There may have been a feeling that they let their people down at Slane in the summer, but The Prodigy’s return to Ireland was just what the doctor ordered after a dreary year of doom and gloom, the one time this year – aside from Pendulum at Oxegen – when ravers dressed in fluorescent…

Many of us weren’t around in the original Horslips days but we can surely thank our parents for introducing us to one of Ireland’s most memorable bands. At a triumphant gig in The O2 though we were reminded of why they are held in such high esteem. The band’s musical arrangements were as impressive…

Another Gary Numan tour, another album to recreate. Having given his Replica album a once over at the same venue last year, this time round saw the industrial icon running through The Pleasure Principle, his first album under his own name from thirty years ago. Devoted fans returned along with those who were yet…

While it doesn’t always happen, there is something hugely satisfying about a band’s commercial and artistic peak dovetailing. Biffy Clyro took the guts of 10 years to reach a mainstream audience but managed it with their best work to date, 2007’s fine Puzzle album. The worry now is that, having taken so long to…

It had almost been a year since Scottish trio Biffy Clyro played Ireland, but the amount of ‘Monthebiffy!’s resounding through the Olympia before the show had begun suggested that a year is too long in concert-going terms. Not long after support band Manchester Orchestra had finished wowing the mob, the unshaven Scotsmen took to…

After keeping their audience waiting for the guts of three years, AFI are back on the scene, although choosing to ditch the sound of 2006’s December Underground in favour of more traditional rock and roll tones. The band believes that Crash Love is their best album to date and we here at State are…

Day three and, as it’s our last one here, we finally decide to explore the site away from the music stages. Food wise there are some great options, unless you’re vegetarian when it’s same old same old for the whole weekend.. After finding shelter from the killer rays and re-applying the sun cream for…

Friday night brings only a few hours sleep and we wake to the sounds of Five Finger Death Punch, recently in Dublin to support Lamb of God. For such an ungodly hour FFDP draw a healthy crowd, with singer Ivan Moody even getting a circle pit going within minutes despite the heat. Such activity…

It takes longer to get to Bray than it does to Download and that’s a fact. One of the shortest plane trips on record, by the time we got our glasses of wine, we had to put the tray tables up and try to do our best impression of a fish. From there it’s…

Having made their name with the indie label release Orchestra Of Wolves, Gallows have moved into the world of major labels for the release of their second album Grey Britain – a bleak assessment of the state of their home nation. In Dublin for a recent show at the Academy, our friends at Tattoo.TV…

With the recession, one would think that gigs these days would be emptier than our bank accounts. However, this didn’t seem to be the case for Dublin band Heritage Centre who played Whelan’s last Friday.
The band launched their debut EP The City, The Fox and the Tree on the night and the huge…

While most people are snuggled up watching a romantic movie and eating a Chinese takeaway in bed on Valentine’s night, the rest of us are upstairs in Whelan’s awaiting the outrageous Dublin artist that is Robotnik.
Supported by fellow Dublin band 8Ball, the electro sextet played a great set with a diverse use of…

It’s nearly been three years since Lamb Of God have graced Dublin with their presence and this is more than obvious as the crowd eagerly await for the band to appear on stage. The audience are already hyped up by support groups Five Finger Death Punch and Irish band Mass Extinction.
After waiting for…

Waiting outside The Academy at 9:50pm for the doors to open on the night of a gig was a first. Due to the bad weather conditions, Soulfly’s ferry, carrying both themselves and their gear, had been delayed. Finally at about 10 o’clock, the tour bus pulled up outside and roadies, tour manager and even…