Inspired by the my tribe thread and the references to the Dublin metal scene in the 90s, please feel free to share your memories of this iconic venue. The first gig I ever attended outside of Cork was Korn in the SFX in 1996. I was relatively young at the time, 16, and was absolutely in awe of the place. This was well before Korn became huge, so there was a huge mix of metal fans, loads of black metal tees from what I can remember as well as the obvious big bands of the day, such as Slayer, Machine Head, etc. I was fairly naive as well, and was completely taken aback at the local scrotes, some who seemed as young as 10, trying to sell drugs outside!! I just checked the Wikipedia page, the list of some of the bands who played over the years is phenomenal.
ABC[7]
Accept[8]
Alanis Morissette[9]
Alice in Chains[10]
An Emotional Fish[11]
Anthrax[12][13][14]
Ash[15]
Big Audio Dynamite[16]
Billy Bragg[17]
Björk[18]
The Black Crowes[19]
Bush[20]
Chumbawamba[21]
The Clash[22]
Counting Crows[23]
The Cramps[24]
The Damned[25]
Def Leppard[26]
Deftones[27]
Depeche Mode[28]
Dio[29]
Dokken[30]
Echo and the Bunnymen[31] (May, 1983)[32]
EMF[33]
Fear Factory
Foo Fighters[34]
Fugazi[35][36]
Green Day[37]
The House of Love
Iron Maiden[38]
James[39]
Jethro Tull 25th Anniversary Tour
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts[40]
The Jesus and Mary Chain[41]
Judas Priest[42]
Kerbdog[43]
Korn[44]
Machine Head[45]
Madness[46]
Mama's Boys[47]
Manowar[48]
Marillion[49]
Megadeth[50]
meat loaf
Metallica[51][52][53]
The Mission[54]
Moby[55]
My Bloody Valentine[56]
New Order[57](January, 1986)[32]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds[58]
Nine Inch Nails[59]
The Offspring[60]
Ozzy Osbourne[61]
Pantera[62]
Paradise Lost[63]
Phish[64]
Placebo[65]
The Pogues[66]
Poison[67]
Portishead[68]
The Pretenders[69]
Queensrÿche[70]
Ratt[71]
R.E.M.[72]
Red Hot Chili Peppers[73][74]
Rollins Band[75]
Rory Gallagher[76]
Sepultura[77][78]
Silverfish[79]
Simple Minds[80]
Sinéad O'Connor[81]
Siouxsie and the Banshees[82]
Slayer[83]
The Smashing Pumpkins[84][85]
The Smiths[86]
Soul Asylum[87]
Stone Temple Pilots[88]
Suede[89]
The Sugarcubes[90]
Therapy?[91]
Thin Lizzy[92]
Tool[93]
Type O Negative[94]
U2[95]
Ultravox[96]
The Verve[97]
The Wedding Present[98]
Whitesnake[99]
The Wonder Stuff[100]
ZZ Top[101]
I was lucky to catch a good few gigs there, but my greatest regret is missing Type O Negative.
My one and only time in there was Deftones when I just turned 18. Drank a bottle of vodka for the first time, lost a shoe during the gig, mangled the box off some young wan. Great night. Walked to the train station the next morning in the rain with a plastic bag over my foot in place of said missing shoe, all the while one of the lads was puking green every 50 yards.
By all accounts the shoe made it back to Limerick.
Great memories from the SFX. I imagine if I went to a gig there as an adult I'd have a different opinion but as a teenager I had a great time seeing bands there throughout the 90s. My first gig there, and second ever gig, was Therapy? and Kerbdog in '93. I remember getting a bootlegged 'Face The Strange' t-shirt outside that I wore into the ground over the following years. I also saw Machine Head/Meshuggah/MBJ, Korn, Deftones, Type O, Tool, The Offspring, Fear Factory and maybe a couple more that are evading me right now. Good memories!
I saw Pantera & Gruntruck and Sepultura or Pantera with Paradise Lost as support there. Dodgy as fuck outside but then again McGonagle's was too.
Here's gigs from the SFX with dates....
https://www.setlist.fm/venue/sfx-hall-dublin-ireland-53d20fa5.html
My first gig there was Judas Priest and Annihilator on the Painkiller tour which incredibily, when you look back now at the regard Painkiller is held in, was very poorly attended. Others I remember... Pantera touring Vulgar Display... with Gruntruck (I think), Placebo, Anthrax in 96 was a great, great gig, Slayer in the late 90's or early 2000s with Fu Manchu. I think the last gig I saw there was the Happy Mondays, notable for some dope releasing a powder extinguisher over everybody at the end, resulting in having to take an impromptu shower with bottled water on Dorset Street afterwards to wash that shit out of my hair and off my clothes. The SFX was always second place to the Top Hat for me. The Top Hat seemed to get most of that size gig from about 88 on, when I started going to gigs, for a few years and I never really warmed to the SFX. I probably saw other gigs there but the mid to late 90's Metal wasteland was when the SFX really had the bulk of gigs I'm aware of, which I had no interest in, and the early to mid 80's of course, when I was too young.
I was at that Korn gig, my abiding memory is that the toilets were flooded, which was fun. Saw Paradise Lost play there to a nearly empty room (Draconian Times tour). Terrible support band, Paranoia I think they were called. Saw Fear Factory there a couple of times, Demanufacture tour they were class. Will Haven supported them on one occasion, dull as dishwater. Cubanate another time, they were interesting.
Only ever saw Deftones and Foo Fighters there. Which is probably why I have absolutely no great attachment to the place at all.
Woah hang on, The Cramps played Dublin?!
Only ever there twice,Fear Factory in 95 and Slayer in 2000.Was only 16 at FF, so it was a pretty big deal at the time coming up from Cork.Cant remember a whole lot about the place,Iconic venue for sure,the list of artists is impressive alright.
When did it close?,must have been 2001/02?
