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 …

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 …

One of the joys of music journalism is constantly coming across new bands about whom you want to know more:  one such act is Pilgrimage. The County Mayo four piece first came on to PM’s radar at the recent Monsters Of Rot III festival in Fermanagh – and we definitely …

Northern Ireland death metallers Rex Shachath made a rare live appearance at the recent Monsters Of Rot III festival in County Fermanagh. PlanetMosh took the opportunity to sit down with vocalist Dave Connolly and guitarist Andrew Pennington to catch up with events in the band camp, including the lowdown on …

Apparently, the Norwegians (and their Swedish neighbours) have got it all wrong, and have been wrong all along, when it comes to black metal… it’s not all about inverted crosses, burning churches and raping virgins.  At least, that’s the view of the “sexiest man in BM” – the one and …

Cork may be Ireland’s second city but it easily rivals capital Dublin as a hotbed of talent. The latest outfit to emerge from the south-west of the island, Inhale The Fall are a complete contrast to the more well known offerings at the darker, denser end of the spectrum which …

Cork’s For Ruin certainly believe in taking their time about things… this EP has been lying around, in one shape or form, for the guts of two years, with a video for the nominal title track having first surfaced on YouTube in the autumn of 2011.  Now, with the band …

This sophomore offering from Dublin instrumentalists Parhelia has been four years in the making, being as it is the follow up to their 2009 full-lengther debut, ‘Shifting Sands’ (they previously had released two EPs, ‘First Light’ in 2006 and 2007’s ‘Oceans Apart’). ‘The Precipice Of Change’ is a hypnotic album, …

Belsonic is what is referred to in modern parlance as a “boutique” festival:  taking place in Belfast’s Custom House Square, a man made auditorium, close by the River Lagan, with apartment blocks to the front and one side of the stage, and the imposing edifice of the Custom House from which …

Tonight’s gig in this former whiskey bonding house come music resource centre is somewhat appropriately branded as ‘Distillation 03’, being as it is the third in the series of special showcase events supported by sponsorship from Bushmills Irish Whiskey… well, such an synergistic association doesn’t really need to provide much …

The car park of a country pub in what we in this part of the universe refer to as ‘the arse-end of nowhere’ may seem an unusual location for an extreme metal event, but here we are:  in a tent, in the pissing rain, at the back of a pub …

Over the past couple of years, Voodoo – a converted restaurant just off Belfast’s main shopping thoroughfare – has become one of my favourite venues in my home city.  Having rapidly established itself as the hangout of choice for a large proportion of the local rock and metal fraternity, it’s …

With their seventh album, ‘Valkyria’, due for release next month, Planet Mosh chats to Heri Joensen, vocalist and guitarist with Faroese folk metallers Týr: Heri-Joensen-Interview ‘Valkyria’ is released on Metal Blade on September 16. Týr play the following dates in the UK and Ireland with Finntroll: Monday September 30 – Epic TV …

Although they don’t play their native Ireland on a regular basis, Gama Bomb were tonight returning to Belfast for the second time in around eight months, this time finding themselves in the rather sedate surroundings of the Empire Music Hall:  as its name suggests, this converted church is used to …

Planet Mosh chats with vocalist Philly Byrne and guitarist John Roche of  Irish thrashers Gama Bomb in a noisy backstage area at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall, where the band were playing the second of two shows on one of their rare visits to their homeland. The interview starts by talking …

There’s a saying about a week being a long time in politics, but in the music business a year can be very short – and that can certainly be said of Belfast upstarts Maverick, for whom this return to the legendary Limelight for their second headline slot in as many …

Belfast has become something of a favourite stopping off point for US bands either going to or from the European festival circuit…  In recent years the path to this little corner of planet metal has been trodden by acts as diverse as Tesla and Metallica, Machine Head and Black Stone …

When is a tribute band not a tribute band?  One answer would be when the band is question is not only in itself a tribute to the great music which it performs but also contains within its ranks the majority of the supremely talented musicians which created that music – …

With Belfast once more teetering on the brink of descending into the chaos that is laughlingly referred to in the mainstream media as the ‘Marching Season’, and less than a week to go to its annual highlight of ‘The Twelfth’, Welsh hardcore mob Brutality Will Prevail could hardly have chosen …

Dedication.  One of the quintessential ingredients for success.  In any walk of life – but especially so in the music business.  Coupled with commitment, it is quite possibly THE single most important characteristic any artist (be they on their own or in a band environment) can possess if they want …