Pick Your Rock and Metal

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cannabilise!

BEFORE going any further the Cathedral review will come late; I'm not going to be able to get along to Negura Bunget (supported by Fen and The Way of Purity) tonight so anyone wanting to pen a review send it to the usual email address.

Okay? Got that all? Right, news from The Distortion Project...Cannibal Corpse are coming to along to delight us all with their nursery rhymes from hell on August 22nd. Mmmm Tasty!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Distortion Project

I was going to list all the forthcoming gigs being laid on by James and the wonderful Distortion Project, but it would take up most of this blog! Cathedral, Bolt Thrower, Deicide, Negura Bunget...the list goes on and on!

Instead use the links below or subscribe to James's Facebook page!
http://www.thedistortionproject.com/
www.myspace.com/distortionproject
www.twitter.com/dpmetal

The majesty of gothic

WHEN one hears the word gothic in a modern popular culture sense the image comes of a pasty skinned obsessive who spends too much time considering the whys and wherefores of vampiric lore.

But, of course gothic goes well beyond that, in terms of history and literature. But in terms of architecture gothic is always associated with a certain type of building...which brings us to a very, very tortuous way of reminding y'all that Cathedral are playing at The Limelight tomorrow night.

Backed by Church of Misery and The Gates of Slumber, you also need to remember that the door time here is 8pm, and there are a very few tickets left at the reasonable and downright wonderful price of £18.50.

Last time Cathedral's Sabbathy take on dark gothic metal doom (and I mean gothic in terms of literate, aware and ever so slightly 'knowing' wit) brought their rif-laden groove to Belfast was supporting HIM. Then the fairy-winged teens simpy didn't get Cathedral. A small few of us amongst the crowd did 'get' Cathedral including one hilarious moment when a lone metaller scattered kiddies to the wings with an impressive extended circle headbanging flailing away to 'Wytchfynder...'

Cathedral gigs come with a health warning...do not under any circumstances try to match your metal knowledge with Lee Dorrian! A friendly guy, yes, but he does know his rock, punk and metal in almost encyclopaedic depth.

He also, for me sums up an attitude that reflects what metal should be all about. The more journos and ignorant fans try to pigeonhole Cathedral into a genre or sub-genre Dorrian declares "We're a metal band. That's all - a metal band". Not just any metal band though!

Be afraid - Fear comes to Belfast


FEAR Factory will be bringing their unique blend of metal and industrial cyber grooves to Belfast's Spring and Airbrake on August 3rd.

Nevermind the hyperbole and rantings of many an over-egged press release about so-called influential bands, Fear Factory carved a path that set the agenda for many of today's acts.

Whether it was Herrera's drums, Burton C. Bell's vocal dynamics or Cazares' guitar lines Fear Factory took what went before and re-moulded it. In turn others borrowed from the FF sound to build yet further on the metal musical mythos.

True, their recorded output was at times patchy, but live they always delivered; and while some have disparaged newer material it does stand  up well.

For me Invisible Wounds (Dark Bodies) from Digimortal - not by any means the best FF release - sums up the band's depth: broody and atmospheric. There are better and heavier FF songs out there, many of which will be aired on August 3rd, but Invisible Wounds represents their essence. I am still hoping, however, that large chunks of Demanufacture is on the set list!

Fear Factory play the Spring and Airbrake on August 3rd. Tickets, priced fifiteen precious notes are available from the usual outlets.

Monday, April 26, 2010

We're back - with usual mix of views, news, reviews and outlandish opinions

FIRST an apology. Today I was admonished by someone I didn't recognise (apologies for that whoever you were!) that there had been no posts for almost two weeks. There was I hiding in the work suit, short hair and sucking on a lunchtime ciggie when a voice called: "Oi! Belfastmetalheads! What's happened to you. No posts in ages."

My initial response was bitten back, that was: "FFS mate it's not like I get paid for this shit".

Being a generally courteous type I instead said: "I'll see what I can do". Hurrying back to work, increasingly paranoid that I'm being stalked by various long-haired types I reflected that some of you actually might enjoy my ramblings (you fools! :) ) and might even rely on the news contained herein when there are better and more frequent sources out there.

