Tag Archives: Review

Halloween.  One of the most important nights of the year… the one when the veil between the worlds comes down… or when spidey dickheads get to cross-dress without fear of ridicule from their equally spidey dickhead mates and make even bigger drunken pricks of themselves than usual… or, in the …

The second day of Firefest’s Final Fling promised to be the strongest, in terms of the quality of the names on the line-up, and this was reflected in the fact that breakfast had barely settled in the stomachs of most of the some 1,800 who queued outside the venue to …

A little more than 40 years ago, a movement developed among classically trained musicians who also were fans of rock music which saw them experiment in merging the two disciplines, as well as throwing elements of jazz, folk and other musical forms into the mix:  the result was prog!  Over …

The Milestones are a band I have literally stumbled across just recently, and it is hard to believe that this band are both, a Scandinavian band from Finland, and did start out 20 years ago. “Higher Mountain – Closer Sun” is the fourth such album from the band, who first …

I’m a great believer that when you go to a gig you should make every effort to see and support every band on the bill… but, sometimes circumstances conspire against you. And so it was that, due to a scheduling conflict, as Belfast’s own Overoth (pictured left) took to the …

There’s an old saying that all good things must, eventually, come to an end, and so it is that, after a run of 11 years, Firefest this year (apparently) threw its final fling, with a combination of established favourites who had graced its stage over the past decade or so, …

Crazy Lixx are a five piece hard rock band from Sweden, who were formed in 2002 and released their first album in 2007. The current line-up consists of Danny Rexon – vocals , Andy Dawson – guitar, Joél Cirera – drums, Jens Sjöholm – bass and Edd Liam – guitar. …

There have been a few bands this year I have reviewed who seem to capture the feel and sounds from an eighties era I grew up in and know so well. In Faith’s debut “There’s A Storm Coming” is such an album that does so with a high degree of …

English metal rockers Threshold return with their 10th studio album ‘For the Journey‘ on Nuclear Blast Records. Threshold while being an English band are relative new to myself as their popularity is mainly across the channel in mainland Europe where their albums do chart in various countries national charts. I …

In battle, in life, in the music business, there is nothing like having a plan of attack to help you achieve what you want to get out of any or all of them… and you certainly cannot fault Newcastle noiseniks Metal Moth for not planning ahead, with this debut EP …

According to historical records, pirates (at least in their commonly perceived historical incarnation) may have sailed into many ports but they never quite ventured as far north as Britain – and certainly never as far as the shores of what, at that time, would have been Carrickfergus Bay. However, British …

When I first came across young Armagh metallians Sentinel, opening a charity gig in Belfast, I must admit that I wasn’t overly impressed:  but then, as I said, they are young (drummer Jordie Kelly is still only 15!) and it was only their third ever live performance… Move the clock …

Sometimes, no matter how well you think you know your local music scene, you suddenly find you don’t know it quite so well as you did, as something comes completely out of left field and makes you ask “where the fuck did that come from?”. In this case, I had …

Black metal is a genre which, in many ways, is split straight down the middle – between those who seek to live merely on its past glories and those who desire to drive it forward and re-establish its relevancy in the modern era:  those content to don the antiquated corpse …

Definitely – and defiantly – one of the most impressive acts to have taken to the New Blood Stage at this past summer’s Bloodstock, East Anglia’s SynaptiK have subsequently produced a debut album that is fervent, fresh and vibrant in equal measure. Straddling, with consummate ease, the death, groove, progressive …

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 …

Having seen Toseland supporting Sebastian Bach at the same venue, Manchester Academy 3, earlier this year I was looking forward to seeing a headline show. Toseland is the rock band fronted by former Motorcycle racer and World Superbike Champion James Toseland. Support came in the form of Electric River a …

Back To The Bone (Best Of The Bootlegs) contains 9 tracks recorded during the 1984 Slide it in tour, and If I remember correctly, this was the third time I had seen Whitesnake, though the first with new guitarist John Sykes. Opening with the trademark shout of “are you ready” …

I (just about) remember the first time – and the only one prior to this year’s Bloodstock – that I saw Carcass live… and they not only literally blew my mind: they left it splattered all over the wall behind me… It was a Saturday afternoon – the third day …

Following on from their success in the recent Progressive Music Awards – at which they lifted the ‘Anthem’ gong for the eponymously-titled from their most recent ‘Distant Satellites’ opus magnificus (of which more anon) – Liverpool experimental progsters Anathema were obviously in great mood when they took that short trip across the …