Event Reviews

Tonight’s gig at the Garage was headlined by Gloryhammer, with supports coming from Dendera and Darkest era (who have been the supports on the whole UK tour) plus a local support band, Death Valley Knights. Death Valley Knights opened the night with a very good set.  When a 4 band …

The Diamond Rock Club, buried deep in the County Antrim hills, seems to be the venue of choice for Glaswegian troupe Attica Rage to end up their tours, as this is the second such occasion they’ve chosen the best li’l rock club on the island of Ireland to host their …

Just one month after the release of their third album – Spirit, Finnish Glam Rock band Reckless Love came over to the UK for a 9 date UK tour. The opening night conveniently (for me) being at Manchester Academy 3. Support came in the form of Australian born Laura Wilde …

The wolf pack head out on their Wolfsnächte European tour, establishing their dominant position within the power metal genre. Tonight is their only UK date at the famous Underworld venue in London. German band Majesty kicked the night off. Manowar style metal can be a bit cheesy (ok very cheesy at …

Tonight was a night I was really looking forward to. For Scottish grunge rock/metal band Afterlife showcasing new songs from their forthcoming debut album “Omega“. It would also be a night I was looking forward to see support act Christie Connor-Vernal perform with her new band, and not on her …

Velvet Star was formed in East Yorkshire, back in 2007 by brothers Danny and Corey Jones. Several line up changes, and a change in direction, have seen the brothers decide to call it a day and move on with new venture Deadaudiosaints. To thank loyal fans Velvet Star didn’t just …

Monday Night in The Pint was the temporary home of Exhumer, Dyscarnate, Hour of Penance and Psycroptic. Although the line up was promising the turn-out was not all that great and I will have something to say about that too at the end. First up were Italian band Exhumer. Now, …

Blackwater are a hybrid band formed of a Brit and two Swedes, which cannot make arranging band practise either an easy or cheap affair. At last they have brought themselves to singer/guitarist Jay Bartlett’s home country for their first UK gig, after a selection of shows in Sweden and to …

For this live review I would like to say first of all, I missed support act Samuel Taylor due to doing an interview with The Temperance Movement during his set. Sorry Sam, but for the record a few days later I did manage to catch Sam at the Newcastle gig, …

As a venue The Borderline ticks many boxes, a nice intimate size, different viewing levels, decent toilets and of course the fantastic Crobar is right next door, with pre-gig happy hour prices. It was there, that over the summer Sons of Icarus almost became the resident band with a run …

Tonight’s press launch of their debut album allowed The Temperance Movement to both showcase their material and live show to those who clearly do not have their radio tuned into Planet Rock, and to run a series of competitions on their Facebook page giving fans the chance to win pairs …

Friday 13th was not a day for metal heads to fear black cats, walking under ladders, opening umbrellas indoors or even for us to fear a deranged killer inhabiting the woods. Rather, it was going to be the day Nile and Ex Deo, as well as their other guests, would …

All ages gigs, when you get to a certain ‘vintage’, can be weird affairs at best and uncomfortable ones at worst.  It’s OK if you’ve got your own sprog to keep an eye on, but when you’re there on your ownsome merely to observe the proceedings on stage, it can …

A selection of photographs from The Defiled\Glamour Of The Kill gig in Mandela Hal, Belfast     Photographs by Paul Verner   www.livei.co.uk

September 7th saw the second of two CD release parties from Revamp, to celebrate the release of their second album, Wild Card, which had just been released on Nuclear Blast. I bought a ticket, sorted out travel and headed over for what promised to be a great gig. This was …

Following the recent release of their debut album ‘Skies Are Falling’, Hornet announced a headlining show at the Academy 2 in Angel, London.  Several of their past gigs had clashed with other events for me and so this was the first time I would actually get to see them in …

Tonight’s show was opened by The Sixxis. Listening to them they seem an odd choice to support The Winery Dogs as their music has quite a strong Prog feel to it, so I’d have said they’d go down better supporting Mike Portnoy’s other supergroup, Flying Colors, than The Winery Dogs.  …

It takes dedication and commitment to do what we do – especially as we do it on a voluntary basis and for the love of the music we write about – and so it is with these two qualities in mind that your humble reviewer finds himself reviewer finds himself …

A selection of photographs from Gacys Threads launch gig for the brand new 7″ split (w/ Colossus Fall Switzerland). The release is limited to 300 copies, clear yellow vinyl, and will be released by… – Savour Your Scene Records (Ireland) – Left Hand Records (France) – Incredible Noise Records (Germany) – …

Despite having been formed less than two years, stoned doomsters Astralnaut have become on of the most popular – and accomplished – acts on the Northern Irish metal scene:  a fact evinced by the fact that, although this is their second headline show in the city in just under a …