 
 The Rotted have made their way to Belfast with
Malefice and Anterior on the Metal Blade Assault
Tour following a successful night in Dublin. All
three bands are most definitely metal but to pigeon-hole
them any further into a subgenre is impossible.
They all have their own influences, for example
The Rotted have a definite Punk sound and delivery
but remain unlabelled any further than being called
a metal band.
Pre gig in the bar next door there was definite
buzz, especially since the guys in all three bands
are just sitting there having something to eat
and a quick drink before the final sound checks.
It looked like they all got on really well, but
then they had to because they all shared the same
tour bus. They all made their way through the
side door of the bar into The Limelight to finalise
setup which still gave us a bit of time to relax
before making our way in also using the entrance
out on the street.
When we got inside, the opening band, Condemned
were already playing. From the ten minutes I heard,
they have a very distinctive death metal sound
which they have made their own. I would need to
hear more from them to say more than that.
 The first Metal Blade offering of the night came
in the form of Welsh metallers, Anterior. From
the outset they owned and the crowd reacted well.
I was surprised at how tight they were, considering
they had a standin drummer who only just learned
the songs.
Next up came Malefice, the band most people came
to see. The Limelight wasn’t filled by any
stretch of the imagination but the fans who were
there were starting to get pretty vocal in their
appreciation of what they were seeing onstage.
Malefice played a mixture of material from both
their albums. Even though they had just released
Dawn of Reprisal, they had never been to Ireland
to play their first album, Entities so it was
great that they played tracks from both. They
owned the stage just as much as Anterior but their
delivery was just that bit more brutal. They are
an amazingly powerful band on stage and they bring
all their songs to life in a way that no studio
album could ever achieve.
 The Rotted were the seasoned veterans of the
bunch who were headlining the tour. They hit the
stage with a vengeance and totally blew the roof
off. The energy and raw passion had heads banging
in all directions. Ben McCrow, the vocalist couldn’t
stand still for a second and constantly moved
all round the stage for the full set. This was
part of the final tour that they add Gorerotted
(the name of the previous band fronted by McCrow)
songs to the setlist so it was great to hear some
old stuff before it is gone from their live performances.
The band fed off the energy of the crowd and played
a stormer of a set. They left the stage, dripping
with sweat and with smiles on their faces.
Anterior 3.5/5
Malefice 4/5
The Rotted 4.5/5
Review By Craig Young |
