Cloaks, cries, and Rhys Caswell: Battle of the Bands Heat Four left everything on the stage

Copper Rooms 2, University of Warwick Campus, 12 February 2026

My first Battle of the Bands experience was crazy. As soon as I walked into the Copper Rooms 2, I was met with a sea of black, with two exceptions: someone in a red Crosby football jersey, and a group of people in white t-shirts customised with ‘I heart Sam McCole’ in black and red sharpies telling people they were trying to win “Battle of the Fans”. With a deafening cheer from the crowd, the lights dimmed, and Heat Four began…

Taking to the stage first was Et Al., a three-man band fronted by the seemingly main man himself, Sam McCole. Met with a resounding cheer, Sam grabbed the mic and the band launched headfirst into their first song, a guitar solo receiving resounding whoops and cheers from his fan club. The second track descended into screamo metal, powered on by the adoring fans at the barricade, practically throwing themselves at Sam as he let rip into the microphone, both tracks thus far dedicated to a Mr Rhys Caswell. The third song, also attributed to Caswell (after which they exclaimed “we are the Rhys Caswell tribute band”), gave Lloyd, the drummer, his moment to shine, this by far being the highlight of the band’s set.

‘Creek Cave’ could easily play a venue like the O2 Institute in Birmingham

Next up was Epitaph, who arrived on the stage in big, ominous cloaks and – without a word – jumped into a synth, alternative metal tune which lasted nearly ten minutes. The best comparison I can give is to Sleep Token, another band who are entirely mystical, their performance fuelled by theatrics and atmosphere. Epitaph’s vocals began at the back of the sound, slowly building throughout the track, reaching an ethereal climax in which it felt like the instruments were begging the musicians for reprieve. The gruelling power of the music was undeniably the blood running through the veins of each of the six band members on stage, each note keeping them alive a moment longer. After one last gruelling scream from the lead guitar, every sound retreats into itself, Callum – the lead singer – engaging in terrified conversation with one of his bandmates before screaming “Kraken!” into the crowd, the bass taking on a droning, lifeless quality which led the band into their final song, seeing Callum and his bassist have a ‘headbang-off’. Epitaph’s performance was, for me, the best performance of the night by far!

The third band to show off their prowess was an amalgamation of two groups, Creek and Hard Cave, who had come together due to “unfortunate circumstances”. Just as unfortunately, the band were delayed five minutes in beginning their performance due to some technical issues, while I stood hoping the judges wouldn’t penalise them for something so out of their control. Once they did get started, however, they blew me away, the lead singer blasting powerful notes out into the audience, making such an incredible performance seem effortless. Likewise, throughout the set, all the musicians seemed to be one with their instruments, the electric guitars singing and drum fills booming in a way I hadn’t yet seen in the night. ‘Creek Cave’ could easily play a venue like the O2 Institute in Birmingham, their alt-rock sound feeling far more mainstream than the previous two bands in a way which did not hold them back – if they were to get a few tracks on SoundCloud, I’m convinced they could get themselves a hefty following.

Aleeza dominated the stage like it was her very own concert, leaning far over the barricade, singing into the audience’s recording phones

Finally, it was Lurid, a heavy metal band fronted by Aleeza, who announced she was performing with a chest infection after already screaming her way through the first song, ‘Medusa’, which ended with an almighty scream, far superior to any of those let out by both Et Al. and Epitaph in their sets. Aleeza dominated the stage like it was her very own concert, leaning far over the barricade, singing into the audience’s recording phones, whipping her hair with such ferocity that I was beginning to think that stopping would lead her to vomit. Clearly, I don’t frequent metal music all that often. Lurid was unstoppable, and just when fans thought it couldn’t get any more intense, they were criticised by the vocalist for bringing “pitiful energy”, urged to create “the biggest fucking mosh pit Copper Rooms has ever seen”. With that, Aleeza leapt into the pit and began headbanging and moshing alongside everyone who had turned out to see the Lurid mastery in person.

So – the scores are in. Neil, the former president of BandSoc, took to the stage, announcing tonight’s show was “one of the strongest heats [he’s] seen in recent years”, being a frequent judge for Battle of the Bands, before each judge took it in turn announcing the podium positions. Surprisingly, Epitaph didn’t place, despite being the most all-encompassing performance of the night, and the one I rushed home to tell everyone about. In third was Creek, which throws them into the wildcard pull which members can vote for after all heats have been played out. Et Al. took second, the McCole fan club going wild with joy, before Lurid – whose intense performance cannot be overstated – were announced as the winners of this round, seeing them sent straight to the final, which will take place on Thursday 12 March, at the end of Week 9 – see you all there!