LIVE REVIEW: Metal2TheMasses heats plough on

BEAST from the East? Is that a Maiden tribute band? Or a phrase coined by a desperate circulation hunting media? Well, Belfast's pavements were slippery, but that didn't stop Heat Four of Metal2TheMasses proceeding.

Bands from throughout the frozen north made their way to Belfast to entertain the hardy metal fans not distracted by the many other events on across the city.

Opening proceedings were Rule of Six. It has been a rare night to see the Limelight2 stage so crowded as when guitarists are packed in front.

But, despite some vocal issues, their sci-fi orientated metal had more guitar melodies rolling off the stage than a fleet of Goa'uld cruisers (look it up).

Rather than an overwhelming wall of noise the balance of soloing and riffs was achieved and with visual dash from a lighted mic stand that alternated colours. Whatever next, lighting up singers teeth?

The Rusty Taste of Sweetness' heads down classic metal, hard rock take produced nods and cheers of approval from a group of friends and fans, which is key for bands wanting to boost the audience's 50% vote share.

Anna's vocal range and Lucas' guitar histrionics are the key factors in lifting Rusty Taste of Sweetness' sound, adding the needed dynamics to the set.

With more grooves than a vinyl box-set Skypilot set about the Limelight with intent. The three-piece vary from post-metal, post-rock, straight-up rock and metallic tinges. Indeed that is the strength of the band recorded or live. No clichés, just music that defies classification.

Dave's persuasive guitar lines works with a deep rhythm that insistent rock and groove.

Rounding up the evening's competition Periapt have a hard rock edge, tinged with a little grunge, but mostly concentrate on the more metal side of things on this occasion.

With some impressive sections of their songs the interaction between the guitarists works well to highlight that they can produce the arrangements to lift their songs.

After the impressive four sets were completed the results were that Rule of Six and Skypilot proceed to the semi-final of Metal2TheMasses.

Review by Jonathan Traynor
Pictures by Lizzie Torbitt

LIVE REVIEW: Snocence blast all into metal oblivion as they lauch No Gods, No Masters III

ON Saturday, November 11th the Limelight 2 Belfast was blasted into metal oblivion for the EP launch of one of Northern Ireland’s finest veterans, Sinocence.

‘No Gods No Masters’ Vol III has kept the guys from us for long enough as they have been buried neck deep in blood, sweat and tears at Einstein Studios with Frankie McClay cracking a metaphorical whip on their behinds, to produce the finally to what can only be described as the bands long awaited masterpiece.

The support on the night couldn’t have been more fitting as the guys all put on 100% entertaining sets. Support came from ‘Sky Pilot the-band’, ‘Oracle N.I’ and ‘Ketos’ who wasted no time kick starting the night as only ‘Ketos’ can.

Due to unforeseen circumstances we missed an apparently cracking performance, with very charismatic front man Pete Crenshaw warming up the local and loyal supporters. The hard to please tog for the evening, Liam could not have praised this outfit any higher

Pacing the stage like an angry bear and executing Satanic wildcat vocals to send shivers up and down your granny’s spine, Jason Kerr of ‘Oracle’ set about bringing a deathly darkness to the place with a band that dished out a full heavy sounding set, tapered with catchy riffs and extended screams upon a virgin witness to their brand of metal.

‘Burn The Nameless’ and ‘Hollow’ seemed to unearth a few happy head bangers as the limelight 2 started to fill up nicely. ‘Take My Blood’ was a bouncy crowd nodding metal groove with nice time changes encouraging a few more fans to lose their shyness and venture forward.

Taking a few seconds to thank DP and ‘Sinocence’, plug the promise of a new disc early next year and grab a breath or two, they went out on a glorious ‘No God Waits For You’. This is a band worth keeping an eye on; a very strong performance throughout the set made them hard to take your eyes and ears off, even when you might have been dying with thirst and wanted to head to the bar.

By now, the onlookers are well oiled and enthusiasm is building as the penultimate act takes their place. The honestly hypnotic three piece ‘Skypilot’ with astounding harmonised vocals are always a pleasure to go see. The ‘Sabbath’, ‘C.O.C’ grooveinesss is a warm welcome amidst a night of high energy, searing vocals and metal blast beats! They comfortably take the stage like they were born there and deliver a beautifully constructed set consisting of ‘John IV’, ‘SuperDuperNaut’ and ‘Bender’. 

