Finnish anthem/hair metal masters, Reckless Love are ramping up for their third album (we think) by releasing a brand new single, Night on Fire’ next Friday, April 26th. The band who have put out two albums to date (2010’s self-titled debut and 2011’s Animal Attraction) have been very mysterious about their new music and this clip isn’t going to help explain much. Check it out and see if it tickles your fancy (naughty).
Waterford thrash metallers, Animator, are promising great things from their debut album. Due to hit shelves ‘soon’ by EBM Records, Blacklisted is one of the must watch releases this year and the band have helped fuel the excitement with the release of a new song titled ‘Death From Above’. You can listen by playing the video below. We’re restraining ourselves here at TTHQ from reviewing and waiting for the album ….but, it’s fricking awesome. Check it out now and see for yourself.
After seeing AeSect shake Fibbers up last week, TT decided it was high time we checked out their debut EP, Beneath the Undergrowth; which has just been released as a free download. With five tracks and high expectations, it’s time for metal!
Opening tune, ‘Baal’ is a very strong start. Bruising heaviness mixed with metal/hardcore vocals; the band immediately set a high bar for themselves and the EP. ‘Snipe the Lamb’ continues the assault with extreme speed and pounding aggression. At times the vocals impose themselves a little too strongly but a crackin’ tune none the less. The title track is next and there’s a little drop in the impact. The song seems too disjointed, too sparse to really hammer the point home.
The opening riff to ‘Bite the Curb’ seems to bring the EP back on course, until you spend one minute being yelled at to ‘Bitteee the Cuuurb Bhoyy, just bite the f**king curb’. Don’t get me wrong, it brings back American History X memories and all, which is always….. fun; but again this song lets itself-down and seems to drag out and slow the enjoyment. ‘The God Delusion’ is last up and kicks off with yet another sweet intro; something AeSect are clearly amazing at. Mostly the song is strong but dragged out choruses and unsettlingly mediocre lyrics again cast a shadow.
There are some insanely good moments on this release, but on the second half they are overshadowed with some major weak points. Musically and the lyrically the last three songs could all do with improvements before going on to a full length album. The opening two songs and the band’s live performance show undeniable talent and skill. AeSect just need to ensure they get that across on their recordings.
EHT Promotions have just announced a thrash metal bash to end them all. This August, GAMA BOMB, along with Psykosis, Edenfire, Exzeltic, Animator and Snowblind will take over Dublin’s Fibber MaGees for a night of full on bullet belt mayhem. It all takes place on August 16th with tickets costing €15. Doors are at six so get there early.
Gama Bomb are currently gearing up for the release of their fourth album, The Terror Tapes which is out this Friday. Earlier this month the first single, ‘Terrorscope‘ was released on 7″ after initially being released as a free download in March. The artwork for Terror Tapes was designed by legendary horror artist Graham Humphreys (Nightmare on Elm Street / Evil Dead).
Any night spent at the WARPARTY is always going to deliver chaos, drinks and a rake of great tunes from one of Ireland’s leading metal bands. Tonight though, the mighty Warpath are getting support from sixteen other Irish groups, all playing varying styles of metal. Everything from Thrash, Death metal, hardcore, punk and Groove is catered for tonight and the drinks are flowing! Almost eight hours of metal, played out over two stages for the amazingly cheap price of €5. Fibbers, are you ready?
Things are in full swing when TT arrives. Clurichan are courting the upstairs crowd and sounding much stronger than this time last year when I last saw them. Their bassist (Tommy Buckley) still looks like a member of the Stone Roses, but no harm seeing one person stand out. After drinks are reigned in, it’s time to leg it downstairs and catch the end of By Conquest or Contest. These guys come from Belfast and TT is interested in seeing how they progress over the next couple of years. For now the lads sound good, play well and keep the crowd happy. Next time i hope to say a lot more about them, but right now it’s time for Psykosis!
