Nearly forgot to mention Warrior Soul, Rob Zombie and SLF gigs!

DAMN this sobriety! Now that I have been temporarily cured of it I remember that I should have mentioned the following:
Stiff Little Fingers - Ulster Hall March 12th
Warrior Soul - Diamond Rock Club March 29th
Rob Zombie - Ulster Hall June 29th.

2011 - the year when the debit and credit cards get burned badly; beer tokens get stacked way too low and merch costs rocket. Maiden, Rush, Journey etc all gonna be costly not to mention the above!

Not directly metal, but it is a rant

HAD a wee rant back in October about work related stuff on a blog I rarely use, but one or two people (who mustn't have much better to do!) said I should post it here as it mentions Maiden, Sweet Savage, and DC and 'Tallica.

Read it here - if you really have nothing better to do :)

Perception isn't everything - Blaze into 2011 for Blaze

WHEN it comes to what we see and what we take as read, then all too often we screw it up. Looking back on December 2010 all we'll remember is the week of snow and frosts. So much airtime was taken up talking about record low temperatures in Ballygobackward that we'll not remember that the last week of the year had temperatures well above the seasonal average.

Perception versus reality?

While there way too many afflicted with no water and no heating, the blame game goes on. No-one seems to notice that under-investment for years has meant that our water systems are not capable - nor where they designed to - of coping with excessive rain, nor massive drainage of meltwater. Still it is easier to play the blame game when it's not your house flooded.

Perception versus reality?

That loathsome, contrived, faked and fucked up show called the X-Factor - and the show that claims Britain has Talent, then decides not to seek out any genuine talent - had more people read about it in red-top tabloids and shouty girly mags than actually watched the waste of televisual space

Perception versus reality?

Another confusion comes when it comes to the perception of fans of hard rock and heavy metal. According to any wank stain sneary, shoe gazing waste of oxygen, NME reading, music fashionista it's all a cliché and the fans are 'just so not us' except when they fawn over a DC gig and get all retro with Ozzy. According to the popular press it's all self-obsessed preening and silly air guitaring. Guess what...no; and you all know this already, we're just like the rest of humanity. We're a fucked up, screwed up, messed up collection of contradictions - but we're also willing to step up to the mark when needed, when required and when we can.

Perception can go fuck itself.

Some years ago I played a small part in a couple of charity gigs (hello to Laura who did most of the work, and whose idea it really was!) which saw metal and rock bands turn up, play, get drunk and fans turn up, get drunk etc. But it raised money for good causes as well as being a damn fine way to spend a Sunday.

Come Friday, 7th January metal will once again step up to the mark with Blazefest.

Sinocence, Sweet Savage, Honey for Christ, Nine Lies, devilmakesthree, and others will play the Spring and Airbrake in aid of Blaze's Appeal. Just visit the site to see why this is not only a good cause, but a damn good reason to get involved. Even if you can't go you can make a donation.

You see, like the rest of humanity we who come in all shapes, sizes, temperaments, lengths of hair, backgrounds, classes and general strangeness can make an effort, no matter how small, to make a difference. In the war against, as Billy Connolly put it, the beige, we as a community of rock and metal fans know that while we are inclined to, as Trucker Diablo point out, Drink Beer, Destroy, we are also inclined to reach out a hand and help others.

Details of the gig can be found here

If you can't be there, make a donation, make a difference, and rock harder than ever!

Dear blog...

Dear blog, my apologies. I've been neglecting you. Distracted by the bright shiny instant world of Twitter and Bakebook I've stayed away from your considerable delights and my immeasurable ability to rant and rave at the slightest provocation.

But my pledge to you is this: whenever I am under the affluence of incohol or just plain bored I shall make 2011 a vintage year for posts, reviews and maddening waffle. After all, it is already shaping up to be a vintage year of hard rock and heavy metal gigs, albums and general waving your arms in the air...

Usually I would, dear blog, offer up to you and your readers a summary of the year just past, pointing out the highlights, and suggesting the albums of the year. Simply put...I couldn't be arsed. Sorry about that dear blog. Suffice to say that Metallica, well they kicked all sorts of ass...

