主播大秀

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The Downpatrick trio will perform at the , a venue named after the hit song from their debut album 1977.

The band are also marking their twentieth year with a brand new EP release on June 16th.

They will also perform a special Ash #20 show in the Relentless Garage, in London on June 17th.听

The band are currently playing shows around the UK.

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, headlined by the acclaimed Canadian producer/DJ Deadmau5 takes place in the King's Hall, Belfast on June 7th.

Also appearing on the bill are DJ Hix plus .

The night before will see Deadmau5 headlining at the RDS in Dublin while later in June, he will play a set for 主播大秀 Radio 1's live extravaganza at听Hackney Marshes.

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RTE鈥檚 eclectic music show 鈥�Other Voices鈥� will make the trip north as part of the City of Culture celebration in Derry-Londonderry. The programme, which usually takes place听in the intimate surroundings of St James Church in Dingle, Co. Kerry, will host a number of performances in the city next year.

The show听recently marked its 10-year anniversary with two sold-out shows at New York鈥檚 Le Poisson Rouge which featured Glen Hansard, Bryce and Aaron Dessner (The National), Bell X1, Martha Wainwright and many more.

Other events taking place for the City of Culture celebrations in 2013 will be the Fleadh Cheoil na h脡ireann from August 11-18, the Turner Prize award for contemporary art, a cantata written by Pulitzer-prizewinning Northern Ireland poet Paul Muldoon and the composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, a pageant celebrating the 鈥楻eturn of Colmcille鈥� written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and much much more.

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To view the timetable visit .

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Farriers, Three Blind Wolves, Gareth Dunlop
Black Box, Belfast
Sunday 27th May

It feels like one of the hottest nights ever in Belfast and for some reason everyone is dying to get in to a small black room in The Cathedral Quarter. It's a culmination of three years work for Northern Irish folk band Farriers and judging by the turnout at The Black Box tonight, it seems many people have been looking forward to this, the launch of their album 'Years Ago In Our Backyard'.

But before we get our bluegrass on we start with East Belfast singer songwriter , kicking off the night in a plucky and positive fashion. He showcases his fantastic skills in 'Fools Desire' and exhibits great enthusiasm with a voice that makes your hair stand on end. He finishes his short set with 'Trick Of The Moonlight' from his EP 'Devil Mocks Me', a beautiful and delicate number that could be even better if the audience decided to zip it for five minutes.

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The 听returns for it's second year on Saturday听the 4th of August at听Narrow Water Castle Estate, Co.Down.

Over 50 acts will play across five stages on the day. Acts announced include Aslan,听Silhouette, runaway GO, The Rupture Dogs, Dead 'Til Friday, Town Cried Wolf, A Northern Light, Chris Keys and many many more.

Visit 听for more information.

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Alt-J
The Stiff Kitten, Belfast
Friday 25th May 2012

With a debut album that has been thoroughly well received and the ambition of "...making consistent, interesting live performances that involve the audience", it would be fair to say that tonight's gig in The Stiff Kitten carries with it a significant degree of expectation for Cambridge-based art-rock quartet . At least, it's fair to say until we witness the depressingly dismal turnout this sweltering Friday evening, at which point such expectations appear unrealistic.

Thirty people? Really? For a band whose debut album has been described by 主播大秀's Jen Long as "...the perfect accompaniment, to any mood, any moment, anywhere", whose musicianship has been gushed about as "...jaw-droppingly different from the norm"? Good weather and an abundance of options for punters this Friday night can only account for so much - there should be more people here, and it's a frustrating development that regrettably sets the tone for the band's performance.

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Ahoyhoy, Brian Coney here. In the unlikely event you鈥檝e literally been living under a rock for the last few days, the sun is very much out and 鈥� as you might听expect 鈥� so are the tunes. Pouring from empty bedrooms, back gardens and passing cars, sun-kissed music is soundtracking the country鈥檚 collective meteorological disbelief. But while we can鈥檛 compete with that on TNBS, there is still some fine music from three Irish bands making their mark...

- Fresh Milk
Taking influence from a broad palette of artists including Talk Talk and Liars, Croupier are a five-piece 'glambient' band from Co. Wicklow. Playing a versatile brand of indie-rock clearly influenced by a wide range of pioneering post-rock acts, Charlie Mooney鈥檚 tortured vocals, equally reminiscent of Jamie Lenman of Reuben (RIP) and The Walkmen鈥檚 Hamilton Leithhauser, combines with the bands purposeful shtick to create something special right across the band's six-track EP called We, The System.

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Oh Yeah Contenders:
Silhouette, Katharine Philippa, Ryan Vail
Ulster Hall Group Space, Belfast听
Friday 25th May听2012

The crowd are promptly gathering in the intimate setting of the Group Space, within one of Belfast鈥檚 most prestigious venues. It has been a busy week for the Ulster Hall, what with the institution turning the grand old age of 150, and so the celebration continues with three of the finest, up and coming acts, to have emerged from the Northern Irish music scene this year.

First to take to the stage tonight is Derry electronica producer, and his musical companion Katie Cosgrove. They start into an instantly atmospheric set of synthetic beats and breathy vocals, twisting down the road of retro shoe-gaze meets ambient dance. There is a raw feel to this sample filled set and Katie鈥檚 complimenting vocals, which are slightly underutilised, make for further depth. Amongst compositions of his own tracks, from both 鈥楥olours鈥� and 鈥楾hese Words鈥� EPs, we are treated to a down beat rendition of Gorillaz 鈥楳eloncholy Hill鈥� which makes for a fresh take on the Electro-pop hit.

