INTRODUCING: Skora
Bloodstock Festival’s Metal 2 The Masses gives bands the opportunity to go from playing shows in their local scenes to getting a showcase moment on a bill topped by the bands that made them pick up instruments in the first place. For Cheltenham’s tournament winners SKORA, this has become a reality. From showing up anywhere that would have them to playing on the same weekend as one their biggest inspirations in MESHUGGAH, we caught up with vocalist Dom Jones to track their trajectory from basement to Bloodstock.
Becoming friends through their shared love of heavy music, it wasn’t long before this group of mates from Worcester decided to jam together. From the moment that they played their first song together, a self-admittedly terrible version of Bulls On Parade, the wheels started turning. Fast forward a year or so and then came the open mic debut of the recently named SKORA at The Marrs Bar in Worcester. Whilst their late-night Wikipedia deep dive inspired name was mistaken for a cookware cleaning sponge and the four people in attendance soon departed, this was only the beginning as Jones recalls.
“There was a lot of messaging promoters like hey put us on and then playing to like, I mean we literally played a gig to no one once. I’m not exaggerating, we turned up to the venue like hey we are the band that are playing and they were like what?” Dom says, “we did gigs like that for a good year or so where the only time we felt like we got a good response was playing in Gloucester with the local scene and all the venues that have unfortunately closed down now. In Gloucester, it doesn’t matter what kind of music it is, people are moshing. You could have an Oompah band and people are throwing hands in the pit but we used to love that”
With a DIY approach to modern metal, the band fitted right in on the local scene. Recording and mixing all their own material, they’ve had to learn things the hard way, releasing music that by Jones’ ears now sounds more like black metal completely by accident. With a string of EP’s and singles, they’re yet to pull the trigger on an album but in the meantime, their live shows have done all the talking for them.
Having brought to the table their shared love of TRIVIUM, MESHUGGAH and LAMB OF GOD, they always dreamed of seeing their blend of metalcore with progressive djent and hardcore tendencies land atop a poster. This hurdle was cleared alongside the band finding a home at Cheltenham’s The Frog & Fiddle. With Bloodstock’s Metal 2 The Masses hosted under the same roof, the Frog faithful knew what to expect with the tournament feeling like a home show for SKORA. This time around, however, the stakes were different.
“It was a shift in the way we were treating the band whereas it was always a bit of fun and it still is but I think, I’m speaking on behalf of the other guys but for me there’s an intense intent to playing SKORA now.”
Having played M2TM in 2019 where they appeared in the finals as a wild card, a lot has changed in four years. Having played alongside GRIEF RITUAL all those years ago, who went on to feature at Bloodstock and provide some much-needed first hand experience of the path they’re about to walk, 2023 was about not just being there to make up the numbers. With nothing to lose or prove to anyone and a fifth member joining the band in guitarist Harri Adams, this year provided the pay-off for all of the hard work and time they’ve put in.
“We’re just the local band and I think for once we were just like let’s just give it absolutely everything, more than we’ve ever given it before and that’s been a big change. And also we have Harry. I don’t have to play guitar, I say having like it’s a chore but he does my old parts and adds his own and he’s the looker in the band, he brings the sex appeal but it means I get to focus on climbing the walls and dumping water all over myself and pretending I’m a big scary man when really I’m just a gentle soul at heart.”
With the dream of seeing themselves on a poster scattered with the names of bands that they love accomplished, Metal 2 The Masses brought the best out of SKORA. Regardless of how the weekend plays out, no one will ever be able to take from Dom Jones, guitarists Will Broome and Harri Adams, bassist Matt Church and drummer Sean Moss that feeling of seeing a tangible symbol of their perseverance.
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