These guys are just one of those bands that fit comfortably into every conceivable scenario. The ease and pace of their delivery is always palatable and reassuring, with familiar riffs but composed in their own unique way. Judging by the reactions from the crowd they were well received and a very well thought of band with a tight set of carefully crafted songs, to set the mood for the kings of this night – ‘Sinocence’.

Four of the nicest guys to play this venue take the stage, feet planted firmly to the floor boards. Testosterone levels are at an all time high, so much so that it has seeped to those in the front row, and excitement, exhilaration, and a feeling of Goddammit lay the goods on us dudes has filled the room.
The intro plays out for ‘Sinocence’ to deliver the much anticipated third part of their ‘No Gods No Master Trilogy’.

And, so it wouldn’t be a Sins gig without ‘Long Way Down’ opening their set as the much loved anthem has the crowd joining in and singing the lyrics right back at them with full ferocity. Volume one and two get a run for their money with firm favourites enabling everyone to get into the swing of things with ‘In Kymatica’ Metalbox’ Perfect Denial’ and ‘Ascension Code’ starting and finishing their set. The hub of their deliverance however was No Gods No Masters Vol III played in full.

Ben beating the hell out of that drum kit at the beginning of ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ is a scary sight but a truly awesome sound! A battering ram of fast paced bass from drums and guitars topped by angry vocals from Moro grabbed everyone in front of them by the throat. This song is one heavy mofo, and looked exhausting to deliver live.

They follow up with more of the same only bloomin faster, in ‘Bilateral’, and glancing around the room it’s not hard to see the look of pure joy on the faces of the fans.

Sinocence have upped their personal ante all right, this is heavy fucking metal, with enough melodic touches just to keep your head from exploding. Pedal to the metal from all four guys was breathtaking.

‘Drop The Bomb’ was definite proof that Sinocence have kept to their formula and distinct sound accept that, and no=one knows how it was possible, they weighted this beauty down with even more catchy riffage and it is a mystery how the hell Moro’s throat wasn’t ripped out by now. Anto spills out spectacular solos almost as if he’s just sipping a beer - awesome. Hard not to love the chugging too; great song and crowd pleaser.

The shouty, violent ‘Mind Over Murder’ sees Ben like a madman on speed once again behind that drum kit, guitars and bass are taking one hell of a thumping too and sweat is flying off all four guys as well as the hair flailing fans -  hanging onto the stage for grim death to stay upright, yes, its that fast!

The closing song from the new EP, and a favourite amongst many a reviewer is ‘No Gods No Masters’, this went down in a storm of excited head banging, dancing and jumping from all of the front row, including yours truly! Wow what a way to finish the EP, this could easily be a rock radio hit - a metal radio hit.

However, the sound is more accessible to those who aren’t as deathly heavy as a few of us.

Wow what a night. Excellent job all round Sinocence! Loved the songs, loved the set, loved the atmosphere and we can’t wait to catch them live again soon.

Just on a note to finish, and it's just left it this late to mention it but there were a few low the bad parts more than the good parts. The night did have a few gremlins at large, and equipment wasn’t at its full 100% power, an amp decided to play up a little, but did it spoil anyone’s night? Did it hell!

The professionalism of all the bands that the technical hitches fell prey of, need commended as they just got on with the job of delivering a gig of jaw dropping proportions. Kudos to all!

Review By Brenda McTaggart
Pictures by Liam Kielt

LIVE REVIEW: Furious fivesome fundraiser mayehm delivers for Distortion Project

FOR the past 16 years The Distortion Project has brought stellar metal acts to Belfast and supported many, many local acts in getting on to the stage. Fans have flocked to the shows, but all that effort can be costly.

James Loveday last year took the enormous step of admitting that the money required was putting considerable strain on him. The metal community rallied round with donations and a fundraising gig.

One year later it was time to repeat the exercise to make sure James and The Distortion Project can still support local bands and bring acts like Sabaton and Steve Harris' British Lion to Belfast, as well as many more.

Bands gave of their time and kit, and punters came to Limelight2 on Saturday (17th September) to show their support - five acts and almost 100 supporters arrived to back the Project.

And, they bought raffle tickets too.

