I arrived at the Limelight 2 to check out three bands. Three bands which are very different to each other. The headliners, the hard rocking Divides Unfold, who I saw for the first time a little over two years ago. The support band, the metal/punk/horror inspired So Long Until The Seance, better known to their fan base as SLUTS. Both bands I have seen live on several different occasions.
First though, we come to the opening act on the bill. A new band called Dystopia. A band who only formed as recently as this past June. This was a busy weekend for the newcomers to the scene. The previous night they played their first ever gig as a band at the Whitecliff Inn at the inaugural Music In Mind Festival in Whitehead.
Fronted by the former Slick District vocalist Alana Faith, who comes across on stage as a little quirky, though I’m guessing thats part of the act. She certainly has a powerful set of pipes and got to display that with the material that was performed.
Additional vocals and lead guitar are provided by Stephen Harrison. His vocals work well with Alana’s and is, from what I heard, a very capable guitarist.
As for the other members in this five piece outfit, I can’t really say much as they seemed to just blend into the background and never really stood out at all. This is by no means putting the guys down as musicians. They can play. On stage they need to connect more and try and stand out. They are a new outfit in their infancy and need to find their feet yet.
On the bill next was So Long Until The Seance. A Belfast band who got together originally as an experiment in 2014. They realised that they had something and decided to make a go of it.
Playing a mix of sleazy, horror cliche filled inspired rock, these guys are always fun to catch live. They always deliver a good show and with having forty five minutes allotted to them, they had ample time to do it.
Unfortunately, this time, they were let down by very poor lighting. Whoever chose the lighting for this show really let the guys down. If they were trying to make the guys have a mysterious look on the stage, they really missed the mark, as the guys were reduced to not much more than silhouettes on stage for almost the whole show.
Musically though, the band were in fine form and performed their set without a hitch. As well as the usual songs that would be on their set, we were also treated to a cover version of the 80’s Tiffany hit “I Think We’re Alone Now”, which seemed to go down well and I also quite enjoyed.
It was then time for headliners Divides Unfold to take to the stage.
Since the first time I got to see and enjoy this band a little over two years ago at the legendary Empire in Belfast, they have done nothing but get better and better.
Apart from a slight technical hitch during the intro to one of their songs, the band played a cracking set of good solid hard rock filled with chunky heavy riffs, tons of energy and blistering solos.
This is such a tight and talented band and come across as a very professional outfit. Gianluca is a solid bassist who shows great proficiency and serves as a rock-solid bridge between the rest of the band. Drummer Adam Wilson does a great job of keeping rhythm and shows great timing. Alex is an outstanding lead guitaist and is so energetic up on stage and you really can see and hear his passion for the music in the way he performs. Frontman Mark Penney is a great vocalist and guitarist and the mix of his rhythm playing with Alexs’ lead work together so well.
The only critisism that I would have would be that frontman Mark Penney needs to connect more with the audience and be as confident as Gianluca and Alex come across on stage and realise that the band really are that good.
I honestly believe that this band really has the talent, the sound and the material to go places.
Review & Photography by David Stewart : Do not use or Copy Photos without permission.