Terrorzone Live Review: Siege Of Limerick festival VIII

Now in its eighth instalment, the bi-annual Siege of Limerick festival has become a mandatory pilgrimage to make every April and October, to witness both Ireland’s home-grown talent and international acts across two stages.

The day is in full swing by the early afternoon whether it’s sets from Dublin’s Syphor on the main stage or a glimmer of good things to come from fresh-faced death metallers Sebek upstairs. Cork-based instrumental duo I’ll Eat Your Face mark the day’s first top-tier set, though. Short and sweet is their usual calling card, but a solid and impressive hail of noise from the duo is applauded and sets the bar for the evening.

Downstairs on the main stage, German thrashers Hatred offer a ruthless but altogether charismatic set, but it’s Ilenkus that come up trumps with a powerful airing of their meandering, and equally energetic, post-metal tidings. Whether it’s in the protracted passages of ‘Great Divide’ or shorter, more belligerent riff-driven tunes, this quintet are truly captivating.  Following up are Dichotomy with their slick death metal lashing that accomplishes enough to turn some heads but, once again the bar is raised with Limerick’s own Dark Matter who really up the ante with a stellar performance of their potent, spacy instrumental metal.

On the flip side are Iron Mountain. The seven-piece instrumental outfit, including violins, uilleann pipes and flutes, are very methodical and slow-burning but the pay-off that is revealed at the set’s unravelling and is certainly worth the invested attention.

Again the tone shifts for Warpath’s brutal and unforgiving death barbarity on the main stage while Three Hour Ceasefire are upstairs proving why they’re a supreme talent in Limerick’s scene. With a barrage of no-frills metal with hints of early-Sepultura, there will be a rise in whiplash claims tonight. As the evening progresses, death-doom outfit On Pain Of Death take the pace down to a wretched trudge with a devastatingly grim set.

Irish grind luminaries Abaddon Incarnate proudly deliver the first of the night’s co-headline sets with a relentless and searing onslaught. Spanning their career from ‘99’s ‘The Last Supper’ right through to their split with Californian grinders Phobia, they pack out a headliners’ worthy set and the promise of a new album next year certainly ends things on a high.

Sunderland black metallers Wodensthrone are next to enthral. Erupting with ‘Jormungandr’ after a serene intro, the band fire on all cylinders. Their pine-scented black metal creates a trance-like state. However, it is a state soon disrupted by one miscreant who crawls onto the stage, swiftly shoving guitarist/vocalist Rædwalh to floor below the stage, taking a nasty fall, with the assailant then lunging for keyboardist Árfæst only to be tackled to the ground by two of the venue’s burly security staff. The melee happens rather fast, almost putting a damper on the band’s, up to that point, triumphant set and a chorus of boos for the aggressor soon turn to cheers as Wodensthrone return and kick back into their set as if nothing has happened – well and truly earning the accolade of triumphant.

Words: Jonathan Keane