So, with that in mind I pledge to make sure that the alcohol content is maintained at a sufficiently high level that the blog will be frequenltly updated with ever reliable inane ramblings and random news...and stuff!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ratty time at the Spring & Airbrake

VETERAN LA rockers Ratt are to make a return to the Spring & Airbrake on June 16th. Tickets are priced £19 +booking fee.

Here's the blurb from the promoter:

"Ratt helped pioneer Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip sound and scene and the band has returned sounding fired up and better than ever. Ratt’s first studio album in 11 years, Infestation, is a return to their heavy, riff driven roots. The band has reinvented their sound by rediscovering their strengths, shuttling listeners to a time when metal ruled the earth and real musicians wore eyeliner like a badge of honor.

"They have also added guitarist Carlos Cavazo to their lineup and ready to let the world hear their new collection of songs. Right out of the box, Infestation ignites like gasoline to an open flame, bursting with an energy and attitude absent from metal for years, unheard, perhaps, since before the dawn of DVDs, grunge and Facebook.

"Album opener “Eat Me Up Alive” slaps you in the face with attitude and a timeless riff that has been a staple in Ratt’s music and has set them apart from the pack. From the strip pole gyrations of “Look Out Below” to the keg party anthem “Take a Big Bite,” Infestation rages with a life and energy that Ratt is famous for. "

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Propheting at the Mandella

THEY'RE not the usual fare of most visitors here (though I know a few who will not admit it), but the Lost Prophets can be credited with introducing a few into the world of heavy guitar orientated rock (and then we captured their souls, sold them to Satan to hook them into metal forever...).

Thus I mention it here that Lost Prophets are playing at the Mandella Hall on May 19th.

Personally I haven't listened to any of their recent work, as they swayed from early day poppy nu-metal towards more classic style AOR before becoming all 'scenester'. Or maybe they just began to believe the sycophantic Radio 1 and MTV clown DJs.

Hopefully they'll return to more rock AOR work and become Wales' answer to REO Speedwagon :)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Busy days ahead...

SATURDAY'S a busy day...what with Ocean, Rising and Neifenbach set to see if the Limelight can survive another pounding. And then two doors down local legends Ashanti hit the Spring and Airbrake with Pay*ola backing them.

For those far out from the Limelight's delights Gama Bomb seem intent to make sure no metallic stone is left unturned: as part of their Irish tour they hit Warrenpoint's Square Peg on Saturday. (And fans can also see them at QUB's Speakeasy on 17th)

And the Diamond Rock Club in Ahoghill will be hosting Jaded Sun and Ajenda, also on Saturday night.

And with Airbourne on Tuesday surely that's enough to be going on with!

Friday, April 09, 2010

Iron Maiden and Heaven & Hell to play Dublin

IRON maiden are kicking off their European Tour in Dublin's O2 Arena with special guests Heaven & Hell a.k.a. Dio era Sabbath.

Date is 30th July...

Tickets on sale next Friday, with pre-sale for Fan Club members on Tuesday, priced 67.50 euros incl/ booking fee.

Official MCD release here.

More later!

Thursday, April 08, 2010

"We will never do a power ballad. Ever"

NEXT Tuesday (April 13th) one of the most uncompromising hard rockin' ass kickin' bands in the world land in Belfast for their third visit to the city.

Airbourne - if you didn't already know - are the embodiment of blue collar, working class rock 'n' roll: birthed as the bastard sons of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo, conceived in pub where the 'guitar man got famous' and where 'Rock 'n' Roll Outlaws' pounded out tunes to stun.

Belfastmetalheadsreunited caught up with the band, and spokesman in chief Joel O'Keefe as their UK tour progessed towards Belfast to hear how things are sitting as Airbourne's ascendancy towards legendary status continues apace.

With their second 'proper' album out, and three years of a roundabout of touring, punctuated with recording 'No Guts, No Glory', we wanted to know have things caught up with the fearsome foursome?

"It does get tiring but if we get time off we get bored and can't wait to get back on the road," he said. "We live to tour and we tour to live, so bring it on!"

And, with that commitment comes a statement of intent whether it be playing in Belfast or Melbourne for the band.
"We believe that anything worth having is worth working hard for. We are determined to never let any one down, ever. That is what we are all about."

