LIVE REVIEW: Metal2TheMasses first semi final pumps out the jams in the Voodoo

WITH five bands vying for a slot in the final of Northern Ireland's Metal2TheMasses, and a chance to play at Bloodstock, Belfast's Voodoo was given a sound thrashing with acts, all with their eyes set on the prize.

Indeed the competition was fierce for the three places in the May final, with many bringing friends and family along to bolster their chances in the audience vote (votes are 50% judges, 50% audience).

First to grace the stage were A Little Bitter, who were among those to début a new track amidst their set. With familiar melodic metal punch, reminiscent of mid-80s heft, but taking on board contemporary vibes they maintained a punchy effort throughout.

Within a few tracks the floor filled up - partly with Seamy wandering around, bass in hand. Among their heavier tracks Genghis was inflammatory with its mix of attack and soft threatening words. vastly underrated this outing proves there is an appetite for more releases from A Little Bitter.

Rosco's Riot version of the heavier end of the rock spectrum had their fans to the fore as they rolled out their riffage.

Tim's towering presence gives the act much stage presence as the band performed a solid set, with only the curious presence of an albeit brief drum solo questionable. Overall a sound that tries to combine the 90s with earlier periods of rock.

When you experience a technical fault mid-set, and have your guitarist holding his head in his hands many an act would have thrown in the towel. Not so for So Long Until The Séance (SLUTS). They took it in their stride (including the bass line of Grease's Summer Loving to alleviate the silence).

The schlock horror metal, including dark pop, had a real edge of humour. Great tunes with a nod and a wink to the crowd about the absurdist nature of the lyrical content. Sure, some may compare them a little to the Murderdolls but there is something uniquely Northern Irish about their take on the murderous laughter within.

With energy in abundance Lock Horns brought complex rhythms, full on wall of sound and windmill headbanging that had their set list levitating.

There is a primal sense of metal within their progressive bent, with an awesome sense of power pounding throughout their set. That said they are not afraid to add in some softer vocal moments as part of their musical tapestry. Within the overall heft there are some deft touches.

The emergence of Shrouded over the last 18 months has been phenomenal in terms of stage craft and musical dexterity. Melodic death metal is not the easiest genre for anyone to pull off with the intertwined lead lines from Dani and Shane as Jordy and Scott lay down an aural volcano of rhythm.

While many struggle to lay down their deathly mark on this genre across Europe and beyond this iteration of Shrouded have moved from bantam weight contenders to heavyweight bruisers vying for the belt.

With the five acts giving their all James Loveday was tasked with the enviable task of totting up the votes on his trusty abacus...many an accountant would have struggled with the complexity of the scoring system that applies to Metal2TheMasses.

As the weary crowd wandered home along Fountain Street the final calculation was complete. And, the three making their way to the final now have to muster up their best in front of Bloodstock's Simon Hall in four weeks time.

Proceeding to the final are:
SLUTS, Lock Horns and Shrouded

Review by Jonathan Traynor

Pictures by Darren McVeigh

LIVE REVIEW: Heat One of Metal2TheMasses kicks off the battle for a Bloodstock slot

YOU know when Metal2TheMasses is underway when 'real' adults appear in Limelight2. Not, that everyone who normally attends isn't above the statutory admittance age - it's just that these are responsible adults. Also known as parents of band members.

Seeing these responsible adults gives one a sense of assurance that their offspring's efforts to learn a new guitar line, drum fill of bass run, not to mention shipping them to rehearsals has been worth the effort to see their sprogs enter into the fray for a cherished spot at Bloodstock.

By Darren McVeigh

In an evening of varied styles all four bands in this first heat played half hour sets that were entertaining and engaging in front of a relatively healthy turn-out.

With the bands chosen order as usual not pre-determined it was up to Erosion that were up first. These experienced musicians delivered their usual well performed selection of tracks, with Martin particularly impressive. However, at times Mark's vocals were a bit strained.

The excellence of their alt take on metal was, however, on the evening, a little bit at odds with some of the arrangement of the set, and announcing a track as 'hardcore' was perhaps a mistake. That said their use of intro samples and the overall aural wall bodes well.

