Given the size of Northern Ireland’s Polish population – and the assumption that a healthy proportion of them should be heavy metal fans – it is somewhat surprising that, outside of tonight’s headliners and their entourage, every accent in the room is a local one (in some shape or form) …

It’s been an eventful 12 months for Swedish metal trio Grand Magus – a successful support tour with Amon Amarth, a slew of festival dates, a change of drummer and the release of their strongest album to date, ‘The Hunt’. As the band return to the UK for the second …

I’m always fascinated by the etymology of band names, just as I am with that of words in general.  To me, the name ‘Chariots Of The Gods’ immediately takes me back to my teenage years and the works of the madcap Swiss author Erich von Daniken – the person more …

Over the past 25 years or so, Suffocation are one of a handful of bands who have towered over the US death metal scene, producing a handful of classic genre-defining – and, indeed, re-defining – albums, such as iconic debut ‘Effigy Of The Forgotten’, the majestic comeback ‘Souls To Deny’ …

As Belgian black metal masters Enthroned prepare to return to the UK for another run of dates in support of their ‘Obsidium’ album, we sit down with frontman Nornagest to catch up with the latest instalment of the band’s story and his views on making it 20 years at the …

It had been five months since Norn Iron’s premier rawk ‘n’f’n’ roll crue had played the region’s capital, and their return to not only the city but also the comparatively cramped Pavilion venue shows that the quintet are just as comfortable playing in sweaty bar rooms as they are in …

It’s a Saturday afternoon in Belfast, and that means there is only one place any self-respecting metalhead should be… down the ‘Slimer’, necking pints, enjoying the craic and breaking necks at the weekly RocKD!  This weekend’s show is an extra bit special, as it also marks the official launch of …

Northern Irish metal crew 7 Days Dead have been making quite a noise for themselves on the scene in this part of the world for a little over a year or so ago – and Planet Mosh has been following their development with interest. The quartet – made up of …

Belfast’s doom heads were out in force for this evening bringing together three of the finest exponents of the art on the local scene, with headliners Black Magician having headed over from England for the start of a brace of gigs on this side of the Irish Sea. Dublin trio …

When Shine Promotions – best known for their activities on the local dance scene – bought over the historic Limelight complex after its previous owners went into administration, it has to be admitted that many rock fans baulked.  After all, what the fuck did a bunch of dance promoters know …

The Obscene Extreme festival started in a field on the outskirts of the picturesque Czech town of Trutnov back in 1999, and has played host to some of the most respected names in extreme music – as well as serving as the breeding ground for many new talents.  Now, 14 …

With Finnish demi-gods Lordi’s new album, ‘To Beast Or Not To Beast’, due for release on March 1st, Planet Mosh caught up with the sexy manbeast known as Mr Lordi to discuss his band’s new heavier direction, how he hasn’t given up on his love of classic ‘80s rock, the …

One of the true legends of the prog rock movement – he produced no less than 16 albums collectively with Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic before the (perceived) conflict between his own spiritual beliefs and the demands of performing with secular musicians sent him down his own individual path… Over recent …

I’ve often accused black metal of being staid and derivative, content to rest on its laurels:  but, part of the excitement which initially drew me to what I regard as real darkened extremism was the way in which BM artists were prepared to experiment and push their boundaries to their …

The third album from Swedish doom crew Kongh is not one which is for the faint-hearted.  For a start, its four tracks clock in at around three-quarters of an hour (give or take a few seconds here or there) long. This is loud, dirty, brutal, bruising doom metal of the …

Having just released their debut album – an opus which nearly didn’t see the life of day following guitarist James Coogan’s near death experience, when he feel from a fourth-floor balcony in an horrific accident which left him in a coma for six weeks – Dublin hardocre quartet Wounds returned …

Serpent are a young – make that ridiculously so – thrash band from the historic market town of Cookstown (best known for its amazing sausages and having the widest high street in the British Isles!), in that part of Norn Iron known as being “west of the Bann”, and therefore …

It’s hard to take Lordi seriously – but, by equal measure, it is hard not to take them seriously. Over the past 21 years – or 11 years in recording terms – Mr Lordi and the various vagabonds with whom he has teamed up on his quest to world domination …

It’s not too hard to tell when the local university semester is in full flow, as inboxes quickly become filled with invitations from Radar, the inhouse promoters at the local students’ union, encouraging one and all to come along to their weekly free showcase gigs, featuring an eclectic – and …

If there is ever something which can be honestly described as an institution on the Belfast metal scene, then it truly is RocKD.  Started up almost a decade and a half ago by James ‘The Nicest Man In Metal’ Loveday as a Saturday afternoon showcase for the best in local …