Quote from: Carnage on September 09, 2019, 01:56:06 PMSaw Fear Factory there a couple of times, Demanufacture tour they were class. Will Haven supported them on one occasion, dull as dishwater. Cubanate another time, they were interesting.
My recollection was that Will Haven absolutely destroyed that night, they were class!! Dunno if I'd have described Cubanate as interesting though. Certainly the crowd didn't appreciate them.
I remember the disappointment of seeing Fu Manchu supporting Slayer. The word on the street was that Brinskill Bomb-Beat were playing and I was into them at the time (though they are probably best off left in the past!) so I was doubly disappointed to have to endure Fu Manchu's fuzzy rubbish.
Either that or Tool was the last gig I saw there but I remember going to a metal club (Valhalla?) there one night. Bag of cans, ear-splitting volume, ten stupid cunts trying to make the empty hall look busy. Not the best night out I've ever had :laugh:
Fu Manchu was a right odd support,i can remember i couldn't wait until they finished!
Slayer came into Fibbers after,got a bit starstruck :-[
Where was the SFX? I think one of the venues was in Dún Laoghaire maybe the Top Hat?
I was too young to have ever been in either I may be wrong but I don't think venues like this exist in Ireland anymore where in 10 - 15 years time people will be talking about the good old days in such and such a venue where they saw this band or that band.
Even for me my venue was probably the Voodoo Lounge during the golden years of 2005 - 2010 when they had the pizza slices and to a lesser extent TBMC before it was changed. It felt like I was going to a gig there nearly every month and I saw some great bands. It still doesn't feel to me they way you hear some people describing SFX or McGonagle's either on here or the old forum. What I would give to have been around in those days.
What was that Tool gig like? Aenima was one of my go-to albums at the time, why on earth did I not go? Yeah, that choice of Fu Manchu as support was odd as fuck. Was never into that genre anyway so can't really say if they were particularly disastrous that night or not...
Maybe Fu Manchu were good that night but I hate that upbeat fuzzy garage rock crap so it did nothing for me.
The Tool gig was alright. I dunno, it was good but not hugely memorable. Not a classic.
Quote from: mickO))) on September 09, 2019, 02:53:14 PM
Where was the SFX?
Had to google it, Sherrard Street Upper by all accounts. I work in Dublin now so fairly familiar with the area but I hadn't a clue where it was back then. Just remember walking up O'Connell Street on the way with a bag of cans. Also, thought the name SFX was really class at the time but was then informed that it was just short for Saint Francis Xavier community hall or something like that! Not quite as cool.
Quote from: mickO))) on September 09, 2019, 02:53:14 PM
Where was the SFX? I think one of the venues was in Dún Laoghaire maybe the Top Hat?
I was too young to have ever been in either I may be wrong but I don't think venues like this exist in Ireland anymore where in 10 - 15 years time people will be talking about the good old days in such and such a venue where they saw this band or that band.
Even for me my venue was probably the Voodoo Lounge during the golden years of 2005 - 2010 when they had the pizza slices and to a lesser extent TBMC before it was changed. It felt like I was going to a gig there nearly every month and I saw some great bands. It still doesn't feel to me they way you hear some people describing SFX or McGonagle's either on here or the old forum. What I would give to have been around in those days.
It was more the buzz of the bands than the venues. It was most bands first time on these shores around then and Metal/Thrash/Death was the biggest thing too.
The Top Hat and SFX were bingo halls & rollerskate rinks. McGonagle's had a license to sell wine only. It was a proper venue in that sense I suppose.
My favourite venue in Dublin was The Tivoli on Francis Street. Class spot and sorely missed.
Anthrax at The Top Hat was my first ever gig in Dublin (Dun Laoghaire). Was July 1989 on the State of Euphoria tour.
Buzzed I was but unfortunately a dickhead decided to spit on the band, a punk if I remember correctly? Anyway, about 5 songs in the band stopped and warned the audience that any more gobbing and the show's over...
Here's a Wav recording of the incident...
http://homepage.eircom.net/~seanmckeon/gigs/anthrax_sounds.htm
Predator from Dublin were the support band that night. They played longer than Anthrax, lol...
Anthrax also played Omagh GAA club and Bangor Castle Leisure Centre (ticket cost £8.50) in the two nights leading up to the Dun Laoghaire gig. Those were the days!
It was more than one person gobbing, it was very common at every gig up to that one. Scott Ian had gone on his hole after slipping on the amount of gob on the stage and that's when they stopped the first time. A roadie came on with a towel to try to dry the stage. That's how much gobbing was going on. Vile cunts and definitely not just the punks. Both Megadeth in the Olympic Ballroom in 88 and WASP in the Top Hat a couple of months before Anthrax had brought up the spitting during their gigs. It definitely died down a lot after Anthrax walked off. It's just a shame it took their action to put some manners on some of the filthy bastards.
Think about how much phlegm must be on a stage for you to slip and lose your footing on it. Cunts.
I think the only 2 I went to there were that Slayer/Fu Manchu one and Megadeth on The World Needs A Hero tour. A decent Megadeth gig but yet another woeful support act in Defenestration.
A lad with a full pint politely asked me to move and thinking he didn't want to spill his pint I obliged only to then see him fuck the full pint at the singer in Defenestration. He really must have hated them to buy a pint to fuck at them :laugh:
That Slayer gig was class though although I agree that Fu Manchu were a poorly matched support.
Quote from: John Kimble on September 09, 2019, 03:07:10 PM
Quote from: mickO))) on September 09, 2019, 02:53:14 PM
Where was the SFX?
Had to google it, Sherrard Street Upper by all accounts. I work in Dublin now so fairly familiar with the area but I hadn't a clue where it was back then. Just remember walking up O'Connell Street on the way with a bag of cans. Also, thought the name SFX was really class at the time but was then informed that it was just short for Saint Francis Xavier community hall or something like that! Not quite as cool.
