FRESH BLOOD: MEET THE JUDGES

RABIDFEST CO-FOUNDER GREG BROWN AND MSRY GUITARIST CHARLES BISHOP ON WHAT MAKES A GREAT PERFORMANCE

It's coming! TOCstock Fresh Blood — our epic battle of the bands — hits Banbury this Friday, 20 March.

One stage. Five bands. One coveted slot at TOCstock ’26 in their sights.

Loud, brutal, and proudly in aid of Music Minds Matter — supporting mental health in the music community — Fresh Blood is where the heaviest bands go head to head.

Join us at Banbury’s beloved grassroots venue Also Known As (AKA) as Nvmeral, Our Fate, Sacravia, Temple, and Maleficus duke it out with no holds barred.

The crowd will have a vital role in deciding who takes the win, but you won’t be judging alone. We’ve assembled a panel of respected names from across the UK heavy music scene to cast their expert eyes over proceedings:

• Greg Brown, co-founder and technical director of Rabidfest
• Charles Bishop, guitarist of MSRY and esteemed member of the TOC Collective
• Will Hagan, lead vocalist of Severed Tongues
• Daniel Weathers, lead vocalist of Shoot to Kill

Between them, they’ve played stages, built festivals, curated line-ups, and helped shape the UK grassroots heavy scene from the inside out. They know what it takes for a band to stand out, and what separates a good set from a great one.

Ahead of the showdown, we caught up with two of our judges — Greg Brown and Charles Bishop — to find out what they’ll be looking for on the night, what makes a performance unforgettable, and what advice they have for bands stepping into the arena.

For spinning guitars, dildos, and bloody gumshields — read on!

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Rabidfest Technical Director Greg Brown

Hey, Greg. Thanks for making time to answer our questions. To start, please tell us about Rabidfest. 

GREG BROWN — Mark Gibbs and I formed Rabidfest in 2018, just to put on an event and see if we could get the metal scene back. Now it's one of the cornerstones, and one of the biggest events in Oxford. It's completely transcended our original vision.

Other than the Covid year, we’ve been really consistent, growing stronger and stronger, getting better at putting the lineups together and organising ourselves. I don't want it to seem like we’re smug, because we're not. We're always, always learning.

You alluded to it there, but why did you want to start a metal festival?

When I first moved here — I’m originally from Brighton — there just weren’t so many metal gigs in Oxford. I saw some rock gigs, but I’ve always been more of a metalhead.

Now Oxfordshire metal is doing really well, with what we’re doing and what you guys are doing up in Banbury. You’ve also got what Ben Smith is doing at The Wheatsheaf, and there are even a few gigs in Didcot. I didn’t even know there was nightlife in Didcot! Fantastic. But it wasn’t always like that.

What exactly do you do at Rabidfest?

To begin with, I was looking after the more technical side of things: things like the website, the applications portal, our ticketing site. I work in IT for my day job, and that sort of stuff I can do in my sleep.

Then I became the sole booking agent as well. By and large I have the final say, but I like to get everyone’s input. Like, I’ll try to have a listening party once I've got the 500 band applications down to maybe 20. Other people, particularly Mark, will also suggest specific headliners.

Did you ever think Rabidfest would get as big as it has?

No, and it still doesn't register. I just want to put on good gigs and for people to have fun at them. Seeing the same faces coming back year after year is great.

There's a couple that spring to mind who have a camper van and just travel around going to different festivals. They first came in 2024. They said they’d done, I think, 15 festivals that year. We were the last one. They came up to me at the end and were like, “Other than Bloodstock, this is it. This is the best it gets.”

They came back last year and were like, “How did you top 2024? It was even better." Fantastic.

Please tell us some of your Rabidfest highlights.

In 2021, so just after Covid, we booked a Saturday headliner, Diamond Head, and there's a little piece of footage somebody took and posted online of about a minute and a half of ‘Am I Evil?’ It’s got a really good view of the stage and a really good view of the crowd, and the whole room is absolutely rammed. Everyone's singing along. That’s easily one of the best moments.