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Enniskillen Rugby Club will play host to the on Saturday the 9th of June featuring ATL regulars such as , and many more.

The Line Up:
Midnight Graffiti
Window Seats
Joy Of Six
ABandCalledBoy
Indigo Fury
Wasted Grace
Benjamin & The Drones
The Plot Thinkens
Love Seeds
The Savage Rabbits听

Acoustic Sets:
Owen mcNulty
Philthy
Luke Burns
Caolan Jones
Parisian Kings of Decadence
Imperfect Scribble
Naomi Wilson

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DZ Deathrays, The Alice Kona Band
McHugh鈥檚, Belfast
24th May 2012

As we鈥檙e currently in the middle of a heatwave, it is only sensible to seek shelter from the sun. That we鈥檙e lurking in a basement bar and its night-time is irrelevant 鈥� its shelter and mine鈥檚 a pint while you鈥檙e asking.

Our headliners this evening will, of course, be well used to warm weather (clich茅 alert) as they鈥檙e Aussies. Indeed, they鈥檙e enamoured by their surroundings, revelling in playing in a venue that they admit is 鈥渓ike 100 years older than our country.鈥�

I doubt that are as old as either the bar or Australia, but they鈥檙e imbued with the vitality of their relative youth. They鈥檙e from the guitar pop tradition, and confirm their local-ness by complaining about the heat in-between punk-poppy songs 鈥� punk-pop in the sense that they鈥檙e punky but catchy, like The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers or Richard Hell.

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主播大秀 News NI have reported that one of Northern Ireland's most famed instrument manufacturuers, , have gone into administration. The small Newtownards based business have made custom guitars for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Bob Geldof, James Morrison, Andy McKee and many more.

For more information, visit 主播大秀 News NI.

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More support acts have been announced for the festival which takes place at Custom House Square, Belfast this August. Duke Special, Newton Faulkner, The Answer, Sweet Savage, Jody Has A Hitlist and many more have been announced for various dates throughout the event.

See below for the line-ups:

Wednesday 15th August -听Skrillex
Support from Dillon Francis

Thursday 16th August - Emeli Sande
Support from Duke Special and Foy Vance

Friday 17th August - Madness
Support TBC

Saturday 18th August - Thin Lizzy
Support from The Answer, Sweet Savage, FM

Sunday 19th August - Paramore
Support from Jody Has A Hitlist

Monday 20th August - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Support from The Enemy

Thursday 23rd August - Two Door Cinema Club
Support from Noah & The Whale, Oberhofer

Friday 24th August - Tom Jones
Support from Brian Kennedy

Saturday 25th August - James Morrison
Support from Newton Faulkner and Gareth Dunlop.

Sunday 26th August - David Guetta
Support from Alesso, Congorock, DJ Hix

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Last night听The Great Northern Songbook live concert was held in the historic surroundings of the Ulster Hall. The Ulster Orchestra were joined by the likes of And So I Watch You From Afar, General Fiasco, Katharine Philippa, Rams Pocket Radio and Ciaran Gribbin to perform the 'top ten Northern Irish penned songs' as voted by the public.听

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Now you can listen back to the whole gig here!

Acts and Covers:
The Ulster Orchestra - Medley
Brian Kenndy - Madame George (Van Morrison)
Rams Pocket Radio - Alternative Ulster (Stiff Little Fingers)
Cara Dillon - Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)
Katharine Philippa - Days Of Pearly Spencer (David McWilliams)
Ciaran Gribbon - The Island (Paul Brady)
General Fiasco - Tonight We Fly (The Divine Comedy)
Barry Lynn - Hill of Thieves (Cara Dillon)
And So I Watch You From Afar - Big Time (Rudi)
Bronagh Gallagher - Freewheel (Duke Special)
The Answer - Shining Light (Ash)

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Last year one of NIs finest folk troupes,, began to look for help to put out their debut album, Years Ago in Our Backyard. They had all the tracks recorded, but needed a little hand to get the funds to mix, master and press the release. Their fans stepped up and donating over 拢4,000 on a funding site to help them out and now the album is finally here! Pretty good going!听

So we're very excited at ATL towers! We've heard the album and reckon ya'll are in for a treat! Match the new tunes with one of the finest live acts about and Sunday at the Black Box will surely be one of 'those' gigs!

Plus there are some special guests, including support from the ever reliable and Ross Clarke from Glasgow's .

We spoke to Rachel Coulter from the band about what to expect:

"We are thrilled to finally launch our first album this Sunday at The Black Box. It has been a long time in the making but well worth the hard work and the wait. We are also really excited to be sharing the stage with some very special guests - Gareth Dunlop, Ross Clarke from Three Blind Wolves, Matt McGinn, Katie Richardson from KATC and Kowalski's Louis & Paddy. It's going to be a cracker night with a full band & choir towards the end, filled with warmth, banter, handclaps and plenty of stomps of course. A lovely way to end the weekend for sure."

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Farriers launch their album Years Ago in Our Backyard at the Communion Gig night on Sunday at the Black Box, Belfast. Support comes from Gareth Dunlop and Ross Clarke. Have a listen to some of the Farriers album tracks below!

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have announced they will play the Waterfront Hall, Belfast on Tuesday听the 2nd of October as part of their UK & Ireland tour. They will also play Monday 1st October at the Olympia, Dublin. The band听are about to release听their fourth album Magic Hour on Polydor records later this听month.

will launch their new single,听'Bad Dreams' at Aunt Annies, Belfast on the 30th of June.