Thanks I coudn't find an address on google and yes I saw that Francis thing when I looked it up this morning.
Quote from: Kurt Cocaine on September 09, 2019, 03:10:52 PM
It was more the buzz of the bands than the venues. It was most bands first time on these shores around then and Metal/Thrash/Death was the biggest thing too.
The Top Hat and SFX were bingo halls & rollerskate rinks. McGonagle's had a license to sell wine only. It was a proper venue in that sense I suppose.
My favourite venue in Dublin was The Tivoli on Francis Street. Class spot and sorely missed.
[/quote]
Yeah that's sort of what I mean like in the Voodoo I remember seeing Rotting Christ, Incantation, Dawn of Azazel, Immolation, Krisiun, Vital Remains with Suzuki, Skinless, Gorgoroth, 1349, Carpathian Forest, Decapitated with Covan (who seemed to play nearly once a year) etc. A lot of bands I was big into at the time and for some of those bands it was the first time they had played in Ireland. A few years ago before I left Ireland it seemed like gigs were always on in different venues and most of the time it was venues I have never heard of. The Voodoo does seem to be back up and running now but no pizza.
If i had to pick one,Temple bar musuc centre was probably my favourite venue in Dublin.
Never went, since I didn't start going to gigs regularly until I was 18/19 (1999/2000). In that sense, the only one I really "missed" was the Megadeth one. I do remember meeting a friend of a friend upstairs on the 45 back to Bray who'd just been at the Tool gig. He was an absolute plank, and since his mention of them was the first time I'd even heard of the band, I think it went a long way towards me not checking them out for years.
My first metal gig was in the SFX for Fear Factory / Will Haven and the mighty CUBANTE :abbath: :abbath: :abbath:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fear-factory/1999/sfx-hall-dublin-ireland-5bd313a8.html that encore :O) <3
Always remember some big topless fat cunt barging through the crowd just as Wil Haven started yelling 'OUT OF THE WAY, THE MOSH PIT WARRIOR COMING THROUGH' or something equally fucking moronic. The guys started shoving and punching people because he was big fat cunt.. bully shit etc.
I'll never forget some guys I knew as well as many others got fed up of him and people proceeded to start running into the pit throwing flying kicks and everything at him until he eventually fucked off .. a sight to behold :laugh:
When shock kicked in, it was something I'll never forget .. just VOOOMP
First time I was there was that Priest /Annihilator show. I remember seeing the Almighty play there to about 50 people.
Quote from: Juggz on September 09, 2019, 03:58:40 PM
It was more than one person gobbing, it was very common at every gig up to that one. Scott Ian had gone on his hole after slipping on the amount of gob on the stage and that's when they stopped the first time. A roadie came on with a towel to try to dry the stage. That's how much gobbing was going on. Vile cunts and definitely not just the punks. Both Megadeth in the Olympic Ballroom in 88 and WASP in the Top Hat a couple of months before Anthrax had brought up the spitting during their gigs. It definitely died down a lot after Anthrax walked off. It's just a shame it took their action to put some manners on some of the filthy bastards.
Think about how much phlegm must be on a stage for you to slip and lose your footing on it. Cunts.
Actually yeah, and Scott Ian stood there after the band warned everyone about gobbing and told everyone to get the gobbing out of their system.
Loads of durtburds launched phlegm on him as he stood there and took it.
He wiped down and said that's it, any more spitting and we're off! As soon as the next song kicked in, gobs landed again. Bye bye Anthrax, I was devastated. Cunts (punters)..!
Wow, loads of gigs and venues mentioned,
The top hat was a great little venue, went to many gigs there and even stood outside it waiting for Napalm Death to play and then someone came out and told us it was cancelled. I was so young and excited I genuinely nearly cried. I was at that Anthrax gig, total shitshow. The crowd were mental and as everyone mentioned their was a fair amount of spitting but even before the gig you could sense it was going to be fairly chaotic, the crowd were mangled.
Saw a lot of bands in Mcgonagles such as death, other great venues were the Fox and Pheasant Barnstormers, The Grattan, Boars head, The old China man, Charlies, they were great venues and I saw some amazing bands in all those places.
I loved the SFX though, saw bands like slayer, Pantera, Machine Head, Megadeth, Sepultura, The wedding present. I loved the SFX, bit of a lawless venue. Bouncers let anyone in and you could get hammered before, during and after the gig.
When did it close down? I started going to gigs around 2000ish and they were mostly all in the Music Centre or Ambassador
The ambassador that was another great venue.
Closed in 01-ish.
It's most definitely nostalgia, but I do miss the place. saw my first ever gig there ,Pantera/Grunttruck and then it was pretty much there and one or two gig s in Tivoli during my teen and early twenty's.
Type O in the sfx is a good memory, stuck mojo (absolute guff) were support, their singer came out to sing kill all the white people though, which was fun. I can remember a queue of people waiting to crowdsurf. You waited your turn, then got a little run up and there was a group of lads with backs to the stage and hands out. They gave you a launch and away ya go. I wouldn't be surprised if it closed because it wasn't up to fire codes or was stuffed with asbestos.
The good aul days :) Up to the pub on the top Moore street Flagans of Boss cider for 3 quid . Then to the top of central banks steps to or stephens green to get pist then to Paradise lost ( savage gig ) Then head Back to Charlies or the china man if you were brave ( Mad fucking kip of pub )
Cans of Dorfmeister in Sean O casey, couple of bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 and away to the SFX, sweat box :)
Quote from: Aborted on September 09, 2019, 06:12:19 PM
My first metal gig was in the SFX for Fear Factory / Will Haven and the mighty CUBANTE :abbath: :abbath: :abbath:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fear-factory/1999/sfx-hall-dublin-ireland-5bd313a8.html that encore :O) <3
Always remember some big topless fat cunt barging through the crowd just as Wil Haven started yelling 'OUT OF THE WAY, THE MOSH PIT WARRIOR COMING THROUGH' or something equally fucking moronic. The guys started shoving and punching people because he was big fat cunt.. bully shit etc.
