INTERVIEW: Donum Dei discuss new album

GROWING and developing since they had the tag 'young and upcoming' Donum Dei have now delivered their début album 'Contribute to Chaos'.

Just before they took to the stage at The Belfast Empire Melanie Brehaut sat them down for some gentle interrogation.

Listen below:

LIVE REVIEW: Butcher Babies blast Glasgow into gleeful delight

WHEN you think of American metallers the Butcher Babies, what comes to mind? Is it the way frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey look, or dress? Or is it their music – hard, heavy and full of fire? If it’s the former then believe me friend, you are missing out.

A freezing cold Sunday night in Glasgow saw a breathless crowd of the latter hit the Garage for a bit of blasting Butcher Babies action – and they weren’t disappointed. First up, Italian/American hard rockers Klogr take to the task of warming up the crowd with gusto, pummelling the room with their brisk, buoyant muscular brand of nu metal-tinged rock.

Proving that the headliners have nothing if not varied taste in warm up acts, Eyes Set to Kill further ramp up the crowd with their pile-driving, grungy riffs and ‘A Day to Remember meets Marmozets’ sound – in fact, frontwoman and lead guitarist Alexia Rodriguez even sounds a wee bit like the latter’s powerhouse vocalist Becca McIntyre. Their second song goes down a treat with the audience – a spirited, heartfelt version of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’, which they dedicate to the sadly departed Dolores O’Riordan.

Fizzing with youthful energy, they depart half an hour later having undoubtedly making some new fans.

Running ‘slightly’ late (ok, twenty minutes), when headliners The Butcher Babies finally take to the stage the excitement in the room is at fever pitch. Beginning their set with the title track from their stonking new album Lilith does absolutely nothing to calm the crowd, who immediately respond in kind to the passion and energy emanating from the stage.

“We are the Butcher Babies and we are here to f**k sh*t up!” Shepherd declares gleefully, before they launch into much loved crowd favourite ‘Monster’s Ball’. The crowd duly erupt, starting up a frenzied moshpit which basically lingers for the duration of the show.

Both Shepherd and Harvey hold the crowd in the palm of their collective hands throughout, with commands for circle pits, raised horns, middle fingers and fists in the air promptly obeyed by the enraptured audience. And it’s easy to see why: not only are they (and the rest of the band) talented, consummate performers, but they give their absolute all, wringing out every last drop of themselves in order to put on a hell of a show.

Above all, the crowd respond to the passion and sincerity of the two women; metalheads can tell when someone is just ‘punching the clock’ at a gig, and who is there for the sheer love of the music. Shepherd and Harvey most assuredly belong in the latter category: they sing their hearts out, share some easy banter with the audience, and clearly have the time of their lives. Their interplay is fluid, unforced and even slightly goofy, and their bond is as clear as it is genuine; a notable example of this is when Harvey apparently randomly includes the word ‘poop’ in the litany of curse words at the end of ‘Pomona’ and sends Shepherd into a fit of giggles.

Their set naturally tends towards material from Lilith but they also go back to the start of their career and cover every aspect, from the wistful, clean-sung ‘Thrown Away’ taken from 2015’s Take It Like a Man, their delirious, rocked-up to the rafters cover of ‘They’re Coming to Take Me Away’ from early in their nine year run, and the silly, party animal-friendly
‘Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers’, also from Lilith. Throughout, the intensity and energy level never drops for a second; seriously, the Duracell Bunny has got nothing on these two.

They end the main body of the show with ‘Underground and Overrated’, which sees Shepherd clamber off the stage and demand a circle pit to surround her (!), and leave the stage to huge applause. Following a four song encore (which goes beyond the venue’s strict 10pm curfew but absolutely no one is complaining) which finishes with the towering breakdown-fest of ‘Magnolia Blvd’, they again bid a fond farewell to the crowd, leaving behind a mess of sweaty torsos, spilt beer and hoarse voices.

It all just goes to show that while the haters will continue to hate, those in the know will always see a simply outstanding show whenever the Butcher Babies are in town. Superb.
SETLIST
Lilith
Burn the Strawman
Monster’s Ball
The Butcher
In Denial
The Huntsman
Korova
Igniter
Pomona (Sh*t Happens)
Gravemaker
Thrown Away
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Headspin
Underground and Overrated
ENCORE
They’re Coming to Take Me Away
Controller
Axe Wound
Magnolia Blvd

Review by Melanie Brehaut
Pictures by Darren McVeigh

LIVE REVIEW: Alient Ant Farm and SOiL prove they are more than one hit wonders

NO matter how well-versed one is on the subject of heavy rock/metal, there’s always going to be bands that slip through the cracks; ones that you vaguely know have quite a respectable back catalogue of albums, but you may only know one or two songs from them.