, (England), and will play Masons, Derry on the16th August.

Concrete Circus, F.O.G, Popside Lock will play听Mister Toms in Laverys, Belfast on the 5th of June.

and听 will play Voodoo, Belfast on Tuesday 5th June.

Twitch presents: at Queens Students Union, Belfast on Saturday the 9th of June.

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Carrie Davenport is back with another selection of the finest cuts of new rock from the north and south! This week we have an aurally pleasuring mix of stoner rock and punk and, of course, plenty of great riffs!

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Enniskillen is known for loughs and castles but it also has some pretty good punk music in the form of Setting Off Sirens. Having shared stages with veterans such as the UK Subs, The Beat, Runnin鈥� Riot and Paranoid Visions they'll appeal to the old and new school punks among us.


Alice in Chains influenced grunge metal from Derry, Stone Crow released their debut EP From Within to good reviews from lots of places so it comes pre-tested and with a thumbs up. They describe themselves as being "like a morbidly obese dwarf - too small to be that heavy". I mean, 听who can resist that!

Blackened rock and roll from the deep deep south (well Cork - it's as far south as ya can go in Ireland without falling into the sea so that counts) . Their music has a decidely bluesy twang with horror themed riffs and deep brooding basslines. Debut EP Strange Meat is filled with some super groovy heavy tunes and new track 'Alchemy' is set to be released next month! You can get the EP at and we can't recommend it enough. 听

Brains photo by Patricia Klich

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Fred
The Half Moon, London
Friday 18th May

Tonight we find ourselves in the plush-surroundings of 鈥楾he Half Moon鈥� in Putney, just a stone鈥檚 throw from the great and dirty River Thames, eagerly anticipating the moment when Ireland鈥檚 most innocuously named band - - will take the stage.

With critically-acclaimed fourth album Leaving My Empire having received its Canadian release in March via label 鈥楽parks Music鈥� - home to a rather eclectic roster of acts - and with a string of Canadian radio and TV performances now firmly under their belt, it would appear that Cork鈥檚 favourite purveyors of guitar-laden power pop might finally be receiving the attention their music deserves.

The story goes that in their endeavours to get to The Big Smoke today, the band had to catch a ferry at 5am, a rather ungodly hour to be expected to go anywhere. But as the boys open their set under the bright lights there are certainly no signs of fatigue to be seen. They start with two tracks from the last album, 鈥楾he Life Behind鈥� and following this, album-opener 鈥業f Not Now When鈥�. The sound that characterizes the newer material is darker, more expansive, and certainly that bit more adventurous than what we might have heard on earlier albums such as 鈥楪o God Go鈥� or 鈥楳aking Music So You Don鈥檛 Have To鈥�, but that knack for writing infectious melodies that get lodged firmly in your head remains as strong as ever.

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kick off their European tour in Manchester tonight. The Belfast based band will release their new single,听鈥楢 Troubled See' on the听25th of听June through .听听It will听be a split single with label mates 听song 鈥淗ouse of Secrets鈥� also on the release.

Girls Names Tour Dates:
22nd May -听Night and Day, Manchester (UK) w/ Former Bullies/Waiters
23rd May - The Waiting Room, London (UK) w/ French Kissing/Drop Out Venus
24th May - The Green Door Store, Brighton (UK) w/ Splashh/Heliopause
26th May - Le Guess Who Festival, Utrecht (Netherlands)
27th May - Effenaar, Eindhoven (Netherlands)
28th May - Cafe Video, Gent (Belgium)
29th May - Point Ephemere, Paris (France) w/ Beach Fossils
2nd/3rd June - PRIMAVERA SOUND FESTIVAL, Barcelona (Spain)

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David C Clements, Neil Mullan
Common Grounds, Belfast
Saturday 19th May

situated in City Church started their monthly Arts Nights in April. The second installment is tonight with and Neil Mullan.

First up is Neil Mullan who is more commonly seen playing as part of the . He has two fellow Knights playing double bass and guitar/keyboard for some songs. Opening with 'You Can Tell A Man By How He Lifts His Hands', Neil gets off to a good start.

As the set continues it becomes clear that Neil is more comfortable playing with fellow musicians, taking a laid back approach singing with his hands in his pockets. Then he covers 'Galileo' by Declan O'Rourke with the lyrics up on his phone. But solo, Neil admits he's far more nervous than with his band in tow and as he takes to the keyboard to play by himself it shows.

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returns to Tubby's Farm outside Hillsborough village on Friday the 17th to Sunday the 19th of August.

The initial line up was announced in March and now additional acts have been added including Grainne Duffy, Clown Parlour, Runaway GO, Pocket Billiards, Indigo Fury, Colum Sands, Suzanne Savage, NI Soul Troop, The Delfinos, The Red Velvetines, Yellow Car No Return, The Couth, Malaika, Bernadette Morris, Axis Of, Concrete Circus, My Fellow Sponges and The Urges.

Now the day by day break down of acts has also been released.