I'll never forget some guys I knew as well as many others got fed up of him and people proceeded to start running into the pit throwing flying kicks and everything at him until he eventually fucked off .. a sight to behold :laugh:
When shock kicked in, it was something I'll never forget .. just VOOOMP
Was at this Gig too and that encore was unreal! i also remember that fat f*cker he got a good few shoves & Punches from everyone that night!
Didn't get to hit a whole lot there, I was at both Slayer Shows in 2000. Fu Manchu were an incredibly odd choice, their set was met with complete apathy both nights. Two great shows by Slayer though, some great stuff aired, Captor of Sin, Evil Has No Boundaries, the pits never stopped.
The Deftones show in 99 was something else too, pretty much aired all of Adrenaline and Around the Fur, great energy from the band and crowd, if memory serves me correct Chino minced some lads shoulder leaping from a speaker. I read that he got 37K off MCD some years later !!!! One Minute Silence supported that night - one of the worst bands I've ever seen. Their brand off piss poor rap metal sounded dated even then.
Offspring was the last show I took in there- really good. They hadn't quite caught their second wind of fame with Americana and gone completely gimmicky, so it was a heads down affair, just remember wave after wave of people crowdsurfing.
"DEFTOOOONES IN THE HOOOOOUUUUUUSE"
One Minute Silence were a terrible idea made even worse by the inclusion of a middle aged Tipperary (South Central Tipperary, let's not forget) man who thought he was the white Ice Cube Wasn't his name "Yip" or "yap" or something?Presumably because he never shut the fuck up. Fuck me. What a terrible band.
It's a long long way from Tipperary
South Central
Tippar-aaaay!
Such inspired lyrics. The lad lived in the fucking UK! He may have meant referring to the famous South Central district in Chelsea...
OMS were among the dire English darlings being perpetually peddled by Metal Hammer during the 90s and really rang out the death knell for me of that whole era, along with the abysmal likes of Defenestration and Kill II This.
Christ I feel old .... I saw the following gigs in the SFX
Dio & Queenryche 1984 (Queenryche was mispelled on the ticket as Queens Rycht)
Mama's Boys 1985 & 1987
Gary Moore 1985
Magnum 1985
Marillion 1985
Ozzy 1986
Dokken 1986
Def Leppard 1986 & 1987 (87 was with Tesla)
Queenryche Operation Mindcrime Tour .... setlist has this as "Empires Tour 1990" .... but I remember seeing them do the entire Operation Mindcrime album in the SFX ... not sure it was 1990 though ... I'll have to look at the old tickets.
My gig going then pretty much switched to McGonagles as that's were most Thrash bands played , and the the Top Hat.
Quote from: Eoin McLove on September 10, 2019, 09:32:24 AM
OMS were among the dire English darlings being perpetually peddled by Metal Hammer during the 90s and really rang out the death knell for me of that whole era, along with the abysmal likes of Defenestration and Kill II This.
Honestly i thought metal was fucked around this era because of some of these utter atrocious bands!.How the fuck was any of that shite ever accepted!.I was seriously disillusioned with the scene for a while back then.
Same. I remember these bands getting endless hype and even primed as I was to listen to that very modern sound, this stuff still sounded kind of pathetic. I had a brief period of thinking that I'd 'grown out of metal' but then decided to start buying Terrorizer (it hadn't quite turned to shit at that stage), Metal Maniacs and taking a chance on less celebrated, underground bands. If only I had the cop on to do that from the start :laugh:
It culminated with the wretched Ozzy-free Ozzfest where my mate and I were going to whichever stage the band were just finishing up on so we wouldn't have to watch and listen to whatever abomination was on stage in front of us. Therapy? aside, it was a long fucking wait for Slayer.
QuoteOMS were among the dire English darlings
Jesus there was some list of shit English bands touted by both mags back when they had serious sway. You could do a very long list of shit bands that were utterly blessed to have any type of career. At the same time those magazines used to routinely slaughter bands like Iron Maiden, right up until Bruce's return actually laughing at them. Shoe is on the other foot now, without Maiden etc they wouldn't even shift the paltry numbers they currently do.
Metal Hammer championed shite like OMS, Kill 2 This and Pulkas all the time. A terrible time for metal. It's amazing how back in 1996/1997 that they wrote about bands like Maiden, Priest and Megadeth as if they were relics whose time was up. Now over 20 years later they're leading lights when they are actually relics who should give it up :laugh:
Back on the SFX though, wasn't there a Maiden gig there with Blaze that had fuck all at it?
3 Colours Red were like the second coming of Led Zeppelin or something to those charlatans at mid to late 90s Metal Hammer.
I have a bunch of them in my gaff at present. Was flicking through recently and read a snidey review of the re release of Rotting Christs stone cold classic debut Thy Mighty Contract. They gave it 6/10, compared it to Deicide and said it might appeal to 2 people! Cunts!!
First SFX gig was Offspring. Wasn't into the band but was excited to be there up from the sticks, sipping cans and going after rock chicks. 8)
Think I also saw the Fear Factory gig and remember being severely devasted at missing Deftones.
Vibe a bit similar to Glasgow Barrowlands I think.
Yeah 3 Colours Red were another band who were promoted endlessly. Was there a connection to The Wildhearts there? I remember hearing them and not getting the fuss. Pure grand.
I just stuck on Nuclear Holiday on YouTube. I actually remember it. Catchy radio rock stuff but that can't have represented the best of 'Metal' in the UK in 97. Or maybe it did...
How easy it is to overlook Terrorvision these days.
Very :laugh:
A totally shite band!
Again, a fun easy listening radio band but what they were doing in METAL Hammer is a bit hard to fathom. I saw them at Sunstroke 94, actually.