Thursday night’s gig in Limelight 1 comprised of not one, but two such bands: Alien Ant Farm and SOiL. The fact that the gig was upgraded from LL2 to LL1 is testimony to the fact that both bands have large and enthusiastic fan bases, but there was also a definite sense of curiosity amongst many of the patrons who knew the ‘big’ songs and were willing to check out each band’s entire set to see if there was more to them.

Chicago duo Local H opened proceedings with their reverb-heavy, grungy guitar rock, and soon had the crowd warmed up admirably; all were impressed in equal parts with both the quality of their music and the fact that it came from just two people.

With their easy banter and catchy tunes, it’s clear to see why their social media ‘likes’ are rising at a terrific pace.

Such is the reaction from the crowd when SOiL hit the stage that you could be led to think that they were the headliners, or at the very least that this was a co-headlining tour.

After an intro which features snippets of Rob Zombie, Sam Kinison’s ‘Wild Thing’ and their own smash hit ‘Halo’, they stride onstage and immediately fire into opening track ‘Break Me Down’. It soon becomes apparent that they are as potent and passionate as ever, despite this being their twenty-first year together – at times it’s a close call as to who is most excited for them to be there: the crowd or the band themselves!.

“How the f**k you doin’ tonight…it’s been such a long time!” enthuses frontman Ryan McCombs, who remains wreathed in smiles throughout the band’s entire set. With a voice like Jack Daniels and honey, he is also funny and engaging, chatting amiably to the crowd about such subjects as the hair caught in his mouth (It’s from his head, don’t go there), the fact that the previous band’s setlist is still taped to the stage which keeps confusing the hell out of him (lol), and how grateful he is for everyone coming out to see them play.

In between the banter, they play an absolute blinder of a set at full pelt and full volume, with tracks such as ‘The Hate Song’, ‘Pride’ and their rocktastic cover of Ram Jam’s ‘Black Betty’ getting an airing; the latter performs the task of warming the crowd up so well that every band should do it.

The crowd respond with unadulterated joy, roaring along to the lyrics, hanging on McComb’s every word and headbanging with abandon.

Their enthusiasm is rewarded in spades when McCombs exits the stage and performs their biggest hit ‘Halo’ from WITHIN the audience, handing his microphone to several delirious fans and turning the song into the ultimate in audience participation. Crazy, exuberant and unforgettable - particularly for the lucky throng the surrounded him – SoiL prove tonight that they are a cut above the rest, and more than just ‘that’ song.

As prompt as Big Ben (they even use an alarm clock intro), Alien Ant Farm take to the stage at their allotted time with a steely glint in their eyes, seemingly determined to prove that they, too, are more than just a ‘one song’ band.

Right from their opening track ‘Bad Morning’ it seems that they are: all thunderous, thrashy, wailing rock, it’s also unexpectedly dark, and far from the pop punk scamps they appear as in the ‘Smooth Criminal’ video.

Vocalist Dryden Mitchell is also a dab hand at a bit of audience banter: “What’s up Northern Ireland?!” he greets the crowd, before they play ‘Movies’, which prompts a huge singalong, not to mention a bit of internal organ rearrangement from the lowest-tuned bass guitar you’ve ever heard.

He genuinely seems to enjoy chatting to the crowd and has them eating out of his hand right from the start as he thanks everyone for making the choice to come and see them tonight, talks a bit about the history of the band and certain songs and asks if everyone is having a good time, all in his trademark rambling, slightly husky voice.

One of the loudest cheers of the night comes when he dedicates ‘Attitude’ to the crowd, his mother, and the sadly departed Chester Bennington. With its snarling, whirling riff and inclusive lyrics (“you are all welcome here”), it’s a powerful moment that the more, ahem, inebriated amongst the crowd may have missed; luckily there’s a scrum of hardcore fans in front of the stage that hear every word and respond with emotion and gratitude.

For the curious among the audience, there’s a gratifying range of influences woven through the band’s music, from the obvious (pop punk) to the interesting (reggae, blues) to the downright startling (the bassline in ‘Glow’ is pure Steely Dan ‘Reelin’ in the Years’).

They also, surprisingly to some, seem to be channelling the Deftones throughout; in fact, ‘Deftones do pop punk’ would be a pretty apt, if rather simplistic, description of them, should you ever require one.

‘Wish’ wraps up the main part of their set with a staccato beat and low, low bass that you can feel in your throat.

After a few minutes they reappear, launching their encore with ‘Sticks and Stones’ and finally, of course, their boisterous cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’, which practically has the crowd swinging from the ceiling and busting out their highest pitched “woo!”s; it’s  truly a joy to behold.

