Pick Your Rock and Metal

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Dust off the ancient Maidens

Time to dust off you ancient Maiden albums for those planning to head to Dublin to see the metal masters at work. Tour reports from the European and US legs of Iron Maiden's epic tour show that Eddie and Co are delving deep into the back catalogue.

Apparently the vast bulk, if not all of the show, will be drawn from tracks from the first four albums :) :) :)

For those of you younger than 30 that means the eponymous Iron Maiden, Killers :), Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind. Ahh the joy, deep joy that those albums bring to an old decrepit rocker like me :) :)

Cash-strapped Ash shocker



Reports emerge from our Rome correspondent (well he was there for the weekend!) of ASH suffering cash difficulties. As the image here shows, lead singer, guitarist and wielder of burning Flying-Vs Tim Wheeler was caught on camera at the Vatican post office in Rome, sending a post card. Yep, a postcard! Has Tim not paid his mobile phone bill? Had he not enough Euros to go into a 'net café? Have this year's royalties not arrived at Chateau Downpatrick? Reports that an ASH Benevolent Fund has been set up by fans of the Downpatrick punk metallists are as yet unconfirmed....

Actually (and there's always an actually in this sort of post to avoid litigation...) our man in Rome (Niall) met Tim at the post office, where he was doing all the touristy things.

Ash were supporting U2 at their Rome show, where Niall reports most of the crowd were indifferent. This was probably because of their misunderstanding of the lyrics of Girl from Mars, but you would have thought they would have gotten the Starcrossed bit, with all that Romeo and Juliet nonsense!

Oh, and Feeder got a terrible reception apparently.

And Tim, we here at Belfast Metal Reunited still haven't received the postcard. You never write, never call...etc, etc.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

A tenner for Trivium

It might seem ridiculous (actually it is!) but tickets for Trivium at the Limelight on September 22nd are a massive £10!!!!!! Can you afford not to see the future of metal! www.trivium.org

Baal if you liked Mastodon you'll love these guys!

Friday, July 15, 2005

Keep Believing in The Answer

For some time Downpatrick power rock outfit The Answer have been plugging away, getting a reputation for pounding out music that the fashionistas who dress in sharp suits and pose as rock stars would love to be able to produce. I first came upon these unlikely looking stars at the 2004 ViTal, and stumbled twice upon them since.

This week coming The Answer release their first EP, after signing to Albert Records, home of AC/DC. The five track EP is called Keep Believing and, by all accounts is getting rave reviews. Mmmm, might pop down to my local record emporium to support these future local heroes.

Oh, and while I'm at it will check out to see if the Red Organ Serpent Sound single Orgasmus has been released. This crowd of ne'er do wells from Derry have also snared a major record deal. Dispensing with The Answer's jeans and grandad shirt image ROSS instead dress as mad as they sound. Two local acts with major deals? Quick! Make a Wish!

Monday, July 11, 2005

11th Night Music

It is the 11th of July in Belfast; a time when bonfires are lit and to paraphrase the news media "community tensions are high". Now, we in the metal community care not a bit your religious, political or sexual preferences, but the distant echoes from a bonfire site drifted to this blogger's ears...

In years gone by flutes and drums could be heard (not much better I grant you), but tonight there was the sound, muted by distance thankfully, of dance music being played at a bonfire.

I don't care what your affiliation is, but playing dance music in public should be declared a crime! No wonder the spides, chavs and idiots on both sides riot if they listen to that shite!

Give 'em some metal, throw them in the middle of a Slayer mosh pit and they wouldn't have the energy to riot. (And it might cure them after listening to that awful fucking dance shite!!)

The future of metal?

They've been hailed as the future of metal, lauded in Kerrang, Metal Hammer and a host of others. They've wowed the crowds at Donington and now they're set for Belfast. They are Trivium.

Like a mixture of thrash, old school and something that doesn't have a name yet, Trivium have produced a stonker of a great album (Ascendancy) and are preparing for their first headlining tour.

The band will be onstage at the Limelight on September 22nd. See ya in the mosh pit (I'll be the one with the zimmer frame!)

Monday, July 04, 2005

Comfortably numb (in the armchair) for Live8

Congrats to Sir Bob, Bono and Midge Ure for bringing the issue of poverty to the attention of ne'er do wells that masquerade as politicians at G8. Go visit www.makepovertyhistory.org to find out more.

But what about the gig itself?

Those of us who couldn't be there (i.e. most of us) were forced to enjoy(endure?) proceedings from the armchair (blue plastic bag filled with beer, lighter ready to held aloft at the right moments). Now the majority of the bill for Hyde Park was crap. No point in beating about the bush, it was shite. Yes, good cause, and yes there were some good sets from average acts that almost broke the boredom (or at least made me put down the beer for a moment or two!)

But, of course, it was the rock acts that stole the day. At least I think they did. Velvet Revolver kicked ass, even if the audience reached new levels of apathy. Scott was mad as a bag of squirrels and Slash was way too cool.

When The Who hit the stage, night was well fallen and the screen was blurry in front of my alcohol addled eyes - but the sound was excellent as they showed what wrinkly rockers can achieve. Same with Pink Floyd. What a set! What solos! What a cool guy Roger Waters is! Damn near perfect Comfortably Numb.

And so it then moved on to a bumch of has-beens twaddling around murdering Beatles' songs.

In Philadelphia they had Bon Jovi, Def Leppard; in Germany they had Green Day; in Paris they had Muse - where the fuck did it go wrong in Hyde Park (although it did pass a Saturday afternoon when there were no gigs and the football season was a few days away...)

Friday, July 01, 2005

Make Poverty History

The rock and metal world has been throwing its weight behind the Make Poverty History campaign (and with 30,000 children dying EVERY day from poverty is it any wonder!).

Visit www.makepovertyhistory.org to find out more.

And rock and, erm some metal, will be performing at the gigs across the world. Velvet Revolver and Pink Floyd will be in London on July 2nd, with the likes of Def Leppard, Deep Purple and many others appearing around the world - hell, I can't be arsed listing them all! Go to www.live8live.com to find out who's playing where. And most of it will be on the Beeb...