Moody, melodic, post-hardcore, post punk...WTF

A REVIEWER in a Belfast newspaper last week described a band as: "Moody. melodic, post-harcore, post-punk, informed, indie rock".

What in the name of Lemmy is that? Regular readers of this blog will know that we detest labels. Sometimes they are useful to help classifications, but we usually stick with 'metal', 'hard rock', or 'punk'.

If you get another helpful definition like 'groove', 'doom' or 'death' then you can usually tell what's coming. And we happily report on anything within our range from Journey to Zombified.

We happily take hard rock in the AOR spectrum to the heaviest that Nuclear Blast, Grindscene and Metal Blade can offer.

Which makes it all the more irritating that reviewers spend all their time with hair splitting and labelling.

Then when it all comes down to it we turn the pages of today's Belfast Telegraph to see an initiative that promises support for up and coming local talent. Where's the hard rockers in the line-up? Where's the metal bands? Not one can be seen in this line-up of no doubt earnest shoe gazers.

So, if you are an up and coming band in the hard rock, metal or punk genre let's see you knocking your pans out and we'll at least give you the backing. Following on from ou recent review of 7 Days Dead (from Northern Ireland) we'll be reviewing Cursed Sun's (also from Northern Ireland) excellent Premomitions shortly and Triggerman's (another one from Northern Ireland) support slot with Orange Goblin this Sunday coming.

To all the local hard rock, metal and punk there are sites and local radio stations out there that have your back - you don't need to pander to the pretentious and be all moody, melodic, post-harcore, post punk to get a listen.

And don't forget that you can still enter the competition to win a pair of tickets to see Orange Goblin on January 27th by clicking here. But remember you only have until 5pm today (21st January).

Week's worth of punch on 7 Days Dead ep

Ahh we love a wee taste of heaviness, and we love it when it comes with swaggering like a metallic groove monster marching from our speakers and pumelling our ears into gleeful submission. And that's why we're loving the forthcoming debut ep from 7 Days Dead.

Tracks 'Broken' 'By Any Means', 'Come Undone' and 'Haunted' have been rocking our wee cotton socks off and by themsleves forcing the volume level to 11.

For those of you who may not have come across 7 Days Dead before here's the brief synopsis. When Interrogate folded in 2011 guitarist Mark Johnston and drummer Stephen Brown dusted themselves down, grabbed hold of bassist Chris Cassidy for bass duties and Ryan McManus, swore them into the 7 Days Dead covenant of heaviness and rose phoenix-like with a mission to pummel the unwitting into conversion to their vision.

The result is four tracks that meld honest hard rocking with a metal vibe. Brown's addiction to double bass runs doesn't overpower like so many pseudo feet tappers, but rather provides a backbeat with Cassidy's bass to anchor the sound. The fills on 'By Any Means' are well-balanced like a scaffold for Johnston and McManus to build the architecture of the song.

Indeed this is a common strength for all of the songs: hard and heavy and no frightened of melody alongside the metal riffing and rhythm section pounding.

Put simply - another damn fine selection of sings from a damn fine local band. Hell, Norn Iron rocker and metallers prove once again that we are the region demographically with more talent that any other patch of earth.

Check out the week's worth of punch from 7 Days Dead yourself and make sure to head along on February 16th when the Distortion Project hosts the ep launch at Limelight2.