Hard work has paid off for the band. Not least as evidenced from their Belfast debut in The Limelight. Since then their star has been on the rise. From pub venues, through to the festival circuit there is a connection with fans who may be latter day metalheads raised on the excesses of the NWOBHM, or diehard rockers and even thrashers.
As the band has grown we wanted to know the difference between the intimate shows packed into pubs in comparison to the bigger venues and the festivals.

"We love the crowd to be right in our faces but there is also such a great energy playing to a bigger audience," said Joel

All of which bodes well for the Mandella Hall gig - which is big enough to accommodate eager throngs, while still enabling almost all present to connect with the band.

And, connections are all-important to Airbourne: with the audience and with their roots. When it came to writing No Guts, No Glory they headed back to the now almost derelict Criterion Hotel in their hometown Warnambool, Australia.
"It was the perfect place for us. It was close to where we were staying, it had plenty of space for all our equipment and the best burger joint in town was across the road," said Joel. "It was ironic, we played our first ever shows there and the last thing that place ever did was have us in there writing. It almost burnt down a few of months later."

In recent interviews the band have joked that they are just re-arranging the chords for the new songs, but they undertook a rigorous selection process whittling down almost 40 tracks to the ones that hit the streets a few short weeks ago. From their debut releaseRunnin' Wild, No Guts, No Glory retains a winning formula with rabble rousing pub rock to the fore, but with slow burners like Bottom of the Well and the mid-paced White Line Fever showing that the band are prepared to explore the very limits of so-called Aussie pub rock. But where they ever tempted to pander to the pundits and throw in a power ballad?

Let's just say that Joel is emphatic on that point: "We know our sound and what we love and we never want to go away from that. We will NEVER do a power ballad. Ever."
But, the band are no luddites, looking over their shoulder to the past. They have freshened what could have been a jaded hard rock sound, and are prepared to look at other ways to expose audiences to their rockin' antics, including computer and console games, with the likes of Girls in Black from Runnin' Wild appearing on the Need for Speed console game.

"The computer game industry is massive right now, it is almost like the radio was 20 years ago," said Joel. "Millions of people play these games, it's really good to reach this audience that might not hear of us otherwise.

But with kids getting hooked on Airbourne's sounds, too many venues remain out-of-bounds to under-18s.

Joel is apologetic, but not without a nod to what almost every reader of this blog did, or attempted to do when younger: "Unfortunately the agent is the one that books the shows. However, hopefully in the future there will be more all ages shows. In the mean time sneak in and grab a beer!!!"

Airbourne started from humble roots, and through hard work they rose from early 2003 gigs. For many Runnin' Wild was a sudden, but welcome, shock, none less so than when the esteemed organ Classic Rock awarded the band 'Best New Band' in 2008.

It speaks to the bands own modesty their reaction when they received the honour.
"We had no idea, we were just sitting there drinking, then all of a sudden we were getting pushed onto the stage!!"

And therein lies the roots of success. Work hard, expect nothing, but toil to achieve everything. Airbourne play hard, Airbourne are an antidote to sugary sweet, pop pap, and posing bands more concerned with being part of a nebulous scene rather than sticking to what they believe in. There might be No Way But The Hard Way but for fans of all ages Airbourne's route to the top is one we all can enjoy come hell or highwater.

But don't expect any power ballads!

Airbourne play the Mandella Hall on April 13th. There are very, very few tickets left, if any. If you can's get along...your loss!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Alterz is murmuring

REGULAR reader Alterz has been developing a web resource for metal through the site Belfast's Murmur.

Check it out and support those that back the rock and metal scene here in good ol' Norn Iron! Another worthy addition to the blogosphere of metal.

Better than The Pogues

THE Pogues always had a wee whiff of being faux folk punk (someday I'll tell you my Shane Magowan story...) and had political views that seemed designed to alienate a lot of their potential audience.

On the other side of the Atlantic the Dropkick Murphys always seemed a wee bit more ready to party with their ShamRock, ShamPunk...well you know what we mean! Their not exactly the usual fodder for this site, but the 'Murphys' come across more as a party band to be enjoyed rather than that sense of worthiness that Magowan and co came out with. And, one can disregard their American naivety, but we would advise them to listen to SLF's 'Every Dollar A Bullet' lest they commit a Mustaine-size gaffe.

The Dropkick Murphys play St George's Market on April 13th for what is sure to be a gig with a lot of bouncing going on!

