The Metal Cell Podcast (Richard Duhig)

Two hundred podcasts on Irish Metal are now officially done and we are joined by one half of The Siege of Limerick team, Mr.John Real. It's always a pleasure to have John on the show and his immense contributions to the Limerick scene and beyond always makes for a interesting episode. Steve Walsh of Grey Stag is another friend of the show so it was brilliant to catch up with the Riff Lord as they prepare for a main stage slot in the Siege. I run through my picks of the day and there's plenty of great contributions from the guests and co-hosts. Hope you enjoyed the episode and I think it's rather fitting that the 200th one falls on the weekend of The Siege of Limerick. Remember to 'SUBSCRIBE' to the show and thanks for your support! Richie.

Delighted to welcome back my wonderful co-hosts on this terrific episode where we covered gigs attended, festival gossip, a Grief Eater single review and lots of banter. The main subject was professionalism in the Irish Metal Scene which hopefully will answer a few questions or kickstart another discussion on it. The insights that Jack and Evan offer as musicains playing in the scene are really brilliant and Danielle who has been attending these gigs regularly always adds a compelling view to the mix. We are lucky as listeners to have such a great team on board for these special shows. Once again I must ask to leave a rating if ye enjoyed the show. Thanks Richie.

I was delighted to be joined by Craig (Sea High) Hosey (Vocals) and Donal Bowens (Drums) of Idle Discourse to the podcast. The band are tearing up the Metal rule book by incorporating a huge amount of diverse influences and styles to create their own strange brew to intoxicate the punters. Their videos show a band that are creatively connected with their audience and with the release of their excellent 'Volume 2', I couldn't wait to catch up with Idle Discourse to chat about a huge year stamping their mark on the Irish music scene. Craig and Donal fill me in on the formation of the band, how they approach songwriting and of course we have plenty of banter along the way. Hope you enjoy this last episode of 2024 as much as I did. Idle Discourse play Dublin's, Workmans Club on December 19th to wrap up the year! Idle Discourse link: https://www.idlediscourse.band Songs played: Caveat © Idle Discourse, all rights reserved. Demonstrate © Idle Discourse, all rights reserved.

The Metal Cell Forums. Join myself, Danielle, Evan and Joe as we talk about the Metal Scene, review bands and discuss topics related to our favourite music....METAL! This weeks show is a cracker! It's all about our favourite live Metal albums I'm sure there's plenty of them that we can all agree on! We talk about some of the best live performances captured on audio and also call out some more that were studio produced. Yes, there is a few Irish ones mentioned as well! We also discuss briefly the culture of expecting freebies in metal be it albums or merch and review five new releases by Hashmaker, SixTooLate, Tend, The Chris Rolling Squad and Hapless Wretch. Hope you enjoy and please subscribe to the show if you haven't done already. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Hashmaker (c) Gram Lines, 2021 all rights reserved. SixTooLate (c) Riot Police, 2021 all rights reserved. Tend (c) Boss Rush, 2021 all rights reserved. The Chris Rolling Squad (c) Trapped Inside, 2021 all rights reserved. Hapless Wretch (c) Natrium Myr, 2021 all rights reserved.

Signs of the Swarm is an American deathcore band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania formed in 2014. The band consists of drummer Bobby Crow, vocalist David Simonich, guitarist Carl Schulz and bassist Michael Cassese. They have released 4 studio albums. Letty catches up with the incredibly talented vocalist David Simonich for a chat about his vocal styles, influences and the preparation that went into the recording of their soon to be released fifth album 'Amongst the Low & Empty' on July 28th via Century Media Records. Signs of the Swarm links: https://www.facebook.com/signsoftheswarm/ https://linktr.ee/signsoftheswarm

The Metal Cell was delighted to welcome award winning film & video producer Rob O'Halloran to the studio. I have been a huge fan of Robs talented work so it was a pleasure to listen to him talk about his work with Bailer, Worn Out and his journey to becoming an award wining independent film maker. Rob explains how hard it is to forge a career working in Ireland within the media of film production and his own company Mint Video. I have nothing but admiration for Rob after hearing his story, I hope you enjoy it too.

As December Falls are a four piece, female-fronted band from Nottingham, UK. The line up consists of Bethany Curtis (Vocals), Ande Hunter (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Timmy Francis (Rhythm Guitar) and Lukas James (drums). Their self-titled debut album was released on February 8, 2019, with their style being a mixture of rock, pop punk. As December Falls are now delving into a more heavier sound and are creating serious waves amongst the music press both in the UK and abroad. Their brilliant new album 'Join The Club' came out the 21st of July in 2023 and the band have already played Download and announced for the mainstage of Slam Dunk 2024. Letty met with Ande (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) & Tim (Rhythm Guitar) in Dublin on 03 December, before they hit the stage at The Grand Social, to talk about their latest release, the above mentioned 'Join The Club', the bands formation and their favourite releases of 2023. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to our channel if you enjoyed this episode. Thanks! Band link: https://www.asdecemberfalls.com

I was delighted to finally meet up Darragh and Santiago of Svet Kant and have a great chat about the band. Santiago was born in Argentina and formed Svet Kant in 2011 as a solo project in Buenos Aires. He released Loneliness his debut album in 2013 and by the time he moved to Ireland to record a new album Svet Kant was a fully fledged band. Consisting of Darragh (drums), Liam (guitars) and Paul on bass they went into Track Mix studios in 2017 to work under the creative eye of Mick Richards. Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York) by the famous Ted Jensen (Gojira, Deftones, Pantera) new sonic landscapes and tantalising harmonic textures were explored on their second critically acclaimed full length album “The Visage Unbiased”. The lads have serious plans for 2021 and it was an absolute pleasure to talk to them. I hope you enjoy it. Songs featured and permission granted: Entheogen (c) Astralist, 2020 all rights reserved. Faceless Being (c) Svet Kant 2020 all rights reserved. Atrophy (c) Diamir, 2020 all rights reserved.

I was delighted to have Paul Nash guitarist of Death/Extreme Metal band Senzar on the show. Paul is a veteran of the Irish Metal Scene, having his own rehearsal studios in Dublin and playing with Metal bands like Clay Pigeon and Coldwar; whose ashes that Senzar emerged from. Naturally there was a rich history of the Irish Metal Scene to explore with Paul who thankfully had no issues going back over the early years of Coldwar, American tours and the formation of Senzar. So if you're a fan of old school metal or just interested in the Irish Metal Scene you will love this episode. Thanks for the support and subscribe if you enjoy the episode. Richie. Song: CIV (Sky Burial) © Senzar, all rights reserved. 2018 Senzar Links: https://senzarband.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/senzarband

The Metal Cell Forum Special. Delighted to work with Danielle Daly, Jack O'Neill (Coroza) Evan Prendergast (Worn Out) on this new show. They provided such great insights, humour and years of Metal worshipping that it was hard to contain with the 90 mins showtime. All quality no quantity it's great entertainment and crucially it's about our metal community and the characters that we all come across at some stage going to gigs, towns or cities. Enjoy the first ever Metal Cell Forum and share it around to your friends and fellow metalheads!!!

I was delighted to welcome Craig Murphy (Vocals), Marcelo Varge (Guitars) & Sebastian Sparr (Bass) to the show. Uragh are a metal band formed and based in Dublin in 2022, they incorporate elements of alternative, progressive and black metal in their songs. The lads with Jason Hodgkins on (Drums) are certainly for me one of the most exciting bands to emerge on the Metal scene this year, with some killer performances that saw them make it to the Metal 2T Masses final and release a brilliant single. This was a really great interview with Uragh and with an album being worked on in the background it was the perfect time to catch up with them. If you enjoyed the interview please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Thanks, Richie. Uragh band links: https://uragh.bandcamp.com Song featured: Decimate © Uragh, all rights reserved.

Fresh off the Kasbah stage in Dolans where they levelled the crowd, I caught up with Matt and Steve for a cool beer and we talked about the huge reaction they got for their first ever Siege of Limerick. They talk about the countless gigs they've played over the last few months, their influences, the song writing process for "The Guide" E.P and of course the magnificent but missing “Gatt” their drummer who may be dead, on a bus or just on the lash as the Podcast was happening. Shout outs to Bad Reputation, Mick Richards, Oracle. Songs featured: Labyrinth & Those of Stone © White Stag, 2018, all rights reserved. supportirishmetal

Cork-based noise merchants WORN OUT have self released their sophomore EP, LOW to huge critical acclaim on August the 30th. The EP follows the release of single "Deeper" in July, and comes alongside the announcement of a headline run across Ireland later in 2024, with support from Grief Ritual and Lure In. LOW sees WORN OUT embrace the aggressive, abrasive and chaotic aspect of their metallic sound, as well as delving deeper into the more atmospheric side hinted at on their previous releases. Mixed by Joe Clayton and mastered by Sam Bloor, with the band taking on the majority of the recording themselves, the four-track EP combines a broad range of influences; clashing melody, dissonance & heavy rhythms with a scathing vocal delivery. I met up with the band in Dali, Cork where they will be doing the EP launch with Lure in on November the 9th. We talk about the recording of the EP, we talk about the differences in Worn Out since I last interviewed them for their previous EP 'Waste' and the tour schedule/plans for the next few months. Track played: Deeper © Worn Out, all rights reserved. Band link: https://linktr.ee/wornoutnoise

It was a pleasure to talk to Olan Parkinson (drums) of legendary Death Metal/Grind band Abaddon Incarnate. The band was formed in Dublin in 1994, (under the name Bereaved the band released two demo cassette tapes, ‘Signs of Death’ in 1992 and ‘Tortured Souls’ in 1994). The decision was made to change their name to Abaddon Incarnate on the release of their third demo, ‘When the Demons Come’. Since then, the band has released two more promos (in 1996 and 2001) and five full-length album releases, consisting of ‘The Last Supper’ in 1999, ‘Nadir’ in 2001, ‘Dark Crusade’ in 2003 Cascade in 2009 and Pessimist in 2014. Original drummer Olan Parkinson re-joined in 2019 after filling in for some Irish dates and now Under Transcending Obscurity the band will release their sixth album 'The Wretched Sermon' in early 2022. Olan gives us a great insight into the recording of the new album, plans for 2022 and some fantastic stories of the band’s earlier days. Songs played: Rising of the Lights © Abaddon Incarnate, all rights reserved 2021 Killing Spree © Abaddon Incarnate, all rights reserved 2021 Abaddon Incarnate links: https://www.facebook.com/abaddonincarnate http://abaddonincarnate.bigcartel.com/

I'm absolutely delighted to bring these interviews courtesy of Danielle Meehan co-host of The Metal Cell Forums. Danielle kindly volunteered to do this after I had no luck securing a press pass from the festival organisers. The fact that she managed to get six interviews done with a hand held recorder, as she like the other few thousand who attended had not seen a live gig in two years, was testament to her will power and devotion to the metal scene. Danielle put a lot of time and research into organising and meeting the bands who kindly agreed to do the interviews (Thanks everyone in the below mentioned bands!). Apologies for the poor quality of sound in some interviews as Danielle had to content with windy conditions and was not in a dedicated area to interview the bands. Respect and love to Danielle! Order of interviews and songs: 1. Ashen Crown: Under the Leaves (c) all rights reserved. Band interview. 2. Bailer: Gateway Drug (c) all rights reserved. Band interview. 3. The Crawling: Sparrow (c) all rights reserved. Band interview. 4. Elimination: Of God and Beasts (c) all rights reserved. Band Interview. 5. Godless Suns: Bones (Live at the Big Red) (c) all rights reserved. Band Interview. 6. Kingwitch: Body of Light (c) all rights reserved. Band Interview.

