Opinion

Almost a year to the date since the epic Dublin Metal 2 The Masses final of 2014, we were back in Fibber Magees for the climax of the 2015 instalment. 36 hopefuls were whittled down to the sumptuous sextet of Nautilus, The Devil Wants Her Swagger Back, Snowblind, Theories Divide, Vile …

Louise Swift for PlanetMosh interviews Bulletproof Rose just after they opened NLC/Rockin’ For The Children Festiva 2015, at The Maze, Nottingham on 2nd May 2015. Find out a bit more about the band’s history and what they have in the pipeline. Since this was recorded they have now been confirmed …

Still hungover and bleary eyed from the previous evening’s final of the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition, the PlanetMosh team were up and about at a ridiculously early hour to catch the mid-afternoon train for one of our all-too-rare forays out of the big smoke for a ten band …

Way back in 1939 Winston Churchill described the Russians as being “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” I can’t help thinking this is also an apt description of Ginger Wildheart‘s Songs and Words show. It’s not a gig, It’s not stand-up comedy. It’s not theatre. It’s not …

The Fifth NLC/Rockin’ For The Children Festival took place at The Maze, Nottingham over May Day Bank Holiday Weekend 2015. This now annual event is organised by David Tonge (AKA Big D) and his family and friends with a lot of time and hard work going into the organising. Last …

The night opened with Irishman Miles Graham.  He performs doing vocals and playing acoustic guitar, and has two musicians with him, one on the Cajon (a box shaped drum that the drummer sits on as he plays), and one on bass.  His set is very good – a classic singer-songwriter …

As, a few hundred yards away, Belfast joins the rest of the country in marking the 70th anniversary of VE Day, five of Northern Ireland’s finest groups of metallians have come together in a darkened city centre venue to see which of them will secure just as momentous – to …

I have known Bobby for many years and was lucky enough to have photographed the last UK Blackfoot tour for the band. Recently Bobby took time out to have a quick trans-Atlantic chat. For those new to Bobby he is best known as the voice of the Southern Rock Legends Blackfoot and of …

And so, here we are again – at the business end of the first ever Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition to be held here in Northern Ireland, and, over the course of the past nine weeks, the PlanetMosh team have counted every band in and every band out (to …

The New Ross Thrash machine that is Animator has made quite an impression on their stomp towards this year’s Metal 2 The Masses Ireland Final and they haven’t shown any signs of taking the foot off the pedal just yet.  We caught up with the lads ahead of the last …

Progressive metal trio, Snowblind, are ready to maim the crowd at this year’s Metal 2 The Masses Ireland final. We caught up with drummer extraordinaire Jake McCarthy in the run up to the main event to see what he had to say. For people hearing about Snowblind for the first time. Tell …

The only returning finalist from last year, Theories Divide, are back with a reinvigorated lineup and ready to kick ass once again at Metal 2 The Masses Ireland. We caught up with 6 stringer Leigh Ferguson and fired a few questions his way ahead of the main event. Congratulations on …

Technical brutality is the order of the day with the lads in Vile Regression. This is their first time participating in Metal 2 The Masses Ireland and they’ve made it all the way to the final. We caught up with guitarist Barry Christie and discussed how the whole M2TM experience …

I spoke to Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen shortly before she played the Garage in London with The Gentle Storm, her new project with Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen. The Gentle Storm is your latest project with Arjen Lucassen.  You’ve worked together before haven’t you? A few times.  The Ayreon album …

 Nautilus have made it all the way to the Metal 2 The Masses Ireland final on their second time entering the competition. Their heavy sludge driven groove has been a sure fire hit with the M2TM regulars and at the final they will be dragging the sound deeper than 20,000 …

With PM’s illustrious (!) Ireland editor laid low with a dose of the lurgy, it was up to yours truly to venture first into the rare bright sunny evening and then into the darkened venue for what promises to be rip roaring gig – and my first encounter with the legendary UFO. …

“The Fleece is a better venue but I felt this gig would be more fun.” Jeffery Johns, affectionately known as Big Jeff, is in attendance tonight at the Marble Factory, having turned down the chance to see Russian Circles down the road at one of Bristol’s more established venues. Something of a …

 The Devil Wants Her Swagger Back have arguably the the best name in this year’s Metal 2 The Masses Ireland. Thankfully, they are much more than just a cool name as their brutality has slayed the audiences from the first round all the way to the final. We caught up …

Sunday night was the third time I’d seen Theory of a Deadman, having previously seen them open for Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry, and I’ve always thought they were good but that the short time a support act gets held them back from showing how good they really are.  …

The night kicked off with Tristan Mackay, a solo performer and former busker. He plays with an acoustic guitar and uses a device to record short bits of playing then replay them in a loop which means he’s able to play more complex stuff than if he just used the …