Metal 2 The Masses Heat 2 – Cavehill, Zombified, Donum Dei & Rule of Six
Saturday 7th March 2015 – Limelight 2, Belfast
Round Two of Bloodstock’s Metal 2 the Masses rolled into Belfast last weekend, this time with four bands that completely cover the rock and metal spectrum. There really was something for everyone!
First up is the most seasoned band, groove rockers Cavehill. Vocalist Sinco Goudie’s soulful voice blends beautifully with the band’s funked-up, bass-heavy grooves, even if he occasionally gets so involved with his guitar playing that he almost misses a few cues!
The band’s thick slabs of almost honky-tonk bluesy grooves have the crowd swaying and bopping along in no time, the only exception being the downtuned and forlorn ballad ‘Precious Little Hope’. The song, about child abuse, is a clear indicator of Cavehill’s maturity as songwriters. The flip side then comes in the form of final number ‘2 x 2’, which is preceded by Goudie telling us that “any Christians in here should leave now!”. A rousing and entertaining opening salvo.
From one end of that spectrum to the other…with a bowel-loosening roar, death metallers Zombified kick off their set, instantly setting the contents of The Limelight (chairs, glasses, the floor) to vibrate. There’s nothing fancy about these guys – they simply play pure, no-frills death metal. The result is an absolutely pounding wall of sound, perfectly offset by vocalist Pete’s guttural, unearthly growls.
With his trademark crazed, intense glare he demands that the crowd move forward and bang their heads, as the band launch into ‘The Forgotten Art Of Strangulation’, followed by a few new ‘uns (‘Den Of Iniquity’, ”Through a Dark Lens’) and a few old ‘uns (‘Immolation Race’, ‘Morgue Angel’).
This is music to soundtrack the Apocalypse: eerie, sludgy, relentless and face-shredding. The crowd response is (it has to be said) the most enthusiastic of the evening. Well done boys!
Attempting to equal their intensity is heavy metal youngsters Donum Dei. Their ‘Metallica crossed with Thin Lizzy’ sound is bouncing and riff-laden, with a teeth-rattling bass line from (obviously) bassist Dean Kane. Vocalist Thomas Marshall is a whirl of intense energy with an splendidly raspy, booming voice. In fact, the whole band are animated and energised, which is terrific to see when so many bands can appear blasé and disinterested onstage these days.
With tracks such as ‘Justice Fails’ and ‘Buried Alive’ (and even a brief drum solo), Donum Dei clearly worship at the altar of classic metal, but there is nothing cheesy or cliched about their music – or indeed their excellent performance tonight.
Not that’s there’s anything wrong with a bit of cheese, as final act Rule Of Six amply prove. From their opening notes it becomes obvious that their altar consists of a bit of power metal and a bit of NWOBHM, all doused with the humour and geekery of acts such as Evil Scarecrow.
Visually they are rather startling, as there are four (!) guitars onstage, as well as their bassist – a literal wall of guitars faces the audience. Vocalist Dave Briggs is a commanding and cheeky presence, with his rich, throaty voice and silly banter (“We’re Rule Of Six and this is…a song!”).
With such influences their music was always going to be windswept and interesting – and sure enough, they don’t disappoint. From the drumtastic ‘Heathen Dreams’ (their first ever song, according to Briggs), the ‘Holy Diver’-esque ‘Angel From Hell’ and the Amon Amarth-sounding ‘Speaker For the Dead’, it’s all Maiden-y thundering beats, grand vocalising, ye olde storytelling and, um, CDs being thrown out like frisbees. A suitably epic conclusion to the evening’s festivities, in fact.
The crowd were evidently in agreement, as Rule Of Six won the vote to go into the semi finals. Competition was fierce for second place though: beating Zombified by less than one and a half percent was metal nippers Donum Dei.
Hope to see lots of you for Heat 3, this time in Voodoo Belfast on Thursday 12th March. Do it…do it!
