Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Five-piece to play
Battle of the bands winners are in demand
FIVE rockers from Tayside are set to reach a much bigger audience after topping a Scotlandwide battle of the bands competition.
Drew Cochrane, Col MacGregor, Sean Ramson, Calum Rennie and Pabs Edwards are Catalysis, who won Metal 2 The Masses in Edinburgh in May.
Catalysis’ success means they will now perform at this year’s Bloodstock, one of the two big annual rock and metal festivals in the UK, the other being Download, and is expected to attract 20,000 revellers.
In four-and-a-half years the band have performed to a crowd of no more than 300, though they did tour Belgium and Czech Republic in the summer of 2019.
Thousands are expected to see them on the New Blood Stage, which showcases the UK’s most highly rated underground bands.
Lead guitarist Drew co-founded the band.
“Since it was announced we were the winners, we have had gig offers rolling in from venues we’ve been trying to get into for a number of years – places I have been repeatedly emailing and getting nothing back,” said the 32-year-old.
“So, as well as the fact that we are going to be playing at the festival to big crowds and alongside some of our favourite bands, we are also going to see a lot of other opportunities come from it.”
One of these is being a guest headliner at other events around the country.
But the big focus at the moment for Catalysis is on the open-air Bloodstock festival, which takes place on four stages at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, between Thursday August 11 and Sunday August 14.
Fellow Scottish finalists Certain Death, from Kirkcaldy, will perform on the Jagermeister Stage.
Here we profile all five band members of Catalysis.
Drew Cochrane, 32, Dundee. Lead guitar and vocals
When the young Drew Cochrane asked for some drums his father knew what would happen and instead offered an alternative.
Andy Cochrane, a drummer for Dundee punk band The Eddies, instead told Drew: “You’re not getting drums in the house – they’re too noisy, so why don’t you try a guitar instead?”
Drew, who attended the old Hillside Primary in Dundee and Carnoustie High School, gratefully learned chords instead of bangs and as an adult found himself performing with his dad in the band Overdose.
Drew spent a few years with Dundee metal band Excellent Cadaver and when he left in 2016 he joined forces with Calum Rennie, whose band Athenia had also recently split up, to form Catalysis.
Col MacGregor, 41, Alyth.
Lead vocals
Col was born in Edinburgh and spent his younger years in Fife, studying at Madras College in St Andrews.
He moved up to Dundee and continued the journey north three years ago, when he moved to Alyth.
In his mid 30s he joined the band Dirty Judas and became a solo vocalist for the first time.
In September 2017 Col posted on Facebook that he was leaving Dirty Judas and 17 minutes later Drew messaged, asking if he wanted to join Catalysis.
Sean Ramson, 34, Perth. Rhythm guitar and vocals. Sean’s music hobby began at the age of 11, shortly after his family moved from Rainham in Kent to Perthshire.
“I didn’t know anyone and got friendly with a couple of guys from Crieff High School,” Sean said.
“They played the guitar and I got massively into Metallica.”
Having played the bass guitar with Drew in Excellent Cadaver, Sean began his own band DBK before joining Catalysis in September 2017.
Calum Rennie, 24, Dundee. Drums.
Calum took up drums as a 13-year-old pupil at Arbroath High School.
He graduated with a music degree from Perth College, where he also met a guitarist with