Live reviews
The Electrowerks, London 22nd Jan 2006
The Belonging are a band with talent and potential in abundance; the only
thing they seem to be lacking slightly tonight is focus, or direction. All
their songs are brimming over with ideas but they all seem to be constructed
of lots of good bits rather than being honed into a single devastating
whole. Still, they have the skill and the adventurous spirit and as their
songwriting develops they have every chance of growing into a band well
worth watching.
Chris Kee.
Necroscope.co.uk
The West Riding, Huddersfield 2nd June 2005
Next up were Bradford's own black metallers The Belonging. Black metal is something of an acquired taste, and the state of the UK scene at present (barring a few notable exceptions) leaves a lot to be desired. However, up-and-coming bands like The Belonging could give UK black metal the kick up the arse it so sorely needs - their set, featuring some excellent guitar work and shades of the more melodic Norwegian bands (such as mid-period Burzum, before Varg Vikernes' obsession with synthesisers kicked in) certainly pleased the black metal fans in the West Riding crowd (several of whom had made the journey from Bradford), as well as winning over plenty of new fans. Setlist featured: - "The Shell Documentary", "Synthetic God", "The Calling", "In Blooded Sleep", "Dying In Sorrow", "The Belonging", and "Black Sun Rising". The Belonging's debut full-length album is available now.
Esoterica
Zine
The Empress Bradford, May 2001
It was The Belonging's first gig ever, although they've been plugging away
in the rehearsal room for quite some time, considering how naively keen some
bands are to get live experience under their belts, frequently before they're
ready. The time this young band have spend getting to grips with their own
style and sound has paid off - it's nice to see a new band in control of what
they're doing and seeming to have some kind of musical masterplan. Stage banter
was minimal to non-existent, and coupled with the band's lengthy and somewhat
under-structured songs, it seemed initially that there were comparisons to
be made with Opeth's early days in many ways, particularly the riff 1, riff
2, riff 3-type compositional style which afflicts most inexperienced bands.
It became clear later that what I'd thought were clumsy middle-sections were
in fact spaces between separate songs! What's important, though, is that the
band's actual riff-writing skills are most certainly up to scratch, as are
their quite impressive technical abilities, and for a first gig, The Belonging's
performance was excellent. Given the hearty applause and whistling, even the
Bradford curmudgeons thought so, too.