By Darren McVeigh

Travelling up from Co. Armagh Periapt struggled with tuning during the set, but once they got going their brand of groove with tech touches worked well. Relatively static on stage was understandable given the enormity of the prize at stake.

Which, of course is a slot on the Bloodstock line-up with all that entails - to be on a line-up with Megadeth, Amon Amarth, Blind Guardian, Hatebreed, Testament, Decapitated etc. Given Periapt's hard rock groove they may need to toughen up their sound a little to fight for a slot in the future. That said there is obvious potential.

Beyond the Beneath were playing their first show and their first time they'd lined up as a three-piece. From the off the passion and the ability was clear, as was their use of the stage to its full extent.

By Lizzie Torbitt

The punk edged metal was mixed with groove and a grasp of tight musical arrangements. Colum's lead runs were tight and not overblown, while Davy's bass work and vocals were only matched by the silly in between tracks banter. There are still a few rough edges to be knocked off, but given this was their début that was a minor issue.

Rosco's Riot came on with a wall-of noise, intense and over-flowing with groove. Tim towered over the audience; full-on playing. At times the sound was cluttered, drowning out Tim's vocals, but the riffing was only matched by a peerless union of James and Craig's tightly woven rhythms.

It was clear that Rosco's Riot had brought the most support, guaranteeing they would get a substantial vote from the audience. However, you cannot gather that level of support without a good set and a substantial set of songs.

By Lizzie Torbitt

As always with Metal2TheMassses voting weight was 50% from the audience and 50% from the collective judging panel.

Qualifying for the semi-finals are: Rosco's Riot and Beyond The Beneath.

Review by Jonathan Traynor
Pictures by Darren McVeigh and Lizzie Torbitt (as marked)

LIVE REVIEW: Last In Line rousing rembrance and look to the future with Toseland...plus three others

WHEN there are two shows across two venues at closely similar times it is inevitable that one will suffer in terms of attendance, but that doesn't mean that any performance suffered.

To put this in in some sort of context in Belfast't Limelight2 The Distortion Project presented the Cross Eyed Mary EP launch with Safire and Rosco's Riot in support. A couple of yards away in Limelight1 Last In Line were concluding their autumn tour with Toseland backing them.

The Limelight2 gig first act were on at 6:30, with doors in Limelight1 opening at 7pm, and Toseland on shortly afterwards.

Trying to catch all the songs from all the acts was therefore impossible (apart from Last In Line, of course) but getting a flavour of the performances, a sense of the reception they would receive was important.

With Katy's buzzing and the queue forming at Limelight1 Rosco's Riot took to the stage to a sparsely populated venue. However, that didn't slow them down as they eeked out a muscular 30 minute set, filled with groove and taut rhythms.

As Safire took to the stage Toseland were making their return to a Northern Ireland stage to a deservedly warm welcome.

Their brand of radio-friendly hard rock has a ready audience from the off as they took to the stage with 'Living in the Moment'. Being paired with the classic metal of Last In Line may have seemed strange to the average under 40 gig goer of 2016. However, when Dio was playing Antrim Forum and Metallica played there and Belfast, it was virtually the same audiences that went to those gigs and the likes of Def Leppard. Genre boundaries? There shouldn't be any as long as the music is good.

Harkening back to the 80s in Limelight2 Safire provide a modern take on that era with poise and passion. Led by Saffron's strong vocal delivery, as per their previous show the week before opening for Raveneye the band have the songs and style to enable them to go much further. Catching half the set was enough to confirm they will continue to rise.

With Last In Line about to come on stage there was a chance to catch a few tunes from Cross Eyed Mary as they officially launched their EP 'Nil By Mouth'.

Although many of the tracks had been heard at the band's recent appearance at Hard Rock Hell X but what is impressive now is that 'Mary have most recently been able to balance their three guitar attack through solid arrangements and delivery.

The previous appearance of Last In Line in Belfast was very much as a band celebrating the first three Dio albums. Even then the sense was that this wasn't just some re-tread of classic songs to get a crowd singing.

Since then a lot has changed. When they sat down to record the album 'Heavy Crown' in 2015 Jimmy Bain was very much at the heart of the songwriting. With Bain's passing in January there may have been a question mark over LiL's future, but the band were determined to press on to honour the bassist's legacy.