Friday 17th August

Main Stage: Duke Special, Lanterns on a Lake, Wonder Villains, Runaway Go, The Dead Presidents, The Unprotected
Barn Stage: Fighting With Wire, Nasa Assassin, Swanee River, Million Dollar Reload, Payola, Yellow Car No Return, The Couth, The Red Velvetines
Campfire Stage:听Ben Glover, Katherine Phillipa,Chris Campbell and more TBC

Saturday 18th August

Main Stage:听Republic Of Loose, Scroobius Pip, Jape, A Plastic Rose, Pocket Billiards, The Hot Sprockets, Clown Parlour, Tucan
Barn Stage:听Roysta, Janice Graham Band, The World On Fire, The Barley Mob, The Bonnevilles, Intermission, Axis Of, Concrete Circus, Radioactive, Grandma
Campfire Stage:听Andre and the J-Tones, The Lost Brothers Magwere, Rachel Austin, My Fellow Sponges, Colum Sands, The Delfinos and more TBA

Sunday 19th August

Main Stage:听Dreadzone, Brass Roots Relish, Simon McBride Band, Silhouette, Katie And The Carnival, The NI Soul Troop
Barn Stage:听Boss Sound Manifesto, Parachutes Over Paris, Seven Summits, Elspeth, Indigo Fury
Campfire Stage:听 Ursula Burns, Suzanne Savage, Six Miles North, Bernadette Morris, Dolbro Dan, Brass Roots Acoustic, Nursery Crymes

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organisers听have announced a further 18 acts that will perform this year at the festival at听Eagles Rock, Co Londonderry.

The full new list of acts will include;听, , , , , , ,, , , ,, , , , and a festival exclusive performance from Derry鈥檚 4 Conors (a collaborative effort from听, , and ).

As we听previously reported will headline this summer's Festival, with perfomances also from , and , with more acts to be announced.

For the current听festival line-up visit听听for more information.听

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are among the first acts confirmed for the new at Skibereen, Co Cork on August 4th and 5th.This is the second听 Irish date for Chic who are also playing the on July 19th.

Joining them on the Liss Ard billing is the likes of听Ireland's own听, , , the and many more.

The event is taking place on the grounds of the Liss Ard house, the site of the听acclaimed听 late Liss Ards听festival of the 1990's which played host to artists such as , , and听.听听

Visit for the full line-up

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Belfast's 听has been cancelled because of poor ticket sales.

The two day festival set to be headlined by and ,听was to听take place on听1st and 2nd of听June. But in spite of a major promotional campaign across Northern Ireland the festival has been cancelled one month ahead of the event.

The festival, to be held in a former shipyard hangar opposite the old headquarters of Harland and Wolff in the Titanic Quarter听 was to boast a stage dedicated to听local artists including听performances from , , and .

Promoters Hydroponic have released a听 statement saying:

"Due to poor ticket sales in a challenging economic climate, it is with great regret and disappointment that we must announce the cancellation of the 2012 Titanic Lockdown summer festival.

Despite a huge wave of goodwill, ticket sales have been significantly slower than forecast for an event featuring such high profile acts. As a result, it will not be possible to deliver the event.

We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all who have supported, endorsed and believed in the project. In addition, we offer good wishes to all local festival organisers, promoters and artists currently beating the drum for the Arts in Northern Ireland. They make a wonderful contribution to the cultural life of our city in these bleak economic times.

No one is more disappointed than us that the event will not now be taking place, but unfortunately the circumstances are simply beyond our control.

All tickets will be fully refunded - please contact your ticket provider for details"听

For more information visit the .

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Missouri troubadour blows back into to Belfast to play the , Belfast on Thursday 7th June. Tickets going on sale this Friday at 9am. Nathaniel has recently been travelling from Austin to Boston on tour with , and Bear Den.

Belfast's own CROMBY a.k.a. Chris McCormick will play the Stiff Kitten, Belfast on Saturday 19th May, with Jordan Magee & Neil Kerr joining him on the bill.

& play at the Menagerie, Belfast on Saturday 19th May.

, , , will play on Sunday听3rd June, Bank Holiday Weekend at Auntie Annies, Belfast. ,, and will听also play Auntie Annie's on听Wednesday 13th June.

, & will take to the Railway Bar stage, Lurgan on Friday 8th June.听

, , 听will play at the Warzone Centre, Belfast on Friday 15th June.

, and perform at the Slemish bar, Ballymena on Saturday 23rd June.

For more information visit the ATL Gig Guide.

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are the latest听band to have signed up with Canadian artists services.

Master and Dog (formerly John, Shelly & The Creatures) released their first album in 2010 and will release their听sophomore听album with听Matchless Minds music听in September.

They follow closely on the heels of听 , who we previously听reported had joined the Matchless Minds roster in March. Also on its roster are Wexford-based听 , Canadian based and ,听and London's .

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Dungannon听's is to launch it's 听 on June 14th听 at . Support on the night will be by Derry's and Ciaran Lavery.

A听 digital versions of the EP will be availble for free download听 and听there will also听be a special edition coloured EP available on the night.

The EP was recorded at and produced by听 Jonathan Wallace.

are lined up to give an exclusive one-off performance of their 'Rise' album at the 听 club night on July 5th .

The County Down group's debut album Rise - recorded at Olympic studio 1 in 2005 - has sold more than 30,000 copies in UK & Europe and in excess of 100,000 copies worldwide.

Also performing that night will be ,,, and with special recorded performances by , Shake! and 听.

The听Gifted听club听night was relaunched in March as 听with听 all听live performances on the night being streamed on their website for free.

Visit for more information.

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Several New acts have been confirmed for the on 3rd to 5th of August including, , , Irish merchants and听 dance-punk five-piece .

As previously reported we can expect great live sets from the likes of , and .

For more information, check out the or Facebook page.

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have signed to London's . The label is already home to the likes of Reuben, Against Me, Future of the Left, Frank Turner and many more.

The Derry trio will release their long awaited album 鈥�Colonel Blood鈥� through the label on the 24th of September (25th in USA). The band's last album 'Man vs Monster' was released back in 2008 through Small Town America records and afterwards a major US label got involved with the band.

