Review by John Hegarty for MPM
As we make our way to Belfast, it is a lovely warm evening and everyone is very excited especially as the American and Canadian bands are touring Europe for the Festival season. When Voivod announced this tour the Belfast fans rejoiced as it has been nearly eleven years since they last blew the roof off the Limelight with the Deathcrusher Tour. Another legendary night of Thrash Metal lies ahead and we can see the tour buses and the thrash movement, young and old wearing battle jackets and various band t-shirts lined up outside the venue. As we make our way into the Limelight, despite it being early it is filling up nicely with a great buzz which is fantastic for a Monday evening. Once in the venue I notice opposite the bar that there are three stalls with a great selection of Merch from all of tonight’s bands.
The Merch was set up parallel with the running order of tonight’s bands. 80’s Metal music including Judas Priest and Ronnie James Dio fills the air. It’s great to see such see an influx of thrashers and punks as everyone gathers in clusters talking with excitement and there is a great vibe.
First band up tonight are Cryptosis and they hail from the Enschede in the Netherlands. They are a progressive thrash three piece. They are on the European run after an American tour with Obscura. Their most recent release on Century Media Records was entitled ‘Celestial Death’, it arrived with a bang in 2025. The band are Guitar/vocals – Laurens Houvast, Bass/backing – vocals Frank teRiet and drums – Marco Prij. Cryptosis take to the stage as if they are playing to a festival of 50,000 people with great confidence about them.
The lads play ‘Faceless Matter’ and ‘Reign of Infinite’ and the sound is just immense with amazing musicianship for a three piece. Laurens interacts with the crowd and says it’s an honour to play in Belfast for the first time, especially so early on a Monday night and bangs his chest with genuiness. He announces it is a real honour to be on this bill with Midnight and Voivod. Cryptosis exude elements of thrash and progressive metal, with great melodies with pounding double bass drumming which I love and this is evident in songs such as ‘In Between Realities’ and ‘Death Technology’ which was dedicated to Belfast. The fellas are great craftsmen and move about the stage and warm us up for the night that is in it. Laurens invites the punters to meet them at the Merch stand when the set is over for a chat and finished off the set with Transcendence. Cryptosis have won over the Belfast crowd and it was great to see the fellas live.
The Limelight temperature has risen and the crowd is now dense yet this does not deter us. As we eagerly await the arrival of the next of tonight’s bands, fans eagerly purchase refreshments and Merch at the stalls. Midnight from Cleveland Ohio are a three piece and the brain child of the mighty Aethenar accompanied live by Daniel Dekay guitar and Iron Processor drums. The lads take to the stage to the pleasure of a number of diehard fans gathered at the barrier and centre of the crowd proudly wearing the bands t-shirts and patches.
The lads look the part with their signature attire comprising of Black leather jackets/waistcoats, various chains, bullet belts and handcuffs draped over their torsos with accompanying black hood/masks. Blackened thrash titans Midnight then precede to relentlessly assault the Belfast crowd for the next hour.
As it just so happens to be the fifteenth anniversary of the ‘Satanic Royalty’ album the lads play their historic debut in its entirety. We are not prepared for the onslaught and wall of sound produced by Midnight. For a three piece the level of aggression and anarchy is tangible when they power through Black Rock’n’Roll, Evil Like a Knife and Satanic Royalty. The fellas command the stage and audience and enthral the Belfast crowd with their antics and sheer high octane performance. It defies logic how they manage to perform brutal song after song in their masks as the temperature in the Limelight continues to soar. The fans pump their fists in the air and sing word for word. Aethenar takes a swig of bottled water declaring it to be Belfast’s best and then banters with a fan about getting some whiskey.
The centre of the crowd becomes a mosh pit as we are swept up in the Midnight tornado! The bands style and presence demands respect. Other bands have been crowned the loudest but Midnight by far more than earn that mantle tonight. I would describe them as Motorhead on speed with crushing riffs and thunderous bass and double bass drums. Black Damnation, Fucking Speed and Darkness and Who gives a Fuck? more than maintain our attention. We are caught up in a whirlwind of decibels as the band jump in the air and thrust about the stage kicking out and displaying a no fucks attitude and somehow never miss a beat. Aethenar came out into the audience as the guitarist and bassist let the Belfast crowd strum their guitars.
The band themselves appear to love the atmosphere every bit as much as us. I cannot wait to see Midnight live again they are truly a force to be reckoned with. If you came into the Limelight tonight not knowing anything about Midnight I’m sure you will be leaving a fan.
The members of Voivod remain incredibly grounded; they have a profound appreciation for both their artistry and their fanbase, generously offering free meet-and-greet sessions by just hanging around the venue. I was lucky to meet the fellas just prior to their set and I’m impressed with how they engage in conversation with their fans like they are part of the audience themselves tonight. Voivod are a metal a band from Jonquiere, Quebec and their career spans over forty four years. Their genre varies ranging from progressive thrash to Avant-garde and speed metal. They have sixteen studio albums to date. In the early days they were massive fans of the NWOBHM. There is a hard core punk element to their music yet they remain dedicated to their progressive heiritage influenced by bands such as Pink Floyd, Rush and King Crimson. They are regarded as being the top four of Thrash Metal in Canada including Sacrifice, Razor and Annihilator.
As Voivid take to the stage minus Snake, the lads create a crescendo with their opening track Experiment from Dimension Hatross 1988. As the vocalist appears on stage the crowd are chanting, the temperature is at boiling point and we know we are in for a night of tales of parallel universes, artificial intelligence and dystopian themes. The Voivod guitars are synonymous with geometric and angular designs crafted to match their sci-fi themes and progressive thrash metal sounds. A stand out track for me was Tribal Convictions also from Dimension Hatross 1988 – I was transported back to a time were Metal was massive and I was young enough to get away with wearing ripped skinny jeans and baseball boots.
Michael ‘Away’ is not only a magnificent drummer but is also the artistic architect behind Voivod’s eye catching Merchandise and Album sci-fi art work. I love ‘Aways’ unique drumming style he is captivating to watch. Snake greets the fans telling us how delighted they are to be back in Belfast – and we echo the sentiment as it’s been too long since they last graced our shores. Snakes facial expressions and robotic body movements are a sight to behold.
The band were in their element and enjoyed the sweat soaked atmosphere of the Limelight whilst powering through songs such as The Unknown Knows and Nanoman. Snake took a moment to talk about their fallen brother, Denis ‘Piggy’ D’amour who passed away in 2005. The singer dedicated Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd Cover) from the Nothingface Album 1989 to Piggy. The atmosphere shifted to one of sentimentality and unity in missing our loved ones.
Being at a Voivod gig truly is like time travelling back to an era where we were discovering various metal bands and life was great. The band bring a phenomenal night to a cracking end with Voivod from the War and Pain album 1984. The interaction between the Belfast fans and the band are elated and genuine.
Drawing a remarkably diverse demographic of both young newcomers and seasoned veterans, Voivod deliver a setlist that spanned their distinct musical eras. It was fascinating to witness the crowds shifting dynamics, as each generation of fans offered unique, visible reactions to the different chapters of the bands discography, you could see the different age groups light up for the specific eras that meant the most to them. The lads have been busy and have a new video game in production having already released Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior in 2025.
It’s great to see the Metal genre being so healthy especially with legendary bands like Voivod who have been playing for over 40 years with an amazing catalogue of music and still attracting old and new fans which is great. The tour continues on tomorrow night in Whelan’s in Dublin and finishing up in the Irish Isles in Dolans Warehouse in Limerick.
Photography by MPM
