For the band and fans alike, Y&T‘s annual end of year UK tours have become something akin to a pilgrimage. Despite being more than four decades into their career – and not having released any new material in a little more than five of those years – Dave Meniketti and …
Read More »The Other – Tiger Lounge, Manchester: 9th November 2015
It was like Halloween in Manchester for this second time this year when German Horror Punk band The Other played at Tiger Lounge, a small basement venue on Cooper Street, near Manchester Town Hall and conveniently close to one of Manchester’s Wetherspoons pubs The Waterhouse. Although The Other have been …
Read More »High On Fire + Slomatics + Bask – Belfast, Limelight 2 – Monday 9 November
The combination of it being a Monday night – and the coldest and stormiest one of the year so far – and the fact that half of Belfast’s metallians had decamped south of the border for the first of the Megahuff/Lamb Of God co-headline arena shows did not initially bode …
Read More »The Pat McManus Band – Enniskillen, Charlie’s Bar
Whenever you hear that Pat McManus is playing, it is safe to say that an instantaneous excitement forms in the air. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you are doing, that come hell or high water you will be in attendance for ‘The Professor’ for an education and a night worth remembering. Pat McManus is widely …
Read More »Rockingham – Nottingham, Rock City – 25 October 2015
In contrast to the previous morning, the third and final day of Rockingham dawns crisp and bright, as the PM team join several hundred fellow fans in heading for the hallowed confines of Rock City for another eight bands over 11 hours. The beautiful afternoon outside is complemented by the …
Read More »Rockingham – Nottingham, Rock City – 24 October 2015
The second morning of the inaugural Rockingham fest dawns overcast and mizzly, but that doesn’t darken or dampen the spirits of the early risers making their way from all directions for the slightly earlier start to Saturday’s proceedings (well, we have gone from six to seven acts performing over the …
Read More »Rockingham – Nottingham, Rock City – 23/10/2015
First there was Firefest. An annual celebration of classic melodic rock which, despite being hugely popular and attracting some of the top names in the genre – many of them catalyzed to reform by the event – as well as fans from all over the globe, sadly came to an …
Read More »From Hell To The Unknown: 15 Years Of The Distortion Project – Belfast, Katy’s Bar/Limelight 2 – 17 October 2015
In these straitened economic times – marked from the music business’ perspective by increasing numbers of venues closing down and promoters going bankrupt – success stories are few and far between and thus should be acclaimed, celebrated and heralded at every opportunity. Which is exactly what today’s proceedings were all …
Read More »Def Leppard – ‘Def Leppard’
So after no studio output from Def Leppard since 2008, what does the new self-titled album have to offer? Something for everyone would be the first answer that comes to mind. As a long-time Leppard fan I have always managed to find at least part of their more recent output to satisfy …
Read More »Wolf / Enforcer – Belfast, Limelight 2 – 10 September 2015
Sometimes you just can’t beat a night of good old-fashioned heavy fucking metal. No airs. No graces. No genres. Just heavy fucking metal. And that’s exactly what we got tonight, as the titanic (sic) triple Swedish attack of Wolf, Enforcer and Dynamite rolled into Belfast on this early Autumn afternoon. …
Read More »Making Monsters / By Conquest Or Consent / Death Of A Salesman / Dream Awake – Belfast, Bar Sub – 9 October 2015
It’s a chilly Friday night, so where would you rather be than in a darkened basement? And, that’s exactly where Team PM finds themselves, together with the rest of the assembled Belfast press corps: making our long overdue first foray into the refurbished Bar Sub, the smallest of the three …
Read More »The Crawling – ‘In Light Of Dark Days’ EP
Despite having only emerged from Norn Iron’s dankest extreme metal sewers within the past 12 months, The Crawling are by no means newcomers to the scene over here, with the triumvirate collectively counting nigh on four decades of experience between them. Guitarist Andy Clarke, for example, was the cornerstone of …
Read More »Ahab – ‘The Boats Of The Glen Carrig’
Throughout their decade long career, German doomsters Ahab have consistently displayed a fascination with both all things nautical and literary: previous albums have been based on works such as Herman Melville’s epic ‘Moby Dick (with the band, of course, taking their name from the novel’s psychotic lead human character) and Edgar …
Read More »Rosco’s Riot / Window Seats / Erosion / Not Today – Newtownards, Ivy Bar – 9 October 2015
It’s not often that a night out turns into a chance to review the bands you are going out to see, but with a plethora of gigs happening in nearby Belfast, PlanetMosh just didn’t have enough hands at the pump to cover an evening of rock and rollery in my …
Read More »Bauda – ‘Sporelights’
Bauda first came to life in 2006, ostensibly as a solo project by Chilean guitarist and vocalist César Márquez. It wasn’t until 2012 that it became a fully formed band. The following year, Márquez and his fellow musicians – drummer Nikolas Recabarren, bassist Juan Díaz and keyboard player Edgardo González …
Read More »Jex Thoth – Belfast, The Pavilion – 7 October 2015
It’s just gone seven o’clock on a cold and damp October eve- the second night in a run of six gigs in five nights for your PM Belfast team, and we have been joined by a healthy turnout of our fellow metallians for the debut appearance here of Wisconsin psyche-doom goddess …
Read More »Paradise Lost – Belfast, Limelight 2 – 28 September 2015
School night gigs in Belfast can be awkward buggers to predict, especially in terms of their attendance levels. However, Paradise Lost, paying their first visit to the city in six years, manage to pull a reasonably healthy number of punters – if not quite enough to ease the promoter’s financial …
Read More »Beholder – Belfast, Limelight 2 – 24 September 2015
Northern Ireland is currently gripped in the greatest financial scandal in its chequered history. It is a scandal which already has practically crippled the economy south of the border, and brought down at least one government there. It has politicians running for cover, and has resulted in the current well-publicized …
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 »Vomit Of Doom – ‘Obey The Darkness’
South America seems to spew forth new black metal bands with more regularity than a good dose of Epsom Salts could induce. The latest to come to PM’s attention are Argentinian crew Vomit Of Doom, about whom we know nothing more than the fact that this ten-track 27-minute opus was …
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