PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Belfast’s Voodoo has had some great nights of Metal since its opening and tonight’s line-up promised to dish out yet more metal mastery.
Eventually after getting tuned, relatively new local band All The Kings Ashes opened proceedings with an energetic performance with all but the drummer spending some time in the sparse audience during the set.
By Conquest Or Consent were up next and they delivered a blistering set of top quality metal tunes worthy of any stage. BCOC are a bunch of hugely talented local lads trying to bring something original to the metal scene and are definitely worth checking out.
I’d heard great things about Katabolisis, but this was my first time experiencing them live. With their set cut short due to traffic and the subsequent late arrival of vocalist and guitar player meant they only had time to showcase a 3 song set. Holy crap but that was an awesome 3-song set. It was heavy, groove laden, & technically excellent.
Awaken Dominion continued on with a highly energetic set. Frontman Anthony O’Reilly providing some brutal vocals backed up nicely by the frantic guitars of Darragh Mooney and Shane Greville and the thundering rhythm section of Evan Connolly (bass) and Ciaran Joy (drums).
The crowd would be well and truly warmed up…if there had been a crowd. Unfortunately the attendance for his gig was incredibly poor due partly to another gig across town and partly due to a lack of publicity.
I last saw Sworn Amongst back in 2008 and was looking forward to seeing how their sound had progressed in the last 5 years. With various line-up changes in those 5 years the sound has changed too and definitely for the better, it now seems more intense and rounded; front-man Sy James is thoroughly engaging as he paces the stage delivering tunes full of growling vocals like a man possessed.
Despite the poor attendance Sworn Amongst delivered a set fit to rip the face of the few ready and willing to bear witness. To their credit they held nothing back and played a song after song full of thrash infused metal of the highest quality. All the Belfast metal-heads who missed it definitely missed out on some outstanding music.
https://www.facebook.com/swornamongst
All photos by Paul Verner of LIVE:i photographic agency