As the crowd file out into the cold Belfast night, it’s clear that each band has gained new fans based on all of their music, as well as sating the appetites of their long-time fans who already knew how brilliant they were.

Having one song that towers over the rest of your back catalogue can be burdensome; tonight (and undoubtedly for the rest of the tour) both SOiL and Alien Ant Farm surmounted the challenge admirably.

Review by Melanie Brehaut
Pictures by Darren McVeigh

ALBUM REVIEW: Dizzy Reed reaches new heights on Rock N Roll Ain't Easy

DIZZY Reed is best known as one of the members of Guns ‘n’ Roses ‘part two’, so to speak: joining the band after it’s seismic shift in 1990, he is actually the second-longest standing member, after Axl Rose.

In actuality, he is far more than that, having worked on several projects with a plethora of musicians, including recently rejoined GnR legends Duff McKagan and Slash, the Dead Daisies, and his own band, the pithily named Hookers and Blow.

Evidently, he is a man who likes to stay busy, as he will release his debut solo album Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Easy, on February 16th through Golden Robot Records.

The album pins its colours to the mast with its opening track, lead single ‘This Don’t Look Like Vegas’ and it becomes immediately apparent that Reed’s musical taste, broadly, is ‘Sunset Strip hard rock’ crossed with ‘good ol’ honky-tonk blues’ – a mighty combination, indeed. Toe-tappingly catchy with a driving hard rock beat and bluesy piano, it certainly blows the cobwebs away, as well as being an excellent gauge for what’s to come.

What follows is an uplifting and brilliant lesson in how the blues segued into rock ‘n’ roll all those years ago, and how they can still come together to make proper, classic rock. There’s a real Eighties vibe to some of the tracks, such as ‘Understanding’; urgently fierce album highlight ‘Crestfallen’; and the rollicking ‘Reparations’. There’s also shades of Nineties indie and grunge – take a listen to ‘Mystery in Exile’, ‘I Celebrate’ and the mature sounding, heartfelt ‘Fragile Water’.

There’s also, of course, the odd Guns ‘n’ Roses snippet, such as the sexy, bluesy ‘Dirty Bomb’ and the “beware of the evil woman”-themed ‘Understanding’.

Not that the whole album takes its inspiration from the past, though: ‘Cheers 2 R Oblivion’, with its pleasingly throaty vocals and rather Hothouse Flowers vibe has a great modern rock sound (and very modern, text-speak title…), and the title track, which closes the album, would comfortably fit on any rock album old or new.

While Reed certainly hasn’t reinvented the wheel here, he’s taken his influences and wealth of experience and created a well-crafted, highly entertaining hard rock album.

Perfect for bellowing along to in your car with the window rolled down, as well as being a fascinating peek into the mind of a musician who’s been on the frontline of American hard rock for decades.

If you’re a rocker of any age, Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Easy is definitely worth the purchase.

Review by Melanie Brehaut

ALBUM REVIEW: Battlesoul batters out genre defying release Sunward and Starward

Battlesoul. What does that band name conjure up for you? Straight up, Sabaton-esque battle metal? Folky, Viking-y metal, Amon Amarth style? Lord of the Rings? Angry, shouty men in kilts? None of the above? All?

In fact, any of those answers is at least partly correct. For Battlesoul are that most modern of heavy metal bands: genre-straddlers, who delight in taking bits of this and that, like metal magpies, and creating something that’s actually rather fascinating.

Formed in 2007 in London, Canada by ex-Heaven Ablaze guitarist Mike Grund and ex-Whitechapel drummer Nich Ireland (who also drums for Viking metallers SIG:AR:TYR, fact fans), they then took on vocalist Jon Doyle, bassist Bill Elliot and guitarist (and brother of Nich) Thomas Ireland.

Their lineup complete, they released a self-titled EP in 2008, followed by full lengths Lay Down Thy Burdens in 2010 and Tir na nOg in 2013.

Their latest effort, Sunward and Starward, is due for release on February 23rd on CDN Records.

Eagle eyed history buffs will note the Irish title of their 2013 album: Tir na nOg, or ‘land of the young’, is an Irish legend from many years ago. It’s a good indicator of what Battlesoul are about, too, as their lyrics heavily feature celtic myths and legends, particularly those that sprang from battles, warriors, travelling to distant lands and possibly not returning, and so on.

What makes them stand out is their disregard for staying within subgenre boundaries; on previous releases and this latest album, they gleefully throw death metal, blackened death metal, thrash, battle metal, folk metal and celtic metal into their personal melting pot. The result really must be heard to be understood/believed.

The album opens with ‘All I Understand’, which hits the ground running at a blistering pace and with some surprisingly clean singing. The occasional twin guitar harmonies lend the track a power metal feel, while the switched up falsetto vocals and echoing vocals in the chorus kind of feel a bit proggy. See? They also throw a celtic-sounding wind instrument into the mix, because why not?