Other great moments actually haven't been so much the headliners. I really enjoy the lower bands and the craft of putting together the lineup and seeing it work. That gives me more joy than a headliner who I know are going to sell.

Seeing, in order, Voidwalker, Call the Remains, Ocean Planet, and Forlorn two years ago was such an amazing transition. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

And last year, Collapser, Until 9, Froglord, and Redeemon. It just worked so beautifully, and so well that Collapser and Redeemon are now touring together. Probably my two favourite Rabidfest bands from last year.

Are there any other Rabidfest performances that have stayed with you?

Yes, Slay Duggie opening in 2022. If you know anything about them, they are hardcore themed. Them opening up was just fantastic. Unfortunately, it was very empty that early, but they were spectacular.

Tribe of Ghosts in 2023 were really very good. So were Cage Fight that year. 

And I have a very soft spot for Collapser. They're kind of a mix between Mastodon and Gojira: a lot of technical, but they also have a lot of progressive.

What separates a good performance from a bad one?

There's no straight answer because every band is different. You have to approach them differently. Technique and individual ability are important. If I see a drummer on stage be absolutely flawless, like Archspire kind of drumming, that’s gonna blow my socks off.

Or if they bring a really interesting stage show. RPC played Metal 2 the Masses for us a few years ago. They hit the semi-final and a lot of their act is stage show. They're a kind of thrash punk crossover. Their songs are good, don’t get me wrong, but their stage show carries them further and they know it.

They had an outrageous show with dildos and inflatables. That stands out. I'm always gonna remember that.

On the flip side, what common mistakes do you see bands make?

Lack of communication. It's okay to go wrong, but it's how you deal with it. Like, there was a band in Metal 2 the Masses last year who got to the final and put the bass drum pedal through the skin mid-song. The way they handled it, you’d have thought it was part of the set. It was so professional.

Someone happened to have a spare drum skin, and it made its way onto the stage. Another drummer jumped on and, all of a sudden, they’d fixed it. The vocalist was geeing them on and getting the crowd going.

What advice do you have for up-and-coming bands?

Don't be dicks. That’s probably the number one bit of advice I can give. Don't be abusive. I don't see it very often, but occasionally we get a few divas at Rabidfest. I don’t have time for it. Reputation matters and news travels.

Also — this is a horrible bit of advice to give — think about your merch. I’ve seen bands that weren’t that great have absolutely outstanding merch. The merch kind of pulled them up a bit.

Do you still have dream bookings for Rabidfest?

Of course! Metallica, but we’re never going to get to the size where we can realistically get them.

But we could grow to the size where I can book Skunk Anansie. They would be my sole choice. But the proviso would be to only play stuff off their first three albums. I saw them a few times live in Brighton and they were just spectacular.

Which band, dead or alive, would you love to see?

Black Sabbath. I nearly got tickets to the last show. I got a message about it from the guy I do Metal 2 the Masses with. It was about midnight and I’d fallen asleep. I didn’t see it till the next morning, by which point they’d all sold out. I missed out because I’d decided to have an early night and not look at my phone. So annoying.

That's putting it mildly. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs or bands?

Anything off the first two and a half albums by Placebo. There's only half of the third album I like. I don't really like anything else they've ever done.

And on that bombshell, we'll leave it there. Thanks for answering our questions and for stepping up and being a Fresh Blood judge.

It's my honour. I'm really proud to have been asked to be part of it. Thank you.

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MSRY guitarist Charles Bishop | credit Andy Ross

Okay, Charlie, prepare to be grilled. Please tell us how you got started in music.

CHARLES BISHOP — I'm a bedroom guitarist. Never studied music; never did lessons. Well, no, I had maybe three lessons when I was about 10. All I was was a bedroom guitarist that had friends in the music industry. We used to mess around with them and, before I knew it, I was in a band doing bits and bobs.

Characteristically self-deprecating. What was the band?

We were called Being Eugene. My best friend from school, Kyle Flanagan, who is still one of the best guitarists I’ve ever met, got me in. He was in and out of bands all the time.