It was a pleasure to welcome Vince McCarthy (Vocals), Sean Keenaghan (Guitars), Kevin O'Brien (Bass) & Dave Hackett (Drums) of Hardcore band Ten Point Rule on to the show. Ten Point Rule were formed in 1998, played mostly in the Phoenix, and were part of a large underground punk/metal/hardcore scene. They recorded a 5 track CD 'Say my Name' EP in BPM studios in Douglas in April 1999 and launched it the following month in An Phoenix, one month before Dave, Seán and Kevin’s Leaving Cert. It quickly sold out. In the interim of doing their exams and waiting for their results, the band went back into BPM studios in July ’99 and recorded two tracks. However, due to lack of funds and the band amicably splitting up that same year, the tracks were never released. Myself, Howard & Evan chat to the lads, who are reunited for the first time in 25 years via Zoom, about the history of the band, the huge influence they unwittingly were to upcoming Irish Metal/HC bands and the re-release of 'Say My Name' EP with the two missing tracks. A unique episode in many ways I want to thank Ten Point Rule and Howard for organizing it and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel! Thanks, Richie. All sales of the 'Say My Name' EP' will go to Corks Penny Dinners. Link to EP: https://tenpointrule.bandcamp.com/album/say-my-name-remastered

After some great interviews over the last few weeks and some chart success as well it was nice to kick back and relax with Evan and Joe on The Forums. Unfortunately Danielle had to drop out, due to work commitments but as they say the show must go on! We reviewed four new tracks from Collapser, Ropemaker, Terror Syndrome and Nebularis. The topic of the night was a really interesting chat about the options out there for music education, roles in bands and band management. So hopefully you'll enjoy this topic and if you want us to look at other topics comment below. As always thanks for your support and do hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button if you haven't already on The Metal Cell YouTube Channel. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted Whalegasm (c) Collasper, 2023 all rights reserved. The Dullahan (c) Terror Syndrome, 2023 all rights reserved. Cataclysm (c) Nebularis, 2023 all rights reserved. Paean (c) Ropemaker, 2023 all rights reserved.

Sinocence have been together for twenty years, playing and touring a brand of ferocious metal that has seen them get critical acclaim both here in Ireland and in Europe. Landing support slots to Machine Head, Soulfly and In Flames to name but a few the four piece recruited a fifth member Duane to take on the role of lead vocalist in 2018. Despite losing founding member "Moro" (guitars/vocals) they have recruited wisely but Covid has stopped them from touring and releasing new music. However songwriting has been going on behind the scenes and after you finish the interview you'll find a band that's very hungry to make up for lost time with some crushing new slabs of metal. Hope you enjoy the episode and hit that "Subscribe" button to support the show. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Perfect Denial (c) Sinocence, 2021 all rights reserved. Ascension Code (c) Sinocence, 2021 all rights reserved. Band Links: https://www.facebook.com/sinocence http://www.sinocence.co.uk/

It was a pleasure to welcome Torsten Kinsella (Guitars/Pianos/Synths) of God is an Astronaut to the show. The Irish instrumental/post-rock behemoths have been around for over two decades, and for this special podcast we get to discuss and celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album 'The End Of The Beginning'. Myself and Pat O' Regan of The Smashing Skull Sessions chat to Torsten about the latest live interpretation of the album, where the band breathe new life into the record, showcasing how God Is An Astronaut have evolved since their inception. We also get to chat about the Irish and International music scenes, where Torsten gives a candid and very honest opinion on both. This and many more topics are discussed, so if you enjoyed the show please hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button. Track played: Point Pleasant (c) God is an Astronaut, all rights reserved. Band Link: https://godisanastronaut.com

It was a pleasure to welcome Benny Murrin, Promoter and co-founder of the Sligo Whiplash Festival along with two bands that are featuring on the bill, Ren Marabou & The Beserkers and Howard of The Magnapinna. There was a lot to catch up on so Benny gave us an overview on the history of the festival, the line-ups and the venue itself. I talk to Ren about their latest single and welcome the newest members to his band, Terence on drums and Cass on Bass. Howard gives us an update on what to expect from The Magnapinna on the day of the festival and tour plans. In between all that there is plenty of craic and Sligo Whiplash content! Hope you enjoy the podcast and be sure to 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you haven't already. Sligo Whiplash Festival links: Https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/598300562087 https://sligowhiplash.com/ Music played: The Journeys Of Rig © Ren Marabou & The Beserkers, all rights reserved. I Kennedy © The Magnapinna, all rights reserved.

The Metal Cell Podcast was delighted to sit down and have a chat with Neil (guitars) and Fredy (vox/guitars) of Nomadus. The lads are off to a flyer with their band, having won over lots of fans with their Metal to the Masses final appearance and about to play in front of an eager crowd at The Siege of Limerick. Nomadus have secured support slots to The Crawling and Elder Druid so the future looks very positive for these Northern Irish Riff Lords. I can only hope they will back up the credentials with an early release next year to showcase their mastery of the riff. Songs: Apex Breath (c) Nomadus, 2019 all rights reserved.

Undeath, the death metal band formed in Rochester, New York in 2018, have generated considerable buzz early in their career. Signed to Prosthetic Records, they released their second album, It's Time... To Rise From the Grave," in 2022, the quintet have a sound that brings me back to the early days of death metal, you will hear traces of death metal legends like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, and Autopsy. However the twist is in the song writing and delivery which brings a fresh take on the death metal scene! Add in some blood soaked humor and a brilliant live show, Undeath are evolving into something that appeals to all fans of different metal genres. Letty caught up with Kyle and Alex before they hit the stage in Dublin, Ireland supporting thrash legends Municipal Waste. The lads bring us up to speed on the tour, their music and their influences. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you haven't already! Undeath Links: https://undeathmetal.com/ https://evilgreed.net/collections/undeath

Myself and Howard were delighted to welcome John Quill the singer/guitarist with Third Island & Quill Effects and Tomás Hynes of Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh, a one Man DSBM / Atmospheric Black Metal band. John has been involved in the Limerick Metal Scene for years and has slowly built up his reputation as one of the go to guys for customised guitar and bass effect pedals. Tomás at 15 years old, has an impressive collection of releases on Bandcamp under his solo DSBM/Black Metal project. There has been a terrific reaction amongst the Metal community to someone like Tomás blazing his own trail in the scene. It's a great insight into both unique musicians and I hope you enjoy it. This episode is dedicated to Owen Pegg of Hundred Year Old Man who sadly passed away lately. Owen illuminated all the lives that he touched and left an incredible musical legacy behind him. Our thoughts are with his family & extended metal family. Please take care of each other. Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Third Island - The Colour (c) all rights reserved. Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh - The Summoning of The Gods (c) all rights reserved. Hundred Year Old Man - Ascension (c) all rights reserved. Links: https://thirdisland.bandcamp.com/album https://unexploredforests.bandcamp.com https://hundredyearoldman.bandcamp.com

Alex Vinci joined me in the studio to have a terrific chat about his busy live, doing gigs, touring Europe, making records, shooting videos, working in a local Cork company, Apple and his love for his family. Alex is an interviewer's dream, with engaging and interesting stories along with the shared love of music we both have. It makes for a great podcast especially with the build up to the launch of the new EP “The World, Enda Kenny, the Devil, the Vegans and all the Millennials shit” on September 27th and tour dates that will follow. Songs featured: Nemisis and Narrow Door (c) The Last Vinci, 2019 all rights reserved.

To celebrate a fantastic year for Irish Metal releases, I've compiled some of my favourite tracks for you on this the first part of 'Underground Volume 1: The best of Irish Metal 2021 by The Metal Cell Podcast'. Please understand that it was really hard to distill it down to 40 tracks over these two compilations, I was musically spoilt for choice so for all the bands that made my top 40 a big thanks to ye for allowing me to use your music! Please support all Irish Metal bands by buying their Music & Merch, visit their Bandcamp page or follow them on social media through this difficult time for all musicians/artists in the Irish Metal scene. Thanks to everyone who have shown The Metal Cell some love over the last 12 months....this compilation is for ye! Cheers Richie! UNDERGROUND VOLUME I. Tracks: SOOTHSAYER: War of the Doves. https://soothsayerdoom.bandcamp.com/ CORR MHÓNA: An tSláine. https://corrmhonaband.bandcamp.com/ THE CRAWLING: Sparrow. https://thecrawlingband.bandcamp.com/ FORAOISÍ GAN INIÚCHADH: No one is Safe from Evil. https://unexploredforests.bandcamp.com/ GEALACH: The Elatha Ancestry. https://gealachireland.bandcamp.com/ ALL IRELAND METAL PROJECT: Born under a bad sign. https://allirelandmetal.bandcamp.com/ COSCRADH: Mesradh Machae. https://coscradh.bandcamp.com/ DREAD SOVEREIGN: She Wolves of the Savage Season. https://dreadsovereign.bandcamp.com/ FOR RUIN: In Vain. https://forruin.bandcamp.com/ ENSHROUD: Darkness Grips Us All. https://enshroud1.bandcamp.com/releases WORN OUT: Blind Eye. https://wornoutnoise.bandcamp.com/ GREY STAG: The Adversary. https://greystag.bandcamp.com/ NOMADUS: Dawn of Darkness. https://nomadus.bandcamp.com/ ACID AGE: Death of Octavia. https://acidage.bandcamp.com/ FRAUGHT: Apex Leech. https://fraughtband.bandcamp.com/ SURVIVALIST: Greed and Obsession https://survivalistni.bandcamp.com/ UNCULTIVATES: I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been set on fire. https://uncultivates.bandcamp.com/ ARCHIVES: Karoshi. https://www.facebook.com/ARCHIVESNI SAINT SLAUGHTER: Execution at will. https://saintslaughter.bandcamp.com/ GOLGOTHA: The Paths of the Dead. https://www.golgothalair.com/

It was great to finally talk to Aaron 'O Neill and Eoghan Galligan of fuzzed out sludge merchants Slung from a Tree. The lads are based in Kerry/Limerick and have steadily been building up a large following over the years blitzing fans up and down the country with their own brand of stoner/sludge riffs. Their signing to Cursed Monk Records certainly signaled to everyone that know the band that a debut release should surely be on the horizon. My co-host Howard has played plenty of gigs with the lads on the same bill so there was a fair few stories and laughs as well. Enjoy the show, share and hit subscribe if you enjoyed it. Thanks Richie. Bands Links: https://www.facebook.com/SLUNGFROMATREESLUDGE https://slungfromatree.bandcamp.com/releases

It was a pleasure to welcome twins Ciaran & Eoin Culhane onto the show to talk about their fantastic new release 'Oars in the Water'. Shardborne based in Limerick, are a Progressive/Tech Instrumental Metal band, known for technical prowess and boundless creativity and summon a sonic tapestry that is as intricate as it is emotive. Welcome to a realm where stories are told through harmonies, complex arrangements, delicate moments and crescendos. The four piece completed by Ben Wanders on Drums & Cormac O'Farrell on Bass, have created a contender for Irish Metal album of the year with 'Oars in the Water' in my humble opinion. Myself and Howard talk to the lads about early beginnings, creative song writing, tours and the ultimate dream launch party for 'Oars in the Water'. 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell Channel if you enjoyed this episode and check out the Shardborne links below. https://shardborne.bandcamp.com/album/oars-in-the-water https://www.facebook.com/ShardborneIreland/ Songs played: The Professor © Shardborne, all rights reserved. Homeward © Shardborne, all rights reserved.

