Belfast's summer of metal just got better - Soulfly announce July Limelight date

THIS summer, of the year of 2014 is turning out to be 'The Summer of Metal' after another band announced a Belfast date - the mighty Soulfly are playing Limelight2 on July 10th.

Yep, it is turning into a summer of neck-snapping, headbanging brilliance!

Tickets for Soulfly - priced £18.50 (+booking fee) go on sale this Friday.

So, to recap (and we're only talking metal in this post - there's plenty of hard rock and classic rock at venues like the Diamond Rock Club and others) we have so far:

• Slayer,
• Anthrax,
• Onslaught/Artillery/Hatriot,
• Prong,
• Tim 'Ripper' Owens,
• Amon Amarth
• Mordred/FuryOn,
• The Architects...and in September
• Dragonforce and Carcass/Coldwar.

Remember to be nifty on your feet to grab your Soulfly tickets on Friday - while there you may be able to snap up one or two of the very few available tickets to see Slayer on their second date in boomtown.

We know that you're all familiar with Soulfly...and if you're reading this site you really should be familiar with Max Cavalera and the mighty force he has brought to metal, from his days in Sepultura right through to Soulfly and side projects such as the Cavalera Conspiracy and the recently released Killer Be Killed album.

With Soulfly he has his son 21-year-old son behind the drums and Tony Campos on bass (StaticX, Ministry and Prong are all on his CV).

Max Cavalera is quite probably one of the real metal icons and living legends: from family man to revolutionary, from shaman to the man on stage who has street cred Cavalera has grown up in the limelight in his native Brazil to a worldwide presence for metal fans and all who support the underdog, the disenfranchised, and just causes.

Do yourself a favour, listen to some Soulfly - and we mean really listen to the depths in what appears straightforward extreme metal...

In the meantime the Belfastmetalheads team are limbering up with some exercises and neck stretches for The Summer of Metal right here in Belfast.

Now, dear leaders of the Executive at Stormont, you stumped up millions for men on bikes and badly dressed golfers. How about the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister do the same for 'The Summer of Metal'. And, while ministers are considering this, I'm sure that Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness will extend a warm welcome to Max Cavalera, and will be buying their tickets on Friday to make sure they can stand right in the middle of the pit on July 10th...wouldn't that be a sight!