A real shock about the SFX gigs is the notion that Paradise Lost couldn't pull a crowd for Draconian Times! Mental stuff. My excuse is that I was only 15 and lived down the sticks where you generally found out about these gigs about 2 weeks AFTER they happened.
If Painkiller-era Priest couldn't pull a crowd then PL shouldn't feel too bad :laugh:
That's another odd one alright.
What happened in the mid 90s?,was it just a slump across the whole scene or what?,was it some kind of cross roads for the scene?.Was everyone just confused at what direction they were taking?,bands and fans?.
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 10, 2019, 06:00:37 PM
What happened in the mid 90s?,was it just a slump across the whole scene or what?,was it some kind of cross roads for the scene?.Was everyone just confused at what direction they were taking?,bands and fans?.
There's the Wiki list of Metal releases for the 90's....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_in_heavy_metal_music
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 10, 2019, 06:00:37 PM
What happened in the mid 90s?,was it just a slump across the whole scene or what?,was it some kind of cross roads for the scene?.Was everyone just confused at what direction they were taking?,bands and fans?.
Probably worth a thread of its own.
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 10, 2019, 06:00:37 PM
What happened in the mid 90s?,was it just a slump across the whole scene or what?,was it some kind of cross roads for the scene?.Was everyone just confused at what direction they were taking?,bands and fans?.
I think it was just a bad time for metal, on the surface at least. I mean, I could list out loads of my favorite albums by bands such as Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Emperor etc but there seemed to be a general malaise with mainstream metal at least, which paved the way for the likes of Korn et al. I still have a lot of time for the first two Korn albums, as well as most of the Deftones catalogue, but certainly some horrific shit gained serious momentum during the 90s. Just look at Machine Heads godawful take on nu-metal. And the countless number of horrible nu-metal clones that appeared in their wake. I completely bought into it at the time. The sheer amount of crap being championed by Metal hammer was incredible, none of it with any merit. I actually had an album by Bullyrag. That's officially the lowest point in my life to date, and I had a GP swab my bellend for an std I got off a fat bird outside Havana Browns in Cork!
:laugh:
My low point was The Step Kings. Or maybe Snot :-[
Dub War :-[
What about these fucking losers? Pretty sure I had this album at some stage
https://youtu.be/XDf1_lbMmxA
Fucking Coal Chamber. Terrorizer pushed them as 'Korn but heavier'. They were not.
its funny that people are saying the 90s were shit for metal because most of my favourite bands are from the 90s. the underground scene was putting out shitloads of classics at this time.
its just the mainstream type stuff that was pure rubbish. it still is today to a certain extent.
Whatever about the big mainstream bands.Bands like Grave,Morgoth,Entombed,Gorefest,Paradise lost etc,once they started to release utter shit watered down albums,change of image and logos, thats what got me.
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 10, 2019, 08:37:12 PM
Whatever about the big mainstream bands.Bands like Grave,Morgoth,Entombed,Gorefest,Paradise lost etc,once they started to release utter shit watered down albums,change of image and logos, thats what got me.
Exactly...Paradise Lost wanted to be Depeche Mode, Entombed tried to sound like Unsane...it was a very confused era. There's no doubt some classic material was released around then, but the rot had really started to set in.
A lot of metal might have started to become mainstream with the growth of Grunge, maybe bands were trying to emulate that level of fame and in turn making completely SHITE music.
Bands swapping to grunge or nu metal because those styles were new and exciting when heavy metal was a bit worn out is no different to death metal bands jumping ship to black metal because that was new and exciting.
Quote from: Eoin McLove on September 11, 2019, 08:10:24 AM
Bands swapping to grunge or nu metal because those styles were new and exciting when heavy metal was a bit worn out is no different to death metal bands jumping ship to black metal because that was new and exciting.
I'm not sure if that's in response to myself? But it's not what I meant if so, I personally feel bands like Metallica started making more mainstream music, this widened their fan base and got played on MTV, more money naturally or else their age made them make music that was nowhere near as good as Kill em all, ride the lightning etc
Metallica are a bit of a law into themselves. Or were, up to a point.
Cool, so now we have two threads about the same topic nobody has changed their mind about in the last 20 years :abbath:
I've fond memories of the SFX.Fear Factory,Sepultura,Paradise Lost,Slayer,Pantera,Meshuggah,Megadeth etc etc.My all time favourite gig ever,was AIC in the SFX.We used to bus up from Kerry.That took half the day.Find a hostel,then off to the Soundcellar to buy tapes/cds.I would spend ages looking through the display cabinets full of tapes.I was always nervous heading into gigs when I was younger.There was plenty of cunts frequenting shows that time.I particularly remember running the gauntlet of scalpers outside McGonagles on more then one occasion.Tivoli had great gigs around that time too.I only ever attended one gig at the Top Hat.Kreator/Death and Devastation.
Say megadeth/coc there, slayer on a really hot night, anthrax touring stomp442 , paradise lost on Draconian... maybe others too...
The fucking SFX!!!!
It's very true that the SFX was the venue of choice during the darkest times for proper Metal in the 90's and yet it holds endless great memories.
The thing is that back then you could go ages without a gig of any real note (by today's standards anyway) and then when something happened it was pretty much an event. Actually, even when there were more things happening it still seemed like an occasion.
Was just the way then I suppose!
That walk up to the venue, via Dorset Street or cutting off from O'Connell Street.....always felt you were off to something big.
There was a group of us, all into underground Death Metal, Black Metal mainly that would still go to almost everything there simply cos you didn't know when there would be another one coming up.
Some craic!
Some particular memories - going to Fear Factory in late 1999, Obsolete tour. My sister and her group of friends.....all 15/16 years old....dabbled in Metal for a year or so, so we brought them along as part of our partying party.
Knacker drinking in that laneway/car park just off Dawson Street, then the walk up to the SFX.
I'd started bringing bands over then with Aido Butler under the Emerald Promotions name and we had Morbid Angel soon after in December 1999. Had, whatever it was, 6 - 8 teenage girls all milling around handing out fliers for the Morbid gig.