The Irish Metal Scene is one of the strongest scenes in Europe for all types of metal! Here are 15 tracks from some of the best releases in 2020 by Metal bands on this island. Enjoy and thanks to all the bands for submitting their songs for the podcast. SCREAMS FROM THE IRISH UNDERGROUND VOLUME 2 1.STRANGERS WITH GUNS - CANTS 2.DIRTY POWER - BACK TO ONE 3.SCATHED - DECEIT 4.BAKKEN - COLD BLOODED MURDER 5.GAMA BOMB – LIVING FOR THE LOCKDOWN 6.WOLF ACID RITUAL - THE HIDDEN SECRETS 7.PAPER TIGERS - NO GHOSTS WALK 8.FOREIGN WOLF - AFTERTHOUGHT 9.AESECT - SKY BURIAL 10.ASTRALIST - ENTHEOGEN 11.BRIGANTIA - SARDONICUS 12.ABYSM - FATHOMED 13.DRAKONIS - FROM THE ETERNAL 14.RESTIVE NATION - COMA 15.GOLGOTHA: THE HERALD WITH EYES OF FIRE Band Links: https://strangerswithguns.bandcamp.com https://dirtypower.bandcamp.com https://scathedeire.bandcamp.com https://bakkenband.bandcamp.com https://gamabomb.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/wolfacidritualband https://papertigersni.bandcamp.com https://foreignwolf.bandcamp.com https://aesect.bandcamp.com https://astralist.bandcamp.com https://brigantia1.bandcamp.com https://abysm-sludge.bandcamp.com https://drakonis.bandcamp.com https://restivenation.bandcamp.com/ https://golgothalair.wixsite.com/home?fbclid=IwAR2Fgpg3gSoNhInEjvrQo4sGysKKicfimV7k0-N9o5knyh7F9Qy2VK5mkpM

It was a pleasure to chat with Mick Hynes, guitarist with Dead Label about what the band have been doing during a year which saw them lose out on playing Wacken, Download and Resurrection Festivals due to COVID. They do have an upcoming EP to promote called "Anthology" and we have a listen to one of those tracks called "Deadweight". There's plenty of stories thrown in about skateboarding, how Mick joined the band and influences that come through in his playing. Please hit "SUBSCRIBE" if you enjoyed the show and thanks for listening. Richie. Song featured and permission granted: Deadweight (c) Dead Label, 2021 all rights reserved. Dead Label Links: https://www.facebook.com/DeadLabel https://www.deadlabelofficial.com

Myself and Evan have a brilliant chat with Carlo Bellotti of Worm Hole Death, Epictronic and Carlo Bellotti Publishing. Carlo came to my attention via his Worm Hole Death record label, which he created to sign some incredible Metal acts and it has steadily grown worldwide. At the moment it has two brilliant Irish Metal acts on it which is Foreign Wolf and The Risen Dread. Carlo imparts some terrific insights and wisdom working in an industry that he loves for over 30 years. We talk about the deals bands can get if they sign with one of Carlos labels, what is expected of the band and what to expect in the future when it comes to the challenges record labels face. It was important to forge a relationship with Carlo when it comes to the Irish Metal Scene and to know that he will genuinely listen to a band that The Metal Cell will recommend to him. Carlo may be Italian but he lost no time in sharing with us his love of Ireland. So enjoy the episode and hit subscribe if you haven't already. Thanks Richie. Links to Carlo: http://www.wormholedeath.com http://www.epictronic.com/ http://www.carlobellottipublishing.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDf3BAPumpCkSMXVJ7w17iA https://www.instagram.com/charly_bellotti/?hl=en

The Metal Cell sat down with these three purveyors of filthy chaotic death before they went on stage to heaving hordes of fist raising metallers. Pauric/vox, Matt/guitars and Tom/guitars talk about the loss Andy, laugh about it, change their mind and then talk about finding friends with benefits. A good chat about Invictus Productions follows, trying to write new songs, upcoming shows and Matt's pride of the Mayo jersey. Great craic and lovely chaps!

Black Coast's Chaz (vox), Scott (guitar) and Joe (guitar) join me in The Bodega Bar to talk about their short tour of Ireland with Bailer and Hornets. It was really great to hear how much they loved playing Ireland for the first time. Since forming in 2015 Black Coast have toured relentlessly in the U.K having secured endorsements by Blackstar Amps and Jackson guitars they have gone from strength to strength. The future is in their own hands; the lads talk about new songs, frustrations, a possible new direction and how important respect is when it's earned. Of course there's plenty of laughs during the podcast and the overall feeling I get is these lads deserve the plaudits and much more. Top class guys and enjoy the episode.

It was a pleasure to welcome bassist Cory Sloan and drummer Jason Connolly to the show. The lads contribution to the Irish Metal Scene is immense in relation to the bands they've played in and recorded with along with their absolute dedication to their craft. Cory and Jason share some incredible memories of a Irish Metal Scene that many of a certain age would have missed out on and talk about the many musicians they admire and have played with! Cory has played in Fifth Dominion, Post Mortem, Geasa, Arcane Sun, Afterlife, Abaddon Incarnate, Thy Sinister Bloom and is currently with Aeternum Vale, Grave Sermon and Legion of Wolves. Jason has played with Primal Dawn, Morphosis, Desolate, Abaddon Incarnate, and is currently with Grave Sermon and Legion of Wolves. Grave Sermon track: Motionless Terror © Grave Sermon, all rights reserved 2022 Legion of Wolves track: Heavy Mass of Murder © Legion of Wolves, all rights reserved 2022 Links: https://gravesermon.bandcamp.com/album/whitewashed-tomb https://bandcamp.com/tag/legion-of-wolves https://aeternumvale.bandcamp.com/

It was a pleasure to welcome Fredy (L.Guitars/Vocals), Neil (R.Guitars), Carl (Bass) & Brett (Drums) of Nomadus on to the Podcast. When Nomadus unleashed their crushing thrash infused debut album 'Axis Primordial' on November 25, 2022, it was the album I always hoped they would make! With stellar performances from all the band members it quickly jumped up to number one on my album of the year playlist. But things were a lot different when I first met Fredy and Neil many moons ago on their first appearance at The Siege of Limerick. They seemed to have never ending problems with trying to get a settled line-up, until the addition of Carl on bass and later Brett on drums. All the pieces of the Nomadus puzzle finally fitted together with Josh over seeing the recording, mixing and mastering; 'Axis Primordial' is a nine-track pilgrimage through blistering riffs and ferocious vocals. On this episode we get a track by track run through of the album from Nomadus and a lookback over a hectic 2022 including an appearance at Bloodstock! Hope you enjoy the episode and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to the Metal Cell YouTube channel. Thanks Richie. Band link: https://nomadus.bandcamp.com/album/axis-primordial-2 All tracks played © 2022 Nømadus under exclusive licence to The Distortion Project.

Molarbear are veterans of the Northern Ireland metal scene, so I was delighted to chat with Andy, Adi and Rowan about how the band came to be, unusual song titles and a new demo of songs I received from them. The new material will certainly delight Molarbear fans, short fast and brutal riffs alongside some excellent rhythms and vocals. The brilliant Storklord will have a worthy successor once the lads can get into a studio and fine tune their efforts. I get a great insight into the band and their love of playing Cork is always welcomed. Hope you enjoy the interview and the two exclusive tracks; one from Zenith & Abyss and the other from Molarbears demo session. Be sure to head over to themetalcell.bigcartel.com for some beautiful Merch and hit subscribe for YouTube. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Catharsis (c) Zenith & Abyss, 2020 all rights reserved. King Of Queens Of The Stone Age (c) Molarbear, 2020 all rights reserved.

Myself and Jack of Forums/Coroza/Gealach catch up with Howard who writes, sings and performs everything with The Magnapinna after most of the band sadly passed away on a tragic paddle boat accident in an inflated pool. Their new E.P Squid Sandwich, chaotic tour stories, gold data sticks along with other bizarre tales which repeatedly blurs the lines between fact and fiction. Along with dodgy guitar strings, gear chats and sweaty armpits it's not to be missed! Songs featured and permission granted: Desolate Space (c) Forward Bias, 2020 all rights reserved. God Hates a Coward (c) The Magnapinna 2020 all rights reserved. Cortexiphan (c) Arjuna's Eye, 2020 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Nathan (Vocals) & Ocean (Guitars) of War Of Attrition to the show. The band play a ferocious mixture of thrash, groove and gritty metal that hits all the sweet spots especially when witnessed live. I caught up with the lads just before they do their debut EP launch of 'The Social Apocalypse' in their favourite city, Limerick. Having blasted their way through a serious amount of gigs during 2022, War Of Attrition are perfectly poised to have another impressive year building on the following they have on these shores and are prepping for an new album further down the line. All of this is covered and many more topics are addressed by Nathan and Ocean on this episode. Hope you enjoy it and to see more content like this please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Thanks, Richie. War Of Attrition link: https://warofattrition.ie/ Songs played: Throne Of A Fallen King © War of Attrition, all rights reserved. Bad Personality Disorder © War of Attrition, all rights reserved. The Constant Gray © War of Attrition, all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Dola of Safe Gigs Ireland and Ciara of Relapse Promotions Cork to the show. Joining us also were my co-hosts Danielle & Letty to discuss a relatively new initiative set up by Dola and her team to make gigs and nightlife safer, for everyone. Safe Gigs Ireland want to eliminate discrimination and sexual violence in nightlife by creating a zero-tolerance environment for all forms of violence and unacceptable behavior. Safe Gigs Ireland ask that all venues, event and festival organizers, promoters, crew, artists, staff, security and attendees who sign up to share the same goal by agreeing to promote Safe Gigs for everyone, tackle sexual violence and discrimination in your environment through zero tolerance and support those around you to ensure everyone has a good night out, free from harm. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you enjoyed this episode. Thanks Richie. Safe Gigs Ireland Links: https://www.safegigs.ie/home https://www.safegigs.ie/resources https://www.safegigs.ie/spiking https://www.safegigs.ie/charter

