Were they from Abbotsford, Mission, or Langley!?
Did they play Thrash, Metal-core, or their own brand of indie rock?
All aforementioned genres and locales were represented at the tenth and final night of CIVL’s Battle of the Valley, where three bands were all guaranteed at least $200 in Long and McQuade gift cards, and a chance to get their own Music Videos from Tractorgrease Multimedia, Mastering from Five Acres Studio, and a band photo shoot from Jayme Anne Photography.
The odds were hard to call. Of five judges, there was one three way tie, and each band won over at least one judge.
Third Place:
Abbotsford Thrash-phenoms Merciful Angel
Second Place:
Mission Metal-Core Maniacs The Nacaals
The Champions:
Langley's Derrival, who will play the Squamish Music Festival in August!
The final chance to see who will represent the Fraser Valley’s best and brightest musical groups in CIVL’s ten week Battle of the Bands extravaganza!
After The Nacaals rocked Losses and Wild Card MG Graveyard out of the playoffs this past Saturday, it’s up to Chilliwack’s Empty After, Langley’s Derrival, and Abbotsford Wild Card Yes Men Jr. to decide the final band to make it into our deciding round and qualify for no less than $200 in gear!
The final week of the first round was this past Saturday. It was a great show as Big Damn Hero’s started us off, followed by solid sets from both Derrival and MG Graveyard. In the end it was Derrival who emerged the winners of the evening and will be heading on to round 2. You can view performances from each band in round one on our youtube channel. Fan voting has commenced for the two wildcard spots. To put in a word for your top pick visit the CIVL Radio facebook page. This Saturday, June 22, the first week of round 2 we have Merciful Angel, Casinos, and Poppy & the Pistols competing. Things are getting serious.
Hrdwtr open with a stellar set!
The first set of curve-balls thrown at this year’s #CIVLBattle reared their awkward head in week 3 of round 1, which saw Aldergrove’s Hrdwtr, Abbotsford’s Poppy and the Pistols, and Mission’s The Nacaals, who replaced Surrey’s Kara Kata Afrobeat Group last minute due to a scheduling conflict.
The set-up made for excitement enough, with a surprise entry from the highest rated submission not originally included in the initial 18 band competition, as was pared down from the whopping 47 submissions CIVL received from bands across the Fraser Valley.
But as Randy Bauchmann famously said, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Though Hrdwtr performed admirably in their opening slot with no shortage of catchy and well orchestrated tunes, it was The Nacaals and Poppy and the Pistols who finished off the night with, of all things, a tie for first place!
Poppy and the Pistols; One of two week 3 winners!
Both bands will now advance to the playoff round, and all bets are off for what happens in the next three weeks of preliminary competition!
Surprise last minute additions, The Nacaals make out with a week 4 tie to move on!
Stay tuned for next week when Abbotsford rock quartet Minnesota Nice, Langley ska-punkers Guts and Glory, and Abbotsford post-hardcore virtuosos Losses square off in what is bound to be one of the barn burner nights in this first round of the #CIVLBattle!
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