And so the album goes on, loosely following a pattern: bold, riff-heavy intro, death metal style vocals (but also sometimes black metal style, sometimes thrash, and sometimes clean – at times Doyle sounds like three singers at once), often with some gorgeous operatic style singing from classical vocalist Alina Gavrilenko. Each track is breathtakingly fast-paced, with widdling guitars aplenty and the sort of double-bass drumming that leaves one exhausted just listening to it.

In fact, almost every song starts with a rowdy sonic blast, all bolshy drums and thrashy, impudent riffs. The only ones that show a bit more decorum are the final two numbers: ‘So It Goes’, which draws the listener in with a melancholy string intro then slams into a thudding beat and positive riff-fest of straight up thrashy death metal. Then there’s final track ‘Break the Day’, with its quietly majestic folky intro, breakneck pace, blazing guitar solo and, finally, a sort of ‘rides off into the sunset’ thrashy/folky outro. It’s all a bit bewildering but well and truly keeps the listener engaged and entertained.

Throughout, there are some noticeable highlights: the mystical, ‘warrior’ vibe of ‘Arrival’; the particularly impressive drumming in ‘The Watcher’; the use of unusual instruments such as a piccolo-type wind instrument and a stringed instrument of some kind that almost sounds like a flute (listen to the thrashy ‘Totem’ for an example of this); the pendulously heavy, galloping ‘The Loss of Sons’.

Amongst those, there are further few which stand tallest: the epic (in every sense of the word) title track, with moments of light and shade cunningly pieced together and a creepy, almost shudder-inducing ‘internal monologue’ outro, and the aforementioned closing track ‘Break the Day’, which deviates from their ‘million miles an hour’ philosophy for just a few moments.

Far from being ‘just’ a battle metal band, with Skyward and Starward Battlesoul have demonstrated yet again that they are master boundary pushers, musically speaking. By cleverly combining several metal subgenres – folk, power, thrash, death, celtic - they are well on their way to creating an entirely new one for themselves. ‘Battlesoul metal’? Well, you just never know. You read it here first…

Review by Melanie Brehaut

LIVE REVIEW: Frank Carter pummels Belfast again

PUNK singers: hard, wiry, lairy blokes who hiss and spit about how effed up the world is and would headbutt you as soon as look at you, right? Think the Sex Pistols, Poly Styrene, and every studded jacket-clad punk you ever saw at a gig.

But what if there was a new kind of punk rocker: one who opens up about how tough life is; who is still full of fury at the state of the world circa 2018 but can also fill a show with light-hearted banter and self-deprecating humour? Enter one Frank Carter.

Beginning his musical career in one of Britain’s great punk acts, Gallows, Carter left to pursue a more classic rock-oriented sound with Pure Love. When that sadly fell through, he returned to his punk roots, starting up Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes so quietly that he took everyone by surprise when he announced it on Twitter.

Album Blossom followed rapidly; a blazing, rage-filled, instant punk classic, it was gleefully seized upon by both fans and critics. Then followed something of a surprising turn: second album Modern Ruin, which toned down the anger and instead spoke of Carter’s somewhat more settled life with his wife and young daughter.

If you were worried that he had lost his edge and become ‘soft’, however, a FC&TR gig will put that thought to bed rather smartly, as a crowded Mandela Hall was to discover on Sunday night.

First, though, opening act Chinese Newspaper had the rather unenviable task of warming up the still-filling room. They describe themselves as “fuzz pop”, which turns out to mean perky, sunny indie rock with a dash of pop-punk thrown in – indeed, their youthfulness and baseball caps gives that away before they play a note.

With thick Irish accents, well crafted songs and some welcome moments of heaviness preventing them from being saccharine, they may play to a half full room, but those present seem to enjoy them very much.

Next up was the unusually named DMOB HAPPY who stride onstage clad in (matching) blazers and, following a blare of distortion, further warm the crowd up with their Nineties-influenced sound and melodic vocals. They’re sort of “Oasis meets the Beatles” schtick – the singer even looks like John Lennon, and if he doesn’t worship him a tiny bit it would be very surprising – combined with the fuzziness and trippy vibe of The Doors goes down well.

Speaking of distortion…half an hour later, the house lights drop and a wildly distorted bass guitar intro rings out, causing the crowd to roar with anticipation – a sound that only gets louder as the man of the hour himself saunters onstage. With a delighted grin and a bellow of “Belfaaaaaaaaaast!” he immediately switches to his manic, high-energy stage persona.
Opening single ‘Primary Explosive’ quickly segues into the sexy, shouty ‘Fangs’, prompting the first delirious singalong of the night. Without a moment’s pause they fire straight into their first single ‘Juggernaut’, during which Carter leaps into the crowd and shows off his latest party trick: standing on the crowd’s hands, in a headstand, still singing. Impressive!

