Hard Rock Rising - R2
Hard Rock Rising round two rolled into Hard Rock Cafe Valencia on Wednesday night with three very different bands, a packed venue and an audience clearly prepared to take its voting responsibilities very seriously. City Of Fury, Moscow and Horrorwolf walked into the ring knowing that only one of them would walk out with a ticket to the final, and by the time the last note had disappeared into the ceiling, the margin between winning and going home was about as thin as you could get.
The place was rammed with fans, friends, supporters and curious punters, creating exactly the kind of atmosphere a competition like this needs. There was noise, encouragement, plenty of nervous energy and, most importantly, genuine support for all three acts. This wasn't three bands playing to a half-empty room while their mates stared at their phones; this was a proper Valencia crowd getting behind the music and making the whole thing feel like something was actually at stake.
City Of Fury opened the evening in an unexpected but seriously effective fashion, stripping things back to a two-piece acoustic performance that somehow managed to sound bigger than a full band. Their classic Britpop influence was all over the set, delivering melodic hooks, familiar guitar territory and that unmistakable British knack for making melancholy sound bloody brilliant. It was an assured opening move, and rather than trying to bludgeon the room into submission, City Of Fury won people over the old-fashioned way: good songs, good playing and a performance that felt completely natural.
Then came Moscow, and the volume knob got a serious workout. Their hard-rock indie sound brought a different kind of muscle to the evening, pushing the energy level up without losing the melodic side of their music. There was attitude, there was swagger and there was enough guitar to keep the Hard Rock Cafe faithful perfectly happy. Moscow looked like a band who understood exactly where they were and what they needed to do, taking the competition element seriously without allowing it to swallow the performance.
And then Horrorwolf arrived to drag the evening somewhere considerably darker. Their goth-and-roll sound provided the night's biggest change of direction, bringing a brooding, theatrical edge to a competition that had already covered plenty of musical ground. Horrorwolf weren't interested in blending into the background; they brought their own atmosphere, their own aesthetic and their own version of rock 'n' roll to the party. It was a bold third act, and by this point the audience had been given three completely different reasons to pick up their phones and vote.
And that's what made the result so bloody difficult. All three bands delivered. There was no obvious weak link, no band that looked like it had wandered onto the wrong stage and no easy winner waiting to be crowned. The voting was seriously tight, with the packed room having to choose between three acts offering completely different musical propositions.
In the end, Moscow took Round Two. They now join Sita Rizzi, winner of Round One, in the Hard Rock Rising final, with one more finalist still to emerge from next week's third and final qualifying round. The competition then heads towards the September 23 final, where Valencia's eventual champion will get the chance to progress into the wider international Hard Rock Rising competition.
But for one night, this wasn't about global prizes, recording opportunities or what happens further down the road. It was about three bands walking onto a stage in Valencia, playing their guts out and asking a packed room to decide who deserved another shot.
City Of Fury brought the Britpop. Moscow brought the hard-rock indie punch. Horrorwolf brought the goth and roll darkness.The audience brought the votes. Moscow brought home the win. Round Two: done. Round Three is next. And judging by the atmosphere inside Hard Rock Cafe Valencia, nobody should expect an easy ride to the final.
You can check out Moscow here: Spotify
For more information: Hard Rock Cafe Valencia
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