By Monk
In the year now known as CE791, longships containing fierce, long-haired warriors from the far-off northlands of Scandinavia first appeared off the coast of Ireland, their occupants seeking what they had sought and found elsewhere around the periphery of the North Sea and beyond – plunder and prisoners.
Over the course of the next half a century or so, the raiders gradually transitioned into settlers, founding the island’s first permanent settlements in the likes of Dublin and Limerick, and by the time their Norman descendents likewise came calling, some 200 years later, they had integrated seamlessly into the local population.
Now, a millennium further along the timeline, a new band of raiders, wanderers and warriors have appeared on the horizon, descending from the north west to pillage our hearts, souls and eardrums with equally lethal intent, their axes creating music rather than spilling blood but their war drums still sounding loud and proud, a defiant declaration.
The first of tonight’s advance parties comes in the shape of a slightly modified Aphrill, with the superbly talented and seemingly omniprescient Hunter Teras standing in on bass. They get things off to a bouncy and energetic start, their punky, nu-metal tinged alt-rock breezy but nevertheless hard-edged, with gunge inflections. Their frontman does seem to be having difficulty keeping his guitar plugged in, especially at the end of the second song, but they recover quickly and, with the set concentrating on material from their upcoming new EP, deliver an overall compact performance.
Our next raiding party are a trio who, I have to admit, haven’t quite gelled with me on the previous occasions our paths have crossed on the rock ‘n’ roll battlefield. That’s not to say that TriggerTone are a bad band, or I dislike them: far from it… it’s just they’re not quite my flagon of mead. Their heavy grungey, shoegazey alt-rock is rhythmically tight, and they do deliver some nice if somewhat meandering solos, and manage to keep the small audience (including myself) amused and entertained for their 30 minute set.
Despite the absolutely pathetic turnout – I count no more than a dozen people scattered throughout the space in front of the stage, with only myself and the bar staff occupying the back half of the room – our headliners immediately prove that they are indeed ‘Battle Born’ with their heavily post-hardcore take on the Viking metal thematic. These guys are determined to pay ‘The Price Of Glory’, no matter what the cost may be…
With three new songs from the new album previewed back-to-back, including the battle cry of the anthem from which this ‘Wanderer’s Warriors’ invasion takes its name – and leading Ren to declare himself “fucked” – the trio invite us to raise our horns and drink mead (Ciaran, I’ve been telling you for years you need to get it on tap), before leading us in storming the beaches of mediocrity and disinterest.
The band literally give it everything they have, with Ren taking to the floor to cajole the tiny crowd and then writhing around the stage, ripping down one of the decorative shields to act as a plectrum and throwing everything he has into the show.
A raid well executed.
- The third and final raid of the ‘Wanderer’s Warriors’ invasion takes place in Dublin, with the Berserkers laying waste to Fibber Magee’s on Friday (17 April).