There were six of us in the band: keys, two guitars, bass, drums, vocals. Mike Hayden from Lastelle was the drummer. That’s how I first met him.

Mike’s a diamond. How did you come to join MSRY?

I left Being Eugene and didn’t think I’d ever be in a band again. To be honest, I didn’t think I was good enough. And then another friend, Keir [French] from MSRY, came up to me and asked if I wanted to join his band. I said no, absolutely not.

He kept asking me, for about six months, and I got to thinking maybe I did want to do it again. Eventually, I said yes.

Tell us about your MSRY journey.

From day one we worked hard. I give all the credit to Kyle [Churcher] and Keir; they are workhorses. They were the driving force of that band. We went from playing maybe three shows a month, to week-long tours, nine-day tours, ten-day tours, more. I wasn’t used to that.

Kyle is the most energetic ball of chaos I've ever met in my life. I tried to match him. We like to get amongst the crowd. Keir would be the only person left on stage, because me and Kyle would be off climbing the walls, doing something.

I've got some old magazine reviews somewhere and they all mention the chaos. That’s always been our thing. It helped a lot with our shows and made them special. We did some amazing things, really cool stuff, and far more than I could ever have imagined.

Do you have a particular MSRY highlight?

Yeah, the day Iggy Pop emailed us. That will always be the coolest thing.

I think it was after our second EP dropped, which is my favourite period of MSRY. We had a song called ‘Trump Card’ which was about Trump getting into office. It’s quite a violent song. It starts off with Kyle screaming. Somehow, it found its way to Iggy Pop. He heard it, liked it, and got in touch.

The email said he’d like to play it on his BBC radio show. He introduced it on his show, and obviously he has the deepest voice ever, and when Kyle starts screaming you can hear Iggy chuckling in the background. It’s just the best thing. Absolutely perfect.

Are you looking forward to being a Fresh Blood judge?

Absolutely! I have judged before. I look for bands that attack it with full force. Every show’s an opportunity. I want to see performance.

I also like watching the demeanour of each band.

Are there any common mistakes you see new bands making?

Yeah, bands who try to put on a performance beyond what they’re capable of. So, when it's a bit try hard, when they're trying to run around a bit, and they're trying to make a bit of a scene, but that leads to them cocking-up notes.

Years ago, I saw some kid try to spin his guitar round his head and it came loose halfway through and just shattered on the ground. That's a prime example of trying to go beyond what’s possible.

What advice do you have for the bands performing?

Advice? I don’t know that I have any advice to give. Just do your best and impress me. You know what you're doing. You can do this. Just give it everything you’ve got.

MSRY at TOCstock '25 | credit Andy Ross

Who were your favourite bands growing up?

Growing up, there were only two bands I owned every CD for: System of a Down and Slipknot. They both played Download, one year after the other. Both of them were nostalgia trips. My inner child had waited 10 or 15 years to see these. They made young Charlie very happy.

Are there any performances you've seen that really blew you away?

I could probably name five or more, but number one is Aerosmith. I’m not a huge Aerosmith fan, but I saw them at Download in 2014, maybe, and it was just the biggest performance. I cannot adequately encapsulate how big it was. They hit like a freight train.

Catching Knocked Loose in London was chaos. It was a really intimate show. I don’t know how I got tickets — I think it sold out within 16 minutes, or something stupid. The most chaos I’ve ever seen in a tiny fucking room. Unbelievable!

They’re probably one of the most violent bands on the planet. I was on the edge of the mosh pit and a man was thrown out, took his gumshield out, spat some blood out, put his gumshield back in, and went back in again. Never seen that before.

Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

There are no guilty pleasures. If you like something, you like it. Why the guilt?

Anyone who listens to TOC’s monthly playlist knows I have no guilty pleasures. Last month I put William Shatner on there! I love ‘90s cheese, ‘80s cheese, and I’m a big fan of girly R&B. Guilty pleasures don’t exist for me.

But if you want an answer: Sabrina Carpenter.

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