It was a pleasure to welcome Eternal Helcaraxes, Praetorian (Guitars/Vox) & Tyrith (Drums) to the Podcast. The Black Metal three piece along Oceans on bass, have released one of the best albums of 2022 in my opinion, with 'Drowned in Ash'. To quote Pat O' of The Smashing Skull Sessions: 'Eternal Helcaraxe have mastered and tailored the black metal genre by crossing imaginary boundaries of blackgaze, post-metal and even classical music to bring us an album that doesn't follow the pack, but leads by example.' The lads give us a track by track preview of all the songs on the new album, along with a brief history of the band and what to expect from them in the next few months. Eternal Helcaraxe take their name from a Tolken book, which means 'grinding ice' and it's very fitting for this new release, so enjoy the interview with Praetorian & Tyrith, check out their link below and buy 'Drowned in Ash', you won't regret it! Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel for more video interviews. Many thanks Richie. Band Link: https://eternalhelcaraxe.net/ All songs played on this episode are copyrighted and all rights reserved by Eternal Helcaraxe.

I was joined by Danielle, Evan, Jack and our special guest Andy Clarke from The Crawling as we run through our favourite releases of 2020 in the Irish Metal Scene. Plenty of different views and debates over some of the finest releases in 2020. We had a lot of categories to go through and it was a testament to the quality of Irish Metal that so many bands were nominated and received high praise from all of us on the Forums. So congratulations to all that topped our favourite music/merch in 2020 during a year when no band could tour around this great island from March onwards. The Irish Metal Scene has never been so formidable so hopefully 2021 will see bands returning to gigs in the summer and doing what they do best. It was also great to chat to Andy about his exciting new solo project Sollein. Enjoy the show and don't forget to like, share and convert people to the show. Richie. Song featured and permission granted: Another Side Of Sadness. (c) Sollein, 2020 all rights reserved.

Myself and my co-host Danielle were delighted to welcome John Collard (Vocals) and Tom Ambrose (Bass) of Dublin based band Neon Empire. The band are an exciting additional to the Metal scene with a clever blend of Metal Core, Electro-Metal added to other elements to form Neon Empires unique sound. The four piece, completed by Guitarist/Vocalist Hassan Ali and Drummer Veronika Švecová are certainly causing waves both here and further afield with the release of their latest single the infectious "City Lights". With work well on the way in relation to songs completed for a new album, the band are poised to take further strides in 2022. A headline gig in Fibber Magees in December promises to give fans what they've been missing from the band that deserves to be heard live. Song: City Lights © Neon Empire, all rights reserved 2021 Band Links: https://www.facebook.com/neonempireofficial https://www.youtube.com/c/NeonEmpireOfficial https://open.spotify.com/artist/26TbTM0UfjA0zStRITv6OU

I was delighted to finally interview Ciaran Culhane for my series on people who have left their mark on the Irish Metal Scene by producing incredible music. Ciaran has dedicated his life to music as a producer, sound engineer and multi-instrumentalist based in Limerick. He has built up a fantastic body of work, so it's fair to say innumerable bands and people have benefited from his work at gigs and studio settings. Ciaran along with John Real (aka Tall John) have run Bad Reputation since 2007. They have established Limericks credentials on the international metal scene with the famous Siege of Limerick festival and it acts as a feeder for all the other Bad Reputation gigs hosted in Dolans. Helping me trying to encapsulate Ciaran’s work, is guitarist Jack 'O Neill who enjoyed the benefit of Ciaran’s recording skills on the highly acclaimed Chaliceburner album by Coroza. Songs featured and permission granted: Sardonicus (c) Brigantia , 2020 all rights reserved. Steely Danzig (c) We Come In Pieces, 2020 all rights reserved. Looking down at the sky from above (c) Shardbourne, 2020 all rights reserved.

Bailey Junior of Scapegoat TV made a short film on mental health and suicide called Suffer. He is heavily involved in the Metal Community in Scotland and asked for assistance in making the short from friends of his who soon contributed to the soundtrack of the movie. I asked Tom of Zhora, Evan of Worn Out and Shane Horan, Photographer and Psychotherapist to come on the show to discuss Baileys film and Zhora's Demotivator. What followed was an interesting and insightful talk on mental health in our metal community. Any comments or views on this subject or if you feel there needs to be another show on this contact me. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Crossbones (c) Element X, 2020 all rights reserved. Costa del Disfiguration (c) Body Drinkers 2020 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Jason again and Roni for the first time onto the show. Words That Burn are definitely one of the most exciting Metal bands in Ireland at the moment; blistering shows, a string of fantastic singles and all the time building up to the release of their yet-to-be-titled THIRD new album! Jason & Roni did let one or two exclusives out of the bag due to my intense interrogation skills so if you're a fan of the band you'll enjoy it or alternatively you'll definitely be charmed by the determination of the lads to get the best out of each skill set they have, which is what makes Words That Burn such a compelling band on the Irish Metal Scene. Hope you enjoy the show and hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button on YouTube. Thanks. Richie. Track: Fire at will (c) Words That Burn, all rights reserved 2022. Band Link: https://www.wordsthatburnofficial.com/

I have decided to spread the word on the Irish Metal Scene by talking to similar bands elsewhere in the world. I'm going to give them a Spotify Irish Metal playlist to listen to; compare our scene with their scene and hopefully build a relationship that might see a band from Ireland play in their country or vice a versa. The second of these interviews is in Adelaide, Australia with local thrash legend Chris McEwen, vocalist/bassist of Hidden Intent. Myself and Joe McGuigan (new co-host & bassist with Gama Bomb) talk to Chris about gigs, music and discover that Joe and Chris share a lot of the same things, both are bassists, both are recording new albums in 2020 and both are in bands that have toured relentlessly. Hidden Intent have a few tours of Europe under their belts and are keen to do a tour with Gama Bomb....can we make this happen? Listen to the show to find out! I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a rating and subscribe to the podcast! #supportyourlocalmetalscene Songs featured and permission granted: Mystery (c) Psychotic Outsider, 2020 all rights reserved. Addicted to Thrash (c) Hidden Intent, 2020 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome back Dave Hall (Guitar/Vocals) & Gareth Ruddock (Bass) of Skypilot to the show. We get an exclusive track by track overview of their critically acclaimed new album 'Simple Beasts'. The Northern Irish three piece with Garry McConnell (Drums) completing the line-up have worked hard to get this riff laden eight track album over the line. Recorded at Start Together Studios in late 2021, under the stewardship of renowned engineer and producer Rock O’Reilly, ‘Simple Beasts’ highlights the band’s darker hue, and is their most dramatic work to date. The album was released worldwide via The Distortion Project and Code 7 Distribution on a limited edition digipack CD and all digital formats on Friday 19th August 2022. If you liked this episode please leave a rating on which ever platform you use or simply subscribe to the channel. Thanks Richie. All tracks played on this episode (c) Skypilot, all rights reserved 2022. Band links: https://linktr.ee/skypilotofficial

The Metal Cell was delighted to have the brilliant Shane Horan over to talk about his career so far in photographing music acts and working with numerous bands in the Irish metal scene. He explains about how important it is to build up a working relationship with a band from a photographers view point, the hazards of shooting bands at metal gigs and how working with digital photography suits his style of work. The whole area of photographic copyright is explained from Shanes viewpoint and it's another example of how a guy like Shane is so well liked in the metal community. So enjoy and please like, share and spread the word.

I'm joined by Alex of Abysm/Worn Out, Ciaran of Astralist/Coroza and Shane Murphy of Golgotha to talk about their brilliant solo projects they all released this year to widespread critical acclaim in the Metal community. The creative spirit that the lads showed in getting a quality digital self release in these uncertain times is to be applauded. We talk about the journey that they embarked on from working with early ideas to the final product. The fact it found a receptive audience was one of the many things we discussed along with the insights of working as a solo artist. Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe to the show if you enjoyed the episode. Richie. Songs: Songs featured and permission granted: A Grim Reminder (c) Abysm, 2020 all rights reserved. Zuhal, Rise (c) Astralist, 2020 all rights reserved. The Herald With Eyes of Fire (c) Golgotha, 2020 all rights reserved. Links: https://abysm-sludge.bandcamp.com/ https://astralist.bandcamp.com/ https://golgothalair.wixsite.com/home

Myself and Howard had a great chat with Con Doyle founding member and guitarist of doom/sludge purveyors Soothsayer. The Irish Metal Scene is waiting with bated breath for the new release and having been given the full album to listen to, it certainly is a mind blower! There was plenty to talk about and with Howard as co-host, the stories flowed as easily as the drink. Soothsayers "Echoes of the Earth" will definitely be amongst the best releases in 2021 not only in Ireland but further afield as well. Enjoy the show and please subscribe to The Metal Cell channel. Thanks Richie. Song featured and permission granted: Six of Nothing (c) Soothsayer, 2021 all rights reserved.

Episode 59 was a special episode as I got the gifted Alex Vinci, frontman of Last Vinci and Narrow Door Management, to film the entire Podcast. So the fruition of our collaboration is up on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34lWrJqORM It was great to catch up with Danielle, Evan and Jack after Christmas and we quickly got back into our groove. Irish festivals like "Urban Assault, The Gathering, Iron Mountain and Clang all got discussed. The usual round up of gigs attended and Irish Metal news also were discussed until we got to our main subject...the links between Metal and Wrestling. Enjoy and it's like a mantra now....please leave a rating on the Podcast. Respect and thanks Richie.

