Tag Archives: limelight belfast

With many of their US counterparts cancelling, postponing or cutting short their European tours in the wake of the atrocities in Paris earlier this month and the subsequent security concerns across much of Europe – just hours before the doors opened this evening, Brussels went into a state of lock …

It is the coldest day of the year so far, with the temperatures plummeting to sub-zero and snow hanging in the air.  So, where does any self-respecting music journalist take a trio of musicians more used to the sunshine of their native Greece?  Why, the open air rooftop beer garden …

Following a pair of warm-up festival shows in Spain – well, they certainly were “warm” – Stormzone returned to the colder climes of their native Belfast for this, the official launch of their most recent album, ‘Seven Sins‘.  They were also returning to a familiar venue, but one which has changed …

Northern Ireland’s leading heavy metal promoters, The Distortion Project, are to go ‘From Hell To The Unknown’ when they celebrate their 15th anniversary in October. To mark this landmark occasion, DP will take over the entirety of Belfast’s historic Limelight complex on Saturday October 17, with 21 bands playing across …

Formed in the mid-Ulster area in late 2011, upstarts Donum Dei have spent the intervening period ripping up stages across Northern Ireland and establishing themselves as perhaps the singularly most impressive young thrash act in this part of the world, going from copycat Metallica wannabes faster than some of their …

It may be the last day of July, but already it is a typical Belfast “summer” evening – the temperature is plummeting into the lower reaches of single figures and the rain isn’t taking its time to belt it down as the PM team duck from the adjacent pub and …

Ah well, here we are… it’s a Wednesday night here in Belfast and it’s officially the start of the week;  well, as far as Team PM is concerned anyway, with the prospect of six gigs over the course of the next five nights, starting with tonight’s long overdue return to …

And so, here we are, at the fifth and final heat of the first ever Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition ever to be held here in Northern Ireland.  After all four previous heats had been incredibly close – the last squeakily tight, with just four percentage points between the quartet …

Sometimes you walk into a gig not really knowing what to expect – and tonight was just one of those occasions.  Mainly because, if I’m honest, I’m not a big fan of bands which could be perceived as “superstar vehicles”, especially as many of them are just that – vanity …

The freight train that is Bloodstock’s annual ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ battle of the bands rolled into Northern Ireland for the first time this past weekend, with four bands with distinctly differing styles engaged in mortal combat for a place in the semi-finals later in the Spring. With the running …

As the frontman of one of the biggest stadia-filling rock bands of their generation, it was perhaps fitting that Joe Elliott‘s self-described “little side project” should be born in a similar environment – in front of thousands of people supporting, and then emulating, in turn one of the most iconic …

Sometimes it takes vision.  And a simple vision at that.  The vision of one clear-sighted, single-minded – some might say stubborn – individual.  And that vision is to do what you enjoy, and what you want to do, need to do, to fulfill that enjoyment, no matter what adversity, what …

One complaint which is often articulated about many bands on the Northern Ireland scene is that they over-expose themselves – playing the same venues week in week out, so that the novelty (if there is any) quickly wears off.  This is most certainly a criticism which cannot be levelled in …

For the second time in three days, Belfast’s hardcore fans were treated to a visit by genuine legends of the scene, this time in the shape of NYC stalwarts Madball.  And, for the second time in three days, the honour of setting the scene (sic) fell to Belfast’s very own …

Don’t you just love it when a “name” touring band pull into your town, picking up a local support along the way – most likely based on the philosophy that “well, they seem to have a bit of a following there, so they’ll do nicely”… only for the same opening …

A little over a millennium ago, the first Viking longboats pulled up on Erin’s shores… once the initial raiding parties had departed, a few of us settled down while others returned several centuries later – this time in peace, merely seeking to make new lives.  A further few hundred years …

For those of a superstitious mien, Friday the 13th is not exactly a lucky talisman – and so it proves, at least partially, for the organizers of this charity fundraiser gig (in aid of the hugely-underfunded Belfast Rape Crisis Centre) as, despite huge advance marketing and PR campaigns, other mitigating …

When Northern Ireland metallians Conjuring Fate last year decided to call it a day, it was quite a shock for the scene in this part of the world as, after eight years together, the band’s ascendancy had appeared to on the upward slope.  However, the ‘break’ turned out to be …

The tea break. Ah, that most venerable of traditions, when one seeks refuge from the travails of the working day by relaxing with a nice cup of Darjeeling or Earl Grey and a chocolate biscuit (or, maybe, if you’re lucky a bacon butty) before launching back into the fray once …

The last time New York’s IKillYa played Belfast, they nearly didn’t – as the venue they were scheduled to appear at closed just a few days before they were due to grace its stage. Fortunately, in the true spirit of metal camaraderie, another promoter stepped into the breach, a few …