Coheed & Cambria // Alexisonfire // Meryl Streek // Live Review // The Telegraph Building // Belfast
This is it, kids, the one show that was announced that I honestly could not believe my eyes when I saw it! Coheed & Cambria and Alexisonfire live in Belfast, summer is here, and we’re racing towards the middle of the month of July, which in Northern Ireland has a reputation all its own, but thankfully in 2025 not quite in the same way as we would have experienced in years gone by. Now It’s generally the time we here in NI piss off on our holidays so it’s quiet as we make our was from the sticks (Countryside) into town and to the sweet venue that is The Telegraph Building.
One of Belfast’s newer venues and one of the coolest industrial vibe spots we have for gigs in NI. The show has sold well for two bands that are an unexpected bill for our little city, but here we are, the tour buses are lined up outside, and the crowds are pouring into the venue in early appreciation. Tonight we have local lad Meryl Streek opening up.
The Dublin-based artist is no stranger to Rock ‘N’ Load, we’ve caught him supporting none other than the lads of the moment Bob Vylan at the Limelight in 2023 and more recently supporting Enter Shikari in 2024, but tonight he’s the opening act for two North American monsters.
Meryl is a unique kind of artist, a socio/political commentator who’s angst ridden set lays bare all his frustration with the island of Ireland, stories of injustice, political corruption and stories of family members, he lays it all out bare, no band as his music isn’t just the message but the lyrical content he is driving home, a voice that needs to be heard to implement change, introduce a will and a passion from the Irish people to stand up to the oppression they experience in everyday life and how we have to say enough is enough, international law and the rule of order lies in tatters in 2025 and it’s hard to know where we Will go from here but artists like Meryl Streek are vital to us all keeping our feet on the ground and our fists in the air.
Mery’s new album ‘Songs For The Deceased’ is released on October 25th through Venn Records, pre-order HERE
Photography: Mark McGrogan
@flashartmark
8:15 and the lights drop, one by one, the members of Alexisonfire take to the stage and unleash a set of blistering unholy hell upon the Belfast crowd, and they just loved it. As savage a set as I’ve seen in quite a while, with each member giving everything they’ve got for the live stage. These guys live and breathe the live setting; this is their Oxygen, these 90 minutes of madness ground them for the rest of their day, and without it, they would be like caged animals unleashed onto the world. The band is a majestic tour de force; sonically, they are a powerhouse, technically proficient, and able to translate that chaos and angst into a barrage of sonic abuse. With vocals shared between guitarist Dallas Green and frontman George Pettit, they make a formidable force. The bland laying down thick backline that tears the flesh from your body as they brutalise Belfast track after track. The band pulls from their five studio albums to create a setlist that brings the Belfast crowd on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as they play out a lifetime of stories unfolding through the most powerful angst ridden music Belfast has seen this year. My introduction to the band came late on with 2009’s Old Crows/Young Cardinals album and it introduced to to their savage musicality and really where do you go from there, I honestly didn’t expect to ever see these guys in my hometown and but here they are, pummelling the Northern Ireland crown like we were responsible for their absence. Naughty Alexisonfire! Absolute madness, absolute mercurial madness. More of this, please 🙏! I’ve honestly never heard the Belfast crowd be in such fine voice, they knew every word to every song and tossed their lyrics back like firecrackers – what an opening set!
Photography: Mark McGrogan
@flashartmark
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A short turnaround and the anticipation building in the room for Coheed and Cambria is palpable. 9 ish the lights drop, and to a roar the guys take to the stage and boom! A fast and furious set of glorious proggy goodness is thrust upon us! The obvious difference between Coheed and Alex is the melodic quality of Coheed’s set; it’s a far easier on the ear proposition. The songs are banging! Fast and furious, but they offer a true sing-along quality (if you know the words), and with 11 studio albums under their belt, there is no shortage of material to pull from to entertain the Belfast crowd. Delving into their new album and to the back catalogue, you can see a highly enthusiastic audience digging their sound, now for me if you throw in a little Danzig, I’m sold …. Wait, what? Mother! Awww, Jaysus a blast from the past right there! An unexpected little ditty from my youth and not one I was expecting to hear this evening, wailing guitar solo and all. The technical proficiency of Coheed is something to admire; these guys provide a musical education like no other. As guitarist xxx says we’re on a Time Machine this evening covering all the bases from the earliest of days to the modern classics.
These guys are on fire, laying down a blistering set of cray beautiful riffage, all fused by a collection of highly addictive tracks, the people on the ground know every word, and are singing their little hearts out when asked. I honestly have never seen a response to both bands as I have seen tonight with the crowd so invested, so on the ball with the lyrics of both bands, they know all the songs, all the words, and it is a beautiful thing to see. Before you know it, that gig, the one with the big red ring around it and a smily face beside it, is over, the last riffs ring out, and the people stream out into the cool Belfast air. Smiles as far and wide as Cheshire cats celebrating one of the best gigs of the year for sure. Please, please, more nights like this.
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Photography: Mark McGrogan
@flashartmark