Someone mentioned how they'd let anyone into the venue - it wasn't until the very last few gigs there that they sold alcohol. So I think it was 'under 14s accompanied by an adult'.
I went to one gig there with a naggin of vodka pressed to the back of my neck, then sellotaped around my neck...disguised with a scarf and my hair out over.
Made it in too.....downed the vodka in a matter of seconds, ended up chucked outta the gig very soon after.
Paradise Lost in March 1996 was a weird one. They just seemed to come over with no vibe, felt like one random gig here, not part of a tour....just no feeling of event around it. Turnout was poor alright.
Someone mentioned Maiden in the SFX. Again, it was at their low point, or beginning of that period.
January 1996. Was a Sunday. I'd say around 600 at it. Little over half full venue.
Apparently the night before in Belfast had around 400. Things've changed since.
Wasn't at Priest/Annihilator in 1991 (31 March)...but the Painkiller rebirth thing hadn't really happened here at that stage. Priest were still considered a band well past their prime but more importantly it was the day before Megadeth played The Point on the Rust In Peace tour and there was massive hype around that gig. It got all the attention.
Consider Megadeth came back with Pantera 17 months later and had less than half the crowd the Rust In Peace show did.
I was a nipper and everything seemed huge then but I'd say the show with Pantera (Sept 1992) had around 2,500 maybe?
The Rust... show (April 1991) must have had at least 5,000...maybe as much as 6,000.
Can anyone verify?
Andy's right about the Tool show in June (I think) 2001. They were so en vogue at that stage and were very popular here...but there was just no sense of occasion around that gig for some reason.Show was packed and was good and all, but it was underwhelming.
Best night there?
Probably Type O Negative in May 1997.......was just a huge, huge happening.
Type O were one of the few bands dug by everyone from us underground heads, the Slayyyyyeeerrrr heads, the Machine Head juggas (tm*Scobes). Everyone.
They changed the landscape with Bloody Kisses, and then with October Rust.
There was so much excitement around that gig.
Then it being on a bank holiday Sunday meant that it was even more of a session/event. Was a magical weekend. Brilliant gig. Fibbers afterwards.
And even....shock......women at the gig.....
All sorts of deadly!
The Emerald era nearly deserves a thread of its own. !
I know Bruce had left,but Its actually mad that maiden played to only 600 people.
Judging by the average age (old) of people at gigs here over the last 10/15 years,did people just drift away from metal in the mid 90s and return again at a later stage?.
I think people are really forgetting how dirty a term metal became specifically around that time. A lot of the weird records that came about in that era came out of survival or necessity. Bands on majors faced the chop unless they adapted but even then it was no use.
Although Maiden never changed creatively speaking they in particular were slaughtered after Bruce left and the media portrayed them as an embarassment. It didn't help that the X-Factor was a difficult record , then Virtual XI a few years later was complete and utter shit. This continued well into the early 2000s, bands like Kreator did fuck all numbers here - about 150 in Dorans if memory serves correctly, yet these days they've sold out the Academy!
Quote from: wiped on September 10, 2019, 10:34:09 AM
Queenryche Operation Mindcrime Tour .... setlist has this as "Empires Tour 1990" .... but I remember seeing them do the entire Operation Mindcrime album in the SFX ... not sure it was 1990 though ... I'll have to look at the old tickets.
That was a special night. The Empire tour. They split the show in two, one half all of Mindcrime, one half Empire+oldies. Sister Mary was the lass from the album.
Judas Priest + Annihilator stands out as another SFX highlight on a great weekend for metal, Easter 1991, Megadeth RIP and Alice In Chains dirt played the Point the night before/after.
Quote from: Cryptic Stench on September 17, 2019, 09:27:36 AM
I think people are really forgetting how dirty a term metal became specifically around that time. A lot of the weird records that came about in that era came out of survival or necessity. Bands on majors faced the chop unless they adapted but even then it was no use.
Was there just a point somewhere in the mid 90s where it just wasnt 'cool' to be a metal head anymore,did irish society just become more conformed for a period etc.
It wasn't just Irish society, it was the metal press. Metal Hammer used to write off anything that wasn't modern sounding. It was, in retrospect, always a really nasty rag of a thing. Clique-ish, hiphophappening to any shit local band that copied Coal Chamber or Korn. Looking back, the amount of entry level nu metal shit that was getting covered is shocking. If you looked quirky (blue hair, piercings, contacts, baggies etc) the fact that you couldn't write a song or come up with a single original idea was beside the point. It's so bizarre. I'm sure it still goes on. I mean there is pressure to fill pages and most music that gets released is ordinary at best, but at least the tides have turned back to metal mags promoting metal bands.
I used to read Metal Hammer most months when I started getting into metal back in the late 90s. There was an awful lot of shit being promoted and slagging of the older bands, but I still found a lot of great music through it. I remember they'd a cover cd with Opeth and Katatonia that was pretty mind blowing to hear amongst the usual nu metal stuff that was included, they'd a big piece on SYL that made me go pick up City...
I mean it was still 90% shit bands, but there was some good stuff scattered throughout at times
QuoteIt was, in retrospect, always a really nasty rag of a thing
It was dude, I was doing a tidy recently and leafed through a good few copies, the way they spoke to people incredibly disrespectful. Fine if they took that approach with everyone and asked all bands the tough questions but when 3 Colors Red are on the front cover and you're asking Bruce Dickinson to justify Maiden's existence and laughing at him because he thinks Maiden were ready to compete with the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit.........
I can remember two reviews from Metal Hammer around that time which kind of summed up their attitude towards metal. They absolutely adored Korn's Life is Peachy and commended them for being the 'real deal' and avoiding the kind of embarassing metal cliches such as Megadeth's 'gormless mascot Vic Rattlehead'. On the other hand, they absolutely slated Emperor for Anthems... and even dismissed black metal as a fad whose time was coming to an end. I even think it was the same reviewer, Neil Aldis. It really was a horrible rag. Glowing, five-star reviews handed to the abysmal likes of Bullyrag, One Minute Silence, Breed 77, Pulkas, the list is endless.
