A DAMP chilly night on Belfast’s Fountain Street was no match for the hot powerful metal that was giving everyone shelter within the confines of Voodoo under the watchful eye of The Distortion Project’s own James Loveday.
Tonight was Heat Three of the clash of metal on metal for Metal2TheMasses, with four bands stepping up on their quest to find a place at Bloodstock 2018.
The first into the fray was Indominus, melodic death metal merchants from the Belfast area.
They had a hard, heavy and thunderous set with thrumming riffage and growling vocals full of menace to let the crowd know who they were.
While there was some movement from the band members, the bassist was a centre point banging off into the crowd every so often with an energy that helped stir up the headbangers there for a good night. They delivered a good set, if only slightly offset by drowned out vocals, but a great effort and well received.
Next up was Acid Age, who interestingly introduced the crowd to the intricacies of thrash fiddling (or
violin for those slightly more cultured).
Eyebrows were raised but this soon changed to delight as this strange combination worked well.
The band were definitely enjoying themselves on stage and on the floor as the singer joined the moshers from time to time. The crowd were really getting into the set and there was even audience participation with a metaller given a mike to sing along – delivering a fair performance himself. They gave a rhythmically diverse performance with some excellent heavy rhythm and blues in the last song.
Thunderwolf, a band from Armagh, came on next and the floor was quite obviously packed now. What was going to happen now? Well, what happened was a very tight band, with fantastic stage presence and interaction with the audience, delivered the best set of the night. By a mile.
No disservice to any of the other bands, but Thunderwolf were fantastic. They rocked the place with melodic heavy riffage, great clear vocals, and songs that got everyone moshing and headbanging like demented demons. They really made even the jaded metallers there stop and take notice. If Iron Maiden did thrash, they would be called Thunderwolf.
With their pumping drums, aggressive melodic bass riffs, screaming and chugging guitars they would fit perfectly performing on screen in the likes of Altered Carbon or Blade Runner. They absolutely nailed it.
And to finish off the night came Wardomized, grindcore from the Belfast/Lisburn area, giving all they got in front of a still animated and enthused crowd of moshers.
They had an aggressive energy that did not stop throughout their set along with yet more audience participation. Heavy growling vocals, pounding drums, heavy bass and melodic guitar swaying between lightning fast and slow produced a cacophony of thrashing kept the moshers happy.
All four bands delivered their own great performances, though there was one clear winner, Thunderwolf. Also joining them in the next heat is Acid Age.
The fourth heat of M2TM will be at Voodoo on Saturday, 3 March featuring PERIAPT
RULE OF SIX, RUSTY TASTE OF SWEETNESS and SKYPILOT.
Review by Ivor Whitten
Showing posts with label Acid Age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acid Age. Show all posts
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Thursday, October 19, 2017
INTERVIEW: Concept album, violinist, special guests - surely this isn't Acid Age - well it is!
WITH violinists, stellar contributors and a concept, what the hell is going on with Acid Age?
Confused by the reports emerging from County Tyrone we seized Jude from the band, put him in a darkened room (well upon request he sent us an email…) and demanded answers.
First of all, who are these people who will pop up on this forthcoming release?
“We have an awesome list of special guests on our next release,” Jude explained. “It includes guys like Jeff Young (ex-Megadeth) Bones (Discharge) Mark Caro (Abbatoir) Adie Bailey (ex-English Dogs) Ross Oliver (Risen Prophecy) Ryan Sebastian Balfour (Maverick).
"We are waiting to hear from a few more so I can't say too much right now on that. We just contacted them through Facebook.
“They've all expressed that they genuinely enjoy what we are doing so it kind of makes sense just to have a bunch of cool names on our new album. We have done straight ahead balls out thrash metal albums before, typical Razor worship. Songs about guns and sharks and stuff like that so we decided to try something different this time.”
As for silly titles the last Acid Age album had the wonderful title of ‘Like A Combine Harvester In A Field Of Crippled Rabbits’. Not exactly catchy but certainly memorable.
“It's no secret that we always have ridiculous, zany titles for our releases, the last album was no exception,” said Jude. “The whole combine harvester thing was partially a joke about how the band was from Cookstown and thus ‘culchies’ but it was just a title we all liked.