Speaking about the move of labels Cahir O'Doherty from the band stated, "We finished recording our 2nd album in summer 2010 in Nashville with producer Nick Raskulinecz, we were so excited for people to hear it, but unfortunately the label went silent on us. A year and a half later we parted ways but got our record back, we were really back at square one again. But we had this record which we were proud of so we thought we'd put it out ourselves and give it one last tour before calling it a day. Then we got a call from Xtra Mile and a chance to put this record out properly and give it the release it deserves. We are excited again for the first time in two years, this is a label we have always admired and it gives us a chance for a fresh start for Fighting With Wire鈥�.

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Once again, it's quality AND quantity with our GOTW as not three, not five, not seven but FOUR decent bands take to the stage at The Empire Music Hall, Belfast this Thursday.
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It's another SONI (Sounds of Northern Ireland) showcase, with Phil from SONI explaining:

'We run at least five gigs a month at three different venues in Belfast and Hague's Bar in Lisburn - we are also one of the main bookers and organisers of Sunflowerfest. Our business is putting on the best gig nights possible, featuring bands and acts from all over N.I and beyond...in a wide range of genres.

'The Empire gigs are our biggest night of the month, featuring some of the most exciting acts we showcase - at this show, Summer Shootout, we feature the big alt-rock anthems of headliners , special guests are - a ferocious live act who have just won the Voodoo "B*s To Poverty" Battle of The Bands, also play...just back from touring the UK with Kill Hannah and Dear Superstar, and the mighty kick things off with their huge, Biffy Clyro-esque riffage.'

Couldn't have put it better - can we get Phil to write these things from now on?

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Deadlights, Levity Breaks, IN Elegance and Stillpoint play The Empire this Thursday night (May 17th).

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has been confirmed for the in听 in Londonderry.

Pixie- who recently was part of the 'Titanic Sounds' line-up - will join Dublin singer ,听, Derry's , and singer to perform at the event as part of the opening for the cultural olympics.

The concert will be held at Ebrington听 square on the 21st June and will be hosted by Jude Law.

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Now in it's fourth year, 听returns to Skelly鈥檚 Bar in Ballymahon, Longford on June 9th.

The bill includes the likes of Ash, Duke Special, Jape, The Delorentos, Bill Coleman, The Kanyu Tree and many more. The charity festival will have three stages and a camping area.听

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Visit 听for the full line-up.

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The band will also be part of the next听at the Empire, Belfast on Thursday the 7th of June alongside Duke Special, Tom McShane, More Than Conquerors, Window Seats, Pugwash and more!

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'My Love For You Is in Tents'
Katie & The Carnival, Sons of Caliber, VerseChorusVerse
Oh Yeah Centre,
Sunday the 20th of May

We鈥檙e hitting the OhYeah Centre this evening for a gig with a difference tonight: part of the , the gig is entitled 鈥楳y Love for you is in Tents鈥�, an audio/visual feast arranged by in collaboration with . The Oh Yeah building has been lovingly decorated for today鈥檚 event, with four tents in different areas of the venue, all of which are contain a screen playing videos of Katie & The Carnival shot by Bandwidth at various locations out and around the city.

Bandwidth is the brainchild of Will McConnell, and over the past few years he has nabbed some great sessions from local and international bands. Shooting with 1 camera and a relaxed feel, it鈥檚 not unlike the now infamous work of La Blogoteque, he manages to make you feel part of the performance, and his footage of Katie & The Carnival is splendid.

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The returns to Portadown on the 16th of June with a host of local acts throughout the day and headlined by the reggae sounds of Natty Wailer.听

The line up also includes Trucker Diablo, Microlip, Paddy Headlock, Flang, Gas Can Ruckus, Wookalily, The Jury Disagree, Rain Dogs, Nina Armstrong, Nama Naya, Portuguese Fado Singers, The Twisted Sisters and Rodney Cordne.

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Comedian and Ash fan will host the event which will have music, films and of course a set from Ash themselves. For more information visit .

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Derry's Triggerman are set to release their third album, Hail to the River Gods on the 1st of June. The album was recorded at Einstein Studios in Antrim with Frankie McClay. The band are currently offering their first single from the album as a free download on.

To mark the release Triggerman will play the below shows in June:

June 1st - 听Mason's, Derry with half Shot (Free)
June 7th - Sandinos, Derry with Swanee River
June 8th - voodoo, Belfast

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Alright The Captain,听You Slut, Kasper Rosa
Speakeasy, Belfast
10th May 2012

It鈥檚 a longstanding clich茅 that the members of bands have certain types. Drummers are traditionally heavy drinkers and party animals, guitarists are self-indulgent, bassists are quiet, dependable types who never speak, and front-men are supposed to be arrogant divas. Tonight, however we don鈥檛 have to worry about stroppy singers as we鈥檙e presented with a triple bill of instrumentalism.

Well, nearly all music and no words, for Kasper Rosa have sneakily included a few vocals recently. They鈥檝e not gone overboard with them however, but the contrast it brings to 鈥楩irst Breath, First Blood鈥� is a change and a hint that they may have decided what their direction should be 鈥� in a word, powerful, not rushed or frantic, but with a steady, constant energy throughout. They鈥檝e always had musical ability, but now have a focus that was missing in their earlier days.