The Metal Cell Forums. Join myself, Danielle, Evan and Joe as we talk about the Metal Scene, review bands and discuss topics related to our favourite music....METAL! This weeks show is a cracker as we are joined by Steve Walsh, Riff Lord of Grey Stag. Steve gave us the low down on playing Bloodstock and talked about plans for the rest of the year. We review five new releases by Words That Burn, Ruined Family Vacation, Visualis, Summoners Circle and Grey Stag. Hope you enjoy and please subscribe to the show if you haven't done already. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: Words That Burn (c) Den of Lions, 2021 all rights reserved. Ruined Family Vacation (c) Eat Me When I Die, 2021 all rights reserved. Visualis (c) The Search Relentless, 2021 all rights reserved. Summoners Circle (c) Of Black Horizons, 2021 all rights reserved. Grey Stag (c) The Adversary, 2021 all rights reserved. Band Links: https://wordsthatburn.bandcamp.com https://ruinedfamilyvacation.bandcamp.com https://visualis.bandcamp.com https://summonerscircle.bandcamp.com https://greystag.bandcamp.com

This month’s Forum was the first one for Joe McGuigan as a co-host. Joe has now replaced Jack who has decided to step down from his role as a presenter to concentrate on more important things in his life. We wish him all the best in his endeavours and want to thank him for his brilliant contributions to the show. We reviewed three new releases, had a chat about some of the issues in relation to BREXIT and how it will affect bands both here and, in the U.K., The main subject of the show was International Metal Acts who replaced their singers, those that worked out for the better and those that failed miserably. As always thanks for listening to the show, be sure to subscribe to The Metal Cell on YouTube and check out all the new Merch over at https://themetalcell.bigcartel.com/ Songs featured and permission granted: Cell Games (c) Lament Configuration, 2021 all rights reserved. Cannibalistic Martyr (c) Devils in the Detail, 2021 all rights reserved. It came from Outer Space (c) Lugosi, 2021 all rights reserved

I was delighted to catch up with Rob as he took an enforced break from his busy touring schedule with The Exploited. Rob took the Zoom call in Kerry, where he was busy restoring an old barn in preparation for a brand new studio. It soon became clear that Rob has many interests outside of The Exploited as we chatted over a few beers. Tour stories, sport, architecture and the love of music were just some of the topics covered. Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe, like, share or convert more to this Podcast if you enjoyed it. Thanks Richie. #supportyoutlocalmetalscene Songs featured and permission granted: Zipperface (c) TOOMS, 2020 all rights reserved. Lord of the Vile (c) Dog Tired, 2020 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Pete Craig guitarist and one of the founding members of the brilliant Deathcore band Nihilanth to the show. We discuss a lot of topics on the show, I asked Pete about his time with his previous band Death of a Salesman, how he met Aidan Thompson, who now is the current singer of Nihilanth after hanging up his bass playing duties, the creation of their excellent debut EP 'Destroyer of Worlds', recording with JSR Studios and many more interesting stories that cropped up during the chat. I hope you enjoy the show and please hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button on The Metal Cell YouTube channel! Thanks. Band link: https://nihilanthriff.bandcamp.com/album/destroyer-of-worlds Songs played: Traitors of the State © Nihilanth, all rights reserved. A Stranger Called Death © Nihilanth, all rights reserved.

The Metal Cell was delighted to have a beer and a chat with guitarist Brendan McConnell of Dublin Death Metal band Vircolac. Brendan offered a great insight into the recording of their latest release of Masque, tour plans are discussed with exclusive news for a tour next year for Vircolac. We talk about Brendans guitar heroes some obvious some not and even weasels are brought into the mix! The Irish Death Metal Scene is certainly as strong as ever and Brendan is one of many great characters enjoying the buzz of playing Death metal for you! Songs: Titan & So I Hang From a Wretched Tree (c) Vircolac, 2019 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome a brand new band to the podcast, the Laois based Chiral Labs. The band experiment with all forms of punk, metal, rock and dance to create their own hyrid form of alternative metal. Formed by guitarist, producer and sound engineer, Gary Duncan from Portlaoise, a producer at Red Lake Sound locally, and vocalist Adam Brewer, originally from Dublin, the lads were joined by Spooky’ Chris Craig on guitars, and bassist Al ‘Buster Bhoy’ Tierney. I talk to Adam, Gary and Al about their approach to song writing, videos and future gig plans. The lads certainly fall under the 'ones to watch' category as they offer an exciting approach to their music visually and creatively. Check out their link below and dive into the sonic underworld with Chiral Labs. https://chirallabs.ie/ Song played: In The Company of Wolves © Chiral Labs, all rights reserved.

Urban Assault Special 2024. I was delighted to be joined by Steve Maher (Vocals/Guitars) of Abaddon Incarnate, Frank Brennan (Vocals/Guitars) of Mourning Beloveth and festival organizers Danny Fitz & John O'Brein for a great chat about the upcoming festival in Cork. After a 4 year hiatus Urban Assault is back with a vengeance on Saturday, February 24th starting at 16:00 till late in the legendary An Spailpín Fanach! Featuring sets from Hasturian Vigil, Strangle Wire, The Grief, For Ruin, Mourning Beloveth and Abaddon Incarnate, it's certainly going to shake the foundations of Cork! This year along with Urban Assault merch and band merch, there will also be stalls from Invictus Productions and Sentinel Records with cassettes, vinyl's and clothing for sale. All of the above are discussed on the show and we get some updates from Steve & Frank in relation to their respective bands. Get your tickets here for this brilliant line-up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-assault-2024-tickets-619394153587?fbclid=IwAR0JmQ5KhMyttpBagSvhlS0M6Y2P5JYleaBwn5v5AgcRzPxu8vXn7gI59-o Merch and ticket bundle here: https://urbanassaultcork.bigcartel.com/product/ticket-t-shirt-collect-at-the-show-urban-assault-2024 Abaddon Incarnate link: https://abaddonincarnateband.bandcamp.com/album/the-wretched-sermon Mourning Beloveth link: https://mourningbelovethofficial.bandcamp.com/music

The Metal Cell was set up in The Green Room of Cyprus Avenue to do a live Podcast for the Metal United gig thanks to Danny Fitz of Pethrophile Promotions. Black Shuck from Galway were the second band to play for the worldwide celebration of metal and pummeled the growing crowd with slabs of raw face melting aggression. Soon a mosh pit started at the front of the stage with the band joining in. Brendan, Ian and Thomas joined me afterwards for one of the best laughs I had in along time, covering all sorts of random subjects. So if you like Bloodstock, Jagermeister, killdozers, metal, Lars Ulrich and tasty bass players do not miss this one. Songs featured: Counterfeit Throne and The Hound (c) Black Shuck, 2019 all rights reserved.

Forming in 2010 and re-establishing in 2020, Dublin's own Jet Fuel Chemistry are becoming one of the most talked about bands on the Irish music scene, with each release getting more and more traction. Their debut EP, ‘Sign of the Times’, got massive coverage to match its quarter of a million streams worldwide. Their 2023 single, ‘Heartbreaker’, got attention from BBC Radio One, and the release of their new EP, ‘BURNOUT BIBLE’, picks up right where the band left off. Letty catches up with singer Dan, bassist Stephen, and drummer Emmet before their gig in Whelans on the 23rd of February with Idle Discourse. Band Link: https://m.youtube.com/@jetfuelchemistry Song played: Heartbreaker © Jet FuelChemistry, all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Mark John Payne bassist of Indominus to the podcast. Formed in 2016 with original members John & Logan McKee (Guitars) both ex-ForChristSake, the band released their Hardcore-Inspired Death Metal EP 'Legion Within' the same year. Critically acclaimed, it was a blistering attack on the senses and toured multiple international festivals in locations such as Holland, Malta and Switzerland. A follow up was expected in 2017 but nothing materialized. Since then the band have lost members and with COVID hitting, Indominus ground to halt. The long awaited renewal of gigs saw Indominus recruit Ricky Boyle on Vocals and Oak on drums. It wasn't long before the new line-up were leveling venues across the country and returning to writing for an eagerly anticipated new release. Mark shares his thoughts on all of the above as well as some brilliant stories involving his friendship with a famous Metal drummer. There is plenty for everyone to enjoy in this great episode so be sure to hit 'SUBSCRIBE' on The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Indominus links; https://indominus.bandcamp.com/merch https://www.facebook.com/IndominusNI/

Myself, Danielle, Evan, Joe, Howard and Letty picked out all our favorite highlights of yet another amazing year in the Irish Metal Scene! This episode was pre-recorded on the 11.12.23 as a Live Facebook Stream on The Metal Cell Facebook page. There was absolutely loads of releases, gigs and activity in our scene in 2023 so it really was something to celebrate, so join us in Part 2 of the podcast as we try to figure out who impressed us the most in the various categories listed below. FULL LIST OF THE METAL CELL BEST OF 2023 CATEGORIES. • BEST ALBUM: • BEST EP: • BEST SINGLE: • Best Irish Metal band: • Best artwork album/E.P: • Best New Act: • Best Solo Artist Ep/Album: • Best Live performance: • Best Venue & Promoter: • Best merch t-shirt/hoodie: • Best Video: • Best comeback band/album/performance: • Best social media: • Best International album: • MVP of The Irish Metal Scene: As always I want to thank my listeners throughout the year and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you enjoyed the show! supportyourlocalmetalscene

To celebrate a fantastic year for Irish Metal releases, I've compiled some of my favourite tracks for you on this the second part of 'Underground Volume 2: The best of Irish Metal 2021 by The Metal Cell Podcast'. Please understand that it was really hard to distill it down to 40 tracks over these two compilations, I was musically spoilt for choice so for all the bands that made my top 40 a big thanks to ye for allowing me to use your music! Please support all Irish Metal bands by buying their Music & Merch, visit their Bandcamp page or follow them on social media through this difficult time for all musicians/artists in the Irish Metal scene. Thanks to everyone who have shown The Metal Cell some love over the last 12 months....this compilation is for ye! Cheers Richie! UNDERGROUND VOLUME II. STRANGERS WITH GUNS: Fuck the American Dream. https://strangerswithguns.bandcamp.com/ PURESONIC OUTCASTS: Desecration. https://puresonicoutcasts.bandcamp.com/ REN MARABOU: Storm The Beaches. https://www.facebook.com/renmarabou/ THE RISEN DREAD: White Knight. https://www.facebook.com/TheRisenDread NEON EMPIRE: City Lights. https://www.facebook.com/neonempireofficial WORDS THAT BURN: Den OF Lions. https://wordsthatburn.bandcamp.com/ BAILER: No Apologies. https://bailerofficial.bandcamp.com/ AULD BLUE EYES: The Dog Wont Hunt. https://auldblueeyes.bandcamp.com/releases NOMADIC RITUALS: Them. https://nomadicrituals.bandcamp.com/ NEW MUD: L’appel Du Vide. https://newmud.bandcamp.com/ MENISCUS: This Game. https://meniscus1.bandcamp.com/releases CELL GAMES: Lament Configuration. https://cellgamesband.bandcamp.com/ HASHMAKER: Steamed Hams. https://hashmakerireland.bandcamp.com/releases LUGOSI: Late Night Slasher Movie. https://lugosidublin.bandcamp.com/ THE LAST VINCI: Glitter Slaughterhouse. https://thelastvinci.bandcamp.com/ BiCURIOUS: (re)constructed. https://bicurious.bandcamp.com/ CHEMICAL ADDICTION: Sour. https://www.facebook.com/chemicaladdictionkk MACHINA KORE: Exile. https://machinakore.bandcamp.com/releases THE VICIOUS HEAD SOCIETY: Solipsism. https://theviciousheadsociety.bandcamp.com/ FOREIGNWOLF: Afterthought. https://foreignwolf.bandcamp.com/

It was a pleasure to welcome back Molarbear on the podcast. Adi (Drums), Andy (Riffs), Dave (Bass) & Rowan (Vox/Riffs) have released one of my favorite albums of the year 'You will need Gods'. The five piece completed by Darragh (also Riffs) smashed 'The Crypt of the Riff' festival in Belfast with huge slabs of riffs, infectious grooves, a rhythm section like a Panzer tank division and vocals that whipped and sliced through the baying crowd. It was an incredible night to witness Molarbear at the top of their game and with a new album to promote through 'Cursed Monk Records' the lads were in top form as we did a track by track run through for the Podcast. No stone was left unturned as the lads crumbled under my intense questions. It was the equivalent of opening a portal into the dark, mysterious yet wonderful soul of Molarbear, one which many more Metalheads will be converted to around Ireland in 2023 I bet. If you like this show please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube page and buy Molarbears album on the below links: https://cursedmonk.bandcamp.com/album/you-will-need-gods https://molarbear.bandcamp.com/ All songs played on this Podcast (c) Molarbear, all rights reserved 2022.