But, dear blog, I confess that I have been exhibiting a form of schizophrena with my purchases in what is laughingly called 'The Sales'. It is the one time of the year when I step into an emporium of musical type sales with no plan as to what to buy.

Thus, dear blog I emerged with an eclectic collection of CDs:

• Cradle of Filth - Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa
• David Bowie - 2 disc Best of...
• Rammstein - Liebe Ist Fur All Da
• Saxon - 3 disc The Very Best of 1979-1988
• Neil Young - Greatest Hits
• Soundgarden - Telephantasm
• Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare.

Dear blog, you may be distressed at the condition that produced such a weird collection of music, but fear not I have resolved to return to my normal ways of (a) not music shopping when sober and (b) re-order my iPod settings once I copy these all on to ye olde PC.

So dear blog, thanks for listening, and I now have to copy these seven CDs on to the PC, spend an enjoyable time reading liner notes and lyrics as I listen along...oh and I might just check what's on Twitter and Facebook; sorry bout that!

Yours sincerely

Me

Big four Sonisphere confirmed

SO we now have it confirmed that the BIG FOUR are to play Sonisphere - and yes that capitalisation is well deserved. Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth changed the face of metal - and for younger readers who have a pop at the odd member of the BIG FOUR you really have no idea at the impact this group of musicians had on heavier music.

So July 8th - the BIG FOUR, July 9th to be headlined by Biffy Clyro (shut up! I quite like the Biffy!) and July 10th it will be Slipknot.

Metallica / Slayer / Megadeth / Anthrax - The Big 4: Live From Sofia Bulgaria (2DV)

Now before I get the complete and total head staggers two requests - if there is to be a Belfast date for any of the above-mentioned can some promoter please confirm as soon as possible. Second request - Dear Satan's Claws: it is close to Chrimbo so tickets for Sonisphere with flights and accommodation better be in my Christmas stocking or...we're setting Sid on ye!

Bah Humbug this Xm@$

By my twisted nature I like Christmas - all that paganism, importedGermanic traditions, and echoes of both Ancient Celtic and Roman traditions it is one long celebration of Bacchanalian practices.

But, there also comes along that annoying over-hyped "race for Christmas Number 1". Last year the corporate numpties got a good kick in the mince pies when Rage Against the Machine topped the pop-pickers chart.

This year the "Keep the X-Factor" off number one slot has grown to see numerous contenders (I did enjoy one suggestion of a campaign to get Cannibal Corpse to Number one, but that has falled by the wayside!) vie to keep Cowell and co off the top.

With so many contestants in the fray is there a chance to geta decent hard rock song to knock Cowell into a cocked hat? Not bloody likely is the correct answer. Still failing to get a hard rock mainstay get a carousing , rip roaring rock song in its place.

Corey Taylor is releasing Xm@$ on December 12th. He is, of course singer with Slipknot and Stone Sour for those of you who have missed the last decade. He is also a man who admits to like Christmas, but bemoans the curmudgeons and grumpy gits who pop up every Christmas, so penned this ditty for them.

Normally when we review stuff, mention songs etc we rarely commend you, humble reader to make a purchase, for as a free-thinking individual with varying tastes who are we to say where you should spend your hard earned/ill-begotten (delete as applicable) cash. In this case we are commending you to purchase in the digital store of your choice Xm@$ for a number of reasons:

• It's a genuinely witty song
• The proceeds go to a good cause (Teenage Cancer Charity)
• As you attend your office party you can sing the chorus as if it really is a Christmas song
• It might, just might, get to Number One, or at least high up in ye olde charts
• The last words are: 'Hi Simon!'

and finally

• The radio chiefs will be in despair with the number of 'bleeps' they'll need to edit out if it was ever to be broadcast!

Volbeat gig cancelled :(

Unfortunately this Friday's Volbeat show has been cancelled. Refunds are available from point of purchase.