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Vyvienne Long, Our Krypton Son
McHugh's, Belfast
Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Tonight as part ofwe are in for a treat with making a long awaited return to Belfast in a busy basement in McHughes ably supported by . We begin with Our krypton son who are missing a few members and as such we are presented with an intimate, acoustic set. Chris McConaghy has a quiet and unassuming quality. 鈥楽unlight in the ashes鈥� is deep and sorrowful with his understated voice highlighting the melancholy nature of the song.

鈥楽eason in Hell鈥� brings the tempo right back up with a jaunty beat and witty lyrics. Chris switches to the piano for his final few tracks. Their latest offering 鈥楶lutonium鈥�, is filled with quiet piano and heartfelt lyrics. He finishes on 鈥楥atalonian Love Song鈥�, which has a meandering timeless quality to it. It would have been great to hear him with the fuller sound of a band, however, a minor gripe as his talent shines through regardless.

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The now annual Belfast open air concert series now stands at ten shows for this coming August.

Paramore will play the Custom House Square site on August 19th. Support is as yet unconfirmed. Other acts appearing at this year's Belsonic include Skrillex, Tom Jones, Two Door Cinema Club and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Paramore previously sold out the King's Hall in Belfast when they appeared in 2010. They have released three studio albums since forming in Tennessee in 2004. They have also contributed to the soundtracks of Hollywood films such as Transformers and the Twilight saga.

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Kristian Matsson, aka Swedish act , returns to Dublin and Belfast this October as part of a tour to promote his forthcoming album.听There鈥檚 No Leaving Now听 is due to be released on the 11th of June on Dead Oceans.

He'll play Vicar Street, Dublin on Wednesday the 24th and Mandela hall, Belfast on Thursday the 25th of October.

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Naturally enough, when an ATL playlist comes to life, we get a bit excited. And that seems to be what's in store tonight at The Menagerie with four of our favourite new bands taking to the stage, four pretty different sounding acts at that. Like a music pick n' mix at the cinema, but not as expensive because....the bands are really light.

Anyway....., , and - (left to right) epic, riffy, cute and quirky. It's loosely billed as a celebration of indie-electronica, so expect lots of poppy synths in amongst those guitars. In a nutshell though, we play these bands loads and thus think they're great. Oh, and there's what seems to be an 8-bit connoisseur called Casion on the bill. He's new to us, but a wildcard is always fun.

Niall from Futurescope puts things into perspective:

'Basically half hour sets from every act showcasing the top songs. BBQ first, then each band will be playing with a full band set up! 'We will be playing a sneaky cover of Arctic Monkeys too which should be good.'

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play The Menagerie, Belfast this tonight from 8pm.

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will celebrate their听10th anniversary with a gig at the Limelight, Belfast on Saturday the 21st of July.听The thrash band have听released听three albums听over the years听and are听currently working on their fourth due out later this year.

The band recently went through a line-up change when their original guitarist Luke Graham left, but John Roche who had played with the band live soon took up听rhythm guitar duties.

Warbringer听(USA) and Elm Street (Australia)听will support at the Limelight, Belfast on Saturday 21st July.

There will also be an all ages听show the next day at The Pint, Eden Quay, Dublin听from 5pm听featuring the same bill.

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The 听have confirmed there will be no听full weekend programme听this year due to the current听"harsh economy" and "incresed competition for headliners".听The festival which usually takes place annually in the Cathedral Quarters, Belfast has hosted the likes of Wilco, Fleet Foxes, Mumford & Sons and听Seasick Steve in previous years. This year would have been the 14th year of the festival.

In a statment online, Festival Director Kieran Gilmore wrote, "听there will be no Open House shows on Custom House Square this year, nor a 2012 ChilliFest. That鈥檚 no marquee, no open air gigs and no hot chilli pepper eating competition"..."The bands we know you want are simply not available to us for a summer festival or the fees being sought are out of our reach and would make ticket prices out of your reach.".

However, the Open House team plan to continue bringing acts to Belfast throughout the year and a return for the festival in 2013.听Acts already booked for shows this year include Bob Log III, The Low Anthem, Josh T. Pearson, The Civil Wars, Fixers听and Lucy Rose. for more information visit

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CQAF: Field Music, The Dudley Corporation
Black Box, Belfast
Monday 7th May 2012

Slap bang in the middle of the ten-day long festivities, Belfast is treated to one of more highly anticipated shows of this year鈥檚 . After a whirlwind six months that鈥檚 seen a much deserved upsurge of recognition, both critically and commercially, of their many talents, Sunderland prog-pop band bring their clever yet whimsical brand of carefully-considered pop to the intimate surroundings of the Black Box.

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Belfast punk band have announced they will go on a seven date UK tour later this month.

The band are currently working on their next release but in the mean time they are giving away their first EP 'Identity Lost' for free on .

Tour Dates:
18th May - The Bay, Glasgow
19th May - The Shed, Leicester
22nd May - The Monarch, Camden, London
23rd May - Wolverhampton Civic Centre (w/ General fiasco)
24th May - Undertone, Cardiff
25th May - The Croft, Bristol
26th May - Barcelona bar, Liverpool

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听have confirmed they will play the An Culturlann, Derry on the 21st June, and The Limelight, Belfast on the 22nd June. They will also play the Body and Soul Festival the next day on the 23rd of June.

听celebrate 50 years at the Waterfront, Belfast on Wednesday 30 May.

In other news have cancelled their gig at No Alibis Bookshop in Belfast on Friday 25th May. Contact the venue for ticket refund.

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Greetings stench followers. This week , I Philip Taggart, serve you three ripe new bands for your consideration. We start with some instrumental prog metal, then off to 鈥榙a club鈥� for some J. Cole influenced hip hop finalizing in the Maiden City for yet another of their far fresh prodigies.

