M2TM Scotland Applications Open for 2026
Bloodstock Open Air’s unsigned metal initiative, Metal 2 The Masses, is rolling out again!!!
Bloodstock, the UK’s biggest independent metal festival, reaches out into the underground every year, seeking out the best heavy music talent. Operating throughout the UK, as well as regions such as Norway, Ireland, Poland, and more, M2TM has even won the fest a Heavy Music Award for its “exceptional positive contribution to the heavy music scene.”
Since 2020, Slow Dragon Music has taken the reins of M2TM in Scotland, ranging out to the corners of the country. Rather than being centralised in one city, this approach brings the best opportunity to bands from all over. We have seen Nassau, Extort, Catalysis, Hammer, and now metal/grunge band, Nothing Speaks, all carve their way to a slot at BOA.
The gates are open for the next wave…
The 2026 Scottish Heats, Semi-finals, and Grand Final are scheduled as follows:
HEATS
Fraserburgh – Jan 31st
Bathgate – Feb 06th
Dundee – Feb 07th
Glasgow – Feb 12th
Edinburgh – Feb 14th
Kirkcaldy – Feb 20th
Inverness – Feb 28th
SEMIS
Glasgow – Mar 05th
Dundee – Mar 06th
Edinburgh – Mar 27th
Aberdeen – Mar 28th
GRAND FINAL
Edinburgh – May 23rd
GET INVOLVED
Applications can be made via email to slowdragonmusic@gmail.com. Please include your location, links to music and/or video, along with a bio or other information about your band.
Progress through the stages will be decided by a combination of audience votes and judges ratings. This begins at a 50/50 split in the Heats, moving in favour of judges in the Semi-finals, before a full judges’ decision in the Grand Final.
Heats tickets will be on sale once lineups are finalised, with events pages coming soon. Semi-final tickets will follow in the same fashion. This allows every band equal opportunity to draw their own crowd of supporters, especially in venues which may sell out. Tickets for the Grand Final, however, have just gone on sale at a special Blind Bat price of £10, in limited numbers. The final is always a superb display of Scottish metal talent, and well worth it, no matter the result. Get you tickets here: https://www.eventim-light.com/uk/a/64e4bd9fe21f656bd75a0c93/e/68eb8bdd9559ba40592615b8
More information to follow soon…
M2TM Scotland Applications Open for 2026