Psykosis were a late addition to tonight’s line-up, but the lack of notice doesn’t phase the lads. Even repeated sound issues, a missing microphone and lack of backing vocals doesn’t stop them shredding their way through an abbreviated set packed with crowd favourites. ‘Toxic Fugitive’ gets the mosh pit off to an early start while closers, ‘Terror At 3am’ and ‘Driller Killer’ send bodies, drinks and any thoughts of paced drinking out the window. Excellent performance as always; capped by the promise that they’ll be back to play their own headlining show soon.
The next few hours are filled with wandering between stages, great music, the bar and Fibber’s overly appealing catacombs and smoking area. Upstairs Aesect are thundering through an impressive set. Having never seen them live before, their show is an attention grabber. They have a great sound and are definitely worth a second, third look. After that we get treated to some hardcore courtesy of Galway’s finest, Only Fumes & Corpses. TT first discovered these lads back in the MySpace Review days and after some initial hesitations, we grew fond. OFAC put on a strong show, blaring out positivity, killer riffs and energy by the bucket load. At this stage though, drink is needed.
With some lineup changes, the order of things starts to misalign and instead of Spitting Bones, TT stumbles upon Murdock, a noisy punk hardcore three piece from Offaly. Unfortunately these guys just don’t do it for TT, but their show is undeniably full on and becomes more difficult to walk away from as it goes on. Both guitarist (Aidan Cunningham) and bassist (Michael Keyes) spend copious amounts if time playing from the crowd, wrecking mic stands and generally keeping things interesting. The music may not be our thing, but the show is fun.
Back upstairs Vile Regression punish their fans with a blistering show. These boys have been around long enough to perfect their stuff and tonight there’s no doubt their fanbase will increase. Next up is Dead Label and they’re just what’s needed to keep things going more than six hours into this show. The floor packs up as they take stage and lead us closer to tonight’s headliners. Dead Label pack their set with tracks from their debut album, Sense of Slaughter which they released earlier this year. New single, ‘Are You Ready to Kill?‘ Adds an extra boost of energy towards to end of their set before things finish off with just one band left to go.
It’s been said before and it’ll be said again; Warpath are a juggernaut on this country’s metal scene. It’s only been a little under two months since TT last caught them onstage and that’s far too long to go without. After recently performing in Norway at the Inferno Metal festival, Darren, Dario, Karl, Eoin and Joe are back and ready to raise hell, fists and pints in their mission to blow all the other bands away and end the night with a vicious assault on the ears. With the downstairs stage now closed, it’s time to party!
‘Munting Season’ opens a set evenly packed with crowd favourites from their two studio albums (2007’s Gorefare and 2010’s Malevolent Reprisal), as well as a couple of new tracks to whet our appetites as we wait for album number three. ‘The Red Mist’ and ‘Extreme Rendition’ continue to punish the swelling crowd and the fatigue from those first seven hours seems to wear off. As the heat rises on and off stage, the band treat us to ‘Brutal Paralysis’ before performing a new track entitled, ‘Shackled to the Chains of Command’. Two more trips to Malevolent Reprisal follow before 2012’s ‘preview song’, ‘Infectors’ gets an airing. Judging by these tunes, there is nothing about Warpath’s material that shows any hint of slowing down…as if anyone expected it to.
Taking a break to down some luscious Buckfast, Darren remarks on the appearance of the band’s old bass player up the front and the heat of the venue, before kindly instructing us to form the biggest pit of the night and tear the place apart! Of course we all oblige as the band belt into ‘Skinned and Salted’, ‘Point Blank Execution’ and ‘Gorefare’ which bring us closer to the end of the night, extreme alcohol poisoning and chronic dehydration…but they’re not done yet. Darren reflects on the passing of Hate bassist, Slawek “Mortifer” Archangielskij (R.I.P.) last week and dedicates a cover of Deicide’s ‘When Satan Rules His World’, which sees another pit explode in front of the stage and Warpath bassist, Eoin Dunne, get in on the action (losing a t-shirt in the process). The band get the go a-head for one last tune and bring the house down with ‘Demonic Possession’, wrapping up more than eight hours of incredible music from some of the best groups you could spend a night listening to. Excellent, excellent show that would be hard to beat, even form the most accomplished bands in the industry.
