PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
This year the United Kingdom has been blessed with a proper summer, with temperatures escalating to over 20 degrees and people whipping out their BBQs whilst attempting to catch a tan. However, on Saturday night, Belfast venue “The Limelight” saw the local metal crowd forego these leisurely pursuits in favour of rocking out to the Finnish Metal band “Wintersun” as they played their Belfast debut.
Opening up the night were Enniskillen-based band, Darkest Era. The Irish 5-piece took control of the Limelight stage with their brand of Celtic Metal through progressive songs like “Heathen Burial Ground”, “Ancient Fire” and their brand new song “Boundless Realms.” What I loved most was the band’s chemistry; they looked like they were having a blast together!
With the crowd growing and the venue’s heat rising; the Finnish metallers walked onto the stage. The first quarter of the set was taken from their latest album “Time I” which proved to be the perfect opening as the crowd chanted along to every word and guitar riff. Their track, “Land Of Snow And Sorrow” received a particularly immense response.
As the 4-piece thundered their way through their rather lengthy set, the crowd’s reaction continued to swell and so did the temperatures within the venue! A mass of heads banged away whilst the lead singer and guitarist Jari Mäenpää led the crowd into numerous chants and fist throws during their tracks “Battle Against Time” and “Winter Madness.”
Following their final track “Starchild”, the band took the time to shake a few hands and sign a couple of autographs before saying good-bye to Belfast.
The only criticism that I have for the show was that their sound was quite hit and miss at times, primarily in the clean guitar parts. This however did not stop the lads from putting on a thunderous set packed full of power, passion and talent that was completely out of this world.
Wintersun Official Website: http://www.wintersun.fi/
Darkest Era Official Website: http://darkestera.net/
Wintersun’s UK and Ireland Tour continues:
21/07 – The Pint, Dublin (Darkest Era supporting)
22/07 – o2 Academy 2, Bristol (Bloodshot Dawn and Savage Messiah supporting)
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