A brief moment of calm follows, during which he apologises for having to postpone their two Irish dates due to illness. The band then launch into the first track from Modern Ruin, ‘Vampires’, which proves to be a bit more of a hip-swinger than a headbanger, as do the next two tracks, ‘Wild Flowers’ and slinky recent single ‘Spray Paint Love’. It has to be said though, at no point does the explosive energy in the room dip in the slightest; in fact, during ‘Wildflowers’ there is a distinct shift upwards as Carter informs the crowd that women put up with a lot of shit in their lives and that only they were allowed to crowd surf during said song.

Throughout, Carter is bolshy, charismatic - and, it has to be said, terrifically funny: clambering into the crowd because “I wanna dance”, stopping ‘Jackals’ to inform the crowd that they all have to sing ‘happy birthday’ to someone named Charlotte (which they obligingly do), and at one stage taking someone’s phone off them and calling their mother because they cheekily asked him, clearly not expecting him to! It’s as brilliant as it is unexpected.

There are some serious moments too: his emotional discourse on why he wrote ‘Loss’, followed by a stripped back version with him silhouetted against a blue light and a cloud of dry ice; and dedicating the furious ‘Paradise’ to those who had lost their lives at gigs such as the Bataclan in France, which earns him a heartfelt, sombre round of applause.

A four-song encore begins with ‘Devil Inside Me’, during which the pit opens up spontaneously. Carter then announces that nobody else should crowd surf as he is worried about the young girls at the barrier – and also, he quips, because he “saw someone’s butt crack, which ruined my night”! ‘Snake Eyes’ and ‘Lullabye’ then follow, and then it’s time for their now-traditional closing track ‘I Hate You’, which prompts another huge singalong with the crowd, much to everyone’s delight.

That’s Frank Carter in 2018: no hair dye, fancy Gucci suits or gimmicks: just him, his band, and a new sense of calm, despite the rage. Funny in ways you would never expect if you had only seen him in Gallows or listened to Blossom, clearly loving getting older despite the gripes about his hearing and his back and so on, and, well, simply a punk rocker, he proves in spades that he is still carrying the punk flag high and proud.

Review by Melanie Brehaut
Pictures by Darren McVeigh

ALBUM REVIEW: More than a Best of - Soil Scream The Essentials

‘BEST Of’ albums, eh? If you’re a proper fan, you must buy it; if not, meh.

There is, however, a third category: the one where you’re not that much of a huge fan of said artist/band, but you hear all their songs together and think “actually they’re really quite good, aren’t they?”. Step forward the subject of today’s review: SOiL.

The rockers formed way back in 1997 in Chicago, originally from members of two different death metal bands. Vocalist Ryan McCombs soon joined and they began recording, releasing a few EP’s which did very little to get them noticed.

It was only when single ‘Halo’ was doing the rounds that record labels began to sit up and take notice, which led to them being signed to J Records for their first album Scars in 2001.

After 2004’s Redefine, McCombs left; ostensibly to spend more time with his family, he then announced a year later that he was joining Drowning Pool. His role in SOiL was then taken by singer AJ Cavalier, who stayed with them for three albums before he, too, announced his departure from the band, along with drummer Tom Schofield. McCombs then returned to tour with the band as they celebrated the tenth anniversary of Scars in 2011 (are you keeping up?) before deciding to make the guest role permanent.

A live DVD/CD combo (2012) and a Kickstarter-funded album later (2013’s Whole), the band released Scream: The Essentials at the end of 2017 on Pavement/AFM Records. Comprised of original tracks featuring both vocalists, as well as some alternative and acoustic versions and surprising covers, the album runs in essentially in chronological order, from their 1998 EP El Chupacabra to the Whole album. Ready? Let’s step into SOiL’s discography and see what we find…

The album opens with one of those rather startling covers, in the form of ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ from the film The Blues Brothers. Bassist Tim King reveals the thinking behind the decision, stating “we felt it was a perfect song to the album…it tied in our Chicago roots and the twentieth anniversary of the band perfectly”.

The resulting track is a brilliant, although very much ‘rocked up’ version of the classic and is maybe a trifle self-indulgent but also undeniably good fun.
“Fun” is a word that pops up again and again while listening to this album.