..and apologies to Eoin, I owe you a t-shirt 🙂
Overoth have been kind enough to re-release their debut album, Kingdom of Shadows and being black hearted megalomaniacs, we felt TT should have a say. If you’ve seen Overoth at any time over the past two years since Kingdom of Shadow’s release, you’ll know they are a powerful force to be reckoned with. Lead singer, Andy Ennis cuts an imposing figure on stage and commands a dominant presence; supported by an intensely dense, doom/death metal bellowing backline(I know what backline means, but it suited the moment).
‘Kingdom of Shadows’ and ‘I Am One, I Am All’ crack the lid on a treasure trove of isolated darkness, carnage and aggression. The title track is fast paced, classic death metal while I Am One, I Am All injects the band’s heavier, doom, sound made stronger by Andy’s reverbing growls. ‘Summon the Cursed’ is flanked by thick echoing riffs that sway with the song before bursts of extremity explode out of nowhere. `The Serpent of Old’ and ‘Led to the Slaughter’ are two of the strongest pieces on the album. Face slapping metal in its finest form. At times the impact is a little muddled, but raw with power and both songs show the ability this band has and boasts potential for their next record.
‘Pathway to Demise’ and ‘Obsidian Blade’ continue to reinforce the bands power, but offer little in the way of real originality. They pale even further when the show stealing, ‘Upon The Alar’ awakens. A heaving brute of a tune that perfectly captures each band member falling into place, allowing them to deliver the song they’ve hinted at throughout the record. Haunting guitars, sparse echoes and militaristic force. ‘The Forbidden Realm’ builds on the revamped interest Upon The Altar gives in dramatic fashion. While not as forceful, it’s complexity, speed and focus drive the song and the album home.
Kingdom of Shadows may not have the most life changing songs in its ranks, but it does an excellent job at relaying the bands live sound and brute strength. At the same time it manages to drop a few regulars into your playlist and build anticipation for Overoth’s next release. If Kingdom of Shadows is anything to go by, Overoth will be a death metal household name in no time.
Kildare’s noiesest three piece, Dead Label, have just released a new video for their tune, ‘Are You Ready to Kill?’. Check it out below (and remember – Dead Label play Fibber’s this Saturday, April 13th with Warpath, Psykosis, Edenfire and 14 more.
D.M.E. have confirmed Children of Bodom will play Vicar Street this October 10th. The Finnish metal giants are set to release their new album, Halo of Blood in October with their HALO OF BLOOD OVER EUROPE 2013 tour kicking off in September. Special guests and ticket prices TBC.
Metal fans living in Dublin, drinking anywhere but Fibbers tonight are losing out (broke, sick, murderous fans excused), because when you get three bands like Psykosis, Exzeltic and Edenfire playing the same night together, it’s not something to skip. Club Carnage may not be the most packed venue of all time, but there’s a good strong crowd in to hear some of the best thrash metal Dublin has to offer. A night made even sweeter by cheap entry, cheap booze and more than enough room to mosh the Buckfast away \,,/
Edenfire are just getting warmed up when TT reaches the venue. Only the second group on and already there’s an impressive crowd gathered around the front of the stage. The band sound strong, playing tracks from their debut EP and displaying skills that only come from the vast number of shows Edenfire have been playing over the last two years. Getting better with each performance and definitely ones to watch over the next year.
Ever since seeing this next band sweep through last year’s Wacken Metal Final semi finals; Tickets There has loved Exzeltic. In fact I’d find it hard to understand anyone who likes thrash metal not liking them. Adam, Connor, Neil and ‘Giller’ are four of the most talented, energetic and ferocious musicians on the scene today. With a small arsenal of songs at their disposal, Exzeltic has masterfully wielded their tracks into merciless destroyers. Extended solos played with extreme precision and unrelenting riffs pack their unfortunately short set with more power than you’re likely to see from any of the greats. Their bruising ‘Agents of Chaos’ and cover of Megadeth’s ‘Hanger 18 finish the night in epic style. Exzeltic are a new band with a lot to offer. Now we just wait until they’re ready for a full blown release. However tonight belongs to headliners Psykosis and they’re ready to light this place up.
