Saint Vitus and Orange Goblin live at Limelight 2, Belfast on October 31st, 2014

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© David Bell

Photos by David Bell Photography

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Live Gig review by David Mccallum

Halloween night in Belfast the ghosts and ghouls filed through the door into a hot sweaty venue for Saint Vitus’s scheduled 6.55pm start. Anticipation was high as not only was this Vitus’s debut performance in the city; it was also the legendary Wino’s first appearance. Kicking things off with “Living Backwards” the crowd stood and watched with intent at this band of seasoned doomsters do their thing. Dave Chandler handled most of the song introductions and recreated the tone of all those classic records perfectly. The band appeared to be having a great time and Wino passed a bottle of Jack into the crowd which was emptied within minutes much to his surprise. Henry Vasquez kept a solid heavy rhythm in the back along with Mark Adams.

This was billed as their 35^th Anniversary tour and amongst the set they played the entire “Born to Late” record. A stunning performance that was going to be hard to follow by anyone. Orange Goblin took to the stage to a warm welcome; they have a long history with the city and have been regular visitors since 1999. Ben Ward cajoled and led the crowd from the front, an overpowering hulk of a man that demands the attention of his audience. Goblin rattled through a mix of tracks from throughout their now quite expansive back catalogue including old favourites such as “Blue Snow”, “Quincy the Pigboy” and “Some you win, some you lose”. Whilst it was a confident and spirited performance it paled against the sheer stripped down power of Saint Vitus.