The Support Bands

Lost Alone

I was impressed by this obviously young three-piece heavy rock band from Derby. Steven Battelle (lead vocals, guitar), Alan Williamson (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Mark Gibson (drums, percussion, backing vocals) were tight with some good songs, great stage craft a sound that filled the arena. The guys are currently in the studio recording their second album, after signing with Warner/Sire Records, with producers Greg Wells and Jacknife Lee. Since their inception, Lost Alone have toured extensively in the UK and Europe supporting a number of major acts such as Enter Shikari, Paramore, My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds to Mars, on their Into The Wild Tour, as well as completing several European headline tours.

They have also made appearances at numerous festivals such as Taste of Chaos, Give it a Name, Download, Reading, T in the Park, Oxegen and Rock Am Ring. They received their first major award nomination, when they were nominated for “Best British Newcomer” at the Kerrang! Awards in 2007.

Blackout

The Blackout is a post-hardcore/hard rock band from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, formed in 2003. While I was impressed with the band’s animated and explosive performance I wondered if this band really was appropriate for this show (the language was also very blue for such a young audience).

In October 2007 the band released their debut album, We Are the Dynamite!. Their second record, The Best In Town was released on 25 May 2009 in Europe and 23 June 2009 in the US, both via Epitaph Records. The band recently finished recording their third album - titled “Hope”, due to be released on 4 April 2011.

Sean Smith - vocals
Gavin Butler - vocals
James “Bob” Davies - guitar, backing vocals
Matthew Davies - guitar, backing vocals
Rhys Lewis - bass guitar
Gareth “Snoz” Lawrence - drums, backing vocals