“It's a bit long-winded but it's original.”
For a band known for producing full on-thrashers it was attention grabbing when it emerged that Acid Age were working on a concept album.
“We knew we wanted to do a full concept album with a fluent theme and we had talked about it before so in order to make this work in thrash metal it has to be epic sounding.
“It's very interesting, kind of like writing a score for a film. It has to be dramatic and have peaks and valleys, fast bits, slow bits and even some more mellow stuff than we are used to.
“That being said it's our most technically ferocious material to date so we knew we needed a second guitarist and that's why we asked Matty who is a good friend and an excellent player.”
As if this wasn’t enough to cope with the band have also added a violinist to their ranks…
“The violinist thing started out as a joke originally because me and Jake like jazz violinists like Jean Luc Ponty and Stephan Grapelli and we like bands that expand their sound within the genre without radically altering their core sound.
“Eddie (our vocalist) mentioned that he had a friend who was a grade 8 classical violinist called Anna so we asked her for the craic.
“Next thing is we are practicing with her and she's running her violin through a distortion pedal and playing insane thrash riffs.
“It's kind of like having three guitarists in the band, you have to arrange each instrument in sections rather than just blazing through songs in a typical verse/chorus fashion.”
With work progressing on the album it is only fitting that they produce a stage set to reflect its ambition.
“We plan to tour this new concept album in its entirety with a super-pretentious stage show to go along with it,” said Jude. “We're trying to keep ourselves interested more so than being original or fresh or whatever.
“In two years the album will have been out and we hope we will have a string of tour dates under our belts.
“Even if it never leaves the island at the very least we will have something insane for all our friends to see.”
Whether they ever take the planned extravagant show to wider audiences is a moot point for Jude.
“It's hard to secure cross-water gigs because the stage show is much more extravagant than the typical lights and smoke machine and as a result it costs more to transport but those who see it will understand why.
“It's not like some dodgy rock opera but it is thematic and because of the size of the stage show and the fact that there are now six members in the band we need bigger stages to play on, which adds to the problem on a financial scale but it's going to be fun.
With such ambition one would expect Acid Age to be aiming for the stars, but the band remain very grounded.
“Magazines such as Metal Hammer and Terrorizer and the people that follow those types of magazines probably aren't our kind of crowd and that's fine with us,” said Jude
“That being said you'd be surprised at some of the people that have expressed their interest in the band over the years.
“Truth be told we do want a larger audience but that's just because it's becoming harder to do this, some of us have kids and jobs and houses and shit like everyone else so to take time off and do a tour it costs money, rent needs paid, kids need fed etc...
“Getting T-shirts and merch is expensive and there's no point if no one is coming to the gigs and to get people to come to the gigs you have to expand on the sound and add more to your live show with each release.
“It's the same either way, if you make a really nasty sounding album with shitty production the mainstream audience hate it, then if you make a really glossy and precise sounding album the underground accuses you of "selling-out" when ultimately it's just a case of taste being subjective.
“The underground has real value in a sense that it's incredibly loyal... Until you start making a wage.”
We can only hope that Acid Age's ambitious recording plans means that they will indeed start earning more than the minimum thrasher wage.
Interiew by Jonathan Traynor
Confused by the reports emerging from County Tyrone we seized Jude from the band, put him in a darkened room (well upon request he sent us an email…) and demanded answers.
First of all, who are these people who will pop up on this forthcoming release?
“We have an awesome list of special guests on our next release,” Jude explained. “It includes guys like Jeff Young (ex-Megadeth) Bones (Discharge) Mark Caro (Abbatoir) Adie Bailey (ex-English Dogs) Ross Oliver (Risen Prophecy) Ryan Sebastian Balfour (Maverick).
"We are waiting to hear from a few more so I can't say too much right now on that. We just contacted them through Facebook.
“They've all expressed that they genuinely enjoy what we are doing so it kind of makes sense just to have a bunch of cool names on our new album. We have done straight ahead balls out thrash metal albums before, typical Razor worship. Songs about guns and sharks and stuff like that so we decided to try something different this time.”
As for silly titles the last Acid Age album had the wonderful title of ‘Like A Combine Harvester In A Field Of Crippled Rabbits’. Not exactly catchy but certainly memorable.
