By Monk
Anyone who evens dares to think the unthinkable thought that there is a severe lack of live action in the city of Belfast only needs to look at the gig listings for this particular night, as more than 30 bands were jukin’, jivin’ and laying it down at various venues, all within easy walking distance of one another. With heavy metal warfare being declared on one side and shoes being gazed at on the other, this brutal double bill saw the riffs being well and truly smashed out at one of ÜR’s favourite venues.
Previous family commitments meant that I missed the first half of the bill, much to my personal chagrin, as I have followed the development of Victim Royal from prepubescent wetness to adolescent confidence with interest, and I had been looking forward to my first encounter with Harley & The Wolf and their brand of blood-thirsty thrash-infused nu-metal. Ah well, there’s always next time…
It soon proves that this tour is well named, as Geordie invaders Rituals waste absolutely no time in launching into their brand of hard-hitting hardcore-infused riffening, delivered with concrete-filled truckloads of attitude and confidence. Leaving us in the middle of a carnage-covered and totally devastated dancefloor most definitely is their objective, and they fulfill it with suitably angry and angst-fuelled furious intent, taking no prisoners and asking for none in return as they deliver an absolutely shit-kicking set, leaving the small but devoted crowd baying for more…
- ‘I Found Myself In The Dark‘ is out now.
- Rituals play Facedown at Scala, King’s Cross, alongside Black Coast and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, on Friday 6 October.
Another Belfast band I have followed with interest for a while, but somehow managed to miss live over the course of the almost two years since they first introduced themselves to us in impressive style with their debut EP back in the autumn of 2021 are Archives… so, time to make up for a lot of lost ground… and, boy, was it worth the wait \m/
Right from Adam’s invitation to “jump the fuck up”, the quintet prove why they are whipping up such a whirlwind with their brand of bouncy and energetic metalcore, which also demonstrates a tautness brought about by dedication to honing their craft to bring out the best in both themselves and their audiences. They also show a really good sense of pacing and timing, combining fast and slow segments, lighter and shadier moments to superb effect, resulting in an impressive set which certainly left me regretting having taken so long to catch up with the guys live but also left me with that moist feeling in both my eardrums and mouth that means I want to hear and taste more of them, and hopefully not before too long…
Job done.
- If you live in ÜR’s motherland, you can catch Archives supporting Overthrone on a series of dates in Aberystwyth, Swansea and Cardiff this coming weekend:
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