SOiL may not be big, clever or pretty, but my goodness can they write a great, catchy, ‘party hard’ tune or two. Even as far back as the late Nineties (tracks two, three and four) they had already honed that instantly recognisable sound: the chugging NWOAHM riffs, the hard rock machismo, the nu metal twang and McCombs’ signature gravelly vocal style. Each song has a driving, pummelling beat; each makes you want to jump around, dance like a loon and headbang frantically, up to and including their magnificent cover of Ram Jam’s ‘Black Betty’. Their live shows must be utterly uproarious.

A few numbers stand slightly above the rest: ‘Halo’, of course, aka “the one everyone knows”. A simple yet awesomely effective track, with its heavy bass and fist-pumping beat, it still sets any rock club across the world on fire when the DJ hits ‘play’.

There’s also the slower-paced but no less rocking ‘Unreal’, with it’s rather Silverchair-ish vibe; the slinky, nu metal ‘Breakin’ Me Down’; the ‘System of a Down x Stone Sour’ combo of ‘Pride’ and Redefine’; and the swaggering ‘Hate Song’, all defiant, ‘fuck you’ lyrics and slight Buckcherry vibe (no, really).

The only time there is a bit of a lag, it has to be said, is during the tracks where Cavalier replaced McCombs. The former is certainly a formidable vocalist, but the band as a whole seems to have lost a bit of its mojo when the latter departed, resulting in some rather desultory releases and even an unfortunate foray into country music territory with the insipid ‘The Lesser Man’.

That’s all forgiven when ‘My Time’ kicks in: McCombs is back, and so is the band’s cocksureness and more cohesive sound.
Slinky, sexy and macho, with a late Motley feel, it marks their return to form in spades. This is also remarkably evident during the live version of ‘Halo’ included from their 2012 DVD/CD: the band are audibly rejoicing, and the crowd absolutely loves it.

The alternative versions are also a bit self-indulgent, but no doubt fascinating for fans: an acoustic version of ‘Can You Heal Me’ which loses little of its power without electric guitars, but rather gains something of an Alice In Chains ‘Rooster’ vibe; the inclusion of the late Wayne Static on ‘Give It Up’ lends the song a spiky, slightly unhinged air; and a minimally altered version of ‘Like It Is’ offers really very little in the way of change.

Then there’s the final track, Soundgarden’s ‘Rusty Cage’, included as an homage to the late Chris Cornell. Musically lower-pitched than Cornell and co but vocally higher-pitched, and cannily picking up on the sense of urgency in the original, it’s a great choice for a cover, and a touching reason to cover it to boot.

So, there you have it: SOiL, far from being one of those bands that you don’t think you know too much about until you actually listen to them, in fact have quite an impressive discography, as can be heard on Scream: The Essentials.

Almost every song is catchy, heavy, and highly enjoyable, almost all would fit comfortably into any party or rock night setlist, and no track outstays its welcome, with most around a trim three minutes or less. It is, in short, a wealth of hidden gems that the most casual fan has probably missed out on up until now. If that’s you, then giving this album a listen to is highly recommended; it will almost undoubtedly surprise you.

SOiL sre currently touring the UK and Ireland (including playing the Limelight in Belfast on Thursday February 15th) with Alien Ant Farm.

Review by Melanie Brehaut

LIVE REVIEW: Escape The Fate blast apart the Oh Yeah Centre, leaving a trail of grins behind

AS if there wasn’t already enough sub genres under the ‘heavy metal’ umbrella, another has been steadily coalescing over the last few years: emocore.

A combination of angsty emo and brutish metalcore, with a predominantly young fanbase, it has been gaining traction in America on the back of the annual Warped Tour and has recently touched base in the UK and further afield as well, with Friday night’s gig in the Oh Yeah centre being a perfect example of this.

With doors opening promptly at 7pm, a crowd of young, excited, black-clad fans eagerly streamed into the venue, the keenest making a beeline for the barrier.

They didn’t have to wait long until opening act Shields took to the stage and kicked off proceedings. Musically, they were fairly standard metalcore - dual vocals, breakdowns aplenty, synchronised headbanging – but, in lead vocalist Joe Edwards, they possess a dynamic secret weapon.

Passionate, wildly enthusiastic, giving his all like he’s headlining Wembley, and with a mane of gorgeously luxurious locks (honestly, it’s quite hypnotic; you can’t look away!), he is clearly a natural born rock star, and raises the band above that slightly generic ‘metalcore’ label to a rather exciting prospect – something their nineteen thousand Facebook followers would attest to.

With the growing crowd nicely warmed up, it was time for LA “sci-fi-post-hardcore” band (so it says in their bio) Set to Stun to take to the stage. Following a cutesy Forties-style intro, they come out all guns blazing and attempt to shake the very foundations of the building.

It becomes immediately apparent that they are a more chaotic, almost punk affair than the previous band; mikes go flying, a speaker is almost instantly blown, and co-vocalist/guitarist Damien Wong piles into the crowd and writhes on the floor several times, crashing into kneecaps and startling and bemusing the young crowd in equal measure.

