One of the bastions of the Northern Ireland scene for the last decade or so, Triggerman landed the biggest gig of their lives – and, many would argue, a deserved reward for their grit, determination and sheer feckin’ work ethic – when it was announced that they had landed the …

When this black metal crew issued their sophomore EP, ‘To Whatever End’, in 2009, it was hailed as one of the best examples of the genre to emerge from the island of Ireland at the time. It was praise which was well-deserved, as it was an excellent slab of Celtic-tinged …

Having spent the guts of year slogging their way around the Irish club scene (on both sides of the border), as any self-respecting young band should do, Belfast four piece Bäkken’s reputation for good, solid live shows and their typical Norn Iron work ethic has meant that expectations typically have …

The opening track to Northern Ireland quartet Triggerman’s last album (2010’s ‘Brand New Day’) was appropriately entitled ‘The Riff Holds Sway’: it’s a description which more than adequately describes Triggerman to their particular brand of in-yer-face butt-kickin’ Doc Marten-clad brand of… well… riff-laden rock ‘n’f’n’ roll (as we say around …

Third albums are notoriously difficult for bands, but Swedish death metallers Zonaria have spent a good 13 years perfecting their craft – even if wholesale line-up changes made preparations for the recording process somewhat more difficult than they ideally should have been. In this case, any worries are quickly cast …

Now and again, an album comes along that genuinely surprises you. Having read the press blurb that accompanied this sophomore release from French six-piece MOADM, I was fully expecting to write them off as another bunch of Meshuggah wannabes. Well, how pleasantly surprised I was with what I actually discovered, …

The irony was not lost on many present. It was two days short of being exactly four years since industrial metal titans Ministry had played what frontman Al Jourgensen had insisted would be the band’s “last ever” live show – just 100 miles down the road in the Irish capital …

Following up one of the most impressive debuts in the genre can be an awesome, almost insurmountable task for many bands – and that’s exactly the challenge which faced these young Swedish death metal titans, with this sophomore release. Fortunately, it’s a challenge they have risen to in impressive style, …

This fourth album from the Arkansas trio – originally self-released last year and now re-issued on AFM Records – is a damn fine slice of doom-laden death metal, which grabs you instantly and beats you into submission, track after track, with its atmospheric, melodic brutality. Veering more towards the doom …

Taking their name from the Greek work ‘mnemonic’, meaning ‘the art of development’, it’s not surprising that this Danish-based international quintet should show off their etymological skills with the play on words that is the title of this, their latest full-length opus.  It’s just a pity that this is one …

Germany has an undisputed reputation for producing damn fine rock and metal – from the progressive widdlings of Eloy through the fierce traditionalism of the likes of Accept, Helloween and The Scorpions, the industrial might of Rammstein to some of the most brutal thrash ever produced, in the shape of …

As their comeback ‘Defibrillatour’ arrives in Belfast on its UK leg, PM sits down (in a rather comfy leather armchair in the otherwise harsh surroundings of an out-of-term students’ union building corridor) with Ministry guitarist Sin Quirin to talk about the band, the decision to put it on hold and subsequently …

Despite having only one extant founder member – vocalist Leif Jensen – German thrashers Dew-Scented have managed to survive as far as their ninth album and this year celebrate their 20th anniversary. And what better way to do it than with a stunning album that defines both the band and …

Now and again, an album comes along that, immediately, on first listen, jumps out of your stereo (or, in this case, a towering 2,000 watt DJ rig), grabs you by your scrawny, hungover little throat and screams at you “bet you weren’t expecting this, muthafucka?”. This sophomore release from Vancouver …

Taproot are very much the ‘lost children’ of the nu-metal era, the also-rans who never quite emulated the success of contemporaries such as (their former mentors) Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, System Of A Down and Korn. Despite a few moments of glory – such as the poignant ‘Poem’, back in …

It’s taken these four Italian signori nigh on nine years of solid gigging in their homeland to get round to unleashing their particular brand of old-school, straight-through-the-middle metal on the rest of the planet. Taking their name from the twin-peaked mountain in the central Greek Peloponnese, where the sacred altar …

Over the past 18 years – and certainly in the decade since the release of their brutal debut album, ‘Ashes of Purification’ – Merrimack have been slowly building a reputation as one of the forerunners of the French black metal movement and have drawn comparison, not unfairly, with the likes …

For nigh on three decades, Katy Daly’s has stood as a bastion of Belfast’s rock scene, the favoured watering hole of metallers young and not so young, the preferred stop off for a pre-gig imbibance or a meeting place just to chill out, knock back a few beers and JD …

The north coast of Northern Ireland is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it can also be one of the most brutal, especially when lashed by winter storms sweeping across the north Atlantic and into the Irish Sea, and its rocky coastline – characterised by sheer …

This debut demo by this new young Belfast thrash band is an impressive statement of intent from such an inexperienced outfit. Fittingly featuring a militaristic drum beat at the start, opener ‘The Act Of War’ is reminiscent of a faster, looser young Megadeth, especially in the rhythm patterns and vocals, …