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The favourite blue ones I can think off the top of my head
Maiden - Seventh Son
Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
Devin Townsend - Ocean birth machine
Dream Theater - Change of Seasons (EP but whatever, there's shorter albums than the title track!)
Rush - Fly by Night
Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World
Porcupine Tree- Fear of a Blank Planet
Pink Floyd  -  The Division Bell
Symphony X - Paradise Lost (kinda grey but slightly blue tinted)

Great idea for a thread. I don't tend to pay as much attention to album artwork in the last few years, since going digital it doesn't stand out as much which is a shame.

Ben is an amazing guitarist but that's a very uninspired choice.

I would imagine they were looking for someone who could competently fill the role in a short time. His channel is a bit goofy but he's a great player and has videos going over Mastodon material and he's seemed to be a very professional sit in/session guy in live videos I've seen so I can see why they got him in. He also has a visible online presence which doesn't hurt. This is a likely a stop gap measure until they find a more viable long term fit for the band.

"Fuck Disturbed, there's no way I'd give Draiman my time or money, I'm going for Megadeth then leaving"

By going they're still giving Disturbed their money.  🤣

Yeah that's not doing anything. It's about tickets sold really so once people have a ticket it won't matter if they watch Disturbed or not!

My favourite delay is probably the Strymon El capistan. It has a really nice character you can dial in with the tape warble and has some very handy features. There's a dial-able boost and also a reverb so I can set it up as a one hit switch for leads. Also has tap tempo which is handy. They've kind of gotten outrageously expensive now though.

I have an Ibanez DE7 which is a nice delay that can get some crazy oscillation going. It's part of the tone lock series though which I've had issues with the switches so it only works when it wants to. Can't put it on a board for live use!

I also have a Cruel bloom, very cool pedal with some great features, well thought out. I've got mine in a little rig in my house and can coax some great sounds from it. My brother has kind of taken to using it a lot even though he has a host of other nice delays.

I don't see a problem with posts for tribute nights for rock and metal acts. The gig listings section isn't super active and it's a handy way for people to promote their shows.
The tribute thing seems to be getting a bit bigger in the last few years I feel, seems like more shows of that nature are being booked in Limerick anyway. As lots of big headlining bands are retiring and also with tickets and getting to Dublin for shows getting too expensive it's a way for people to experience the music live with less hassle. There is definitely a huge group of people who'd go to a tribute act but would never go to a normal metal gig in the same local venues.

I'd be very interested in seeing how this pans out. Absolutely love Nevermore, especially Loomis playing and Dane's vocals. I hated the vocals at first but they really grew on me and it's hard to see how someone else can do what he did, more so in writing new material.

As a band they were very dysfunctional though. Have heard podcasts where bands on tour with them said they basically fought constantly. They pulled out of lots of shows and tours over issues with members in the band. Warrel Dane obviously had his issues but in a statement the band just put out it looks like the bass player was also problematic and is not part of the reunion.

Interestingly they are putting out open auditions for a new vocalist and bassist. I'd imagine it will be quite a while before there's a new album or anything if they don't have a line-up yet.

Don't really have a favourite drive pedal per se, generally I get my gain sound from my amp for heavier stuff. When I do cover gigs I use an Xotic BB preamp for my lower gain sound and a Joyo US Dream (suhr Riot Clone) for higher gain into a clean fender style amp sim pedal which goes direct to the PA. The BB has a nice character to the gain without being too drastic a change from the clean sound. I have used the Boss SD1 and Joyo Uzi for similar gain staging in the past and they worked well too.

I've tried the tubescreamer/Boss SD1 into the front of my 5150 for the volume boost/mid hump tightening thing but I still need a clean sound and it's one more pedal to turn off so I don't bother with it for live stuff but have used it for recording. I do sometimes use DOD Carcoza to hit the front of the amp to get a gnarly sound but it's more fuzz than drive. It's one of the few fuzzes I have that still sounds good into a heavy amp sound without getting too muddy.

For bass stuff I either use a sansamp and get a little bit of grit from that or a HX stomp with a driven SVT sound, that's what I use for most of the more classic sounding stuff. I like the HM2 and RAT sounds on bass for death metal but it's too thin and lacking in low end for me live. I keep meaning to pick up a loop blender so I can dial back some clean blend in with the distorted bass tone.

Or just pick up a Battlehammer or Sledgehammer from me.  The reason either exist is because Rats are too thin for me plus the Sledgehammer has some hints of HM-2 in there too.

That said my favourite drives (that I don't make) are the Boss SD-1 and Blues Driver (ideally modded for more low end) and then the Turbo Rat for really low gain edge of break up stuff.

I've a few friends with battlehammers and they all say good things, have seen them one boards at gigs and they definitely sound huge. I don't think I've actually tried one hands on yet with my gear but I must have played through one at some stage!

Yeah sad to see Nicko done but it's the right time. I can't expect the band to be able to keep going for many more years in reality.

Also Maiden have always been known to be cold and harsh when it comes down to business. It definitely helped in the early days when they were making a name for themselves and establishing the band as a top act but there's no need for Harris to be so cut throat and involved in every little thing for the last 20 years. Smallwood is also to blame.

Don't really have a favourite drive pedal per se, generally I get my gain sound from my amp for heavier stuff. When I do cover gigs I use an Xotic BB preamp for my lower gain sound and a Joyo US Dream (suhr Riot Clone) for higher gain into a clean fender style amp sim pedal which goes direct to the PA. The BB has a nice character to the gain without being too drastic a change from the clean sound. I have used the Boss SD1 and Joyo Uzi for similar gain staging in the past and they worked well too.