I’ll be blunt – Psykosis are so good live its borderline ridiculous. This is the third or fourth time I’ve been able to catch them and each show sets the bar a little higher. They trump their excellent support bands in terms of performance, catalogue and skill together. Each song is delivered with flawless style and gut punching brutality. Yet the band still maintain and extremely relaxed, fun approach and are able to put on a stellar show without it seeming a challenge or like they’re going through the motions. Band interaction between songs and their best known hits saved till last (‘Toxic Fugitive’ and ‘Terror at 3am’!) complete a night of unbeatable metal.
What we got here…is some of the finest talent the Irish metal world has to offer; in the prime of their early days together. When these bands start releasing albums and touring extensively – there will be no stopping them. Anyone who like their Overkill, Megadeth, Slayer…etc, needs to get their asses down to the Pint, to Fibbers and anywhere else they play and support these bands before we lose them to the continent or the States. One incredible night from all involved.
Heavy metal Godfathers, Black Sabbath have just announced they’re coming to Belfast this year. The legends will be playing the Odyssey Arena on December 12th with tickets going on sale this Friday priced £55 plus booking fees. Sadly, there’s no word of a Dublin gig yet…. ROAD TRIP \,,/
Ozzy, Tony and Geezer are playing as part of their ’13’ world tour. Their new album (and the first to feature Ozzy in over 30 years) is just for release in June. More European dates have been announced and the list can be found at the bottom of this article.
Last week the band unveiled their new album’s art-work using a video posted on YouTube which you can see below. Original drummer, Bill Ward is expected to be absent from the 2013 tour.
Nov. 20 – Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
Nov. 22 – Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Nov. 24 – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Nov. 26 – Forum, Denmark, Copenhagen
Nov. 28 – Ziggo Dome, Holland, Amsterdam
Nov. 30 – Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
Dec. 02 – Bercy, Paris, France
Dec. 05 – Fiera Arena, Milan, Italy
Dec. 07 – 02 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
Dec. 10 – 02 Arena, London, UK
Dec. 12 – Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Ireland
Dec. 14 – Arena, Sheffield, UK
Dec. 16 – Hydro, Glasgow, UK
Dec. 18 – Arena, Manchester, UK
Dec. 20 – LG Arena, Birmingham, UK
Thinking of heading a long to Club Carnage for Thrash Assault tomorrow? (Psykosis, Exzeltic, Edenfire and Atominated all played), well make sure you pick up one of their brand new t-shirts. These bad boys will only set you back €10 and may not hang around for long. Plus, Zealot Cult and Warpath are the new black!
For those who don’t know, Enniskillen was once home to a might record shop called ‘Island Discs’. In its day, island Discs was the mecca of the North West for all things hard rock and metal. Anything demo/bootlegged or hard to find was always to be found in Island and generally at a decent price. It was a gathering ground for every rock/metal fan in the town and the surrounding counties. It’s no surprise that Enniskillen is now in the habit of producing some quality metal, first with Darkest Era and now Gargantuan (and
many more I’ve still discover I’m sure).
Formed in 2008, the death metal quartet has spent the last four years furiously touring Ireland with some of the major players from the Belfast and Dublin scene. They released their debut EP, Gargantuan EP in 2010 and now they’re ready to take things to a new level. Declarations of Gore is the band’s second EP and there’s no denying they’ve made some serious progress in the last two years. While the Gargantuan E.P. was a powerful adversary that nicely fused together many of the bands death / technical metal influences, it pales in comparison to Declarations of Gore. The songs on the first EP had the intensity, the power but seemed to lack a direction (except Sticky Trigger Finger; that song gallops down the headphones). That’s all over now as opening tune, ‘Hell Unearth’, thunders through the speakers with unstoppable fury. It introduces honed skills, a sharper direction and a harmonious mix of their influences and own unique style.