Here's the official statement from the band:
"After a strenuous sold-out tour across main land Europe and Scandinavia, Volbeat are forced to cancel their first week of UK shows. The band did personally not want to cancel this tour but unfortunately Michael Poulsen was ordered by doctors not to fly or travel until his medical condition is stabilized to doctors’ satisfaction.

"At this moment Michael Poulsen is currently under doctor’s supervision and a full recovery is expected within time to be able to pursue engagements from mid next week.
Beyond Hell / Above Heaven

True cause of recession revealed - hard rock and heavy metal

ECONOMISTS have been agonising over the slump in retail spending, despairing as to why shop receipts have been tumbling, and rending their hair working out where all the money in the economy has gone.

 

Traditional economic theories have been junked, the bank bail-out didn't really cost that much and we can't blame the Tories for everything (just almost everything).

 

Thankfully the ghosts or Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith have arisen from the crypts, rattling the abacus of doom and the spreadsheets of satan, with the answer.

 

It's all the fault of hard rock and heavy metal.

 

The micro-economy that constitutes rock and metal is sucking vast amounts of cash in, with then result that retail stores are no longer able to keep their doors open and distraught telesales have threatened to strangle themselves with their headsets.

 

Some examples of this economic malaise have surfaced this week. Tickets go on sale for Iron Maiden at the Odyssey in mere hours, then there's Journey, Foreigner (Odyssey, June 12th) and Rush (O2, Dublin May 12th) and the plethora of gigs from The Distortion Project, the Diamond Rock Club and too many others to mention.

 

Credit card transactions have ceased to be the preserve of panicky parents of toddlers and pre-teens; now the credit and debit cards sit poised by the keyboard or the phone awaiting the next gig announcement.

 

Of course, if it were just the tickets the effect on the economy would be vast, but not crippling. But, then there is the monetary substitute sometimes referred to as beer tokens that is sucking cold hard cash out of the system. And this is not to mention the curreconfused merchandise exchange rate causing havoc on the bond and future markets!

To ease fears of meltdown for the global economy there is only on solution: a delegation led by Lemmy, Helfield, Harris and Iommi should be received by the International Monetary Fund, and the European Bank.

Their proposal will be simple: 10% of ticket sales in Ireland (north and south) for the next two years will be used to bail out the global economy. That will have the effect of wiping out the UK, Irish, Spanish and Greek debts. The delegation will have only two pre-conditions. These are: disembowel "that c**t Cowell" (Copyright Jake Burns, SLF) and shoot on sight all Strictly C**ts Dancing.

There - with the global economic crisis solved I can now move into complete panic mode: how in the name of all that is diabolically satanically majestic is an hard working fan of Lucifer's own soundtrack going to afford all these glorious concerts both in terms of money and time?

One could sell a (moderately abused) kidney, but eBay have cracked down on that sort of thing...
Or
Sell sperm to needy women wanting children (should have thought of that before the vasectomy!)
Or
Sell my body (would have to be for medical science as no self-respecting homo sapiens would want it for anything else)
Or
...ahh feck it, there's no hope! Will just have to hope that Lord Hetfield and Lemmy have remembered to rig the Lotto for me tomorrow night!

So: even though I've not been keeping up here's as many upcoming gigs that my beer saddled brain cares to recall at this time of the night:

• Diamond Head
• Exodus
• Decapitated
• Toby Jepson
• WASP
• Airbourne
• Entombed
• Nile
• Dan Reed
• Gun
• Accept
• Rush
• Journey/Foreigner
• Iron Maiden

Ahh feck it - there's no way to keep up! Will have to sober up and sit down and list all the forthcoming gigs from national and international acts, not to mention the hundreds of fantastic local gigging and recording bands!

this one's for Baal

 Have to mention this gig announcement for Mark - Rush playing O2 in Dublin on May 12th next year: tickets on sale 26th November
Rush - Beyond the Lighted Stage [2 DVD]

Accept the past

TEUTONIC metal stars of the eighties, Accept, are preparing  for a Belfast date at the Spring and Airbrake on the 20th March hosted by the Distortion Project. Balls the Wall people!
Blood of the Nations
And a reminder that Diamond Head are on tomorrow night and Exodus on Sunday.