Quote from: heyjoe on September 17, 2019, 09:30:53 AM
Quote from: wiped on September 10, 2019, 10:34:09 AM
Queenryche Operation Mindcrime Tour .... setlist has this as "Empires Tour 1990" .... but I remember seeing them do the entire Operation Mindcrime album in the SFX ... not sure it was 1990 though ... I'll have to look at the old tickets.
That was a special night. The Empire tour. They split the show in two, one half all of Mindcrime, one half Empire+oldies. Sister Mary was the lass from the album.
Judas Priest + Annihilator stands out as another SFX highlight on a great weekend for metal, Easter 1991, Megadeth RIP and Alice In Chains dirt played the Point the night before/after.
Alice In Chains were touring Facelift that night TBH, they were class, first time I'd heard anything by them. I met Staley and Starr after, 2 sound blokes. The Almighty were pretty out of place that night, didn't impress at all.
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 17, 2019, 09:41:23 AM
Quote from: Cryptic Stench on September 17, 2019, 09:27:36 AM
I think people are really forgetting how dirty a term metal became specifically around that time. A lot of the weird records that came about in that era came out of survival or necessity. Bands on majors faced the chop unless they adapted but even then it was no use.
Was there just a point somewhere in the mid 90s where it just wasnt 'cool' to be a metal head anymore,did irish society just become more conformed for a period etc.
The dance music thing seemed to take a lot of metallers and potential metallers away from the scene. Prodigy, underworld all that sort of stuff. Yokes, clubbing etc was the cool thing. That's my memory of it.
The britpop scene too, overnight everybody was from Manchester and listened to Oasis.
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 17, 2019, 08:35:05 AM
I know Bruce had left,but Its actually mad that maiden played to only 600 people.
Judging by the average age (old) of people at gigs here over the last 10/15 years,did people just drift away from metal in the mid 90s and return again at a later stage?.
I don't think Maiden were as big in Ireland in their heyday as they are now anyway. I wasn't there in 1990 but the crowd in 93 wasn't great in the old point, only about half full. I was shocked when they sold out the old point in 03 as I didn't think they had the fanbase in Ireland.
AC/DC at the same era did shite in the Point on the Ballbreaker tour, 15 years later they were Punchestown and Lansdowne Road.
I reckon bands of a certain age go through a mid life crisis in terms of fans interest. They aren't new any more, yet aren't old enough to be legends yet, so kids aren't going and there isn't much of a nostalgia element yet.
Quote from: John Kimble on September 17, 2019, 01:18:19 PM
I can remember two reviews from Metal Hammer around that time which kind of summed up their attitude towards metal. They absolutely adored Korn's Life is Peachy and commended them for being the 'real deal' and avoiding the kind of embarassing metal cliches such as Megadeth's 'gormless mascot Vic Rattlehead'. On the other hand, they absolutely slated Emperor for Anthems... and even dismissed black metal as a fad whose time was coming to an end. I even think it was the same reviewer, Neil Aldis. It really was a horrible rag. Glowing, five-star reviews handed to the abysmal likes of Bullyrag, One Minute Silence, Breed 77, Pulkas, the list is endless.
I remember that Emperor review and finding it funny at the time despite liking In the Nightside Eclipse. I ended up not buying Anthems, but it was normal for me to have one album by a band that I loved and never going further with them so I'm not sure if I'd have bought it on the back of a rave review or not. Looking back though, the disdain they had for anything not modern and trendy is shocking. Being a typically callow young lad I swallowed it hook, line and sinker.
You weren't the only one, I was the same. I inexplicably bought copies of some of the shit that is being mentioned here. The thing was back then that was your only source of info, if you were lucky your local newsagent had Kerrang or Metal Hammer.
Quote from: northside hoop on September 17, 2019, 01:46:30 PM
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 17, 2019, 08:35:05 AM
I know Bruce had left,but Its actually mad that maiden played to only 600 people.
Judging by the average age (old) of people at gigs here over the last 10/15 years,did people just drift away from metal in the mid 90s and return again at a later stage?.
I don't think Maiden were as big in Ireland in their heyday as they are now anyway. I wasn't there in 1990 but the crowd in 93 wasn't great in the old point, only about half full. I was shocked when they sold out the old point in 03 as I didn't think they had the fanbase in Ireland.
AC/DC at the same era did shite in the Point on the Ballbreaker tour, 15 years later they were Punchestown and Lansdowne Road.
I reckon bands of a certain age go through a mid life crisis in terms of fans interest. They aren't new any more, yet aren't old enough to be legends yet, so kids aren't going and there isn't much of a nostalgia element yet.
The 90s were horrible in some ways and good in others, it meant you could always get a ticket and sometimes see bands in smaller venues if they were touring.
Maiden played the Point in 1990 with a good crowd from memory ... it was my first time in the Point. By 1993 the metal scene was pretty dead and just a few years later they were in the SFX with Blaze.
AC/DC had the Point packed to the rafters in 1991. I remember the steam coming off the crowd. By Ballbreaker they were almost a nostalgia act.
A lot of the metal crowd from the 80s had mortgages, kids and all that in the 90s too. The 00s and 10s resurgence did coincide with people coming out the other end of that part of life and wanting to bring their kids to see their favorite band again.
Just on the Metal Hammer topic, it really was diabolical around 96-97 especially. Look at this end of year list, I thought it was sickening at the time but it reads worse today.