‘Kathartic Bloodletting’ pulls back into a brooding, intimidating mangle of restrained riffs and classic death / brutal metal structure. Less full frontal aggressiveness on K. Bloodletting is evened off when ‘I Rot’ hammers in. A concoction of death and black metal, I Rot is disjointed in structure, at times drawn out, but the power and intensity of the verse and bridges makes the song an authoritative piece for this EP. ‘Math Murder’ brings a little more doom back into Gargantuan’s sound. Slow and mighty at the start, you’re quickly thrown into a private pit of intensity. The EP ends with the forceful ‘Necrosis‘. Here the band just let loose with rampaging aggression. No long bridges, no melodic pit stops – just full on war for the ears. Excellent finish from a truly promising band. They’ll be down in Dublin for a show on June 1st at the Dublin Day of Decay so make sure you stop by and check them out.
Fantastic lineup coming to Club Carnage @ Fibber MaGee’s this Friday. On April 5th. Psykosis will headline the Thrash Assault which also features Exzeltic, Edenfire and Atominated. It’s just €5 on the door and drinks promos all night. It all starts at 9 so get in there son!
Bad news for all the Todd La Torre fans out there as Queensryche have had to postpone their Dublin show which was due to take place on April 19th. Instead, the band will return to play the show on October 18th and will move to The Button Factory. Original tickets are still valid.
The postponement applies to all of the bands schedule European dates so fear not, they haven’t singled out Ireland (like Rob [f**ko] Zombie – in case you forgot…because I never will).
More details about the show and rescheduled date can be found at DME.com
The big truck just keeps on rolling! Trucker Diablo have just released the official video for ‘Drive’, the first single from their sophomore album, Songs of Iron, which is due for release in May. If you’re looking for a solid slice of fun loving, sing along rock then look no further than this little anthem. There’s also more depth than I was expecting from the album’s first single. Unlike ‘Drink Beer, Destroy’, ‘Drive’ offers a solace message for dealing with heartbreak; without losing any of the bands knack for catchiness.
Remember, they’re supporting Kopek @ The Workman’s Club on Saturday, April 6th. Don’t miss this rare chance to catch one of this Island’s best rock bands in Dublin.
Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses is on! With Heat 1 wrapped up last night (the still waiting to hear the winners), there are now six heats left before the grand final on July 13th in Fibber MaGee’s. The Annual battle of the bands gives local talent from around the Europe a chance to play at this year’s Bloodstock Festival, as well as three other European festivals (W.O.A. 2014, Metal Camp, SL 2014 and OST in Romania).
Some of the biggest names in Irish metal are involved in the competition with another couple of bands (TT counts 1) still to be announced. A full list of the various heats happening between now and May can be found below. TT will be doing a weekly feature on each winner as they’re announced with the possibility of us begging our choice from the final seven for an interview. Like on our knees begging, none of this email nonsense.
The Boy In The Attic – Alablaster – Edenfire – Dead Aeon – Uproot Chaos – AeSect
Xenocide – Psykosis – Milestones – Alstralnaut – Sticky Digits – Zero Tollerence
Conquest Or Consent – Xerosun – Spitting Bones – Animator – We Know Jack – Emigra
Beltbuckle Overdrive – Eyes See Blind – Hello Jackie – Serpent – Axial Symmetry – Wheels of Poseidon
Victimised – Snowblind – Pussy Willow – Twisted Autocracy – New Age Extinction – Atominated
Warpath – Awaken Dominion – Negative Result – Broken Remnants – Electric Taurus – 1 More TBC
Raw Dawgs – Hollow Truth – Little Miss Stakes – Petrichor – Kerouc – Specter
All details will be added to the Gigz Guide soon.
Yes, another Black Star Riders story; and why not?
The new-Lizzy line-up has unveiled the impressive new art-work for their forthcoming debut album, All Hell Breaks Loose. Below is a blurb about the art-work and its origins that the band themselves posted earlier this morning. All hell breaks loose hits shelves in May, not June as previously reported by stupid Tickets There minions (me…the editor, owners and guru extraordinaire).
‘The artwork features a painting by Gil Elvgren (March 15, 1914 – February 29, 1980), the legendary US painter best known for his work on pin-up girls, advertising and illustration.