Heavy or what!

More soon!

XL vibes? That’ll be Double-Wide

SOME of you who read this column on a regular basis may (or may not!) know that for six years I was a full-time journalist. Even when I sold out to the PR and Communications profession I still penned articles for many a publication.

In penning such articles, drafting text and submitting clean copy one always has to retain a certain professional detachment. One has to take a slightly jaundiced, cynical eye on what you are doing, what you are told, and exercise restraint before raising expectant fingers above the keyboard.

But this is my blog, this is about hard rock and heavy metal. And if I like something, I’m gonna damn well say so, with a hell yeah and horns thrust aloft in between keystrokes.

Thus when Double-Wide’s CD 18 Wheels of Misery landed on the doormat, it was slammed into an unsuspecting car CD player and later copied on to ye olde iTunes for future listening while walking the dog...

There are those that say it takes little to impress me, but they do not know the discarded CDs sent to me for review now decaying in a bottom drawer, the hyperlinks to hopeful contenders that have accorded nary an aural glance and been subjected to that button marked delete on the keyboard.

And, truth be told I do have varied tastes, from the nastiest thrash through to the groove of classic rock.

Double-Wide have established themselves as an act deserving of a place on my iTunes rotations; having already accorded themselves mucho plays on Rock Radio NI.

Not that Double-Wide are easy to classify... They proudly declare their influences: a heady mix of Southern rock with Pantera, Down and even Black Stone Cherry all balled up to create a unique sound.

Check out Dead River and the Devil’s Ride to hear what rock from our wee island can do to the Black Stone Cherry dry county stylings.

And listen to Hell’s Redemption...it emerges from the speakers like the sludge from a Louisiana swamp, slow swagger that snarls dreadfully like Phil Anselmo in a bad mood.

Double-Wide are not just another derivative wannabe acts. Yes the production and mix on this does not always convey the power of the tunes, and the vocal lines are sometimes overtaken by the geetar, but such a slickly dirty geetar tone reeks of commitment to bourbon, beer and bar-wrecking good times.

The subject matter lyrically has that balance between darkness and that nod to the listener that while all is not well we’re gonna have a swell time riding a big truck all the way down to hell.

Title track 18 Wheels of Misery rides that dark highway where blues legends draw their scales from Satan’s fingers at deserted crossroads.

That they have named themselves after a Corrosion of Conformity track tells you a lot about the band.

There is a mysterious area of music where the blues, rock and metal somewhere melded to form a genre that isn’t that easy to define, but is always pleasurable to play and listen to.

A little work on arrangements and slight improvement on production and mixing and Double-Wide could stand shoulder to shoulder with many of the best recent contenders from Norn Iron.

In the meantime I’m thumbing a lift on the Devil’s Ride of 18 Wheels of Misery, hooked up to a Twin Demon powering 18 Wheels of Misery...hell that’s a torturous way to say that I pretty well like the XL sounds of Double-Wide!

Goodbye to Deft....be there!

REGULAR readers will know that I have a cerain disdain for those with narrow definitions of hard rock and metal. Regular readers will know that I have a soft spot for Def Leppard.

It is because they were among the bands that defined what Ulster Hall gig shold be about.

In recent years I have become alienated from recent Lepps product.  But the glory years have been rekindled by what in humble opinion is the best Def Leppard tribute act in Europe, if not the world.

Ash, Mike et al make up Deft Leppard.

For many a drunken night they have rocked venues across the land - and as far as I know I am to date their only stage-diver (yes, I have no shame!).

But now Deft Leppard have decided to call it a day.

This bunch of slightly reprobate and wonderful guys are stepping back. And where will be the last ever Deft gig? Well in Belfast, of course!

January 8th, at The Empire.

I'll be there, and if you too can make it, say hello to me Baal and Sylvia...we'll be down the front!

