Tuesday night’s show at the Olympia Theatre was the very first show Alter Bridge have ever played in Ireland. The fact this show sold out and the band announced a return in October proves how long awaited their arrival to these shores has been, and just how popular they’ve become. …
Read More »Fozzy – Craufurd arms, Milton Keynes – 13th June 2017
Tonight’s gig at the Craufurd arms was sold out quickly after the show was announced several weeks ago. Fresh from playing Download, Fozzy was here for a small intimate gig. Support tonight came from Walsall based Stone Broken, who, like Fozzy had played Download festival a few days ago. They’d …
Read More »Download 2017 – Sunday
Brutai had the job of opening the Dogtooth stage today. Playing Download for the first time, they showed no sign of nerves and put in an excellent performance to get the day off to a great start. They are always good live, but they’ve excelled themselves here at Download. It …
Read More »Download 2017 – Saturday
Irish band Dead Label kicked off proceedings on the Dogtooth stage. I last saw them at Bloodstock two years ago and was impressed by them then, and they’ve improved further in the last two years. They look to be having a great time on stage and they’ve drawn a good …
Read More »Download 2017 – Friday
After negotiating the queues and thorough security checks and finally making it into the arena, I headed straight over to stage 2, just in time to catch Blackwater Conspiracy. I reviewed their new album recently and was blown away by how good it was, so I had high expectations for …
Read More »Clutch – The Academy, Dublin. 15/6/2017.
After a days work, a bus that turned up late, an hour on the motorway and a sprint from the Quays I walked into The Academy literally two minutes before the funk of Chuck Brown’s ‘We Need Money’ heralded the arrival of Clutch onto stage. The sold out crowd was in …
Read More »Bearded Theory 2017 – Sunday
Goldblade are always fun to watch at Bearded Theory – their hyper-energetic frontman John Robb never stays on stage for long and predictably it’s not long before he jumps down and comes to the barrier to get up close with the fans as he sings. He’s one of the best …
Read More »Bearded Theory 2017 – Saturday
After enjoying Circus Insane yesterday I headed to the Convoy Cabaret tent early to catch their second show of the weekend. Once again they packed the tent out. As promised, this show was more insane and extreme than the previous day with highlights including a part of the act titled …
Read More »Bearded Theory 2017 – Friday
Metal fans are familiar with Catton Hall, home to Bloodstock open air, but the site is also used for other events, the best of these being Bearded Theory festival at the end of May. The mix of bands is more diverse than most rock or metal festivals – it includes …
Read More »Skarlett Riot – Castle and Falcon, Birmingham – 1st June 2017
After months of refurbishment work the Castle and Falcon in Birmingham re-opened its doors in March this year. The venue, which is easy to reach with good local parking, has had a complete overhaul in terms of its layout and equipment for the live bands that regularly occupy the stage. …
Read More »KISS – O2 arena, London – 31st May 2017
First up tonight was The Dives, a New York band that includes Paul Stanley’s son. Knowing that, I didn’t have very high expectations, assuming cynically that they only got the slot due to the family connections, but in fact while the family connection almost certainly helped, the fact is that …
Read More »Barb Wire Dolls – Craufurd arms, Milton Keynes – 18th May 2017
First up tonight was a band that wasn’t part of the tour and weren’t announced till a couple of hours before the show. The Treatment were playing here tonight as a warm-up before their shows at Hellfest and supporting the Scorpions. Despite the fact that the venue was almost empty …
Read More »Metal 2 The Masses Ireland 2017 – The Grand Final – 13/05/2017
It’s Dublin on a Saturday night in May. There’s more than 350 people rammed into Fibber Magees and that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the Metal 2 The Masses Ireland Final 2017. Throughout the first half of this year thirty five bands have been whittled down to the last …
Read More »The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal remains
From 13th May till 2nd October this year, the Victoria and Albert Museum (The V&A) will be running an exhibition dedicated to Pink Floyd. The exhibition traces the history of the band from the beginning through their entire career up to the present. It’s a full multimedia experience so on …
Read More »Metal 2 the Masses Bristol: Heats 5 and 6, 23/04/17
Awakening Hyperia. Ylem Darkul. MYST. Auraelis. Embodiment. Kikamora. Franklin Mint. Black Wasp. Above are the names of the eight bands who have successfully made the semi-finals of Bristol’s Metal 2 the Masses, the eventual winner going on to appear at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in August. Tonight sees the heats …
Read More »Metal 2 The Masses Ireland, Semi-Final C – 29/04/2017
It’s April 29th 2017, the night of the biggest fight of the century. Expectations are high as to who will deliver the goods on the big stage as the combatants touch gloves and the bell rings. Yeah, it’s time for Dublin to decide what two bands will complete the final …
Read More »Slaughter UK – Sound Control, Manchester: 14th April 2017
Easter is traditionally the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Easter 2017 saw the resurrection of Manchester band Slaughter UK for their launch gig at Sound Control, Manchester. Slaughter UK contains two original members of Slaughter and the Dogs and Edweena Banger (formerly Ed Garrity) who replaced frontman Wayne …
Read More »Metal 2 The Masses Ireland, Semi-Final B – 22/04/2017
It’s Saturday night again at the den of iniquity that is Fibber Magees and the hordes have gathered for the second semi-final of Metal 2 The Masses Ireland. Whether they are here to have their souls saved and their sins purged remains to be seen, but from the buzz in …
Read More »Joe Bonamassa – Royal Albert Hall, London – 20th April 2017
Tonight’s show had an early start – 7.30pm. With most gigs the support band would be on stage then or maybe even later, but Joe Bonamassa plays with no support and with an early start. It’s something that catches out the unwary, but tonight the seats are all full before …
Read More »Metal 2 the Masses Bristol: Heat 4, 12/04/17 and Interviews!
On this day over 2000 years ago, the man credited with being the Son of God was in Jerusalem in the build-up to the events which are generally associated with Easter. But before the four day weekend arrives, there’s the small matter of Heat Four of Metal 2 the Masses: three …
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