The Showcase Finale is at the Albert Halls, Victoria Square, on Thursday, August 10 (6.45pm to 11pm. Admission £4.

Our Fold

What are you looking forward to at this year's Showcase?

I'm mostly looking forward to playing at the Albert Halls for the first time, especially as we're headlining it this year too!

What do you think of Bolton's music scene?

Bolton's music scene is a lot better than it was, for our kind of music, anyway. New promoters like Death 2 The DJ and people like Yarky have attracted quite big bands to the town and raised its profile. Bolton has always had a stable metal scene, and that seems to be thriving too, especially with the new venue The Soundhouse opening down the road. Number 15 is our home in Bolton, though. We've played it eight times, and we were the first band to play it after the stage and PA system were installed.

We pack the place out every time now, and the last few times we've ended up with all the crowd on stage, jumping around on the amps and nicking the microphone! All to the cries of: "Belt, tap n' needle, he's Evil Kinevel. . .!"

Baxter

Are you nervous about playing the Showcase?

Not really it's going to be our last gig together, so we are just going to go on stage and have a laugh as four mates playing music!

Why should people come and see you?

Because it's our last gig, ever!

Displacement

What are you looking forward to at this year's Showcase?

Proper heavy bands have finally been given the chance to take part in a highly publicised event instead of being brushed under the carpet. It's about time people took note of the full extent of the music scene in this town, rather than a select few individuals promoting themselves as some sort of superstars to the public, which is an opinion a lot of musicians and bands in Bolton share.

Why should people come and see you?

We are going to show the Albert Halls exactly what proper loud metal is all about. We ain't gonna compromise our performance at all it will be raw and brutal, and we will put on one hell of a show. We put a lot of hard work into Displacement so I hope a lot of local music fans will recognise this and come and support real live music.