First up were Skypilot. With many people still enjoying the autumnal sunshine outside they were faced with a virtually empty venue. For any band it is hard to get into full gear in those circumstances, and it took a few songs before they hit top gear.

When they did their groove infused alt metal rolled and rocked with their usual intensity. Concentration etched across all the band's faces as they culminated their set in style.

Black metal band Neamhni returned to the stage with a re-invigorated line-up...and some dodgy corpse paint on some members.

However, there was nothing dodgy about the performance - full-on, fierce and fun. There were a few minor ragged places, but very few. On the whole it was an accomplished performance with much promise for the future.

The aural assault continued as Fuckhammer laid down their personal treatise and reflection on the ills of a society gone badly wrong. With an aggressiveness few can match their grind sludge edge hasn't been dulled over time. Stand-out tracks included 'Dead In The Gutter' and 'Abortion Addict'. Peerless at what they do.

Shrouded have been bubbling under for a short time, but the past few shows have seen them evolve their sound. Dani and Shane are locked in on their guitars and Jordy's bass playing acts as a counterfoil to them and remains tight to Scott's drumming.

What they do is clear, no nonsense melodic death metal and they are managing to put their own identity on what can be a tired genre. They are a band that are worth watching every time.

Completing the evening's merriment Bad Boat battered the remnants of the evening. The heaviness in the band has always been clear, but now the Boat is even more shipshape than ever.

It is with a certain sense of glee that Tom threatened us with a new release in the future, but at the present Bad Boat are a huge proposition to face live.

What is sure is that the band sound and look confident, with a groove combining with heft in their delivery. They are tight without ever sounding over-rehearsed.

But, we have to leave the last word on the fundraiser to Mr Loveday.

"Huge thanks to everyone who turned out, and to everyone who bought raffle tickets," he posted the day after. "I was genuinely moved to see such a great turn-out and I'm incredibly grateful for all your support.

"Thanks and special praise to all the bands who performed so excellently and who performed so excellently and who donated their time, gear and fantastic performances - absolute legends to a man!"

Review by Jonny
Pictures by Darren McVeigh

LIVE REVIEW: The curious incident of the Vegan Festival and its reprise...

SOME weeks back at a Vegan Festival in Belfast's Ulster Hall four rock bands were scheduled to play on stage - but given that loud rock, punk and metal is, loud the vegans didn't take too kindly to the volume emanating from the stage.

Thus, Eighty Four were asked to leave the stage, and Tusks, Skypilot and Zlatanera were not allowed to entertain the gathered vegetarians, vegans and samplers of craft beers. Their loss...

But all bands need gigs. And, Belfast's own white metal knight, James Loveday, rode to the rescue and booked the bands for Saturday 28th May, in a Distortion Project show.

Unfortunately Tusks weren't able to make the show, so Baleful Creed stepped into fill the gap.

Openers on Saturday, Eighty Four, provide a fresh set of metal-edged punk. There is a verve and energy about their performance.

To a large extent Eighty Four recall the halcyon days of Northern Ireland punk in the late 70s and early 80s, but without re-treading the same licks. They are taking an enforced break until later this year, but it will be worth the wait to hear them again.

Baleful Creed produce the type of groove and stoner licks, infused with NOLA vibe that make them amongst the top proponents on the island.

There is a real sense of purpose as they deliver familiar tracks and some new tracks. Even with Fin wearing a self-declaring 'brilliance' t-shirt, it was hard to fault their set.

Skypilot also bring a groove and deep rhythmic metal that engages through its insistent rolling and rumble.

There is no doubt that the recent resurgence in Skypilot is as a result of taking recent shows as an opportunity to improve each time they hit the boards, and they are constantly improving.

In terms of live shows Zlatanera also are keeping on getting better. With their début album,

'Legerdemain' under their belts the band are one of the best of the current crop of NI acts.

Their performance carries menace and wit, musically delivering Sabbathy licks and a contemporary take on groove metal.

The entire band gels on stage, a single unit that are already planning their next step, delivering to The Distortion Project audience a new song.

The Satan schtick still works, and the wit lyrically shines through in the music and words. Zlatanera deserve a much wider audience - hopefully they will get that soon.

Review by Jonny - pictures by Darren McVeigh - Reproduction by written permission only