's Friend as you can, we've got some honest-to-goodness screaming metal! Indeed, Seed Of Sorrow showcase their attitude quite strongly – one of their song titles is “Human Scum”, for goodness' sake – but they're good. Very Lamb Of God-y at times, they've got some properly heavy chugging riffs, complete with pinched harmonics, and a very angry man screaming like his foot's been caught in the door of hell itself. I think the usual statement for a band like this is, “they're good if you like that sort of thing”, but you shouldn't be so close minded – check them out now.
I was quite taken with this band when they first played – but then I've always been enamoured with bratty riot grrl-esque pop punk. That they're through to the final can only be a good thing for their exposure – they're still bratty, they're still bouncy and they're still great. There's not really much else you can say about them, to be honest. Why overcomplicate such a simple, yet such a great thing?
()http://shaped.yolasite.com/songs.phpthey still don't have anything I can embed, which is frankly quite selfish of them. You can still check out their stuff at their website though -
Bite Night
This is embarrassing – I still know nothing about them, personally. However, I am nothing if not professional and did what any journalist worth his salt would do – bugged my friends for information. A Black Isle-based band, they (I have been reliably informed) remind the listener of Dire Straits/Eric Clapton-esque rock, albeit a bit heavier. To be honest, that sounds kind of great – imagine the guitar riffs coming out of that hallowed combination? It's just a shame they have no online presence or songs up yet – however apparently their Heat was also their first live gig. Not bad for a first gig, eh?
(because they still have nothing online – which you would have been aware of had you been paying attention – why not just look up “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits and imagine it being played by Soundgarden? Even if it's completely unrepresentative of the band's music, it'll be really funny.)
Heat 3 of The Eagle's Battle Of The Band contest takes place on Friday 24. If you're an aspiring musician currently beating your chest with rage having not entered, don't worry – we have our own contest where you can win a slot at Belladrum Festival! For more information, go to http://www.whatson-north.co.uk/Whats-On/Lead-Stories/The-hunt-is-on-for-a-Highlands-superstar-10122013.htm.