“It's no secret that we always have ridiculous, zany titles for our releases, the last album was no exception,” said Jude. “The whole combine harvester thing was partially a joke about how the band was from Cookstown and thus ‘culchies’ but it was just a title we all liked.
“It's a bit long-winded but it's original.”
For a band known for producing full on-thrashers it was attention grabbing when it emerged that Acid Age were working on a concept album.
“We knew we wanted to do a full concept album with a fluent theme and we had talked about it before so in order to make this work in thrash metal it has to be epic sounding.
“It's very interesting, kind of like writing a score for a film. It has to be dramatic and have peaks and valleys, fast bits, slow bits and even some more mellow stuff than we are used to.
“That being said it's our most technically ferocious material to date so we knew we needed a second guitarist and that's why we asked Matty who is a good friend and an excellent player.”
As if this wasn’t enough to cope with the band have also added a violinist to their ranks…
“The violinist thing started out as a joke originally because me and Jake like jazz violinists like Jean Luc Ponty and Stephan Grapelli and we like bands that expand their sound within the genre without radically altering their core sound.
“Eddie (our vocalist) mentioned that he had a friend who was a grade 8 classical violinist called Anna so we asked her for the craic.
“Next thing is we are practicing with her and she's running her violin through a distortion pedal and playing insane thrash riffs.
“It's kind of like having three guitarists in the band, you have to arrange each instrument in sections rather than just blazing through songs in a typical verse/chorus fashion.”
With work progressing on the album it is only fitting that they produce a stage set to reflect its ambition.
“We plan to tour this new concept album in its entirety with a super-pretentious stage show to go along with it,” said Jude. “We're trying to keep ourselves interested more so than being original or fresh or whatever.
“In two years the album will have been out and we hope we will have a string of tour dates under our belts.
“Even if it never leaves the island at the very least we will have something insane for all our friends to see.”
Whether they ever take the planned extravagant show to wider audiences is a moot point for Jude.
“It's hard to secure cross-water gigs because the stage show is much more extravagant than the typical lights and smoke machine and as a result it costs more to transport but those who see it will understand why.
“It's not like some dodgy rock opera but it is thematic and because of the size of the stage show and the fact that there are now six members in the band we need bigger stages to play on, which adds to the problem on a financial scale but it's going to be fun.
With such ambition one would expect Acid Age to be aiming for the stars, but the band remain very grounded.
“Magazines such as Metal Hammer and Terrorizer and the people that follow those types of magazines probably aren't our kind of crowd and that's fine with us,” said Jude
“That being said you'd be surprised at some of the people that have expressed their interest in the band over the years.
“Truth be told we do want a larger audience but that's just because it's becoming harder to do this, some of us have kids and jobs and houses and shit like everyone else so to take time off and do a tour it costs money, rent needs paid, kids need fed etc...
“Getting T-shirts and merch is expensive and there's no point if no one is coming to the gigs and to get people to come to the gigs you have to expand on the sound and add more to your live show with each release.
“It's the same either way, if you make a really nasty sounding album with shitty production the mainstream audience hate it, then if you make a really glossy and precise sounding album the underground accuses you of "selling-out" when ultimately it's just a case of taste being subjective.
“The underground has real value in a sense that it's incredibly loyal... Until you start making a wage.”
We can only hope that Acid Age's ambitious recording plans means that they will indeed start earning more than the minimum thrasher wage.
Interiew by Jonathan Traynor
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
ALBUM REVIEW: Acid Age axeman exercises his right to shred
THERE must come a time in every guitarists life as a six-string axe slinger that they need to get the shit out of their system, step away from their band for a brief time and indulge in total guitar wankery.
Yet few take that opportunity...Not so Acid Age's Jude Milk, who has recently released his solo effort 'Kithara'.
While many could see this as a self-indulgent act, what is clear from a couple of listens this is an accomplished instrumental mini-album, with a diverse range of techniques, many far removed from the Acid Age punk/thrash attack.
'Fields of Sweep' and 'Judgement Day' are by far two of the better arrangements amidst riffs and solo techniques, with a heady repetition of a complex riff on the latter well mastered.