New Bolt Thrower door time

Quick note to say that the door time for the Bolt Thrower gig on May 3rd at The Limelight has changed to 8pm.

Also on the bill with Bolt Thrower are: Rotting Christ, Overoth and Devil Makes Three. Tickets 12 paltry notes.

Act now for Airbourne

IF you haven't yet got your Airbourne tickets for April 13th's re-arranged Mandella Hall gig you need to act quickly - spoke to the promoter earlier and there are only about 30 left and almost certainly none on sale at the door!

Have to say looking forward to this...and intrigued to see The Black Spiders again (they supported The Answer in December) as they looked like they didn't sound and sounded bigger than they actually were...if you see what I mean when I'm confusing myself!

AXIS OF get pre-election night single launch

SO Gordon Brown confirmed what we all knew anyway, that May 6th was to be the date of the General Election. As the polling booths close and the pundits ponder exit polls, get some groove on in The Limelight with the Axis Of single launch. Kicking off at 8.30 Axis Of will be supported by Robyn G Shiels, Pocket Billiards, and Visceral Attack.

As you prepare to find out who will form the next Government the door tax is a measly £4 or for one pound mmore you get the CD too! Now which political party can top that...well the Monster Raving Loony Party might have, but since Screaming Lord Sutch passed away it hasn't been the same.

Haven't heard of Axis Of. Here's some of the press comment:
'They have no gimmicks to get bored of. They are just pure punk rock goodness! My Single of the Year'
-Panic Dots
'Outstanding'
- Stephen McAuley, BBC Radio 1
'Conjuring up images of At The Drive In and Sikth - 9/10'
- Giggingni.com

And here's the blurb:
"After an extremely promising 2009 Axis Of start the new year with a bang. After two successful UK tours and a bunch of excellent Irish shows, Axis Of played their first Belfast headlining gig of the year in Auntie Annie’s Porterhouse. With the success of this, they are back in May with the release of a new single, “Port Na Spaniagh” in The Limelight. With airplay all over Ireland, coverage in all sorts of press, this is a live show not to be missed and a song not to be ignored.
Check out Axis Of and the rest of the line up - Axis Of and Robyn G. Shiels and Pocket Billiards and Visceral Attack

Not sure which half of you lot will like these acts...the schizophrenics like me who'll give anything a shot, or the ones with the demented stare in their eyes....oh that's me too!

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Anal surgery required for The Limelight

NO - you didn't read that headline wrong! According to James (of Distortion Project fame!) Eyehategod ripped a new ass for The Limelight on Sunday night. As too often is the case through illness/resposibilities/lack of beer tokens we didn't have a presence there. If you were there and want to send a review email here. And the same applies to any other reviews you may want to send me (Ozzmium in Omagh anyone?).

But as it is now almost 3am there are a few things that need to said...

No, it's not another rant: but suffice to say there are some things that need to be said.

First off - Cathedral are playing The Limelight on 28th April. The simple instruction is: get along to this; Lee Dorrian knows more about rock/metal than most other living mortals...give your homage gratefully!
Next - A Decade of Aggression: If you need to know more and are into heavy music we don't know where to start...
Thirdly - thanks to everyone....readers/commenters/emailers; somehow it makes it all worthwhile
Lastly (well for now!) - what are we missing? Let us know!

To conclude - this blog would not be anything more than the rantings of a 40+ metalhead without your active involvement. Thanks! Now, what more do you want included? More gig info? More reviews? More videos? More general news? (Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi are to record a couple of tracks and I believe I'm one of the few people on the planet that thinks Born Again is an under-rated album!)

But the real purpose of this post is to sort of hark back to the 'Quiet Rant' post last week. The Guardian (and other members of the so-called intelligentsia) has poured scorn on the campaign to have people register their religion in the 2011 census recorded as 'Heavy Metal'.

Last time out I registered as a Jedi, and according to the statistics Jedi was the 4th biggest 'religion' in the UK. I was going to register this time as a Pastafarian (member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) but have decided that when the census forms come out I will register my religion as 'Heavy Metal'.

Of course, it is a wee bit stupid. Of course, it denegrates the whole census system. Of course, it plays into the hands of the smarmy, wordy Sunday supplement columnists.