Delighted to announce another episode celebrating the fantastic artists we have working within the Irish Metal Scene. I welcome the incredible talents of Ken Coleman of Unreal Imagery, Stephen Lindsey of The Iron Parasite and Ciaran Coughlan of Obsidian Imagery to the show. Ken has done designs for Morbid Angel & For Ruin, Steve's art featured on the front cover of Heavy Music Masterpieces and he did artwork for Rotlaust, Ciaran created designs for Grey Stag and Partholón and many more. It's a fascinating conversation, a lot of advice and knowledge are dispensed, so if you enjoy the creative processes and techniques that go into making a unique design for an album, T-shirt, or website do not miss this episode. Links: https://www.facebook.com/artofkencoleman/ https://theironparasite.com/ https://www.facebook.com/obsidianimagery

It was a pleasure to welcome Julian (Vocals), Dave (Guitars) & John (Bass) of Cork based Perish The Thought onto the show. The group was formed in 2006 by Ian Walsh (Drums), and released two well received EPs in 2006 & 2008. The band expertly combine melody and hooks, whilst keeping the metal edge and groove throughout their songs. In 2009, Perish The Thought parted ways as the lads jumped into other music projects, with one of them being the ska band, Pontius Pilate & The Naildrivers, the best known band around Cork and still going strong today! There was plenty to delve into with Julian, Dave & John especially with the return of Perish The Thought and the release of their brilliant new EP 'Carrion' on August 2024. But to go forward we had to go back and try to figure out why they split up in the first place, talk about the scene back then and compare it to now and where the four piece fit into the ever changing metal scene in Ireland. Hope you enjoy the episode, click on the link to buy or support Perish The Thought and hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button to see more interviews like this on The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Band link: https://perishthethought06.bandcamp.com Songs played: Carrion © Perish The Thought, all rights reserved. Night on the tiles © Perish The Thought, all rights reserved.

It was great to welcome back Alex & Junior of Belfast band Lock Horns to the podcast to talk about their new release 'Red Room'. Lock Horns have gone out and recorded one of the heaviest albums of the year, there simply is no room for sentimental acoustical passages or long self indulgent solos. This is pulsing, nerve shredding hatred and rage confined within the twenty eight minutes that make up 'Red Room'. We talk through all the tracks, get some brilliant insights from Alex & Junior and try to figure out where this will take them as a band. Another serious contender for album of the year for me and do not miss Lock Horns launch show on the 13th of September in Voodoo Belfast with support from Nihilanth! Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel! Band Link: https://lockhornsni.bandcamp.com/album/red-room Songs played on this episode © Lock Horns, all rights reserved.

Originally formed in Harrogate, Yorkshire in 1985, Acid Reign debuted with the Moshkinstein EP in 1988 with first full-length The Fear dropping the following year.1990’s Obnoxious ditched most of the light-hearted references from previous albums and took a turn for the progressive, before the band split up one year later. Returning in 2019 with the brilliant and critically acclaimed "The Age Of Entitlement", the rebooted band seems more serious than ever, with vocalist Howard ‘H’ Smith as sole remaining founding member. Myself and Joe caught up with 'H' and talked about his two main loves, which are metal and comedy. We get to cover everything from Marillion, Judas Priest, Irish gigs, Podcasts and his successful transformation to stand up/character comedy, that have seen him develop his frontman skills into one of the best UK comedians on the scene today. Song featured and permission granted: No Future (c) Necrokinesis, 2020 all rights reserved.

This episode is examines the thought process that goes into an artist designing a brief for a band and the work that goes into achieving a final product that will represent both the band and the artist. Contributions by Kym Horner of Kym Horner Design, James Sheridan of James Sheridan Does Art/deadxactress, Colin Bolger of Dabulga Design and Mick Carey of Zealot Cult to help to understand the thought process with the design, concept and final product. There's that infamous Gary Holt story when Exodus played Cork. I also want to thank Witchkicker, Dirty Power, Drakonis and Durt Burd for summiting their brilliant songs for this episode. Enjoy and support your local Metal scene by checking out all the merch your favourite bands and artists have for sale. Songs featured and permission granted: Oh God (c) Dirty Power, 2020 all rights reserved. Nature, Nuture or Resent (c) Witchkicker, 2020 all rights reserved. Of Dusk and Of Pyre (c) Drakonis, 2020 all rights reserved. Shuffle Monkey (c) Durt Burd, 2020 all rights reserved.

Hero In Error have a past that's more unusual than most. Formed in 2007 they released their debut E.P in 2010 “The High Point of New Lows” which created a massive surge in interest in them. Endorsement deals, PR companies and the American label with a famous producer on board swiftly followed. However it came at a cost to founding member Gary and later to singer Anto. New members were drafted in which included close friend of the band Rob from Red Enemy. Then there was the issue of recording an album that never got released, updates were few and far between with the band more or less done in 2014....However 2016 saw HIE came back with a new single "The Hollow Truth" and a new line up which included original founding members Gary and Steve with Rob also back in the fold. The "Obey" E.P was released in 2017 to much critical acclaim and since then they've been steadily building on the strength of their loyal fan base and writing new material. Gary and Rob thankfully bring us up to date on this fascinating story. Songs: Obey and Hollow Truth (c) 2019 all rights reserved..

I was so pleased to welcome Josh Robinson on the Producer and Mixer Series as I have been a massive fan of his work and bands that he has chosen to work with for a long time. Joining us on the Podcast also were Taylor and Gavin from Survivalist and Paddy, Daire and Steve of Heel of Achilles. It was a huge edit considering it was all done using Zoom, the sound outcome was patchy enough in stages during the interview due to connection issues and apologies for that. Nevertheless all the band members were terrific and very informative in helping us the listener understand what Josh brings to the mixing desk as a producer and sound engineer. His creativity in lyrical videos, willingness to move past financial gain to work with bands is very unique and refreshing. Thanks to Oracle, Survivalist and Heel of Achilles for the songs as well. Hope you enjoy the Podcast and remember please share, convert or subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks Richie. #supportyourlocalmetalscene. Songs featured and permission granted: In which I Envy (c) Survivalist, 2020 all rights reserved. Hollow (c) Oracle, 2020 all rights reserved. Stratosphere (c) Heel of Achilles, 2020 all rights reserved.

Kuyang are an alternative hardcore music group from Dublin, Ireland consisting of Roy Geary (Vocals) Sean Keogh (Guitar) Korey Thomas (Bass) & Emmet McNamee (Drums). Kuyang throws ideas of traditional songwriting out the window, aiming to push the envelope of Hardcore, all the while bringing their intense live performances to the forefront. This chapter marks a new era for the group, returning from what was once a side project to a fully fledged four piece, ready to deliver powerful emotionally charged music to a hungry audience. Letty catches up with the lads to talk about their formation, recording with JSR and music influences before they played the Workmans Club, Dublin. Song played: Guillotine Boy © Kuyang, all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Peter Humphries of stoner/sludge/doom band Godless Suns to the show. The three piece from England, completed by Sarah on Bass/Vocals and Dan on Drums/mixing/mastering are putting the finishing touches to what promises to be a massive riff laden self titled debut album. The band are well respected veterans of the Greater London scene having played in bands like Zolcalo and Season of the Witch. They have a few appearance racked up in Bloodstock and both Pete and Sarah are also judges on Metal2TheMasses so we get a good insight from Pete about what it takes to catch the judges eye. We discuss plenty of interesting subjects from theology, religion and their upcoming debut appearance in Galway, Ireland. Myself and Danielle really enjoyed Pete's company and it's fair to say his knowledge and passion for Metal knows no boundaries. The album 'Godless Suns' will be released on 25/11/22. Hope you enjoyed the interview and hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button on the YouTube channel to catch more interviews like this. Godless Suns links: https://bandcamp.com/godless-suns https://www.facebook.com/Godless.Suns Track played: Godless Suns (c) Godless Suns, all rights reserved.

Conjuring Fate were formed in 2005 by guitarist Phil Horner and vocalist Tommy Daly. The five piece are renowned for their professional attitude, a loyal fanbase, brilliant live shows, fantastic releases and terrific videos. All that hard work culminated early this year, when they swept the Irish Metal Poll Awards for best album, artwork, single and best band. Karl Gibson joined me to reflect on this along with some great stories and banter. It's a refreshing look into a band at the top of their game and with the backing of a German record company called Pure Steel Records 2012 already looks promising for the Northern Ireland Power Metal band. Songs featured and permission granted: Afterthought (c) ForeignWolf, 2020 all rights reserved. No Escape (c) Conjuring Fate 2020 all rights reserved.

It was a please to welcome Padraig McKeown(vocals/guitars) & Cole Kiernan (bass) of extreme/industrial metal band Organ Blender. 'The Galway trio have created a post-apocalyptic world where the soundtrack to life reeks of industrial and death metal but has somehow been injected with a new-wave, avant-garde antidote that has given it a life of its own. And it’s that cocktail of sorts that makes Organ Blender a hugely compelling and highly absorbing proposition.' Pat O' (The Metal Cell reviews.) It's great to listen to Padraig and Cole talk about their band so passionately, they certainly came across as two accomplished musicians looking to push aside any boundaries that Metal fans are used to and hit them with something different and unique. Myself and Howard are really looking forward to the day we can watch them up on a stage blasting out the tracks from 'Teemu Khan'. If you enjoyed this episode please hit 'SUBSCRIBE' to sign up for more interviews like this. Thanks Richie. Band link: https://organblender.bandcamp.com/ Music: Drugz (c) Organ Blender, all rights reserved 2022. Mr.Cool (c) Organ Blender, all rights reserved 2022.

