Deafheaven // Portrayal Of Guilt // Zereul // EU/UK Tour Live Review // The Limelight // Belfast
Formed way back in 2010, San Fran’s “Blackgaze” band Deafheaven are in my lowly little city to sprinkle their own brand of Christmas magic in early December 2025.
Now I cannot lie, I know not of Deafheaven, and the description fills me with trepidation, Blackgaze, Shoegaze, all the gaze! Mama Mia! What am I in for?
We do have a packed lineup, three tasty bands all new to me, but the line around the venue says I am alone in my ignorance of Deafheaven and co. Belfast has turned out for Deafheaven! The man from Delmonte, he say yes!!. So tonight’s show will be an early Christmas present for many in the N.I. scene. As we enter the doors, Zeruel has kicked off their set, bathed in thick red light, the trio are an ambient rock outfit who are pushed all the way forward on the compact and bijou stage. The mass array of gear behind them speaks volumes for the bands yet to come, their tour tog is in the pit, a loose term as there is maybe 1 foot of space in there on a good day, but he is patiently waiting for the light to land just where he needs it for that money shot.
As each track grows, the band’s sound swells, the trails of delay and reverb envelope the room, the heads nodding in approval around me as they create a glorious wall of distortion to feed the hungry Belfast crowd. By the third track, the band are bathed in white light, all from behind, with no front lights on at all, and the room is thick with smoke from the fog machine, creating an atmosphere to lose yourself in. These guys are all the way from Baltimore, Maryland and have come a long way to be here, so I am delighted their own brand of ambient rock is appreciated by those gathered in front of them. Belfast has an intense Shoegaze scene, and the various genres that have emerged from it are growing fast here. Alongside the massive death and black metal audience we have on the local scene, along with an army of hardcore lovers, I now find myself observing a very different vibe in one of our favourite city centre venues. The band’s set reaches a crescendo just as it wraps up. Belfast got it, all the way from Baltimore to Northern Ireland, when it comes to hefty music, we are indeed one and the same.
Up next, Austin, Texas, Portrayal Of Guilt, an altogether different affair, I was kinda hoping a modern reincarnation of Stevie Ray Vaughan, but alas, no. These guys are bringing the heft! Guttural roars, slamming guitar work, all layered up in heavy modulated guitar tones, create a thick groove-laden soundtrack that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Zeruel was an altogether more sedate affair in comparison to BOG, with its gargantuan ambient backing track, weighed down by thunderous guitars and guttural growls, is a barrage on the senses coming at you from all sides, and it is relentless!
The drum work is a thing of beauty as he grooves in and out of various rhythmic pockets before unleashing a blistering black-metal-like run, absorbed by a monstrous guitar delay trail. This one is a complete head fuck! I can’t begin to understand how a band such as Betrayal Of Guilt go about the songwriting process, but it must surely happen before their therapy session? Or maybe the songwriting session IS the therapy session? Either way, this is indeed a new door that has been opened to me this evening, and I am not ready!!!
I honestly can’t tell where a song starts and stops, whether the signature changes, or if going up there means they have moved on from the last song, or if we are in the middle of some epic opus. The musicianship is phenomenal, the drum work breathtaking, the booming bass at times hits you hard in the chest, the ambient backing track with its disjointed haunting melody plays as a juxtaposition against this thick wall of distortion landing on you. This one is not for the faint of heart. I know personally, I need to go to a dark room and lie down on the floor, wait, I’m here, this’ll do ….
The stage needs to be cleared so I have time to decompress and reset for Deafheaven.
As Deafheaven arrive in the room, it erupts, and frontman George Clarke is already asking for more; he’s clearly enraged with pent-up energy and needs to unleash it on the Belfast crowd. The three raised platforms at the front of the stage are the playground for the band as they plant themselves up front and centre, nowhere to hide and destroy The Limelight II.
By the end of the first song, I am sold. Deafheaven are a thing of beauty; their frontman, George Clarke, is a magnetic, enigmatic character orchestrating the crowd at will. The twists and turns in this crazy soundtrack are truly a powerful force I was not ready for. The room has gone mental, everyone around me has lost their minds and let loose, it’s a fucking school night, kids! Everyone, calm the fuck down!
There’s definitely a vibe going on in here, all the band dressed in black trousers, black t-shirts and shoes, against this crazy soundtrack and the mental antics of George Clarke, when the ambient, slower parts kick in, he steps back and physically orchestrates the parts, the guttural grows, the howling high pitched squeals all measured to perfection is something to behold. The band are literally on fire; they make the performance and process look so effortless. The music, however, is a soundtrack so complex that it is mesmerising to watch, the fluidity of which they manoeuvre across a crazy sonic rollercoaster and the energy of the crowd in the room is just a thing of beauty to behold, to be in the middle of it, and the venue, The Limelight II is a venue where the band is where you can literally reach out and touch them, intensifies the storm brewing within the room. George is ready to pounce into the middle of that room at any time, every bone in his body fighting that single urge. The setlist, a perfectly curated collection of songs that seem to resonate so profoundly with the bloodthirsty audience, hits the mark every time. Tracks like Doberman, Sunbather, and Amethyst set the room alight, and Belfast is on a rager! A completely unexpected night, a band totally unknown to me and one that I will not forget in a hurry. Deafheaven are a tour de force for sure, Betrayal Of Guilt are clearly in need of an exorcism, and Zeruel are ones to watch. Thanks, guys, for the early Christmas treat. Let’s do it all over again soon!
Review: Mark McGrogan
Photography: Harry Moore