The acoustic 'Upon These Mysteries' perhaps the most derivative sounding it nonetheless showcases Jude's confident playing. Making those runs along an acoustic fretboard is no easy task.
Closer 'Krimzon Kingdom' has elements closes to the Acid Age sound and doffs a cap on opening to certain Metallica instrumentals before quickly establishing its own sound and structure, with a nice Spanish sounding acoustic breakdown.
This release is an enjoyable listen for anyone who really enjoys their guitar sounds; however, we wonder would there not be a validity to including some of these tracks in the next Acid Age release. It would certainly challenge listeners.
What is clear is that Jude has put on display his full-on passion for guitar - and that is no bad thing on this good solid release.
Review by Jonny
Yet few take that opportunity...Not so Acid Age's Jude Milk, who has recently released his solo effort 'Kithara'.
While many could see this as a self-indulgent act, what is clear from a couple of listens this is an accomplished instrumental mini-album, with a diverse range of techniques, many far removed from the Acid Age punk/thrash attack.
'Fields of Sweep' and 'Judgement Day' are by far two of the better arrangements amidst riffs and solo techniques, with a heady repetition of a complex riff on the latter well mastered.
The acoustic 'Upon These Mysteries' perhaps the most derivative sounding it nonetheless showcases Jude's confident playing. Making those runs along an acoustic fretboard is no easy task.
Closer 'Krimzon Kingdom' has elements closes to the Acid Age sound and doffs a cap on opening to certain Metallica instrumentals before quickly establishing its own sound and structure, with a nice Spanish sounding acoustic breakdown.
This release is an enjoyable listen for anyone who really enjoys their guitar sounds; however, we wonder would there not be a validity to including some of these tracks in the next Acid Age release. It would certainly challenge listeners.
What is clear is that Jude has put on display his full-on passion for guitar - and that is no bad thing on this good solid release.
Review by Jonny
Thursday, October 22, 2015
COMIN' ATCHA: Four feardome, mad, loud days of rock and metal
RIGHT rockers, ready yourselves because over the next four days your lugholes are gonna get a battering, your necks will be snapped and when Monday 26th October rolls around you'll be heading into work for a rest.
Starting tonight (Thursday, October 22nd) legendary - and yes he really is a rock legend - Glenn Hughes is at Limelight 1. The man who lent bass lines and vocals to Deep Purple, Sabs and a host of super groups will be on a Belfast stage with axe man Doug Aldrich and on the sticks is Pontus Snibb.
Then on Friday it's another feast, when NWOBHM legends Raven appear at Limelight2, with support from local noisenicks Rabid Bitch of the North. Then you have a choice of heading to see tribute act 101% Pantera with support from Donum Dei and Cursed Sun in Voodoo or stay in the Limelight complex for country rocker Steve Earle.
Saturday (October 24th) sees Screaming Eagles, Gasoline Outlaws and Baleful Creed in Limelight2. After that it is a quick race round to the Voodoo for cross over madness with English Dogs, By Any Means and Acid Age.
And all of that was just to get your pulse racing before the utter destruction of every ounce of your being when Deathcrusher 2015 decimates Limelight1. Yep, five acts that will mash your very soul.
Carcass, Napalm Death, Obituary, VoiVod and Herod...five acts to round up four days of rock and metal that proves, once and for all that there is a scene that is not for scenesters, hipsters or floppy fringed wannabes; it's a scene where rockers and metalheads rejoice in glorious insanity...well as Suicidal Tendencies said "Pledge Your Allegiance".
Starting tonight (Thursday, October 22nd) legendary - and yes he really is a rock legend - Glenn Hughes is at Limelight 1. The man who lent bass lines and vocals to Deep Purple, Sabs and a host of super groups will be on a Belfast stage with axe man Doug Aldrich and on the sticks is Pontus Snibb.
Then on Friday it's another feast, when NWOBHM legends Raven appear at Limelight2, with support from local noisenicks Rabid Bitch of the North. Then you have a choice of heading to see tribute act 101% Pantera with support from Donum Dei and Cursed Sun in Voodoo or stay in the Limelight complex for country rocker Steve Earle.