It was a pleasure to welcome for the first time onto the podcast, Dublin based thrash band 'Saint Slaughter'. The band have been on the Metal Scene for a long time with their first release 'Demos' dating back to 2015. Eoin Clarke (Vocals), Jeff Hernandez (Guitars), Tom Moylan (Drums) and new member Spencer O'Brein, join me to talk about the history of their blistering thrash attack which has seen them play with thrash legends Gama Bomb, Xentrix and headline their own gigs also. We get an exclusive clip of a new song and talk about what the rest of 2023 has in store for the band. There's plenty of tour stories and craic on the episode so I hope you show Saint Slaughter so love by hitting them up on their socials and following them. If you enjoyed the episode please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell podcast channel! Thanks Richie. Band links: https://www.facebook.com/SaintSlaughterThrash/ https://saintslaughter.bandcamp.com/album/intravenosa Songs: Got the right © Saint Slaughter, all rights reserved. Born to f*ck © Saint Slaughter, all rights reserved.

Recoil are a rising 5 piece Alt/Rock band from Wexford. Here's the official blurb about the band: Recoil are an explosive teenage Punk/Rock Band, high energy with rocking original music. They have been featured on BEAT 102 103 with their single, 'RIP YOU OUT', which had over 42,000 plays on Spotify. Letty has a chat with the lads about their singles, influences, gigs and future plans of the Wexford band. Band link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091964864990 Song played: Rip you out: © Recoil, all rights reserved.

Myself and my co-host Howard were absolutely delighted to welcome Alex CF to the Metal Cell Podcast. Alex is a London based illustrator, author, and vocalist, who has been most notably known for his highly influential work with crust/dark post metal act FALL OF EFRAFA whose lyrical content was built around the mythology created by Richard Adams in his 1972 adventure novel Watership Down. Alex has been involved in lots of music projects and is currently the vocalist in MORROW, WORST WITCH and shares vocal duties in ARCHIVIST. Alex’s rich artworks revolve around the world of “The Orata”, an incredible encyclopedia of animal mythology that defined the depths of the world created in his first book, ‘Seek The Throat From Which We Sing‘ and he is currently waiting on his second book ‘Wretched is the Husk” to be published. He is also the curator and custodian of the Merrylin Cryptid Museum, a fantastical unique cryptozoological of specimens and owner of his own DIY clothing project called Animal Allies. He has illustrated numerous records, created engaging, poetic lyrics, and created a plethora of adventurous drawings and illustrations that could be easily revered as remarkable and spine-chilling masterpieces. Songs featured and permission granted: Fall of Efrafa - Pity the Weak (c) all rights reserved. Morrow - A City Of Gristle (c) all rights reserved. Links: https://www.facebook.com/artofalexcf https://haloofflies.bandcamp.com

Myself and Howard talk to Sam Ellis the guitarist/vocals of Ilenkus about his new project 'Apogean Tide'. Sam did everything himself - writing, recording, mixing, mastering and brought in Rory of Ilenkus to help with the drums/programing. We cover a lot of subjects in this chat, his time touring with Ilenkus, how he approaches his new solo work, what's it like to work on his own away from the dynamics of a band and what forms his ideas for lyrics. He readily admits that this is a learning experience with the end goal of him becoming a better producer. He is currently in the process of releasing a single every couple of months. Hope you enjoy the episode, if so hit 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Thanks Richie. Apogean Tide Link: https://apogeantide.bandcamp.com/ Tracks played: Revolution is a a fallacy (c) Sam Ellis of Apogean Tide, all rights reserved. Navigators (c) Sam Ellis of Apogean Tide, all rights reserved.

I was delighted to welcome Danny Fitzgerald of Pethrophile Promotions and John O'Brein of Irish Metal Archives to the Metal Cell Studio to talk about the Urban Assault Festival. It’s the first big indoor Metal festival of the year and the line-up over the two nights features an array of top quality Irish and International acts. It also heralds the end of Pethrophile Promotions for the foreseeable future and it was cool to chat and share some memories with both Danny and John. Both of them have been crucial for promoting Irish Metal acts over the years Danny through Pethrophile and John through the Irish Metal Achives. They have spent weeks and months putting their energies into maintaining a healthy Metal scene in Cork. I was glad to acknowledge this on Episode 58 and I hope you enjoy it. Tracks featured: GOURD: Mycelium/Mouldering Aberrations DOGTIRED: Dagoth's Nine SKYPILOT: Superdupernaut LOCK HORNS: Wendigo

The Metal Cell was delighted to have Colin of Zhora at the studio to talk about his passion for music and art. It was a terrific chat that covered his journey from a shy teenager picking up a guitar in Clonmel to a prowling frontman on the stages of Wacken and Bloodstock. Hope you enjoy it and thanks to Erica for coming along for the support. Richie Le Faux

The Metal Cell was delighted to welcome bassist Enda, guitarist Cian and vocalist/guitarist Julia to spend a few hours chatting about the new release of their E.P this Thursday 03/10/19. Red Sun Alert have clocked up a lot of miles touring the length and breadth of the country and Julia speaks about her pride in seeing the emergence of so many female fronted bands. The release of their single Live, Laugh, Love which encourages empowerment is another example of a band not afraid to stand their ground with issues they feel important to them. Some great stories and a lot of laughter feature as well. So enjoy, like, share and convert! Songs featured: Live Laugh Love & Ted Bundy of the West (c) 2019 all rights reserved..

It was great to welcome one of the best drummers of the Irish Metal Scene to the studio last Saturday. Tom and Zhora have released a vicious single called Coke Vulture which knocked us all on our arses and should herald another massive step forward for one of the biggest drawing Metal bands in Ireland. Tom talks about the recording of the new album "Mortals" and the emotions that are forged into those songs. The discussion talked about the frustration of something that’s controlling you or someone you care about, inner demons and trying not to be consumed by the surrounding darkness. Tom is brutally honest and it's an absolute relief to hear he accepted the turmoil and Zhora created something that channelled those feelings into songs that brought Tom health and happiness. It's what makes him human. It's what makes him Mortal. Enjoy the episode and if you like it leave a rating please! Song featured: Coke Vulture (c) Zhora. All rights reserved and used by permission.

I was joined by Craig Murphy, Marcelo Varge, Jason Hodgkins and Sebastian Sparr of Uragh for this much awaited track by track overview of their incredible progressive metal/metalcore debut album 'Maelstrom'. It's no secret how much I admire this band and the lads were in top form as they joined me to talk through this very important release for the Irish Metal Scene. It was great to dig deep into the tracks to find out how the dynamics, emotions, rhythms and music were crafted and balanced along with the stories that formed 'Maelstrom'. I hope you enjoy the episode and show some love to Uragh by clicking on their bandcamp page below! Band Link: https://uragh.bandcamp.com/album/maelstrom All songs played © Uragh, all rights reserved. *Please SUBSCRIBE to the THE METAL CELL YOUTUBE PAGE! Thanks! Richie.

The Metal Cell was set up in The Green Room of Cyprus Avenue to do a live Podcast for the Metal United gig thanks to Danny Fitz of Pethrophile Promotions. Elder Druid from Ballymena arrived after a long journey and being great lads agreed to do an interview with me as soon as the gear was dragged up the stairs. The chat was mainly about the bands they've toured with, trying to conquer Metal to the Masses and win a chance at a Bloodstock appearance, new songs and working with Mariusz Lewandowski. Plenty of laughs, a shout out about Brexit and it's only a matter of time before they'll become a regular fixture at festivals all across Europe. Songs featured: Blue Dream Black Death and Rogue Mystic (c) Elder Druid, 2019 all rights reserved.

Join myself, Jamie, Daz, Liam and Rob of Razor Sharp Death Blizzard as we talk about their upcoming album release, the aptly titled "The World is Fucked" on July 17th. The lads have released their first single "Suicide" of the album and it is a brilliant, yet dark song dedicated to the thousands of lives lost every year to suicide and mental health issues . The band have toured all across Europe and have hit Ireland enough times to be regarded as a firm favourite amongst the Metal community here. There's plenty of tour stories, great craic and insights in relation to the recording of the new album. Thanks to all the bands for the music and all of you for listening. Richie supportyourlocalmetalscene Songs featured and permission granted: Suicide (c) Razor Sharp Death Blizzard , 2020 all rights reserved. Open Vein (c) Enshroud, 2020 all rights reserved. Coma (c) Restive Nation, 2020 all rights reserved.

I had a great chat with Dave Gleeson (Guitar/Vocals), Neill Nevin (Bass) & Mick Carey (Guitar) of purveyors of Doom, Brigantia. John Clarke (Drums) and Dave have been playing together and putting out demos since 1994, however in early 2000 the addition of Neill on bass finally put the band on the path they still tread on today. Brigantia became a four piece when Mick Carey joined giving the band the forward momentum they needed to expand their sound and record the brilliant 'Midnight' EP in 2020, recorded by their mate Ciaran Culhane. We cover that along with some fantastic stories and future plans for the band. Definitely an episode that will live long in the memory and it was great sharing some beers with the lads! Band Link: https://brigantia1.bandcamp.com/album/midnight Song: Sardonicus (c) Brigantia, 2022 all rights reserved.

Combining the genuine warmth and emotion of progressive rock with the desolate feeling of post rock, Parhelia's Greg Clarke (Guitars, Keys & Effects) and Cathal Rodgers (Bass & Keys). chat with myself and Howard reflecting over the early formation of the band up to their incredible new instrumental release Celestial Horizons. Seasoned veterans on the Irish Metal Scene, it was great to hear Greg, Cathal and Howard of Partholon share insights on coming through those formative years playing in bands and still be relevant in a vibrant Metal community now in 2020. Songs featured and permission granted: Sky Burial (c) AeSect, 2020 all rights reserved. A Lonesome Journey (c) Parhelia 2020 all rights reserved. Lith (c) Abysm, 2020 all rights reserved.

Andy Clarke of The Crawling invites us for a drink in his virtual bar and we talk about the current state of Irish Metal in the middle of a pandemic. There's lots to discuss, the last few gigs of The Crawling, their merch, future plans and the state of Irish Metal at the moment. We have the now regular news round-up of the Irish Metal scene and 2 exclusive songs from So Much For The Sun and The Grief. Thanks to Peasant to a King and Words That Burn that also contributed killer songs to this episode. All these bands are some of the finest Irish Metal acts out there at the moment so be sure to check out their Bandcamp pages. Enjoy and support your local Metal scene by checking out all the merch your favourite bands and artists have for sale. Songs featured and permission granted: Selfish (c) Peasant to a King, 2020 all rights reserved. Deathgrip (c) Words That Burn, 2020 all rights reserved. Carmilla's Embrace (c) So Much For The Sun, 2020 all rights reserved. Departed (c) The Grief, 2020 all rights reserved.