What also becomes clear is while they may put on a rather aggressive and bolshy performance, musically they are a bit slapdash and sloppy at times; they also seem to be trying a bit too hard to be, well, hard.

When they get it right, they are heavy enough to punch holes in the floor – more of that and less of the in-your-face-ness, please.

By the time headliners Escape the Fate’s intro begins playing, the crowd are more than ready. A huge roar from the tightly packed group in front of the stage – and when opening number ‘This War Is Ours’ rings out, they finally lose their natural teenage reticence and get caught up in the excitement.

Having been a touring band for over twelve years, and honing their craft at several of the aforementioned Warped Tours, ETF are slick, well-rehearsed and instinctively know what their fans want: huge singalongs, fun between-song banter (with a few swears for naughtiness) and songs they can jump/dance/headbang along to.

Frontman Craig Mabbitt is the consummate professional in this and more, making several people’s night by taking their phone off them to film the band for awhile before handing them back with a smile.

Every song is met with a scream of delight and every word sang back to them passionately, from oldies such as ‘You Are So Beautiful’ and ‘Ashley’ to tracks from latest album ‘I Am Human’ such as the title track and ‘Do You Love Me?’; the latter especially impressive when you consider the album only came out a week ago. There’s also the catchy runaway train of 2015’s ‘Just a Memory’; ‘The Flood’, which gets a huge, shrieky response; all the ‘woah-oh’s and arm-waving of ‘Remember Every Scar’ and a plethora of other favourites which would keep even the most casual ETF fan happy.

They even throw in a spirited cover of My Chemical Romance’s ‘Dead!’, which thrills everyone.

There’s a real sense of affection between the band and their fans: they’ve grown up together, been there for each other through teenage highs and lows, so they hold a special place in each other’s hearts.

It’s very clear to see, and is rather special, creating a positive, welcoming and non-threatening atmosphere: everyone is free to be themselves here tonight. The crowd love it, and the band lap that feeling up; from the delighted grins on their faces, they’re clearly having a ball up there. Mabbitt comments often about how glad they are to have finally made their first trip to Belfast, and compliments the crowds’ singing.

By the time they play their encore, the ‘We Will Rock You’- esque ‘One For the Money’, with it’s “choose your fate” chant, it’s impossible to tell who is more sweaty, swaying and ecstatic: the band or the fans.

Mabbitt signs off with a cheery “Belfast, we’ll see you next time!” and they depart, assured in the knowledge that everyone in the room had a great time.

All around the room people are laughing, crying, hoarse from singing and high on excitement and emotion: and that folks, is emocore in a nutshell.

Review by Melanie Brehaut
Pictures by Liam Kielt

LIVE REVIEW: Avatar...Marmite? Well loved in Belfast

When a band like Avatar comes along they immediately have a polarising effect on the metal world, with approximately half thinking “WTF is this?!” and the other half going “wow, these guys are interesting.

A room full of the latter half gathered in Belfast's Oh Yeah Centre on a chilly Monday night to witness the return of Avatar to Northern Irish shores.

Up first (and running a 'standard rock star' half hour late) fellow Swedes The Last Band were tasked with warming the crowd up, which they did in spades.

With a startlingly sudden crash of the snare drum they begin, all flailing hair and leather; both a visual and audible cross between Velvet Revolver and The 69 Eyes, if you will.

Their frontman, the hilariously named Coffe Blood, is both witty and fierce, keeping the crowd entertained with a steady stream of silly banter and belting out tracks in his raspy snarl of a voice. “It's so nice to see so many awesome people here on a Monday!” he beams approvingly, before telling said awesome people that tonight's gig, being the first on the tour, will be extra special as “we'll be drunk as fuck after this so it'll be the only show we remember!” - very rock and roll

Their snappy set of dirty, sleazy, punk-tinged rock is slightly shambolic but highly entertaining nonetheless.

The fact that Avatar describe themselves as simply 'metal' does a serious disservice to their gloriously over the top and avant garde sound: an Avatar show is a spectacle, a big top performance, with frontman Johannes Eckerström as their grinning, gurning ringmaster.

Making their flamboyant entrance onto the stage (following half an hour of, er, Swedish folk music) they immediately dazzle the eager crowd with their theatricality and 'blow to the head' heavy songs.

Playing their most well known hit, the whirling 'Hail the Apocalypse' almost right off the bat is a bold move but they manage it with aplomb, filling the rest of their ninety minute set with their instantly recognisable songs such as 'Murderer' and a stomping 'Bloody Angel'.