Saturday (October 24th) sees Screaming Eagles, Gasoline Outlaws and Baleful Creed in Limelight2. After that it is a quick race round to the Voodoo for cross over madness with English Dogs, By Any Means and Acid Age.
And all of that was just to get your pulse racing before the utter destruction of every ounce of your being when Deathcrusher 2015 decimates Limelight1. Yep, five acts that will mash your very soul.
Carcass, Napalm Death, Obituary, VoiVod and Herod...five acts to round up four days of rock and metal that proves, once and for all that there is a scene that is not for scenesters, hipsters or floppy fringed wannabes; it's a scene where rockers and metalheads rejoice in glorious insanity...well as Suicidal Tendencies said "Pledge Your Allegiance".
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Sludge fest, thrash-tastic Saturday with Gama Bomb, War Iron, Owlcrusher, Defyed and much more
SATURDAY night's all right for rocking, never mind what Elton John may say about fighting. And Saturday March 8th was a day filled to the brim with rock and metal
While Darren and Dawn Shields-Pettitt were doing a fantastic job with all the bands at Blazefest once again raising money for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children there were rumours of earth tremors in Ormeau Avenue.
At Limelight2 The Distortion Project's evening show the sludge and doom was causing earth tremors. at such a peak that the Royal Geological Society were monitoring reports that the tectonic plates underneath all of Ireland were reverberating.
While the vagaries of public transport meant we missed Maw, by all accounts the two-piece were superb.
Owlcrusher's down-tuned doom sludge threatened to liquefy internal organs not already fried by alcohol. Songs merged into each other in a hypnotic drone that was strangely entrancing.
A dazed audience then faced the prospect of Okus, with a technical take on powerful doom and elements of modern metal. Their set was varied and ultimately a powerful statement of potential.
Reports that the earth's tilt and magnetic field were changing emerged by the time War Iron's Black Fleet had powered through the foundations of the venue and the audience's soul.
War Iron are a band that don't believe in fucking about with those nancy boy six strings, and instead have two bass guitars to keep the bottom end booming with evil intent.
Procession of the Equinox and Of Prophecy and Alchemy rounded off the set, producing a strange glow amongst the audience. For such a doom-laden, bottom ended set, what it did produce were a lot of happy punters including the Belfastmetalheads Black and Death Metal editorial assistant (Zakk) who gave the show a knowing nod of approval.
As if that was not enough for a weekend of gigs (see the review of Friday night's Jizzy Pearl's Love/Hate here and review of Sinocence and Blazefest on our colleague Mark Ashby's pages) it was then a measured move on to the Voodoo where proceedings stepped up into full throttle.
A full-on take on thrash and hard, humourous metal lay in wait.
Acid Age opened proceedings with a set that merged technical prowess with short, sharp blasts of old school thrash. The band have undoubtedly set themselves along a path that pays homage to the founders of the movement and incorporates the more modern thrash scene.
Scimitar appeared to have as band that as grown up a lot since their early shows. Again there was much technical prowess on display and also song arrangements that took the thrash/metal template a little further making each element of their set distinctive.
The inclusion of Defyed, on the face of it, seemed a little out of place, as they are more recognised from appearances on hardcore line-ups.
However, mixing the elements of metal and hardcore clearly works: at times it appears as if Soulfly and Hatebreed have been bred into their songs. Wayne is ever more confident and Steve is possessed by demons of metal wielding his bass as if it was a trophy from a human hunt.
An international audience (with Scottish, Irish and Filipino members...) awaited Gama Bomb's appearance. Tales of zombies, robotic cops and William Defoe were all to the fore - as one would only expect.
If you like thrash and want a band that straddles early 80s thrash and contemporary rock influences but clearly with their own 'take' and identity then you will find it all with Gama Bomb.
A well-balanced set, with a mixture of classic Bomb songs with recent tracks from The Terror Tapes clearly were both crowd-pleasing and relevant to where they are in 2014.
With the band writing a new album it is clear that Gama Bomb deserve to be much more widely heard - one listen to the live thrust of 'We Started The Fire' should, in a just universe, convince all to bow before the Gama Bomb attack. At the Voodoo the adulation of the audience clearly showed that when you 'get it' you get hit hard with the Gama Bomb bug.