But it is also a chance to have a laugh, snub the nose at the Simon Cowell-led 'pop' culture, and offend as many people as possible. I'll do the Newsnight interview and the Distorion Project can provide the bands for a backdrop when Heavy Metal becomes one of the Top 10 'religions' in the UK....

Most of all - the biggest underground scene in the UK will continue to encourage rock and metal acts worldwide to keep on playing no matter what happens in 2011.

Here in the UK and Ireland we can pick and choose when we go to a gig. In parts of the world - especially where fundamentalist religion dominates - listening to metal, wearing a metal/rock t-shirt, playing in a band can lead to jail time, persecution, and persistent observation from the so-called authorities.

Rock and metal is a freedom that should not be taken for granted, and as we approach the General Election should all candidates be asked what their views are on heavy metal? Go on! When a candidate or their representatives lands on you doorsteps ask them for their party policy on heavy metal! Let us never take for granted the scene we ALL have. And let's see if we can cause a few uncomfortable moments for DUP, Sinn Fein, UUP/Tory, SDLP, Alliance, TUV, Green Party candidates and all others who want our votes!

Diamond Head in November

APPARENTLY Diamond Head are playing at the Spring & Airbrake on November 20th! Tasty!

For younger readers - who may have only heard of Diamond Head via a couple of Metallica cover versions - Diamond Head emerged during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM - and if you've not heard of that use Wikipedia). They were never the most commercially successful of the NWOBHM acts, but with their interpretation of song structure and use of intelligent time changes they were highly influencial.

At the very least you should check them out via Spotify or iTunes and prepare to be pleasantly surprised!

FM show details and ticket prices etc

LAST week we announced that 80s melodic rockers FM were to play Belfast's Spring & Airbrake - and promised details. So here they are with the blurb...
FM -Spring & Airbrake: Saturday 22nd May 2010
£16.50 + booking fee: Doors at 8pm

And now for the official blub...
"15 years since the release of any new material, FM’s hugely anticipated album METROPOLIS, was released in March 2010. An album packed full of brand new, soon to be classic FM songs will see them propelled back to their rightful place as the darlings of the British melodic rock scene. METROPOLIS is a masterful showcase of this band's considerable talent. With 13 classic tracks and a running time of over 60 minutes the boys are definitely back."

If you know sod all about FM, but are intrigued you can find out more about FM - FM Official Band Website.

As to our views here - haven't heard any FM since...well a long time ago. If you like Gun, Little Angels style melodic/classic rock then FM are worth checking out. If you're expecting anything heavier...well there's Decade of Aggression and Metallica also in May :)

Saturday, April 03, 2010

By the way...By Any Means

If you absolutely stuck for something to do on Easter Saturday and need to kill time before Easter Sunday's Eyehategod Limelight appearance then check out Enochian Theory (ENG), By Any Means and Cursed Sun at Lavery's Bunker on Saturday night from seven bells.

Apologies to Mr Higgins for not posting this earlier...despite all the Facebook reminders!

Reviews wanted

We'll be definitely heading to see Airbourne, Cathedral and Metallica. Maybe we'll also be catching Trucker Diablo/Soundstone, GMT and Glamour of the Kill/Escape Fails. If you aren't catching at least some of these gigs then you're not really tryingg!

But with so many gigs in the coming weeks it would be impossible for us to cover them all. Therefore, if you want to review a gig then email us here and should (most) of the spelling be correct and the grammar at least close to Belfast's version of English, it'll appear here with your byline.

No payment on offer - as yet - but give it time...and at least you'll be able to embellish your CV by saying you are a published writer :)

A word on the visual arts

Noted local lens mistress supreme Carrie Davenport is hosting an exhibition of her music photography from April 19th at Alternative Ink in Holywood.

Carrie has snapped local, national and international acts and her work has been used by many outlets ranging from Kerrang! through to local mag Alternative Ulster.

And, the ultimate accolade she's even had snaps used here (shurely shome mishtake there...this blog being used in a sentence including words like ultimate and accolade!).

Any hows, it should be worth taking a few moments to see more of Carrie's work.

(PS - there are other rock photographers working here, but Carrie always replies to emails and Tweets)

And now for a quiet rant....

For those hoping for gig info and reviews, or perhaps even a mention of a CD you can tune out now. There follows a quiet wee rant about the way the outside world views metal.