Re-grouped and with other touring commitments out of the way Last In Line have been on the road for several weeks, and as well as playing like consummate professionals have made sure Bain's music still is aired for live audiences.

It was fitting that the third song of Saturday's set was 'Devil In Me' from 'Heavy Crown'. Sure 'Stand Up And Shout' and Straight Through The Heart' had the crowd well warmed up, but there was a sincerity about this track that rang true.

Bringing in Phil Soussan on bass duties is a more than qualified replacement with his experience and prowess, and after the run of shows he fits in well as does Erik Norlander on keys.

But the star in Belfast is the homecoming man, Vivian Campbell. To say he is idolised by the majority there is an under-statement. True Andrew Freeman is at the front, leading with an impressive set of pipes, but it is Campbell that draws the most cheers - closely followed by Vinny Appice.

The show was a rampage through songs that drew all back into their formative years, or for those two young calling forth a time they wished to have been born in time for.

'Don't Talk To Strangers', Holy Diver, 'Last In Line', 'Rainbow In The Dark' - all so familiar the audience could have carried the band along...and they did. A welcome and adulation.

'Starmaker' 'Revolution' and, of course, 'We Rock' closed the evening all too early.

Last In Line have continued the legacy of those first three Dio albums, but it is not a tribute show, nor is it just some side project on down time between other bands. This is a band with heritage and a future.

We can just think of the past, but we can't live in the past - nor should we. Campbell and co show that just because they wrote and played on some of the most iconic tracks in metal history and now look set to continue as if the intervening years were but a blink.

Rush back please.

Review by Jonathan Traynor
Photos courtesy of Darren McVeigh, MetalplanetBelfast

LIVE REVIEW: Steel, style and substance as Irontown Diehards, Rosco's Riot and Thieves of Ennui storm the Limelight

MANY times bands have style and no substance. Other bands have substance and no style. But when you combine stagecraft, style and real substance then you get a performance worthy of note, a performance that captures the soul and essence of rock 'n' roll.

Such was the show put on by Irontown Diehards on Saturday last (10th September) in the Limelight2, Belfast.

Taking place in the traditional Distortion Project early evening slot, Irontown were backed by two 'upcoming' acts, Thieves of Ennui and Rosco's Riot.

With many of the audience arriving later the opening slot was a challenge for Thieves Of Ennui, who were down a player on the night.

They put a lot of energy into their allocated time and have many a nice arrangement to their tracks. However, the edge of alt rock and time signatures that recall mid-period Biffy Clyro suggest that Thieves of Ennui need to reach out for a more distinctive sound.

They have potential, but need to focus more on their direction - are they hard rockers or somewhere in the alt/indie range.

Bringing more heft to the party Rosco's Riot have a large sound and a large set of songs. This sits on the heavier end of hard rock.

Despite illness in the ranks the Riot bashed out a muscular range of tracks. And, it takes a large set to tackle the Prince track 'Kiss' and pull it off.

Sharp suited, stylish and resembling steampunk looking rockers out of an alternate universe Irontown Diehards have been polishing their live sets to such an extent that the songs, the moves and the stagecraft roll on to the stage like a well-oiled gear clicking into place.

And, from opener 'My Pain' until they left the stage 45 minutes later this was a consummately professional performance without ever losing the emotion of rock.

Phil towers over the audience, but still connects through banter as well as vocal dynamics and what are now becoming trademark moves and gestures.

The whole band stay in character throughout the set - something that some acts forget. The best bands stay 'in character' as soon as they hit the boards.

Andrew guitar gymnastics beguile and provide subtle intonations amidst the flurry of finger fury, especially on the likes of 'Sick' and 'Step Inside'.

Powered by Mark (bass) and Gordy (drums) rhythm rollercoaster Irontown Diehards have a potent presence. Sure, some may see the suits and hats as something of an affectation, but that is to miss the point.

The 'image' aligns with the music, the music aligns with the image. This is style with substance, this is stylish substance. This is rock 'n' roll.

Review by Jonny
Pictures by Jonny and Lizzie

Reproduction by explicit written permission only

Picture by Lizzie Torbitt

Picture by Lizzie Torbitt

Picture by Lizzie Torbitt

Picture by Jonny

Picture by Lizzie Torbitt

Picture by Lizzie Torbitt