Heads spinning we then headed to meet up with some of the audience from Blazefest before a welcome taxi collected us.
To round up the evening we found ourselves with a taxi driver from Iceland who pointed out that there was never any problems with rock and metal fares compared to 'the rest', that Icelandic radio played rock and metal all the time, the island being the youngest country in geological terms and there are so many 'quakes that they pass unnoticed was an appropriate conclusion to an evening that started with such earth shattering power.
While Darren and Dawn Shields-Pettitt were doing a fantastic job with all the bands at Blazefest once again raising money for the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children there were rumours of earth tremors in Ormeau Avenue.
At Limelight2 The Distortion Project's evening show the sludge and doom was causing earth tremors. at such a peak that the Royal Geological Society were monitoring reports that the tectonic plates underneath all of Ireland were reverberating.
While the vagaries of public transport meant we missed Maw, by all accounts the two-piece were superb.
Owlcrusher's down-tuned doom sludge threatened to liquefy internal organs not already fried by alcohol. Songs merged into each other in a hypnotic drone that was strangely entrancing.
A dazed audience then faced the prospect of Okus, with a technical take on powerful doom and elements of modern metal. Their set was varied and ultimately a powerful statement of potential.
Reports that the earth's tilt and magnetic field were changing emerged by the time War Iron's Black Fleet had powered through the foundations of the venue and the audience's soul.
War Iron are a band that don't believe in fucking about with those nancy boy six strings, and instead have two bass guitars to keep the bottom end booming with evil intent.
Procession of the Equinox and Of Prophecy and Alchemy rounded off the set, producing a strange glow amongst the audience. For such a doom-laden, bottom ended set, what it did produce were a lot of happy punters including the Belfastmetalheads Black and Death Metal editorial assistant (Zakk) who gave the show a knowing nod of approval.
As if that was not enough for a weekend of gigs (see the review of Friday night's Jizzy Pearl's Love/Hate here and review of Sinocence and Blazefest on our colleague Mark Ashby's pages) it was then a measured move on to the Voodoo where proceedings stepped up into full throttle.
A full-on take on thrash and hard, humourous metal lay in wait.
Acid Age opened proceedings with a set that merged technical prowess with short, sharp blasts of old school thrash. The band have undoubtedly set themselves along a path that pays homage to the founders of the movement and incorporates the more modern thrash scene.
Scimitar appeared to have as band that as grown up a lot since their early shows. Again there was much technical prowess on display and also song arrangements that took the thrash/metal template a little further making each element of their set distinctive.
The inclusion of Defyed, on the face of it, seemed a little out of place, as they are more recognised from appearances on hardcore line-ups.
However, mixing the elements of metal and hardcore clearly works: at times it appears as if Soulfly and Hatebreed have been bred into their songs. Wayne is ever more confident and Steve is possessed by demons of metal wielding his bass as if it was a trophy from a human hunt.
An international audience (with Scottish, Irish and Filipino members...) awaited Gama Bomb's appearance. Tales of zombies, robotic cops and William Defoe were all to the fore - as one would only expect.
If you like thrash and want a band that straddles early 80s thrash and contemporary rock influences but clearly with their own 'take' and identity then you will find it all with Gama Bomb.
A well-balanced set, with a mixture of classic Bomb songs with recent tracks from The Terror Tapes clearly were both crowd-pleasing and relevant to where they are in 2014.
With the band writing a new album it is clear that Gama Bomb deserve to be much more widely heard - one listen to the live thrust of 'We Started The Fire' should, in a just universe, convince all to bow before the Gama Bomb attack. At the Voodoo the adulation of the audience clearly showed that when you 'get it' you get hit hard with the Gama Bomb bug.
Heads spinning we then headed to meet up with some of the audience from Blazefest before a welcome taxi collected us.
To round up the evening we found ourselves with a taxi driver from Iceland who pointed out that there was never any problems with rock and metal fares compared to 'the rest', that Icelandic radio played rock and metal all the time, the island being the youngest country in geological terms and there are so many 'quakes that they pass unnoticed was an appropriate conclusion to an evening that started with such earth shattering power.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Fill yer weekend with rock and metal
PLEASE place your liver in the overhead locker, a neck brace is provided underneath in case of passengers need to abandon headbanging. In the event of alcohol decompression please grab the glass and place it to your lips because this is one helluva weekend to board the rock and metal flight to chaos - you're all spoilt for choice!