The artworks ties directly to the origins of the album title. Ricky Warwick explains “I was watching a documentary about World War II bombers and saw the name painted on the side of one of the aircraft. The name just resonated with me and it seemed to encapsulate the turmoil that we, as a society, are currently experiencing. The past few years have been such a wild ride and now with the release of the album, it sounded like a bad-ass album title that summed up what BLACK STAR RIDERS is all about.”
Last week, Black Star Riders released the first song from the new album, ‘Bound For Glory’, which you can listen to below.
Mixing hardened rock ‘n’ roll spirits, working man dreams and an indestructible spirit; Black Star Riders have emerged from the most recent Thin Lizzy touring line-up to end a thirty year hiatus from releasing music and break free from the spectre of Phil Lynott (in the most respectful way possible). While Philo will always be regarded as the king of Irish rock, the rest of the world must carry on and this is exactly what Ricky Warwick, Scott Gorham, Damon Johnson and Marco Mendoza planned when they toyed with the idea of new Thin Lizzy album.
After some thought, the lads decided not to tempt the lash of Philo’s holy faithful by smacking on the LIZZY logo and formed a new band to nurture and cultivate the new material. Finally, they’ve arrived. The album (All Hell Breaks Loose) is due to hit shelves in June and the band have released the first taste of their ‘new sound’. Personally, I don’t know if Lizzy fans would have minded this carrying the iconic name. Sure it’s not up there with the classics, but as rock goes you could do a hell of a lot worse. What do you think of ‘Bound for Glory’?
Yes, seriously! 18 bands, two stages, a fiver in and loads of drink promos! That’s the name of the game at Fibber MaGee’s on April 13th as metal comes to town. For anyone that thought the Dublin Day of Decay was the next big day out, welcome to hell!. There’s quite a few names so I’ve posted the names and stage times for each act below. Went through all the effort of copy and then paste to get that info to you so please take the time to read it. Of course I didn’t forget the amazing drink promos either.
April 13th @ Fibbers. See you there! For more information, check out the Facebook Event Page.
UPSTAIRS STAGE-
WARPATH 12:15 – 01:00
DEAD LABEL 11:30 – 12:00
VILE REGRESSION 10:45 – 11:15
ONLY FUMES & CORPSES 10:00 – 10:30
AESECT 9:15 – 9:45
DEATH OF A SALESMAN 8:30 – 9:00
EDENFIRE 7:30 – 8:00
AGGRO-CULTURE 6:45 – 7:15
ATOMINATED 6:00 – 6:30
DOWNSTAIRS STAGE-
SPITTIN BONES 11:00 – 11:30
MURDOCK 10:15– 10:45
HORNETS 9:30 – 10:00
BY CONQUEST OR CONSENT 8:45 – 9:15
CORROSIVE MACHINE 8:00 – 8:30
PSYKOSIS (replacing Zero Tolerance) 7:15 – 7:45
NEW AGE EXTINCTION 6:30 – 7:00
HOLLOW TRUTH 5:45 – 6:15
STRONGHOLD 5:00 – 5:30
Late Night DJ after the bands finish to close
DRINK PROMOS:
Vodka/Paddy Powers + Mixer €3
Pints from €3.70
Shots: Jager/Mickey Finns €3
Beer Pitchers from €11
Pitcher JD/Captain Morgan’s /Cocktail €16
3 Jager or Agwa Bombs €10
Bottle of Buckfast €12
Date: Saturday April 13th 2013
Venue : Fibbers Parnell Street, Upstairs & Downstairs Venue
Admission : €5 or €2.50 with Gospel Of The Horns Ticket stub
Doors : 5pm
The second semi-final of the Irish Wacken Metal Battle took place in the Pint on Saturday night and a fairly epic night it was with controversy, a packed house and a heap of metal to enjoy. In the end, Overoth, Bäkken and 7DaysDead rose to the challenge and carry on to the final, bidding Beltbuckle Overdrive (who came first in the audience vote, but were knocked out with the judges tally…..Tickets There may or may not have been judging this one J), September Cross and Dead Aeon goodbye for this year.
The winners will join Exzeltic, Zombified and Killface for the final which takes place on April 27th @ The Pint, Eden Quay, Dublin. Tickets There will be running features on each band before th27th so keep an eye out.
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