A muse not a rant for a change

THERE are times when one stops and contemplates one's own mortality. For many of us (Hello Sid and Paddy!) it is in the darkened hour of bright sunlight when the libations of the previous evening(s) cast a vicious potency of hangover revenge upon fragile metabolisms.

But of recent weeks the thought of mortality has been nagging at me: the loss of people that I either knew, knew "off and on" or knew by reputation.

Too often this celebrity obsessed world with its potions, lotions and fake - sorry alternative - medicince and ambition to reach the Andy Warhol defintion of fame there is narry a care for consequence or dignity.

Too often we see the platitudes proferred by a media that has more people reading about X-Factor or some other reality shit that actually watches the crap.

Too often we see news dominated by what passes for entertainment.

That is why when one experiences loss - either of those close at hand or of those who you admired at a distance - it is sometimes difficult to quantify that loss on your own personal emotional radar.

Today I learned that someone who I both admired as a professional and a person had passed away. This came too hot on the heels of the loss of Sweet Savage's Trev and that came a few weeks after the mighty Dio left us.

Thus, I ponder my own mortality. And that is just a shit way of thinking. And drinking cheap lager and Jager ain't in psychology 101 classes as fit and proper ways to handle this type of stuff.

But a moment's contemplation is fit and proper.

For me that is looking to where one seeks solace.

Solace can be found in the music we all love; the sheer unadulterated pleasure of hard rock, no matter how dumbass it can be. Or in the complex world of heavy metal that now has almost as many genres as it has bands.

For when one stops picking fluff off one's belly button (navel gazing that is!) it is through friends and music that most readers of this blog can truly rely on.

Whether it is raising a glass to one who has died, with BLS melancholy to the max in the background, or having the amps cranked to 11 with pure furious metal, it is the right and proper way to say goodbye.

Viking funerals are now generally frowned upon, and you can't get hold of a longboat for love, money or mead once you admit it is to be either burned or buried (think Sutton Hoo).

Persian Pillars of Death are a wee bit awkward as the average rambler around the Mournes tend to call the police when they discover a body, even if it is placed there ceremoniously.

But, amidst all this there is the reality. What those have passed away leave us is a legacy . That legacy may be of friendship; that legacy may be he music; that legacy may be just a Tweet or status update; and that legacy may be that sheer undefinable presence some people have.

Such contemplation is morose - but as fans of some of the darker expressions of musical and lyrical emotion this type of contemplation always lurks close to the surface.

Somehow hard rock and metal performs a cathartic role for us fans. Sometimes the sheer fact that that there are bands (local, national and international) who capture the mood that we know was never for us, means we find succour from them.

Writing this has been my own personal catharsis, aided and abetted by cheap beer and the rapidly dwindling bottle of Jager.

I understood the concept of death at a realitively young age through the reality of the Troubles and several family deaths; but the night that it hit home really hard empathatically was when driving down Dunbar Link, with the then girlfriend. The news came on Radio One that Phil Lynott has passed away. They played Phil's tribute to Elvis, that he penned when Presley died (and if you are a Lizzy fan you shouldn't need me to ID that one!).

The then girl was annoyed, to say the least, when a planned drive was abandoned.

But it highlighted to me that there are some people who 'get it' and some people who 'get shit' instead.

So tonight I say raise a glass to absent friends, those we knew closely, those who passed away years ago but live on in  memories, those that we wish we had had the time to say a wee word to....

And, remember before it all gets a wee bit heavy: you've got the music, and in the words of the mighty Zakk, "No-one gets out alive". We just need to rock out in the meantime.


If any of the issues I have written about here has affected you or you suspect a friend is 'down' then just ask for help, or just talk. A single word to a friend can be enough to make them think again.

Live, long, prosper and rock on!

Sad, sad examples of what passes for entertainment

OKAY - I've just about had enough I can take. I don't watch X-Factor, or any of the other so-called reality shows masquerading as entertainment. But on Facebook and Twitter tonight I have seen normally sane and sensible people getting their lattes all frothed up about manufactured rubbish. Even broadacasters I respect like the BBC's William Crawley have been getting involved in posts about spurious, talentless, so-called 'acts'.

