Loathe // Zetra // Love Is Noise // Live Review // The Limelight // Belfast
Here we are, Dec 1st, 24 sleeps to Santa’s arrival, and my bag feels full already! This is day 4 of gigs in a town for me, with tonight’s show being the first all-out metal show after absorbing the classic end of the spectrum the last few days.
Tonight has a tasty lineup: Love Is Noise, Zetra and the mighty Loathe headlining. Now it’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen Loathe, the last time I think was in this very venue when they were supporting Spiritbox, so tonight is a pleasant return for the lads as headliners and a big ass your bus parked outside the venue, it makes quite the statement!
I’ll be honest and say I’ve lost track of Loathe over recent years, so I am looking forward to seeing how 2025 they have developed and curated their sound since our last hang.
Up first, Love Is Noise, a band new to me, born in 2021 and with a limited number of releases to date, they have garnered a hefty reputation and a bit of a cult following, it would seem. 7:30 on the dot, they hit the stage and unleash unholy hell as they awaken a Belfast crowd who have huddled in out of the bitter cold wet evening outside.
Their sound is laced thick with a gnarly bass line that chugs at your heart, the drum work is tight and hits hard, whilst the thrashing guitars slam against the thick backline, all held together by frontman Cameron Humphries, who attacks the crowd to give them more. I can see their sound is resonating in the room, there are sheeple bopping around, bodies are shaking, moving and grooving in the crowd. I clearly am late to the Love Is Noise party, but better late than never, right? Thick breakdowns, a touch of hardcore, what’s not to love?
And now for something completely different.
The stage is cleared and we await the arrival of Zetra, A band again I know only via putting out their press, described as 80’s Synth Goth Rock, the visuals scream Black Metal but when their set kicks off you realise that you’re not in Kansas anymore. So I am one of these dudes that is a little conflicted by a band like Zetra, I’m maybe a little too old school I guess and the bands imagery, visuals on stage can be a little lost on me but equally the next band that lands on our lap wearing a mask I dig! So I find myself alway spending too much time at a gig figuring out am I buying into what they’re selling more than appreciating their music, but I do have to say the first few tracks that Zetra Ross out at us grab the attention, bog hooky choruses that pull you in, the key changes in the songs, the vibe it creates against a thick wall of distortion and a heavy synth sound is hard to ignore. It was a compelling set sonically; they have a vibe going on their own for sure. Their exit from the stage was, let’s say, unexpected. It was reminiscent of back in the 90’s, when Yngwie Malmsteen was playing The Kinds Hall in Belfast, and he had a support band, China, on stage when someone thought a guy in the crowd had a gun. That was kinda how Zetra exited the stage tonight. Don’t know quite what else to say …. but LATERS!
9:20 and boom! Loathe take to the stage and shit gets real, real fast! As I mentioned earlier, it’s been a while since I caught these cats live, and they are monstrous live! You know that before the first song is over, the blend of heft and ambient fuse beautifully to create a sonic tapestry unlike any I’ve come across this year, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of bands in 2025. Welcome back, Loathe.
The room is packed front to back as the band’s set kicks in, and it’s bouncing as they break into their second track. It’s great to see that progression for the band, from support many years ago to headliners with a sizeable turnout. The message can sometimes be lost from the mainland to this wee island, but I’m glad to see that the Northern Irish crowd are full on board the Loathe gravy train!
There’s a real groove about their sound that allows their frontman, Kadeem France, to bust some serious moves. This room is rocking, man. I’m standing midway to the side near the bar, and the bar is empty, like fucking empty, not a sinner at it. I’ve never seen that at a gig here in the Limelight, but that tells you what the craic is (as we say in Northern Ireland) that the sheeple are here for one thing and one thing only, the music.
It’s nasty, thick and coming at you hard and heavy. Kadeem has the Belfast crowd song out of the palm of his hand as he orchestrates them at his will. The bands’ finely curated artist takes the crowd on a rollercoaster ride through some glorious orchestrations and mind-boggling songwriting that leaves you breathless and bewildered at how they have created such an inspiring sound. I am sure the process for the band is pretty effortless; years of honing their craft allow the fluidity to make a sound so unique, but I wouldn’t know where to start.
I guess you have to view the world, music, sound in a totally different way, kind of how a photographer would see what lies in front of him and how his eye is trained to see a scene completely differently than the average Joe Bloggs. But bands like Loathe take it to such an extreme that I often wonder whether they push their own boundaries by what they do, or if it’s just taking their next breath?
One thing that is quite stark is the age of the average punter here, very young! Usually, you would see more of a balanced audience at these rock gigs around Belfast. Still, tonight I have to say I am getting student vibes all around me, as I was wondering where Loathe’s appeal sits these days in the modern music landscape, so it warms the cockles and muscles of my wee heart to know that the youth of today might actually have some taste, thank you, baby Jesus!
https://www.loatheasone.co.uk/
https://bfan.link/gifted-every-strength
