Category: Gig Reviews
Paleface Swiss/The Acacia Strain/Desolated – Manchester, New Century Hall – 28 February 2025
With the evenings stretching longer, what better way to usher in spring than with the sheer brutality of Paleface Swiss’s European headline tour? Riding the momentum of their latest album, ‘Cursed’, this run has been their most ambitious yet: selling out, upgrading, and selling out again shows across Europe, even to their own surprise. Joining them for the carnage are The Acacia Strain and Desolated, two IQ-loweringly heavy bands that make for a relentlessly punishing lineup.
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Sinocence/Haint/Cursed Sun – Belfast, Voodoo – 1 March 2025
There are times when it is appropriate to rectify an oversight and this evening was one of them, with the turning of a new month finally providing us with the opportunity to witness, at first hand, the turning of a new page in the history of one of the longest serving bastions of our home city’s metal scene. Yes, it’s hard to believe that, almost 18 months after they re-emerged, phoenix-like, from a period of trauma and turmoil, to prove that their fire indeed still rises and burns brightly, we had never actually had seen the latest incarnation of this most storied of bands live and in the flesh…
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The Devil Wears Prada/Kingdom Of Giants/Ocean Grove/SENNA – Manchester, Club Academy – 18 February 2025
A night of crushing riffs, chaotic energy and genre-bending supports… what more could you ask for at The Devil Wears Prada’s first ÜK headline tour in 11 years? Josh B was front and centre to find out the answer…
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Set It Off/Point North/Call Me Amour/TSS – Amsterdam, Melkweg – 17 February 2025
After spending a somewhat low energy day following a night of screaming his lungs out elsewhere in the country, Jase W back at my local spot, Melkweg. It was absolutely fucking freezing as he slowly ambled into the venue and looked forward to warming himself up with a bunch of high energy pop punk/metal/whatever…
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Broncos/Bannered Mare/PTRNS – Belfast, The Union Bar – 8 February 2025
Life is full of new experiences and tonight was one of them, as Monk ventured into the glass-fronted glittery, shiny new Queen’s University Students’ Union building for the first time since it was rebuilt. Yet to visit the once hallowed halls of the basement Mandela Hall, his first trip took him to the second floor and the expansive new main bar, divided in two for this intimate co-headlining show, the final night of the punningly entitled ‘Stable Mates’ tour.
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Leprous – Tilburg, 013 – 7 February 2025
It’s Friday, it’s Tilburg again for Jase W, but it’s Leprous. There are bands that occupy the top five prog bands space for JW and Leprous occupies a huge space within that: our man on the continent doesn’t think he’s passed off a chance to see them any time in the last decade and today was no different.
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Ankor/Conquer Divide/Seven Blood – Utrecht, De Helling – 9 February 2025
It’s been just under a year and Ankor have returned on a headline run after supporting Beyond The Black, a show Jase W had the opportunity to witness in Haarlem and was blown away by Ankor’s performance. Not just that though, they had Conquer Divide, fresh off their run with New Years Day, and finally Seven Blood along for company…
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Tremonti/Florence Black – Belfast, Limelight 1 – 7 February 2025
After something of a lay-off due to a bad injury, The Dark Queen approached one of her old stomping grounds with a mixture of apprehension, excitement and fear as she prepared to reacquaint herself with the live force that is Tremonti…
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The Devil Wears Prada/Kingdom Of Giants/Ocean Grove/SENNA – Haarlem, Patronaat – 5 February 2025
Stacked, absolutely fucking stacked. There is legitimately no other way to describe this tour’s lineup. The Devil Wears Prada fully capitalise on their jumps in popularity with another headline stomp around Europe that arguably moves them out of the shadow of supporting Landmvrks last year and into similarly sized venues in their own right. Not only that but American synthy metalcore outfit Kingdom Of Giants, Aussies Ocean Grove and tied off with sparkly metal band, SENNA. What an unreal selection!
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Winterfylleth/Domhain – Belfast, Voodoo – 2 February 2025
Sure, what else would you be doing on a dark, blackened Sunday evening in the dark, blackened side streets of a dark, blackened city but sitting upstairs in a dark, blackened venue enjoying some dark, blackened heavy metal? Not much, really… which is why Monk uncurled himself from his sleeping bag under the bench in the corner – well, he did feel like he’d been living here for the weekend, as this was his third gig here in as many nights – dusted down his battered leather jacket, hit the bar to drain the remains of last night’s left over JD and adopted his usual pose beside the sound desk for what promised to be a special collision of black metal forces with one of the Celtic giants of the genre riding into battle with his English counterparts…
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Slomosa/Skypilot – Belfast, Voodoo – 1 February 2025
Norwegian self-styled “tundra rock” exponents Slomosa are definitely on an exponential upward growth curve as demonstrated by the fact that the last, and only previous time, they played this particular corner of the Überverse it was to about two dozen people but tonight loudly and proudly displays the “SOLD OUT” signs. OK, last time around they went on stage at something like 6:15 on a Monday night as openers on a three-band bill, and this is a Saturday headliner… but, Monk’s point is still valid, as their transcendence in the interim has been nothing short of phenomenal, as tonight’s show proves.
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Distant/Enterprise Earth/The Last Ten Seconds Of Life/Harbinger – Tilburg, 013 – 31 January 2025
Normally Jase W would have talked himself out of doing two nights on the bounce on a trip to Tilburg but in this case he could not forgive himself for missing either one of these shows and tonight is a massive serving of absolute filth. Dutch locals, Distant, strike out on a massive stomp around Europe alongside similarly disgusting Enterprise Earth as co-headliners and to tie off the lineup is The Last Ten Seconds Of Life and the good lads in Harbinger to open. It was going to be a heavy one!
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