Can they just step back for a minute and look at the things they are getting all so engrossed in?

No, I doubt it: such is the allure of the filthy luchre that Cowell and co peddle with a slick production and a stylist there are few of the hypnotised massed ranks of deluded who will lift their eyes beyond the over-produced set [as I mentioned I haven't watched the rubbish, but I've seen the so-called 'news' reports on it and the tabloid hype].

Which, of course, led me to a moment of reflection - or beer fuelled ranting!

"Back when I were a lad" the promotion of popular music lay within the gift of Top Of The Pops, and latterly the likes of The Tube.

You could expect pop songs sitting next to Motorohead and Marillion, Judas Priest juxtaposed with jumping dance troops; or even Iron Maiden matched on TV next to New Romantic frilly shirts.

I mention Judas Priest deliberately. This blog kicked off in 2006 when I met, after way too long, my friend Mark and his wife Sylvia when Judas Priest played at the Odyssey with Scorpions. I was, at the time, busy trying to explain by way of gigs and playing rock and metal CDs endlessly in the car to both my children that they could think independently about music (as long as it had guitars and drums!). Meeting Mark and Sylvia re-kindled days arguing over whether Ozzy or Ronnie was the best Sabbath singer, necking beers against a backdrop of Lizzy and Slyvia's devotion to John Sykes.

The relevance to today is that then there was a reasonably fair spread of musical genres across mainstream media. We could devote our time to rock and metal with TV playing metal acts as equals to the likes of Duran Duran.

The mainstream media has now become a cold house to hard rock and metal. Bands now rely on merch sales and touring to recoup the costs of albums; even the mighty Iron Maiden admitted in an interview with Classic Rock that they would need 1,000,000 sales of Final Frontier to break even (and thankfully Bruce and Harry Harris accountants can rest easy as it looks that total will easily be reached!)

But, here is what the mainstream media misses: there is much more longevity and sheer songwriting talent in hard rock and metal than will evet be noticed by the likes of X-Factor wannabes. Northern Ireland has a small population, yet has had a disproportionate amount of horns worthy acts and individuals happily corrupting the young and old.

The Answer have played to more people than watch X-Factor - several times over. Therapy? have sold more albums than any of the Cowell creations. SLF have retained integrity when they could have easily become a tribute act to past glories. Acts such as Million$Reload are scoring record deals, and that is not to even mention the likes of Trucker Diablo, A Little Bitter, Escape Fails, Last Known Addiction, Black Freeway, Interrogate and the many, many more that lay down the licks night after night.

But what of the future. Will we ever see The Answer on an X-Factor like show? Can you imagine a stylist trying to get to grips with Cormac's flowing locks? They'd need a team to hold him down and another team to see where the hell to start. The future, I fear, is to see more and more of the TV for the gullible and the gormless.

Will, we ever see proper live acts - you know with an actual drum kit, guitar and bass amps and people who know how to play them on the main TV stations again? [I am reliably informed by someone close to the production crew on X-Factor et al that they don't have bands as it takes too long to set up their 'shit' and they refuse to have their music altered/dubbed/mimed.]

So where is all this waffle going?

Apart from being a rant (it's my fecking blog I can rant about what I want!) it is also a call to the acts in Northern Ireland to keep on doing what you do, keep on playing and keep on just being some of the best artists this forsaken planet has ever seen. Keep on being musicians not numpties. Keep on recording music that is exciting and engaging. Keep on playing the Limelight, the Pavillion, the Diamon Rock Club, and anywhere where you can get three or more together to rock their tiny socks off!.

 Keep on playing gigs, and cranking it up to 11 and raising a glass to rock and feckin' roll.

To quote Trucker Diablo...DRINK BEER, DESTROY!