Their gaudy uniforms -  Eckerström's in particular – combined with their flashing backdrop create a visually striking show that is simply mesmerising; you cannot take your eyes off them.

He truly is the master of ceremonies: a man who constantly beams so broadly that he almost doesn't need the Joker-style black smile painted onto his face and who talks with a baroque campness that's as delightful as it is silly; he really is the hammiest frontman since PT Barnum.

He prowls every inch of the stage, leaning into the crowd and talking often to them about belonging together as outsiders and how much he loves Belfast (which he of course renames 'Avatar country' for the evening).

The music itself is impressively heavy and impeccably performed tonight, but it's also rather whimsical and gleeful – rather like Eckerström's onstage persona, in fact.

Every song has that gyrating, breathless guitar style and circus feel that mark it instantly as Avatar; there are also twin guitar sections, huge singalongs, and solos aplenty – there's even some proper old school glam rock harmonies on the likes of 'House of Eternal Hunt', not to mention a “world premiere”, as Eckerström explains, as they play 'Black Waters' live for the first time.

The crowd, for their part, lap it up ecstatically. Although small in number – there must be only about one hundred or so black clad bodies here tonight; it is, after all, a school night for many of them – are explosively vocal and hugely enthusiastic.

This reaches its zenith when Eckerström begins his spiel about freaks prior to 'Smells Like a Freakshow', the theme tune for tonight if ever there was one, with a gloriously OTT “woah-oh” ending that even the sound desk dude joins in on.

They file offstage then quickly return, playing a single track encore in the form of 'Sky Burial', a rather solemn song that sees the frontman in a rare moment of stillness.
Then it's time for individual and groups bows, before they finally depart, leaving behind a crowd that's breathless in its happiness and sweatily satisfied that they got to witness such a brilliant gig.

It's true, Avatar are one of those so-called 'Marmite bands' that tend to divide heavy music fans. But shows like tonight prove that they simply don't care: there are enough like-minded fans out there for them to begin taking over the world, one freak at a time.

Review by Melanie Brehaut
Photos by Liam Kielt Photography

So that was 2015...my choices and I want your choices too

SITTING here, January 4th, reflecting on the year that was 2015, and before wrapping the 12 months up there are a few thank yous in order...

First to family - fuck I know it's a cliché but it's true. This site exists through a lot of things but contributors make it. Melanie Brehaut, Andy Gillen, Darren McVeigh, Andrew Pennington, take a bow.

Next my colleagues in music reporting, Mark Ashby, Carolyn Ashby, Brenda P McTaggart and all the lensmen and women. Camaraderie deserving in many mentions in dispatches.

James Loveday (The Distortion Project) and Derwin McFarland (Diamond Rock Club) and all the other promoters of rock and metal that deliver the noise for us all.

To Nigel, Davey and Phil at RockraadioNI cheers! To Rob, Jamie, Sion and Ritchie at Devils Gate Media - world domination awaits! To Dilly at Belfastunderground for letting me blast the net (now with Mark and Carolyn bringing more metal too!).



Matt - Gasoline Outlaws

To the bands - all in all thank you for the music, That is all. To the friends - Lizzie, Ruth, Ivor, Simon and many more for keeping it real and well for being friends.

Down to business. As editor of this site 2015 represented a watershed year for me. Instead of reviewing it I could write a thesis worthy of a masters degree based on the strength of the releases and live shows. (I could but I'll not...)

Here's where you come in. Below I'm posting my personal top three tracks and top three albums of 2015. Agree or disagree, they're personal choices. I want you to post in the comments box below your top track, top album and/or top show, with a sentence (just one, as to why).

Now my choices...
Top Track:

1. Stand As One - Gasoline Outlaws
2. Where Angels Fly - Trucker Diablo
3. In Kymatica - Sinocence

Why? I could and perhaps could have chosen more (Screaming Eagles eponymous song for one), but Stand As One's cry for peace was all the more poignant after standing at Hard Rock Hell and hearing the news of the Bataclan massacre. Matt's delivery and the song's structure edged it to the top for me.

Top Album:

1. The Defects - 45 Minutes
2. Rise Above the Noise - Trucker Diablo
3. Joint third: Screaming Eagles - Stand Up and Be Counted/ Gasoline Outlaws - No Rules, No Laws, No Regrets

Aidy - The Defects

Why? I cheated by having a joint third, but it's my site. The Defects selection may strike some as odd, as the album only scraped a release at the end of 2015 and has it's 'official launch' in 2016. However, it is a totally immersive selection of styles - rock, punk, pop punk, ska, dub step and reggae that it represents what is best about music, when it accepts no boundaries. [Full review coming shortly].

Now over to you...post your comments below, oh and there's a prize for what I think is the best post. [More than a pint, less than a Slipknot ticket].