Distortion Project Decade Of Aggression - Live Review

It’s hotter than hell today. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun’s blazing down so hard it’s as if Satan himself approves of the Distortion Project’s ten years in the business culminating in today’s ‘Decade Of Aggression’ anniversary extravaganza.

It’s an ambitious 21 bands over 3 stages in one day, and even this early on in the day, the place is packed with not only the usual Belfast heads, but plenty of southern accents to be found too. Annoyingly, I manage to miss HOWLIN’ WIDOW by 15 minutes, but by all accounts they were their typical brilliance, and it’s clear from the way they’ve progressed so far that they’ll be much higher up in subsequent DP fests.

Upon entering Katy Daly’s, the oppressive heat inside is even worse than outside, and one has to pity the “four dicks in hooded tops” on stage belting out the world’s best in spide-hating heavy metal. It’s the mighty LESSHELP, and it’s great to see them keeping themselves cool onstage by wearing sunglasses. Katy’s is pretty bunged, which reflects Lesshelp’s status in the Irish scene, and they get huge applause and cheers after each song. Great to see these guys gigging again.

It’s a quick duck into the Spring & Airbrake to have a gander at INTERROGATE while browsing through the Sentinel and Pariah Child stalls, and in all honesty the new singer doesn’t do it for me. The type of music the guys play deserves a more aggressive and screaming vocal, but all the same the crowd watching seemed to dig it.

A quick nip back into the Limelight reveals DEVILMAKESTHREE just starting off, and a great set is aired to give the audience their first chance at some death metal headbanging, which a good percentage of them take the opportunity to do. As with all the other bands, it’s a short 30 minute set, but punchy, aggressive and does the job admirably.

It’s amusing to watch the mass exodus outside once bands finish playing, as the weather is so nice to sit outside and drink pints in. The craic keeps getting better and better, and it’s only the rhythm and guitars coming through the window of Katy’s that prompts me to go in and check out REBELS BY NATURE who, despite their name, aren’t Jager-swilling confederate flag and bandanna wearing brodudes, and are in fact pretty much the Irish version of Airbourne.

It’s awesome hard rock they play, completely hook laden, full of energy and extremely enthusiastic, and as such, they’re easily the biggest surprise of the day, and finish off their set with several guest vocalists roaring out the last song together. Top marks for these guys, definitely check them out next time they play, it’s such good party music.

To atone for almost missing one of the best bands of the day, I elect to nip in to catch a couple of minutes of WAR IRON’s set. And punishment was swiftly delivered as my mind, body and possibly soul were crushed into oblivion by simply far too much bass for any human to handle without collapsing in a gibbering wreck. The crowd down the front managed it ably though, despite the majority of them coming out shell shocked and looking like they’d melted. Heaviest band in Ireland bar none.

It’s about this time in the day when the drink properly kicks in and bands start to get missed on account of laughs being had outside in the sunshine, so next band up is the mighty CONDEMNED who proceed to show the attendees what they’re missing outside.

It’s a great set, full of rawness and customary tightness that the guys are renowned for, but the most welcome aspect of the set is the airing of new material which sounds awesome on first listen, and bodes extremely well for the upcoming album. It’s going to be a highly anticipated release, and judging by what they play this evening, the anticipation will be well rewarded.

HONEY FOR CHRIST were the first band I ever saw live at RocKD, way back in 2000, so it’s great seeing them on the Decade bill ten years later. They easily cement their longstanding reputation as one of the best live bands in the country, and absolutely destroy the crowd with a fast set of speedy numbers, slowed down by fan favourite classic ‘Orion Dust’ with its customary huge singalong from the crowd. A hell of a lot of fun was had watching these guys, and as always, they’re on top of their game tonight.

Getting to the Spring & Airbrake proves to be troublesome, as with these big gigs there’s always a host of faces you haven’t seen in ages, so catching up with a few heads means I only catch the last two songs of STAND-UP GUY, but as usual they electrify the crowd with an intense performance, with most of the members violently rocking out on stage in an absolute world of their own making.

SUG are always a captivating sight to see live and it’s great to see a band take their music so seriously – those guys simply become enthralled by what they play, and this reflects onto the crowd too, making them more involved too.

The final band to play the Limelight tonight are death metallers OVEROTH who, in a matter of 4 very short years, have risen incredibly to their current position as best DM band in the north, and quite possibly in Ireland. The 30 minute set is so aggressive, so tight and so fucking metal that it’s impossible not to rock out to it.

A quick glance down the back reveals that even people leaning against the wall are headbanging along too, and people are standing up on seats to get a good look. There’s even signs of a mosh pit down the front too. A totally chaotic half hour, but immensely enjoyable, and Overoth are one of the bands of the day by far.

There’s a mass exodus into the Spring & Airbrake to witness the return of HEXXED after a four year hiatus, and opinions vary on the set. Choosing to have the new vocalist mess about with a laptop in the middle of the stage programming the backdrop detracts massively from the potential for crowd interaction, and you can’t help but wonder if the backdrops couldn’t have been programmed earlier.

Lesshelp managed it ably, and it did make the performance look somewhat cumbersome. Arriving late to the set means I only catch the end of it and thus miss out on hearing any of the new stuff, but judging from the crowd reaction, the older stuff is still well loved.

England’s ORANGE GOBLIN are up next, and proceed to play a Triggerman-esque style of rock that is appreciated by the huge crowd that flock down to see them, but I can’t help but feel bored by them and think Triggerman would have done it better, so it’s back outside to chill out before the day’s headliner.

- Donal McBrien ::: 09/06/10

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But this is where it goes a little tits up - ALL OF US GOT LANGERED. More to follow!