This rant is now officially over :)

Wizzard tribute to Ronnie

White Wizzard, who are playing in Auntie Annies on November 6th,  are currently streaming new single 'Shooting Star' here.
A tribute to the late and great, Ronnie James Dio, it's the first song to feature the Los Angeles band's new line-up. This comes out as a single through iTunes on October 18, together with a cover of Dio's 'We Rock'. All proceeds form this will go the Children Of The Night charity, founded by Ronnie Dio. Limited edition vinyl version will be available on the night.

Gotthard vocalist motorcycle accident

Seems too much news is bad news of late. Gotthard vocalist Steve Lee has been killed in a motorcycle accident in California. (Source http://www.totalrock.com/)

Glyder split

TALENTED Irish band Glyder have split up. Bat Kinane has posted an explanation here.

Sad news

A NUMBER of reliable sources are reporting the sad news that Trevor Fleming, guitarist with Sweet Savage, has passed away.

At this time there is no formal confirmation, but if it is so then this will be sad loss to those nearest and dearest to Trev and the wider Sweet Savage family.

It is also time to reflect on the contribution Sweet Savage - in all its incarnations - made on the metal scene in Northern Ireland, and further afield.

Yes, everyone can quite that Vivian Campbell was once a member, and that Metallica covered Killing Time, but few can actually recall what the heady days of NWOBHM were like.

Sweet Savage were among the select few that were caught up in the heady days when the brashness of punk was combined with musicianship of early bands like Purple.

Savage were regarded highly enough to get airings on Tommy Vance's Friday Night Rock on BBC Radio 1, and if my pre-alzheimer's memory is not failing me they also got a play on the covetted John Peel Show, as well as a slot in Sounds before Kerrang! spun off from that mag. Hell, they were even granted a BBC Session recording.

The sound of Sweet Savage, despite the NWOBHM tag, was always rooted in a Northern Ireland that produced - and still does - many acts that defy genre classification. Yes, SLF, Van Morrison, The Undertones, Therapy?, Ash, The Answer etc can all be slotted into one pigeon hole or another, but really there is a magical chemistry about 'Norn Iron' music that Savage exemplified.

Sweet Savage endured much too-ing and fro-ing in terms of line-up and reformed several times from the ashes of previous incarnations. There is a much awaited new album that is virtually in the bag at the time of writing. We hope that it will be a suitably loud and rocking tribute to Trev.

There is one thing we want to hit on the head right here - Sweet Savage deserved none of the pre-pubescent twaddle posted about them on various forums whenever they were slotted to appear. For some children the appreciation of what a dedicated set of musicians can do will never really be known. Those children prefer to notch up the 'mega' gigs they've been to, or rave about some obscure act that few will know and even fewer will care about. If you don't 'like' a band, or they don't conform to your narrow definition of 'metal' then there is no need to publicly offer views that speak more about your own vanity rather than genuine critical comment.

Sweet Savage were in toto man enough to rise above such crap.

If you are fan of metal in its broadest sense, then the passing of Trev will cause you to pause in silent reflection.

I've seen Sweet Savage on quite a few occassions, but two will stand out in my boozee addled brain: ripping apart the Queen's Student Speakeasy one early Saturday evening in the 80s and a gig a couple of years back in the Spring and Airbrake. Neither one of these were perfect shows, but they were perfectly passionate metal affairs.

We offer our condolences and deepest sympathy to Trev's family, his bandmates and the many friends he gathered throughout the years. Rest In Peace

Salvation online

THERE comes a time when it is past midnight: beer and mini-Jagers (79 in local Russell's Shop4U...nice way to spend a tenner!) are being consumed and you can't be bothered setting iTunes to shuffle again. What is one to do when effectively grounded owing to health - or lack thereof - and doggie minding?

It used to be the case that the latest CDs would be rammed unwillingly into the player, but they're really for the car or when you can scare the shit out of the neighbours and terrify the Christian family across the street.

Past midnight there must be some way to score a fix of hard rock and metal when tip tapping on the keyboard. After all Wednesday nights are sorted with Carrie Davenport's Pure Rock Fury on Blast 106FM doling out two hours of mayhem in her own inimitable style.