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Yet another fledgling band from the Maiden City conveyor belt of talent. This thundering four piece have armour piercing riffs, prog metal passages and in their first single 鈥楨xodus鈥� a strangely compelling latin inspired guitar solo outro. Check em out!

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Death In Vegas, Birdhead
Cathedral Quarter Marquee, Custom House Square
Saturday 5th May 2012

鈥淭hey sure do seem to be very angry and noisy, for there only being two of them鈥� is the thought that comes to mind about Edinburgh's. Sometimes, the fewer the members, the more concentrated the vitriol and so on. After all there seems to be 3 million members of the Polyphonic Spree and they all appear to be nice and friendly. Back to Birdhead, this two piece begin with a mix of sweet pop with a dance-rock edge, something in the vein of the late Oppenheimer or Cutaways, but move into murkier waters of dirty-electro and punk-techno, more like F*** Buttons at their spikiest. 鈥楽he Was So Rowdy鈥� is malevolent, and their later formula of Stooges-esque guitar over a relentless beat with repetitive, spat out vocals comes across as a gloriously nightmarish situation of LaFaro covering Spacemen 3 while being remixed by Not Squares.

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The Cast of Cheers, Blood Red Shoes
Heaven, London
May 3rd, 2012

Just off Trafalgar Square, tucked away amid the arches beneath Charing Cross Station is鈥� - a club better known for its than its great gigs. However, tonight might prove to be an intriguing exception as Blood Red Shoes and The Cast of Cheers take to the stage for a sold-out show.

open the night to a room that is only beginning to fill. Anyone lucky enough to download the band鈥檚 free-album 鈥楥hariots鈥� before its unfortunate disappearance will know them as a hot prospect. Since then these Dublin boys have been blazing a trail with their quirky, catchy sound that nods in the direction of,, and . Their performance is intense and appealing from the off, with a driving rhythm section providing the perfect backdrop for such angular and frenetic guitar parts to descend upon the audience.

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Oh Yeah Centre 5th Birthday Bash
VerseChorusVerse, Conor Mason R.G Shiels, Our Krypton Son, Bronagh Gallagher, The Wonder Villains
Saturday 5th May 2012

Tonight draws out local-music enthusiasts for more than just a gig, as this event celebrates five years of what many regard as a linchpin of Northern Irish music scene, the Oh Yeah Music Centre.

With a brief introduction, the birthday bash is on its way as four familiar faces take to the stage in an unfamiliar set up. The collaboration is made up of Tony Wright, the face behind ; , well known for his own form of tortured Country music; Derry born singer-songwriter ; and lastly Chris McConaghy, normally going by the guise of .听With each artist hailing from closely related acoustic-y sub genres, the match fits well. Chris kicks the sequence off with his own 鈥楽un Light in the Ashes,鈥� delivered with strong vocals and gentle guitar.

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Back in the day, Across the Line played a LOT of the Beastie Boys. In fact, on one occasion, members of the ATL crew, including Joe Lindsay, took the hip hop legends on a tour of Belfast. Here, Joe remembers that day, and indeed the legend that was MCA, who sadly died last week.

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Friday was a right kick in the chest. I heard the news from a friend, Jim Meredith, 听that Adam Yauch had passed away after his battle with cancer. It seemed impossible. The ball of always-positive energy that was MCA couldn鈥檛 have lost that fight.

The delayed release of Hot Sauce Committee, the fact that this album wasn鈥檛 going to be toured, the minimal amount of interviews coming from the Beasties camp didn鈥檛 bode well - but this was MCA. Yauch was a tireless activist, a lyricist who could mix powerful message with great humour and as he said himself, a preying mantis on the basketball court. He couldn鈥檛 be dead. But unfortunately it was true. Although I鈥檓 glad I heard it from Jim. We had shared a great adventure with Yauch. Pull up a keg, let鈥檚 begin..

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have announced a ten date tour around Ireland in May & June. To coincide with the tour, the Belfast based band are offering a live and acoustic version of their recent EP '' for free. A video of live performance will also be put online along with the EP.

Tour Dates:
May 10th - Pop Up Gig, Open Source, Belfast (Acoustic)
May 12th - bound For Boston, Derry
June 1st - Purple rooms, Drogheda,
June 2nd - Piper Inn, Clonmel
June 3rd - Happy Valley festival, Thomastown
June 4th - Crane Lane Threatre, Cork
June 7th - Gifted Live, the Empire, Belfast (Acoustic)
June 8th - Bogan's Bar, Omagh
June 9th - Ruck n'Roll Festival, Enniskillen
听June 16th - Jagger's Common Rooms, Dungannon

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听 have change their Belfast album launch dates to a month later than originally planned. They will now play an 18+ show at The Stiff Kitten on Friday July 27th, followed by a 14+ show in Mandela Hall the following night (July 28th).听All tickets remain valid for the new dates.

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The band's sophomore album, Unfaithfully Yours is due to be released through Dirty Hit records.