Departures on Friday night will be to the Stiff Kitten and the Diamond Rock Club. Arrival at the Stiff Kitten is scheduled for 8pm where your courier in the shape of Mr James Loveday will ensure you are safe and calm before Donum Dei, By Conquest or Consent, Little Miss Stakes and Hammerfest bound Sinocence will blow any travel cobwebs off your denim and leather...
Others will arrive in Ahoghill Rock City where arrival at the Diamond Rock Club will see travellers face-to-face with Maverick and Jizzy Pearl's Love/Hate.
Should seasoned travellers wish to return for more on Saturday then buckle your belts, remove sharp objects and assume the brace position.
There are three - yes three - destinations of choice.
Simultaneously flights will be arriving at 5pm at The Empire and Limelight2.
At 5pm on Ormeau Avenue there is the Owlcrusher, Okus and War Iron...foundations shall shake and tectonic plates will shift; hopefully after a safe landing for all.
Meanwhile on Botanic arrival at gate Empire is all in a good cause. BlazefestIV is in aid of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, which sees the likes of Altus, Baleful Creed, Worldsend and Stormzone pack the joint.
However, for those with a penchant for tales of zombies and robotic cops Gama Bomb will be at the Voodoo, with early arrivals set to experience the likes of Acid Age, Scimitar and Defyed open the duty free....
Now, if that isn't enough for you of a weekend then may we kindly suggest that you take Beige Airlines to Vanilla Central and watch some shit on TV...
Departures on Friday night will be to the Stiff Kitten and the Diamond Rock Club. Arrival at the Stiff Kitten is scheduled for 8pm where your courier in the shape of Mr James Loveday will ensure you are safe and calm before Donum Dei, By Conquest or Consent, Little Miss Stakes and Hammerfest bound Sinocence will blow any travel cobwebs off your denim and leather...
Others will arrive in Ahoghill Rock City where arrival at the Diamond Rock Club will see travellers face-to-face with Maverick and Jizzy Pearl's Love/Hate.
Should seasoned travellers wish to return for more on Saturday then buckle your belts, remove sharp objects and assume the brace position.
There are three - yes three - destinations of choice.
Simultaneously flights will be arriving at 5pm at The Empire and Limelight2.
At 5pm on Ormeau Avenue there is the Owlcrusher, Okus and War Iron...foundations shall shake and tectonic plates will shift; hopefully after a safe landing for all.
Meanwhile on Botanic arrival at gate Empire is all in a good cause. BlazefestIV is in aid of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, which sees the likes of Altus, Baleful Creed, Worldsend and Stormzone pack the joint.
However, for those with a penchant for tales of zombies and robotic cops Gama Bomb will be at the Voodoo, with early arrivals set to experience the likes of Acid Age, Scimitar and Defyed open the duty free....
Now, if that isn't enough for you of a weekend then may we kindly suggest that you take Beige Airlines to Vanilla Central and watch some shit on TV...
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Saturday night's all right for thrashing
THRASH metal has been going for a long, long time - as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal made it across the pond to the good ole US of A it merged with West Coast punk and neo-classical structures to produce a new form of metal: led by the so-called Big Four.
With Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth came a host of others like Exodus, Testament, Nuclear Assault, all exhibiting their own take on the thrash 'genre'.
Fast forward to 2013 and Saturday night (October 12th) at The Distortion Project. A collection of young bucks who were not a twinkle in their parents eyes when thrash was being born in 'Frisco and like minded-US cities. What can these young 'uns offer?
First up in the two act bill were Eviserator. Competent and with occasional flourishes of excellence their reliance on the early thrash days were evident. However, given the reception of the dozen or so on the 'dance' floor they are convincing the fans that need to be convinced.
As to musicianship there is no doubt that they can play, with Toner's lead work especially noteworthy. However, as to arrangements they need to take a step back from the thrash formula. We suggest someone hides their 'Tallica, Exodus and other thrash albums for a month or two, or at least until they write their next set of tracks.
