Well April was one of those months were gigs were not short to be found, well apart from Moira. Whilst some bands faded into nothingness or broke up, other bands like EYES SEE BLIND took on board all criticisms and vowed to prove their worth and they did. I have to immediately say that the first time I saw them I would have been at the head of the anti-eyes-see-blind campaign however, and I mean this with all sincerity, these guys tightened up and improved beyond what I thought possible. Definitely made a believer out of me. There is definitely still room for alot of improvement but overall these guys got me on board.
HARD ROCK HELL NORTHERN IRELAND kicked off with a bang in Morrisons and has been quickly progressing in popularity and members. I myself am running my gigs and working alongside them. We came up with an idea to help out the bands that aren’t getting the push they rightly deserve as they are being overlooked by either Indie bands or bands from yesteryear wanting to step back in the limelight again. To clarify that, I am not saying there is anything wrong with bands that were big in Belfast 10, 20 or 30 years ago returning to the new age of music. It is great to see so many bands returning after years in the dark. What we want is to push the new talent and help them anyway we can. Hence the CLASS OF 2011 was formed. To register as a fully fledged legionary for Hard Rock Hell Northern Ireland just email your details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. It is free to register and you will benefit from things like exclusive competitions, updates before anyone else and cheaper gig entry to both HRH NI events and Fury Rock Promotions Gigs.
LAST KNOWN ADDICTION launched their debut album and played to a complete packed house in the Empire with SO:NI. Things like this were what made April for me. Other venues saturated the market in April putting on the same bands from the month before or even in many cases the same bands playing the same venue 4 times in the same month or even 2-3 times in the one week. The SO:NI gig at the Empire sat out on its one and is the marker promoters, venues and bands alike should be aiming for.
3 piece Alt Rock outfit, SISTER MARKO, went on tour in England with Epiphany. Now in fairness not many of us have heard of English based rock band Epiphany but this was a milestone for a band that has worked their ass off for the past 3 years. Hopefully the success they had in England will continue now they are back on home soil.
I have been given a collection of local talents EP’s and Albums to review so in the coming weeks expect to see a few of those. RTL started making their mark in Belfast making them the busiest promotion in the country with gigs going on in several bars in Lurgan and now the Pavilion and Ma Nelsons in Belfast.
Overall April was a bench mark for the local hard rock scene. The gigs are getting busier, bands are getting better and in general, now is a great time to be part of the thriving hard rock music scene. Lets see what May has in store cause I know we have alot coming from June including these gigs.

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Authors: Scott Wilson

Read More: http://skotfury.blogspot.com/2011/05/look-back-on-april.html