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A Northern Light, Go Wolf, Charles Hurts
Speakeasy, Belfast
Thurs 3rd May 2012

Opening in a sparsely populated room are , reportedly named as a parody of a local business. Unfortunately, their music occasionally verges upon parody, so heavily influenced to the point of pastiche by artists such as The Smiths and Richard Hawley, who themselves tread in footsteps of 1950s and 60s pop such as Buddy Holly and The Shadows. One song with disaffected, detached vocals over layered dirty, distorted, effected guitar is great, two is fine, but three is starting to push it unless you鈥檙e pairing up Marr and Morrissey in their prime. When it鈥檚 practically the whole set, boredom inevitably sets in. Add in a lack of flexibility from working with a laptop, as well as a lack of on-stage charisma, and it merges into a forgettable blur. Comparisons have been made with Joy Division, but that group have always been described as having a compelling urgency and desperation which is entirely absent here. I suppose we should applaud their bravery in going against the local indie grain, but when it鈥檚 done with so little apparent self-belief, it鈥檚 hard to get behind it.

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Stalwart of the NI music scene, will release his debut album on Friday the 22nd of June with a launch gig at the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast the same day.

Entitled The Ural Winter, the album was recorded in the Oh Yeah Centre over two live sessions held in front of a small audience back in July 2010. The album tracks were then picked from takes between the two sessions with no over-dubs allowed.

As McShane explains, the audience helped to bring a "special atmosphere that can only be generated by performing to a crowd", but also acted as a choir during the eight track, 'A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea Part '.

You can listen to the album now over at听and .听

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will play four shows to mark the passage of the Olympic Torch as it is carried around Northern Ireland next month.

As the iconic symbol makes its way around NI, the Co. Derry combo will appear live on four occasions. The first event is taking place at the East Strand Car Park, Portrush on 3rd June, followed by St Columbs Park, Derry, Londonderry on 4th, Pairc Esler, Newry on 5th and Belfast City Hall, Belfast on 6th.

Snow Patrol have already been confirmed to play a slot in London around the opening of this summer's London 2012 Games.

Musical events will be taking place around the UK in celebration of the games.听

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An abandoned space on Royal Avenue, Belfast will become a pop-up cultural hub for the duration of the . The Open Source venue at Sinclair House in the city centre, will provide free workshops and performances between noon and 7pm.

One of the organisers, Adam Turkington from said, "essentially the concept is that we take over a vacant property and use it as a cultural hub for people to showcase, network and exchange ideas".

Today will see BeeMickSee ) and Slaine from give a free Rap workshop at 3pm and Dan Bardon will perform acoustic from 6pm.

Other events over the festival include sets from , Scream Blue Murmur, The Gathering Drum, Caroline Pugh, Sara Dylan, , Bill Morrison, Simon Howell. Free workshops include online promotion, electronic music drop in with Wheelworks, fire poise, urban image photogrpahy, kids drama, music podcasting and much more.听

Visit 听for the full details of events running.

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The guys have been confirmed for a number of festival dates including Wexford's and Hillsboroughs .

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The Subways, The Funeral Suits, Empty Lungs
The Limelight, Belfast
Friday 27th April

In the grungy setting of The Limelight, take to the stage promptly after doors opening, making for an early set and resulting in a rather lacking audience. That being said, it didn鈥檛 stop the lads from giving it their all. They dive straight into their punk-rock set with the thick basss lines of 鈥楻unning in Circles鈥� which is delivered with sincerity. While these guys can easily be described as American-post-hardcore, the thick Belfast-punk vocals allow us not to forget where this trio were born and bred. The set is full of punk-tastic riffs and heavy drum beats, with clear enthusiasm throughout.

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The musician, whose debut album 'Every Kingdom' went Gold in the UK will be supported on the night from Willy Mason. Howard also plays the Olympia, Dublin on November 7th.

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NI chart-toppers Snow Patrol have been chosen to represent Northern Ireland at a concert to celebrate the opening of this summer's Olympic Games in London.

The gig will take place on July 27th at Hyde Park, and will feature acts also representing their home nations namely Stereophonics (Wales), Paolo Nutini (Scotland) and Duran Duran (England).

The band, whose hits include 'Chasing Cars' and 'Run', released their sixth studio album 'Fallen Empires' this year.

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This Thursday sees the return of the new spruced up 'Gifted' gig night at the Empire Music Hall in Belfast. The local music night is now called ', with the monthly gig being streamed online at 听with extra pre-recorded performances showcased among the acts in the venue.听

May's gig takes place this Thursday with Master & Dog, Parachutes Over Paris, Dirty Kansas, Decomposing in Paris,听Dutch Shultz, Wonder Villians and Robb Murphy all part of the evening.

Now the acts for June's Gifted Live have been announced with听Duke Special,听The 1930s,听Pugwash,听Tieranniesaur,听Window Seats, A Plastic Rose (acoustic) all performing live and special recorded performances from More Than Conquerors, Tom McShane and Elspeth.

Visit for more information.

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Russian Circles, 听Deafheaven
Speakeasy, Belfast
Thurs 26th April

First up are San Francisco band who open the night with 'Violet', the twelve minute masterpiece off their newly released album 'Roads To Judah'. With the volume up full and their shoegaze-y style of black metal, it isn't long before every head in the Speakeasy is swaying along to their atmospheric sounds.

Breaking into the tragically bleak opening sequence of their most recognizable song 'Unrequited', a big slab of pure intensity is dropped making it obvious that these guys have the agility, touch and range of post rockers alike. With the quality of their music, anyone here tonight now knows that black metal doesn't need to be performed by long haired Norwegians covered in corpse paint.

Since their first album 'Enter', have always been incredibly adept at creating swathes of atmosphere, and emerging with the beautiful 'Carpe' , it evokes a tremendous reaction from the anticipating crowd. Seamlessly flowing through complex guitar-scapes that stem from only two instruments, 'Geneva' rolls out of the soundfuzz and immediately launches mortars of bass.

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