A ROCK group from Malvern has reached the final of the Firestone Battle of the bands competition.

Nuns of the Tundra beat hundreds of unsigned acts to reach the final of the competition, and they are now urging people to vote for them.

Once voting closes on Thursday, November 23, three chosen acts will then go on to play in the grand final on December in Birmingham.

The coveted Firestone trophy, more than £2,000 worth of Orange Amplification gear and studio time worth £1,500, are all now within reach.

Troy Tittley (guitar and vocals), Arran Davies (guitar and vocals), Jim Smith (bass) and Melos Moody (drums) have been together for three years but encountered their most stressful moment as a group on the way to be interviewed by Firestone in Camden, as part of the process.

Troy said: “The car broke down and we were a bit stranded in the middle of the capital. Thankfully we made it and we’re still on track! If you likened the band to a car, then we’d say we’re a Mustang mingled with a Skoda!”

The band boasts a strong online presence with more than 40,000 views of their work, which has been likened to Queens of the Stone Age with a slightly psychedelic twist.

Gigs at the Marrs Bar in Worcester and venues in Bristol are highlight moments for Nuns of the Tundra, who want to go a step further by winning Battle of the Bands and making that dream breakthrough.

“We are at that awkward intermediate stage I guess,” said Jim. “We have moved on from pubs and clubs and want to get to a place where we can fill bigger venues and reach a wider audience.”

Orange Amplification and partner Professional Music Technology (PMT) judged the entries and agreed on six shortlisted acts, with Nuns of the Tundra’s edgy, earthy sound striking a chord.

Daniel Darby, artist relations and marketing at Orange, said: “Nuns of the Tundra are very authentic and their levels of self-belief were really noticeable. We were looking for acts who were doing things a bit differently and Nuns of the Tundra certainly fit that category.”

Voting is now open at battleofthebands.firestone.eu/.