The rest of the week...well thanks to Seatzie's tip off to us at Metal Mansion, and Phil's dedication salvation is at hand thanks to Rock Radio NI. The concept is simple - a web based radio station which regularly plays rock and metal, and backs local bands and is available online, through wi-fi radio and other outlets. What is more if you are a fan with some time on your hands you can create your own playlist and become an online rock and metal DJ.

We're going to grasp the technical side of it when the Carlsberg runs out (sometime next week) and we get a Jager free evening (at 79p a mini bottle that's not altogether likely anytime soon!). Might even try and pull together a playlist....

But what the spirit of Carrie and Phil shows to us is that the hard rock and metal scene has massive potential.

And I'm not talking about some mythical breakthrough to the mainstream.

There is a healthy live scene. James's Distortion Project has kept the flame alive for more than a decade, and local gig venues are proliferating, from the hallowed land on OrmeauAvenue, to the Pavillion and the Diamond Rock Club in North Antrim.

Musically the scene is in rude good health, from beserker metal, through to hard rock and all the way to black metal, hardcore, classic metal and even a wee bit of thrash. The quality of the bands is growing and developing all the time.

FFS there's even a healthy rock and metal DJ scene [hat tip to Monk and the Paradise City crew!]

With this groundswell of support, interest and local dedication at some time there must be a coming together: a collective will that can bring the scene some collective earnings, that can be ploughed back into providing more and more ways to expose the scene.

And in a theme touched on previously on this blog, there is a lot of talent that merges around the scene (I have always said that headbanging stimulates brain cell growth!). Linking it all up is a challenge beyond mere mortals, but just for a few moments ponder what Norn Iron heavy fuggin' metal could achieve.

Bands who can be backed to generate the revenue to record and produce new material; live outlets; a community of support that can support the bands with everything from t-shirt designs through to PR, writing and album and poster design...

Okay, that's the maybe the Jager talking, but a collaborative approach just might begin to bring a burgeoning scene together...

Ahh feck! Re-read that and realised I was a misty eyed hippy dreamer for a moment! Action required: temporarily pause Rock Radio NI and slam some Slayer on!

Ahhh, that feels better know.

Calmness has infused the cells, more beer has been consumed. It's safe to switch back to Rock Radio NI and enjoy some new tunes, some old favourites and relax...

Your thoughts or random slagging off welcome as always either here or by email...

Diabolical diabetic fail and rebound...

OKAY please shut up! Yes it has been a wee while (22 days to be precise) since this diabolical diabetic last posted on this blog. No, I ain't dead (yet) but thanks to Rock Radio NI and the superb PureRockFury from Carrie on Blast 106 for keeping me sane!

More details and shit coming up in coming days - well I am making idle promises as the local offie now stocks miniature bottles of Jager at the superb price of 79 little pennies...which means a lot of shots for a tenner and loads of wee tiny bottles to line up til the recycling man comes along.

Now stay with me on this one...the recycling theme is pertinent to something, even if the link is tenuous.

When is a band justified in recycling its same old sounds? Or should it be like Maiden and try to explore the potential of its sound.

As payday has just stroked the hole in the wall with some available funds, what albums could you recommend that are not just the same old shit?

While you ponder that question remember if you have funds you may want to check out the Distortion Project's four days of mayhem...

Thursday 30th September. Reckless Love + Jett Black + Rebels by Nature. Auntie Annies, Dublin Road, Belfast. Doors8pm, £12
Saturday 2nd October. Ricky Warwick (Thin Lizzy/The Almighty) + Matt Fitzsimons (Black Freeway) solo acoustic performance. The Spring & Airbrake, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Doors 7pm, £14
and also on Saturday 2nd October: Overoth + Bloodshot Dawn + Existing Threat. The Limelight, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Doors 5pm, £5
Sunday 3rd October. A Storm of Light (Neurot Recordins - feat. members of Neurosis and Tombs) + Slomatics + Annapurna. Spring & Airbrake, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Doors 8pm, £15