Ireland's Ten Ton Slug are preparing to hit the U.K. this week, for a number of dates that centre around their appearance at Bloodstock Open Air in Derbyshire on the 'New Blood' stage. Hailing from Galway, the five-piece doom sludge merchants are also set to play dates in Inverness and Edinburgh.
The band have been steadily making a name for themselves since coming together in 2014, and this week's bout of live activity kicks off a number of firsts for the hard-working act. As well as embarking on their debut U.K. tour, the shows come ahead of the release of their debut E.P. - 'Brutal Gluttonous Beast' - this Autumn.
Having won the Irish heat of Metal 2 The Masses - Bloodstock's new bands competition- after being crowned the judges choice, Ten Tonne Slug can't wait to hit the stage at the Catton Park festival, which takes place this weekend from 11 - 14 August.
Speaking about the upcoming trawl around the U.K., the band says; "The Slug has taken to four wheels and is fully mobile. We are currently sliming and plundering our way through Scotland, having called out Nessie to see who the most Brutal Gluttonous Beast is. We didn't find out, but we know. We also went to Crowley’s house to summon the dark ones. The Slug had it’s fun."
Going on to chat about their Metal 2 The Masses victory, the band says; "To be playing Bloodstock is an amazing achievement for us, and we don't take it lightly. There were so many excellent bands in all the heats through to the final and we are delighted to be the ones chosen to play such an amazing festival.
"As for the festival itself, we play the New Blood Stage on Saturday at 12pm it'll be great to meet some of the guys from the big bands, Ronan has a few choice words for Kerry King so we’ll see how that goes! Also it'll be great to see and play alongside fellow Irish acts at the festival, especially our sludge bothers Two Tales of Woe, who headline the Jager stage on the Friday."
Meanwhile, going on to talk about the impending EP release, the band are clearly excited to finally have it see the light of day; "Our EP ‘Brutal Gluttonous Beast’ was recorded with John Moffat in the Oaks Studio in Enniskillen. It features 4 tracks of groove laden sludge and clocks in at 28 minutes. There will be slugs on the cover, which will be revealed in due course. It is heavy."
Now in its twelfth year, Bloodstock Open Air is one of the U.K.'s most popular metal events. Acts set to appear at the 2016 gathering include headliners, Twisted Sister, who will be playing their last ever U.K. show, progressive metal leviathans Mastodon, and angels of death Slayer. Joining them will be special guests Gojira and Anthrax, with the weekend set to feature the likes of Fear Factory, Corrosion of Conformity, Paradise Lost, Diamond Head, Dragonforce and more.