Event Reviews

The night kicked off with 2 cards of 25, a London based Hard rock band.  It’s certainly an unusual name which presumably has some meaning, but ignoring the name, what you have here is a very good hard rock band.  Singer Diego Gutierrez has a good voice, and is helped …

And so, here we are, at the fifth and final heat of the first ever Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition ever to be held here in Northern Ireland.  After all four previous heats had been incredibly close – the last squeakily tight, with just four percentage points between the quartet …

Tonight’s gig was the first time Blind Guardian had played the UK in just under 5 years, so it’s no surprise that there’s a good turnout tonight.  While it’s not sold out it’s clearly not far off that judging by how packed the place is. The night opened with Israeli …

Ben Poole was a name that had crossed my ears recently and so I was looking forward to catching him tonight at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. He sings with a smooth caramel vocal and plays mellow songs with that trusty blues nod of the head. He dedicated ‘Time Might Never Come’ …

First tonight was Joanne Shaw Taylor, a performer who has headlined this venue herself just a few months ago, but tonight is supporting the legendary Robin Trower.  As a result she has a shorter set than usual and so the set contains less from her new album than normal and …

Tonight’s gig was the start of the first UK tour for U.D.O in many years – in fact I can’t even remember when they last came to the UK.  Happily though former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider has managed to bring his band to the UK, and he’s brought a couple …

When the line-up for this, the fourth of the five opening heats in the first ever Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition to be held in li’l ol’ Norn Iron was announced, it was generally considered that it would be by far the tightest yet… and so it proves to …

Saturday night at Fibber Magee’s in Dublin can only mean one thing. We’re back in front of the stage at Metal 2 The Masses Ireland. Tonight is the Wildcard final; Something new for 2015, where 6 bands who did not progress to the Semi Final by crowd or judge vote …

Friday night and Finnish monsters Lordi are in town. There were several reasons to go to this gig. One of them – curiosity. I admit, that was my reason, too. Who else if not them will definitely promise the hell of the show and pleasure for your eyes, in combination …

Saturday night brought to a close this year’s first round of heats at the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses franchise in Ireland. It was an interesting evening that had a few line up changes in the preceding week with replacement band Minor Glitch (ironically) withdrawing the day before.  This left …

This past Friday evening, Cadaver Club returned to their old haunting ground of Enniskillen to reacquaint the locals with their unique brand of funeral punk.  They were joined on this occasion by Attack The Day and Phil ‘Philthy’ Cassidy who coincidently was performing double duty on the night. The venue lights dim …

For any artist, the launch of a new work is a special occasion.  For Norn Iron’s premier heavyweights, Sinocence, the unveiling of their new EP – the second instalment in their ‘No Gods, No Masters’ triptych – called for that something a little extra special.  And so the band assembled …

Music is subjective to an individual’s taste – nobody is going to like every single genre or artist that’s ever existed. What’s most frustrating, however, is those who associate a band or artist with a particular style, image or fan demographic and immediately discredit them as substandard and not ‘worthy’ of …

Last night Rival Sons returned to Glasgow, only three months after their last gig here.  Back in December they played to a full O2 ABC, and this time around they made the step up to the bigger O2 Academy.  It was a typical miserable day, freezing wind, torrential rain and …

Normally when you have a midweek gig in London, the first band plays to a half empty venue, but when the doors are an hour earlier than usual then its usually an almost completely empty venue, so it was a surprise tonight to arrive at the venue to find a …

The rock and metal community, perhaps more than any other in the field of music, always has been known for its generosity of spirit and support for worthy causes.  For the community in Northern Ireland, few are more special or better supported than Blaze’s Appeal, which raises funds for the …

After being given the opportunity to review Furyon‘s awesome second album, I was over the moon when they announced Glasgow was one of the stops on the UK tour to promote it. I have to admit to being very worried about a Tuesday night in Glasgow too, for all Audio …

The support act tonight was Niall Kelly and his band.  Nially Kelly plays guitar and sings and is backed by his wife on violin and vocals plus a guitarist, bassist and drummer.  By the time they start, not long after the doors open, the venue is already fairly busy and …

Situated off the beaten track, the courtyard outside the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham is certainly one of the few places I don’t mind queueing to get into a show. With a few benches, umbrellas with patio heaters and the public bar everything adds up for a relaxed atmosphere leading up …

On a freezing cold Mother’s Day this hard rocking mama took a little time out from her family celebrations to head out and catch a few bands – led by NWOBHM legends Angel Witch, fresh from their appearance just across the Irish Sea at Hammerfest just two days earlier and …