Feeder - Polythene
Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth
3 Colours Red - Pure
Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape
Deftones - Around The Fur
Radiohead - OK Computer
Paradise Lost - One Second
Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Faith No More - Album Of The Year
Sick Of It All - Built To Last
Misery Loves Co. - Not Like Them
Strapping Young Lad - City
Metallica - Re-Load
Kerbdog - On The Turn
Green Day - Nimrod
Reef - Glow
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Have A Ball
Oasis - Be Here Now
Life Of Agony - Soul Searching Sun
Basically a mixture of their mates, bands they have to please like Metallica/FNM and a sprinkling of "edgy" contemporary bands to show how broad minded they were.
If you were to be objective, the inclusion of Be Here Now is a complete farce, I'm not a fan but I can say it's not even a good Oasis record.
Oasis and The Verve :laugh: Jesus fucking Christ. From that list there are three albums I'd have any interest in, Album of the Year (an ok album), Built to Last (a banger) and Soul Searching Sun (loved it at the time, a bit on the wimpy side but catchy).
Haha Reef. Fuck, remember them. Awful gack.
They had one very catchy song but what on earth they were doing in a metal mag is anyone's guess. Even The Prodigy who are decent had no business in a metal mag.
Jesus what a fookin grim list!,I did love Entombed To Ride and SYL-City.Amazing the peaks and troughs over the years.
Quote from: Grim Reality on September 17, 2019, 01:37:59 PM
Quote from: Paul keohane on September 17, 2019, 09:41:23 AM
Quote from: Cryptic Stench on September 17, 2019, 09:27:36 AM
I think people are really forgetting how dirty a term metal became specifically around that time. A lot of the weird records that came about in that era came out of survival or necessity. Bands on majors faced the chop unless they adapted but even then it was no use.
Was there just a point somewhere in the mid 90s where it just wasnt 'cool' to be a metal head anymore,did irish society just become more conformed for a period etc.
The dance music thing seemed to take a lot of metallers and potential metallers away from the scene. Prodigy, underworld all that sort of stuff. Yokes, clubbing etc was the cool thing. That's my memory of it.
Heavy metal and hooliganism went out the window once the auld doves appeared and everyone was getting mangled in Sides and other such spots, it definitely contributed. Punk pals of mine became techno fans and would spend weekends on the 13th floor above McGraths.
Quote from: Cryptic Stench on September 17, 2019, 03:31:48 PM
Just on the Metal Hammer topic, it really was diabolical around 96-97 especially. Look at this end of year list, I thought it was sickening at the time but it reads worse today.
Feeder - Polythene
Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth
3 Colours Red - Pure
Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape
Deftones - Around The Fur
Radiohead - OK Computer
Paradise Lost - One Second
Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Faith No More - Album Of The Year
Sick Of It All - Built To Last
Misery Loves Co. - Not Like Them
Strapping Young Lad - City
Metallica - Re-Load
Kerbdog - On The Turn
Green Day - Nimrod
Reef - Glow
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes - Have A Ball
Oasis - Be Here Now
Life Of Agony - Soul Searching Sun
Amazing. What are some contenders for actual best metal albums of that year??
Fond memories of seeing Bodycount with Ice-T in the SFX in '93....Don't think they've been back since??
1997 was actually a great year
That Emperor record came out that year for a start.
There was a shit ton of other great records from Bruce Dickinson, Rotting Christ, Ocean Machine, Ulver, Immortal, Vital Remains, In The woods, Fates Warning, Hypocrisy the list goes on and on.
Also that Reload appearance is absolute sycophancy, Load and Reload have their moments but doesn't deserve a spot on an end of year list!
That's gas, I can actually remember that list. Metal Hammer really tried to posit themselves at the forefront of this new and exciting era of open-mindedness in metal, but time has shown how utterly regressive the whole thing was. I think most metallers, at least the ones with decent taste, are open to other forms of music without feeling the need to shout it from the rooftops.
I love that the Verve album, and love Oasis and the Prodigy but how they were ever mentioned in a Metal magazine is beyond me. I know that happened with the Prodigy a lot (more so in Kerrang) but I could never understand it.
It's what Kimble said
QuoteMetal Hammer really tried to posit themselves at the forefront of this new and exciting era of open-mindedness in metal, but time has shown how utterly regressive the whole thing was
I listen to a lot of other stuff myself but giving those records coverage back then at the expense of some of the great releases that may not have been on people's radar that year was criminal. My problem with it then was there was literally no other avenues to read about metal and that you could read about Oasis, Verve, Prodigy literally anywhere else, newspapers, Q, NME, Hot Press, MTV coverage etc etc Whereas the only place you were likely to read about Rotting Christ's Dead Poem was Metal Hammer or Kerrang, (Terrorizer's distribution wasn't great back then, had to go to main centers for that) and they wasted space on shite, literally shite like Oasis's Be Here now which is a fucking crap album by their own standards all to prove to us how edgy and hip they were and committed to ridiculing classic bands or laughing at Black/Death acts at any opportunity.
Amazing how things changed though over time, look at the 2014 list
Behemoth - The Satanist
Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds
Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun
Slipknot - .5 The Gray Chapter
Sólstafir - Otta
Opeth - Pale Communion
Electric Wizard - Time To Die
Marmozets - The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets
Anathema - Distant Satellites
King 810 - Memoirs Of A Murderer
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Suicide Silence - You Can't Stop Me
Devin Townsend - Z²
Alcest - Shelter
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Scott Walker + SUNN 0))) - Soused
Swans - To Be Kind
Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend
Winterfylleth - The Divination Of Antiquity
At The Gates - At War With Reality
Quote from: SligoWhiplash on September 17, 2019, 05:00:41 PM
Fond memories of seeing Bodycount with Ice-T in the SFX in '93....Don't think they've been back since??
I don't think they have done much in the way of live shows at all especially since the 00's all they ever seem to play is festivals. One band from my youth that I would really like to see in a small indoor venue.
I always remember the first time I ever went to Germany it was for Wacken as soon we got to the location where the shuttle buses to and from the festival ground were running from there was people everywhere in Body Count t-shirts.