Inspired by the very positive reaction to reader involvement in the blog we ventured forth to see if there was sponsorship available. The aim: get a few quid to re-design the very, very dated look, market the blog and perhaps even get a few pennies distributed to people who wanted to post reviews etc. The longer game plan to provide a hub that would complement existing sites such as Metal Ireland and perhaps even provide an outlet for local acts to sell CDs and merch.

Thus with high hopes we sat down with a marketeer from a respected local firm. We thought that with the visitor numbers, age range, number of comments (on the blog and via email) that it was a viable prospect. Indeed we know of other sites with puny (sorry that almost was a Manowar-style comment!) visitor numbers that achieve significant sponsorship. In pure business terms we were looking at sponsorship as seed funding for longer term development.

The marketing man then asked the killer question: "So what's the site's target demographic?" It was with admirable restraint that no punches were thrown...

It was explained that at recent gigs (Machine Head for one) we had stood in a group that included a 13-year-old, three 15-year-olds, four 20-somethings, a 42-year-old and three people in their 50s, amongst almost one thousand others and this was an admirable range for any marketeer to reach out to as they encompassed the teen market, the 'no-children, large disposable income bracket' as well as parents and grandparents... It was also explain that past contributors ranged from uni students through to business people and that the site was run by an award winning professional...we ran out of steam...and had no pretty PowerPoint graphs at hand!

His response was "that's not a very specific market, is it?"

Being polite sort of people (well most of the time!) we finished the drink, avoided pushing the pint glass into his face thereby avoidin spilling liquid on his very impressive Top Man suit and left it at that.

Another chance to spread the wealth amongst the community of rock and the brotherhood of metal slipped away...

But, on reflection, it did highlight a quandry.

This thing we all love, hard and heavy music, is a difficult beast to grapple with for outsiders. There are the hardcore metalheads, there are the thrashers, there are the hard/classic rock fans, there are the devotees who never miss a Distortion Project gig (all hail James and crew!), there are those who avidly attend the rock tribute acts, there are the many thousands who will flock to Metallica, there are the the couple of dozen in the Rosetta or Auntie Annies headbanging away, there are rural outposts like the Diamond in Ahoghill where the flame is kept alight outside Belfast - in other words there are many faces to this beast.

There are a helluva lot of us!

Psycholgists and social anthropologists would have a field day: but too often the cliched comments focus on the stereotypes. They'll happily rant about Norwegian church burning and murders (see last month's Metal Hammer for a controversial interview!) or will glaze over as we rant about 'last night's gig'. Then there are the rabid opponents who cast biblical quotations like confetti. Worse still are the divisions within the 'scene'. Who else has read a post on a blog or a forum slagging off a local act and thought to themselves "if you can't be positive then don't bother wasting typing time!"

But where does this leave things?

As to this blog, it will continue as regularly as possible. Contributions from readers, information from bands and promoters will be posted. The idea of reader involvement will be encouraged (design comps and other ideas to be developed further!) and perhaps even getting some 'stuff' together to reward readers and potential sponsors alike.

But more important than anything else...thank you all for reading our rambling rants, listening out for news whether it is a breaking story or old news you heard elsewhere, and for being what Stephen King refers to as our 'Constant Reader'.

There - rant over, now it's JAGER TIME! :)

Quick mention?

Got a few we things to quickly mention: Eyehategod playing on Easter Sunday at the Limelight (ahh the irony almost as good as BBC following a morning show about Good Friday with 'Homes Under the Hammer').

Also - I had listed the Glamour of the Kill (incl Escape Fails on the suport) gig at Auntie Annie's as the 24th: CDC's official press listing has this as the 23rd. Which coincidentally is the date when Last Known Addiction and Swanee River play in the Spring & Airbrake (with the Beat Poets...) A dilemma - fine hard classic rock versus Escape Fails and GOTK! Can one be in two places at once!

Finally - anyone with gig reviews to submit, ya know where to find me!

Metallica support slots

You take some time off work..planning to get some proper work done, like updating this blog; instead you end up doing more 'work'.

Okay - quick catch-ups coming, but for now, confirmation that High On Fire have been added to the support slots for Metallica's Odyssey Arena gigs on May 11th and 12th, joing Volbeat on the bill.

For more information, and a view of High On Fire's new video for Frost Hammer visit Blabbermouth here.