With many of their US counterparts cancelling, postponing or cutting short their European tours in the wake of the atrocities in Paris earlier this month and the subsequent security concerns across much of Europe – just hours before the doors opened this evening, Brussels went into a state of lock …
Read More »Planet Of Zeus – Belfast, 21 November 2015
It is the coldest day of the year so far, with the temperatures plummeting to sub-zero and snow hanging in the air. So, where does any self-respecting music journalist take a trio of musicians more used to the sunshine of their native Greece? Why, the open air rooftop beer garden …
Read More »Stormzone – Belfast, Limelight 1 – 5 September 2015
Following a pair of warm-up festival shows in Spain – well, they certainly were “warm” – Stormzone returned to the colder climes of their native Belfast for this, the official launch of their most recent album, ‘Seven Sins‘. They were also returning to a familiar venue, but one which has changed …
Read More »Distortion Project goes ‘From Hell To The Unknown’ for 15th anniversary
Northern Ireland’s leading heavy metal promoters, The Distortion Project, are to go ‘From Hell To The Unknown’ when they celebrate their 15th anniversary in October. To mark this landmark occasion, DP will take over the entirety of Belfast’s historic Limelight complex on Saturday October 17, with 21 bands playing across …
Read More »Donum Dei (‘Justice Fails’ EP launch) – Belfast, Limelight 2, August 15 2015
Formed in the mid-Ulster area in late 2011, upstarts Donum Dei have spent the intervening period ripping up stages across Northern Ireland and establishing themselves as perhaps the singularly most impressive young thrash act in this part of the world, going from copycat Metallica wannabes faster than some of their …
Read More »Blues Pills/RavenEye – Belfast, Limelight 2, 31/07/2015
It may be the last day of July, but already it is a typical Belfast “summer” evening – the temperature is plummeting into the lower reaches of single figures and the rain isn’t taking its time to belt it down as the PM team duck from the adjacent pub and …
Read More »Eyehategod – Belfast, Limelight 2 24/06/2015
Ah well, here we are… it’s a Wednesday night here in Belfast and it’s officially the start of the week; well, as far as Team PM is concerned anyway, with the prospect of six gigs over the course of the next five nights, starting with tonight’s long overdue return to …
Read More »Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses Northern Ireland Heat Five – Belfast, Limelight 2 18/04/2015
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 …
Read More »Fozzy – Belfast, Limelight 2 – 04/03/2015
Sometimes you walk into a gig not really knowing what to expect – and tonight was just one of those occasions. Mainly because, if I’m honest, I’m not a big fan of bands which could be perceived as “superstar vehicles”, especially as many of them are just that – vanity …
Read More »Metal 2 The Masses Northern Ireland Heat 1 – Belfast, Limelight 2, 21/02/2015
The freight train that is Bloodstock’s annual ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ battle of the bands rolled into Northern Ireland for the first time this past weekend, with four bands with distinctly differing styles engaged in mortal combat for a place in the semi-finals later in the Spring. With the running …
Read More »Joe Elliott’s Down ‘n’ Outz – Belfast, Limelight 1 17/12/2014
As the frontman of one of the biggest stadia-filling rock bands of their generation, it was perhaps fitting that Joe Elliott‘s self-described “little side project” should be born in a similar environment – in front of thousands of people supporting, and then emulating, in turn one of the most iconic …
Read More »Y&T – Belfast, Limelight 1, 12/11/2014
Sometimes it takes vision. And a simple vision at that. The vision of one clear-sighted, single-minded – some might say stubborn – individual. And that vision is to do what you enjoy, and what you want to do, need to do, to fulfill that enjoyment, no matter what adversity, what …
Read More »Darkest Era – Belfast, Limelight 2, 04/10/2014
One complaint which is often articulated about many bands on the Northern Ireland scene is that they over-expose themselves – playing the same venues week in week out, so that the novelty (if there is any) quickly wears off. This is most certainly a criticism which cannot be levelled in …
Read More »Madball + By Any Means – Belfast, Limelight 2 03/10/2014
For the second time in three days, Belfast’s hardcore fans were treated to a visit by genuine legends of the scene, this time in the shape of NYC stalwarts Madball. And, for the second time in three days, the honour of setting the scene (sic) fell to Belfast’s very own …
Read More »DragonForce – Belfast, Limelight 2, 20/09/2014
Don’t you just love it when a “name” touring band pull into your town, picking up a local support along the way – most likely based on the philosophy that “well, they seem to have a bit of a following there, so they’ll do nicely”… only for the same opening …
Read More »Amon Amarth – Belfast, Limelight 1 12/08/2014
A little over a millennium ago, the first Viking longboats pulled up on Erin’s shores… once the initial raiding parties had departed, a few of us settled down while others returned several centuries later – this time in peace, merely seeking to make new lives. A further few hundred years …
Read More »Baleful Creed – Belfast, Voodoo 13/06/2014
For those of a superstitious mien, Friday the 13th is not exactly a lucky talisman – and so it proves, at least partially, for the organizers of this charity fundraiser gig (in aid of the hugely-underfunded Belfast Rape Crisis Centre) as, despite huge advance marketing and PR campaigns, other mitigating …
Read More »Conjuring Fate – Belfast, Limelight 2 07/06/2014
When Northern Ireland metallians Conjuring Fate last year decided to call it a day, it was quite a shock for the scene in this part of the world as, after eight years together, the band’s ascendancy had appeared to on the upward slope. However, the ‘break’ turned out to be …
Read More »Katabolisis + By Conquest Or Consent + AeSect – Belfast, Limelight 2 24/05/2014
The tea break. Ah, that most venerable of traditions, when one seeks refuge from the travails of the working day by relaxing with a nice cup of Darjeeling or Earl Grey and a chocolate biscuit (or, maybe, if you’re lucky a bacon butty) before launching back into the fray once …
Read More »IKillYa – Limelight 2, Belfast 03/05/2014
The last time New York’s IKillYa played Belfast, they nearly didn’t – as the venue they were scheduled to appear at closed just a few days before they were due to grace its stage. Fortunately, in the true spirit of metal camaraderie, another promoter stepped into the breach, a few …
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