Day of Wreckoning - Bloodstock Metal 2 the Masses South Wales

Pictured are the winners of Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses on stage. — Photo: Stuart Rowles

As spring evolves into summer, it was time for what had become a yearly tradition for me; covering the Bloodstock Metal 2 the Masses South Wales Final, where 6 become 1, or whatever the Spice Girls said.

Which, for the second year running, was to be held at The Patti Pavilion in Swansea, as part of the Day of Wreckoning. The key difference was that this year's edition was to be held following the hottest day of the year thus far, in very humid conditions, which had the potential to make things interesting.

Heading into this year's final, I'd previously had the pleasure of seeing all except one of the competing bands before, so I knew everyone was in for a treat.

Guitarist of Adfeilion wearing a bone mask on stage with a spotlight backlight. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Adfeilion

Coincidentally, the one band I had yet to witness with my own eyes opened the day's proceedings, Adfeilion. Who were merely described to me as a "wildcard" after their outings in the Swansea route to the final.

What was bestowed upon us was 30 minutes of Celtic folk metal. It felt as if a ritual had blessed the long day ahead. A technically sound set, only hampered by not everyone being in the room, as people were continuously arriving throughout their set. This meant that they didn't get the audience they warranted, which is a crying shame, as they truly are a band you need to witness in the flesh to get the full experience.

Kill By Mouth singer and guitarist performing on stage. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Kill By Mouth

Keeping the Swansea theme going, multiple-time finalists & no strangers to Day of Wreckoning, Kill By Mouth returned to The Patti stage with their brutal & raw thrash.

If you were still stuck in a trance after Adfellion, you were now wholeheartedly back in the room with a vengeance & physically vibrating. Punchy & powerful, if you had seen them before, it was what you'd come to expect from veterans of the South Wales scene. If you hadn’t, this was a statement of intent.

Akuma singer and guitarist performing on stage. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Akuma

Two Swansea bands down, the first Cardiff band to take to the stage were newcomers to the scene, let alone the competition, Akuma. Admittedly, there were some technical issues littered throughout their set; however, they played through them like seasoned professionals.

Notably, when it came to the crowd reaction, Akuma easily had the liveliest reception of all the competing bands. Pits, a wall of death to boot, the band had the crowd in the palm of their hand.

Whole band of Exaust performing together on stage. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Exaust

From two Swansea bands, we delved into back-to-back Cardiff finalists, as Cardiff took a stranglehold of proceedings. A brief 15 minutes to catch your breath & rehydrate, the youngest band on the bill age-wise laid down their claim with their high-energy thrash metal, Exaust.

High octane & full of beans, unfortunately for the guys in Exaust, the crowd seemed burnt out from their ventures during Akuma's set, on what was already turning into an arduous day due to the heat.

Despite them being full of energy on stage, it wasn't until Exaust brought out their inflatable beach balls towards the end of their set that the crowd began to show signs of life again. A band that is clearly going somewhere, they shouldn’t be too disheartened by external factors denying them the reaction they were after.

Closing out the contingent of Cardiff finalists was another band that loves a final. Returning to the competition after a year off, 2022 & 2023 finalists, Karmen Field.

These guys are not just a band anymore; they are pure performers. Honing their stagecraft to the point they’re just here to put on a show, win, lose or draw. Not to be outdone by Exaust's inflatables, Karmen Field showered the crowd with an assortment of inflatable fruit, notably strawberries & bananas, and their converted bottle of squirty jam as it was time to get sticky. Though after their set, it wouldn't surprise me if they regretted the decision to wear suits.

Guitarist of Struggler performing on stage with a backlight behind. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Struggler

Last but not least, the final Swansea band threw their hat into the gauntlet, local boys Struggler. You wouldn't have blamed them for reining it in slightly, given how warm that stage was at this point; yet it was like they'd all simultaneously slammed down an energy drink before taking to the stage.

Filthy riffs, melodies & the passion of boys who wear their hearts on their sleeves, bashing home how important the local scene is & why you must support it. They delivered a heavy-hitting & heartfelt set, to the point that if Adfeilion stuck you in a trance, Struggler made you want to kick down a door.

Battle lines drawn, everyone still standing albeit completely exhausted, we entered a 30-minute interval. With the three independent judges scurrying away to discuss the past five hours & decide who should represent South Wales at Bloodstock on the New Blood Stage.

Whilst all that was happening behind the scenes in preparation for the close of play, the evening swiftly switched over to part two of Day of Wreckoning, the guest headliners.

All band members of Ofnus performing on stage out to the crowd. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Ofnus

First to take to the stage was a band comprising members who were again no strangers to Metal 2 the Masses. To the point most of them were stage crew throughout the entirety of the event, now allowed to let their hair down & have some big sad fun courtesy of Ofnus.

Inhuman Nature performing on stage out to the crowd. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Inhuman Nature

Thrash seemed to be the theme of the day, as following Ofnus, we had Inhuman Nature, a band that was meant to play 2024's edition of Day of Wreckoning; however, due to their vehicle breaking down en route to Swansea, their appearance got pushed back to 2025.

The whole band of King Kraken performing on stage out to the crowd. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / King Kraken

Speaking of Metal 2 the Masses alumni, it was time to release the kraken. King Kraken, that is, as they showered us with pure Welsh heavy metal. These guys are a testament to hard work, even if you don’t win, if you put in the work, it can still pay off big time.

Member of Red Method with a skin mask on leaning over their keyboard. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Red Method

One 35-minute break later, the day entered its swansong, the mentally electric Red Method stormed the stage with a full-throttle set. Unfortunately, as seen halfway through the first section of Day of Wreckoning, the crowd were dead on their feet at this point, so their energy sadly wasn't reciprocated as they probably intended.

All members of Acid Reign performing on stage out to the crowd. — Photo: Stuart Rowles / Acid Reign

Closing out proceedings, the stage was handed over to nineties legends Acid Reign. High-octane, brimming with personality, you got the sense the veterans understood unofficial cries for mercy from the crowd, opting to use quick wit over insisting that the crowd move.

Live music over, within seconds, the South Wales Metal 2 the Masses organisers took to the stage with a golden envelope in hand, containing only one thing... the name of the winner.

First things first, as someone who has attended however many South Wales finals, this was categorically the toughest & closest final I've witnessed. Any of those six competing bands would have been worthy winners. In addition, it should not be understated that four of those six finalists (Adfellion, Akuma, Exhaust & Struggler) were all making their maiden Metal 2 the Masses voyages this year & made it to the final, knocking some staple big hitters along the way. Which goes to show how strong the South Wales scene is right now.

Pandering from me from over with, the usual pleasantries delivered from the organisers before the moment we were all waiting for... who was going to represent South Wales on the New Blood at Bloodstock? It was, in fact, one of those debutants, as the golden envelope revealed the 2025 Bloodstock Metal 2 the Masses South Wales to be experimental folk metalers, Adfeilion.