Is this harsh? No. They are obviously lovers of the genre and are well capable of using this foundation to build into a competent - even good - outfit. Just dump the Slayer cover: it didn't work; there is enough in your own repertoire to show. If you want to do a cover do something off-the-wall, not re-treading the path so many have waled before.
Acid Age were meant to be launching their new album, Enter the Zomborg at The Distortion Project, but its unveiling has been put back a couple of weeks - but that didn't stop them unleashing their own unique brand of "hyper-thrash".
Jude is a charismatic frontman and an excellent shredder, with Jake's impressive bass playing anchored by Jason's furious drum work. The songs that kicked off the set were that bastard children of Gama Bomb and Stormtroopers of Death; fast, witty and humorous.
With John Roche of Gama Bomb guesting on the forthcoming album (together with Tony Portaro from New Jersey's Whiplash) the influences are right there on the stage for all to witness; although as Gama Bomb are doing less songs about zombies Acid Age appear to have picked up the torch of the undead, especially with the pleasing 'Zombie Sabbath'.
The so-called hyper thrash owes a lot to the punk legacy here in Northern Ireland, as well as the likes of Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies, but incorporating enough excellence in delivery to showcase their talents.
But, it would be wrong to dismiss Acid Age as a one-trick pony; their nod to the NWOBHM shows that they understand the legacy that birthed thrash, with two or three tracks' structure nicely rounded amidst the mayhem.
All in all both Eviserator and Acid Age prove that thrash's day is not yet done; standard bearers such as Gama Bomb and Onslaught are keeping the flag hoisted and it is rather reassuring for this ageing thrash fan to see new blood coming through.
Enter the Zomborg will be released later this month on Punkerama Records.
With Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth came a host of others like Exodus, Testament, Nuclear Assault, all exhibiting their own take on the thrash 'genre'.
Fast forward to 2013 and Saturday night (October 12th) at The Distortion Project. A collection of young bucks who were not a twinkle in their parents eyes when thrash was being born in 'Frisco and like minded-US cities. What can these young 'uns offer?
First up in the two act bill were Eviserator. Competent and with occasional flourishes of excellence their reliance on the early thrash days were evident. However, given the reception of the dozen or so on the 'dance' floor they are convincing the fans that need to be convinced.
As to musicianship there is no doubt that they can play, with Toner's lead work especially noteworthy. However, as to arrangements they need to take a step back from the thrash formula. We suggest someone hides their 'Tallica, Exodus and other thrash albums for a month or two, or at least until they write their next set of tracks.
Is this harsh? No. They are obviously lovers of the genre and are well capable of using this foundation to build into a competent - even good - outfit. Just dump the Slayer cover: it didn't work; there is enough in your own repertoire to show. If you want to do a cover do something off-the-wall, not re-treading the path so many have waled before.
Acid Age were meant to be launching their new album, Enter the Zomborg at The Distortion Project, but its unveiling has been put back a couple of weeks - but that didn't stop them unleashing their own unique brand of "hyper-thrash".
Jude is a charismatic frontman and an excellent shredder, with Jake's impressive bass playing anchored by Jason's furious drum work. The songs that kicked off the set were that bastard children of Gama Bomb and Stormtroopers of Death; fast, witty and humorous.
With John Roche of Gama Bomb guesting on the forthcoming album (together with Tony Portaro from New Jersey's Whiplash) the influences are right there on the stage for all to witness; although as Gama Bomb are doing less songs about zombies Acid Age appear to have picked up the torch of the undead, especially with the pleasing 'Zombie Sabbath'.
The so-called hyper thrash owes a lot to the punk legacy here in Northern Ireland, as well as the likes of Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies, but incorporating enough excellence in delivery to showcase their talents.
But, it would be wrong to dismiss Acid Age as a one-trick pony; their nod to the NWOBHM shows that they understand the legacy that birthed thrash, with two or three tracks' structure nicely rounded amidst the mayhem.
All in all both Eviserator and Acid Age prove that thrash's day is not yet done; standard bearers such as Gama Bomb and Onslaught are keeping the flag hoisted and it is rather reassuring for this ageing thrash fan to see new blood coming through.
Enter the Zomborg will be released later this month on Punkerama Records.
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