The Metal Cell Forums. Join myself, Danielle, Evan and Joe as we talk about the Irish Metal Scene, review bands and discuss topics related to our favourite music....METAL! This weeks show is a fairly busy one. We have a discussion about an exciting project that is slowly coming to fruition called Aiséirí - All Ireland Metal Project. Aiséirí means resurrection in Irish and it involves artists all over this great island contributing/collaborating to record one album with 15 - 20 tracks. All profits go to the charity of choice. The main topic of the night is One Hit Wonders of Metal...those bands that briefly lit up the charts, MTV playlists, Headbangers Ball, Kerrang and Metal Hammer. We review five new releases by BRUIT, Blurred Reality, Cynic Cult, For Ruin and Strangers With Guns. Hope you enjoy and please subscribe to the show if you haven't done already. Thanks Richie. Songs featured and permission granted: For Ruin (c) Devout , 2021 all rights reserved. Cynic Cult (c) Intimator, 2021 all rights reserved. Strangers With Guns (c) F#ck the American Dream, 2021 all rights reserved. Blurred Reality (c) The End of Attrition, 2021 all rights reserved. BRUIT (c) The Machine Is Burning And Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again, 2021 all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome Dan Drever (Guitars) & Linz Mackenzie Conway (Drums) of Scottish progressive, sludge and death infused metal, Iron Altar onto the show for the first time. On co-host duties was Steve from Grey Stag, who will be joining Iron Altar on a November tour around Ireland, which should shake the foundations of every venue they play in. The lads were on the show to discuss the newly released 'PROMETHEAN', an album of skull crushing heaviness that literally is trauma inducing! We delve into the creative process of their second release, gigs, and I slipped in a quiz to test Dan & Linz's basic knowledge on Ireland...ahem! Shout out to Dog Tired for a few choice questions! Fans of both bands are going to love this episode. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to the YouTube channel! Thanks, Richie. Tracks played: Hunted © Iron Altar, all rights reserved. Path To Empyrean © Iron Altar, all rights reserved. Find Iron Altars' link to 'PROMETHEAN' here: https://ironaltar.bandcamp.com/album/promethean November Tour Dates for Ireland: 16th Belfast, Voodoo Belfast, Grey Stag Haint and Nømadus. 17th Limerick, Pharmacia, with Grey Stag, TBA 18th Cork, Fredz with Grey Stag, TBA. 19th Dublin, Sin É with Grey Stag & Trenchknife

The Metal Cell Forums. Join myself, Danielle, Evan and Joe as we talk about bands and discuss topics related to our favourite music....METAL! In this episode we are joined by one half of the organisers of Damnation Festival, Gavin McInally. Damnation Festival is a one-day heavy metal music festival that was annually at the University of Leeds in England, and is organised by Gavin and Paul Farrington. The festival was originally held at Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester in 2005 and this November, it is moving back to the BEC Arena Manchester, which can hold over 4,500 people. We talk to Gavin about this years line-up, the ups and downs of organising such an impressive festival over the years and we get an insight into how bands make the line-up of Damnation. We reviewed five quality releases from Eternal Helcaraxe, Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh, Koma, Cyanide Gems & Survivalist. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you enjoyed the show! Thanks Richie. Tracks played: Where Dead Things Roam Free (c) Eternal Helcaraxe all rights reserved Pink Mist (c) Foraoisí gan Iniúchadh all rights reserved Betrayed (c) Koma all rights reserved Grit (c) Cyanide Gems all rights reserved Rot (c) Survivalist all rights reserved Band Links: https://eternalhelcaraxe.net https://unexploredforests.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/komaofficialni/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YmwMMgdTODbjpzzdLdUqG?si=SC_8JehyRQyT-1X1HyZQYw https://survivalistni.bandcamp.com/

InVisions is a Melodic Metalcore/Post-Hardcore band from North Yorkshire, in the UK. The band have played Hellfest, Bloodstock, Download and Tech Fest to name drop a few festivals and they are steadily rising up the ranks of the UK Metal scene. Deadlock is their latest album release out since 2022, their first single Unbreakable came within a week of formation in 2016. 2017’s debut Never Nothing and 2019 follow-up Between You & Me rounded out a frantic first three years, fastening a reputation for brutal breakdowns & riffage, fret-bending virtuosity and infectious melody. Letty caught up with Ben & Josh before they hit the stage, supporting Polaris at The Academy in Dublin. The lads talk through the formation of the band, their latest album, new material and influences. Please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel to hear more interviews like this! Thanks! InVision Links: https://www.invisionsofficial.com https://www.invisionsstore.com

This episode is spent examining the connections between the t-shirt, art and the Metal Fan. Contributions by Sean O'Sullivan of Ten Ton Slug, Ciaran Coughlan of Obsidian Design and Alex Fitzgerald of Absurd Merch help to understand the thought process with the design, concept and final product. I also want to thank Conjuring Fate, Sectile and Grief Eater for summiting their brilliant songs for this episode. Enjoy and support your local Metal scene by checking out all the merch your favourite bands and artists have for sale. Songs featured and permission granted: Night Of The Knives (c) Conjuring Fate, 2020 all rights reserved. Black Cloud (c) Sectile, 2020 all rights reserved. Imithe in êag (c) Grief Eater, 2020 all rights reserved.

I was delighted to welcome Chris (vox) and Pavol (guitars) of Cork band ZHI REN. The lads also sent on 4 demo's of new songs, one of which is featured on the show...the brilliant "Feed the Beast" and after hearing those songs, their appearance at this years Siege of Limerick cannot come fast enough! Chris and Pavol take us on a crazy adventure recalling the lunacy of their appearance at GOTHOOM Open Air Festival in Slovakia and the song writing process in a isolated wooden cabin. Podcasts are made for these stories! Enjoy the show and if you enjoy it leave a rating. Thanks Richie. Feed the Beast (c) ZHI REN, 2020 all rights reserved.

I was delighted to welcome Adrian Foley, Keith McCoy & Mó Sheerin to part 3 of a series I'm doing highlighting the terrific Irish solo artists that are releasing material in the Irish Metal Scene. Adrian Foley (guitarist/vocals) is no stranger to this podcast due to his brilliant thrash solo release with Necrokinesis. It's fair to say he caught us on the hop with his new e.p 'The Ancient Dark', a brilliant slab of melodic death metal. Keith McCoy (drums/synths/guitars) has released a fantastic metal infused with 80's synth e.p called 'Tacky Boots and Technology'. Whilst Mó Sheerin (guitarist) is working on her yet to be released project 'Nebularis'. It was fascinating to hear about their creative processes, the difference in song writing techniques, some of the difficulties a solo artist faces and the decision to collaborate or not. All of their music is different but they all share common trait of being passionate about their music, taking a really professional approach to the end product and proud to fly the flag for Irish Metal. Hope you enjoy the episode and be sure to check out their respective Bandcamp pages! Thanks Richie. Hours Turn To Years © Adrian Foley, all rights reserved 2022. Tacky Boots and Technology © Keith McCoy, all rights reserved 2022. Nature, Nuture or Resent © Witchkicker, all rights reserved 2022. Links: https://theancientdark.bandcamp.com/album/the-ancient-dark https://keithmccoy.bandcamp.com/ https://witchkicker.bandcamp.com/

Myself and Evan have a great chat with Ryan, Colin and Chris of Northern Ireland Metallic/Hardcore band Axecatcher. Bursting onto the scene in 2012 the band were quick to make a name for themselves with the first single “The Odalisque” becoming a featured track on BBC Across The Line’s feature 'That New Band Smell. With a string of critically releases behind them the band took a brief hiatus which saw them go through a few line up changes. In 2017, Chris joined and the three piece haven't looked back since. Their immense live shows have been smashing audiences up and down Ireland over the years; one need only listen to their brutal new album 'Tooth Over Claw' and it will have you checking tour dates for the band immediately. Having had the pleasure of seeing them support @wornoutnoise was enough to get Axecatcher on the show to convert more people out there to their exciting brand of Metallic Hardcore. Axecatcher are Ryan Montgomery - Vocals/Guitar, Colin Wilson - Bass, Backing Vocals and Chris Whall - Drums. Link to Axecatcher bandcamp: https://axecatcher.bandcamp.com/album/tooth-over-claw Songs played: Swarm (c) Axecatcher all rights reserved 2022. Engines to Dust (c) Axecatcher all rights reserved 2022.

NORTHERN IRELAND METAL PART 2. I was delighted to welcome two absolute stalwarts of the Northern Ireland Metal Scene, James Loveday @thedistortionproject & Wayne Donaldson @twkommedia. This is part two of a two part episode where myself and my co-host Evan talk about the vibrant metal scene in Northern Ireland. As the restrictions are being lifted across our island, James has come out with a series of gig announcements over the summer running into autumn. Will Northern Metal fans eventually get to see some of their favourite bands sooner than expected? We discuss that and many more topics related to Metal on this show. Links: https://www.facebook.com/thedistortionproject https://www.facebook.com/TWKOMmedia

The Metal Cell was delighted to start off 2020 with the first of a series of new acts to look out for in the Irish Metal Scene. Spirit Merchant's Colin Bolger (Vox/Guitars), Leon (Bass/Effects) and Ollie (Drums) all have a wealth of experience between them in their respective bands Zhora, Coroza and Medicant. It was great to sit down with the lads and explore the fundamental building blocks of Spirit Merchant. Having seen their debut last year, I was intrigued to hear how they've progressed as a three piece and they were quick to tell me that they had no shortage of new songs. It didn't surprise me to hear they were experimenting with various tones to bring a earthier soundscape to enrich the listeners experience and the conversation flowed around such topics as their band name, lyrics and festivals. The next few months will be important for Spirit Merchant with an upcoming appearance in Metal 2 The Masses and the release of a debut E.P. Colin, Ollie and Leon are seriously talented musicans and it was great to chat about the Metal Scene from their perspective. I have no doubt that they are ready to take a giant step into making 2020 a year to remember for those who witness them live and hope that whatever they release will live long in the memory of Irish Metal music.

So Ollie the drummer of Coroza, Colin singer/riffmaster of Zhora have formed a new band along with Leon bassist with Mendicant and called it Spirit Merchant. This was only their third gig and what a great performance they dished out to a large crowd. The Metal Cell was delighted to catch them, to hear them talk about the benefits of side projects, enjoying life as a three piece and future plans.

Letty interviewed Joe (Vocals/Bass) of URNE just before they were about to hit the stage at a sold out Academy in Dublin supporting Paradise Lost. Joe chats about his influences, band and working with Gojira’s Joe Duplantier. Joe offered URNE the use of his Brooklyn studio, Silver Chord, and got involved in the recording sessions for their latest release, the brilliant 'A Feast on Sorrow'. This was a really great interview so check out the link below for URNE & please 'SUBSCRIBE to The Metal Cell YouTube channel if you haven't already. Thanks! https://urne1.bandcamp.com/