I've tried the tubescreamer/Boss SD1 into the front of my 5150 for the volume boost/mid hump tightening thing but I still need a clean sound and it's one more pedal to turn off so I don't bother with it for live stuff but have used it for recording. I do sometimes use DOD Carcoza to hit the front of the amp to get a gnarly sound but it's more fuzz than drive. It's one of the few fuzzes I have that still sounds good into a heavy amp sound without getting too muddy.

For bass stuff I either use a sansamp and get a little bit of grit from that or a HX stomp with a driven SVT sound, that's what I use for most of the more classic sounding stuff. I like the HM2 and RAT sounds on bass for death metal but it's too thin and lacking in low end for me live. I keep meaning to pick up a loop blender so I can dial back some clean blend in with the distorted bass tone.

Didn't think I'd be too fond of them based on the name but checked them out a while back as their name keeps popping up. Pleasantly surprised by them! They have decent hooks and it's nice to have going in the background while doing something else but you'd find yourself knowing the tunes. I could see some of my mates who are casual enough metal fans (Ghost/Big 4 kinda stuff!) getting into them.

Thought this gig was fantastic. Landed in towards the end of the Enforced set and they were sounding good. 200 stabwounds were deadly, loving the groove on their stuff and was my 2nd time catching them live. Would like to see them come round again sometime. Haven't been as gone on the latest Gatecreeper album as they have been moving to a more melodeath sound not a million miles away from a middle era In Flames but it worked well in the set and was good live. They seem to have improved a bit as a live act since I saw them last time with more effort put into the show side of things.

Was glad it was moved to opium as it feels like there's more room there compared to Whelans and the view is better in general with the taller stage and more traditional layout.

I had a great time at the Siege as usual. Felt very busy even from early on. It was hard to get a decent spot in the kasbah and upstairs for some bands. Fair play to the bar staff, was never waiting long to get a drink.

Some of my favourite acts were FiveWillDie, Fraught, Dog Tired, Zealot, Ordinator and Uragh. Thought Famyine were decent but got bored after a few songs. Good sets by Tooms and Worn Out but only caught bits of them as the stages were mad busy. Also thoroughly enjoyed playing the warehouse with Shardborne.

I get people not being too fond of the security but I think they are being fair enough, knowing some of them they are actually very fond of the metal gigs/fans and are pretty sound as long as people aren't hasseling other punters or getting overly aggressive. Moshing is strictly not allowed in any venue, the fact they let people mosh at all is a blessing. Sure we'd love free reign to go mad but as long as people want the Siege and gigs to go ahead they'll have to put up with some presence and intervention from them.

I've always had a DSL100, modded it a bit here and there but it's been my go-to for over 20 years and it's never let me down. However, more recently having to consider fly-gigs, I picked up a Victory V4 Kraken (the Rabea Massaad one). Two channel full valve preamp and a 180 watt solid power section to plug straight into a speaker, or a Two Notes cab SIM on a DI out. And the whole thing takes up a quarter of a pedalboard, it comes with me in hand luggage. Has a headphone jack for backstage practice, and even a 9V-out to power the other pedals on the board.

https://www.victoryamps.com/product/v4-the-kraken-guitar-amp/

It is the fucking ticket, I must say. All the travel handiness and most of the gig/recording versatility of a digital modeller but with the clout of a real amp.

Is that kraken amp pedal any good?
Does it sound good cranked loud through a 4x12 cab? Was looking at them but I was worried about the solid state power section.

I haven't played through the Kraken but have seen a few bands using them live and they sounded great. So many touring bands are moving away from tube. I believe the tech has pretty much caught up. Lots of acts are switching to amp modellers or pedalboard amps. Solid state heads too. Plenty bands are going direct but you can get tiny power amps that will give you loads of volume through a cab too. They are really reliable and weigh nothing compared to the tube setups and I honestly think the tone difference is negligible and the crowd won't notice.  (I know that some preamps have tubes but I'm more talking about solid state power amps) I love my tube amps but it's hassle when they start getting noisy or break and need a service or repair. Bass players are almost all using solid state stuff these days, you see these tiny heads belting out massive volume and they fit in the pocket of your gigbag.

For local gigs I'll be bringing my tube heads out but if we're packing a van to travel or playing upstairs I'll be bringing a smaller setup. I've actually brought a pedal power amp and a HX stomp as a backup for a few shows, it's a whole rig in 2 pedals that I can play though a cab with! 

I've also been toying with using a helix and a pedal power amp as a super portable rig/backup. I've tried it a bit in rehearsal and it is crazy versatile for the size but if I'm not being mic'd or going direct I might struggle getting up over the drummer.

Helix is so much sport.  Tempted to pick the small one up down the line for lightweight gigging, very handy.  Have you tried it into the TC bass head but with a Guitar and guitar cab by any chance?  For volume's sake anyway it would likely be grand

I did try the Helix with my bass head when I got it but can't remember exactly much about it other than it was fine. Would be better if my bass amp had an fx loop so I could bypass the preamp but it's pretty clean and neutral anyway. I'm sure the bass head into a guitar cab would work for a gig no problem.

Hoping to hit this. Have only been to marquee once for Deep purple and it was a bit lackluster but this should be a good night.