Truth be told, if you haven't seen these two bands before then either make sure you do soon, or hang up your rock spurs and spend Saturday evenings watching some dumb ass reality show...
As usual Derwin, Paul and Tony had the Diamond Rock Club prepped and ready for visitors from near and far - there are people who travel from England and Dublin for these shows and for 'Storm - Trigger' we had visitors from Enger-land...
But all the prep in the world, the welcome for visitors or the amount of beer quaffed matters not if the bands come up short.
No fear of that with Triggerman and Stormzone are concerned...
Triggerman have more groove than a dozen vinyl albums stacked on another dozen...and then some...
From the off, the groove was infectious, but was notable was the way that newer songs, such as the opener 'The Drift' sat so well with established tracks such as 'I Got The Lurgy' and 'Worms'.
The sheer immensity of the riffs - which of course held sway - at times overwhelmed Bap's vocals, but amidst the intensity the band know how to keep the roll and the sway of each song going.
From 'Atomic Rock Number 79' the track 'Big John' has the most impressive narrative - but that's the real secret to Triggerman: within each heavy riff laden song there is character and tales. Whether it is 'Rage of the Goddess' or 'Hail to the River Gods' the storytelling matches the might.
While Bap might proclaim his ailments as a result of the fact that he has 'The Lurgy' if this the rock lurgy all in attendance will gladly get this rock infection.
With the audience taking a breather it seemed a short time before exuberance bounded on to the stage in the shape of the 10-legged bounce of Stormzone.
Proclaiming that the stage is 'Where We Belong' Harv and his metal accomplices where on fire from the off - and when they closed there was no doubt that 'The Legend Carries On'.
With each note calling us to remember just exactly why we got into metal, why the sounds and notes resonate deep down, this was, as we should expect from Stormzone, a celebration of what can save our pitiful souls from despair.
Graham and Steve kept all the moves going, with Harv as the ringmaster, while Junior was not to be left out - stage right and right on the money whether it was 'Three Kings' or 'Death Dealer'.
New man behind the kit, Gordy, had perhaps the biggest and most infectious grin in all of County Antrim - clearly enjoying every second and ripping up each fill and run across the toms. When it came to 'The Pass Loning' his sticks were on fire.
All the fun was to be had from the theatrics on the like of 'Fear Hotel' (is the exit stage right, or audience right?) and the synchronised guitar movements were a joy for all.
There is no real reason or rationale behind why Triggerman and Stormzone aren't much, much more regarded and listened to, but by the powers of all that is great and good they should be - and must be.
Review by Jonathan Traynor
Photos by Lizzie Torbitt
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