Irish Metal

Scáth Na Déithe – The Dirge of Endless Mourning [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

Scáth Na Déithe – The Dirge of Endless Mourning [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

“There’s something special about the Irish metal. Mythological elements intertwine with its primordial melodies in a unique blend of sounds that conjure rage, desperation, melancholy, and heritage, often simultaneously. One-man project from Rush, Scáth Na Déithe is a shining example of this balancing act of death and black metal.” Dirge and purge.

Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare Review

Dread Sovereign – Alchemical Warfare Review

“I enter this review with a certain amount of trepidation. Two writers whom I thought would be interested in Alchemical Warfare, Dread Sovereign’s third album, were not. Akerblogger reviewed their last effort, and when I offered this to him he said, ‘all yours.’ When I mentioned this new album to Grymm, who like myself is a big fan of Primordial, he said ‘they don’t do anything at all for me.’ Well, not exactly ringing endorsements, but I was still willing to take a chance and hope for the best.” Dread or gold?

Gama Bomb – Sea Savage Review

Gama Bomb – Sea Savage Review

“Another year, another Gama Bomb release. Why do we even review these? We know exactly what we’ll get: a fun, fast, professional thrash album loaded with riffs and silly humor. Well, there is a slight lineup change here on Sea Savage, the band’s seventh album, as long-time drummer Paul Caffrey is replaced by James Stewart, also of Vader, Sermon, and Decapitated.” Speed boating.

Arcade Messiah – The Host Review

Arcade Messiah – The Host Review

“But when I revisit the 2016 TYMHM piece, I’m reminded of a certain comment: ‘It must have been a shitload of work for a single person, to write and perform an album full of such dense arrangements and rhythmic irregularities, without losing the overall flow of the music. Hats off! I’m impressed.’ Four years later, I can say nothing less about Bassett’s newest outing, The Host. I can still say it’s ‘simplistic’ and smooth to the ears. But, musically, this new record is anything but simplistic.” Host with the most.

Lonely Robot – Feelings Are Good Review

Lonely Robot – Feelings Are Good Review

“Weathering the never-ending beat-down of 2020, at some point you realize you just need a break. I opted to take a breather from writing reviews this month—and I put down my 3D work and drastically limited my time on social media for the month as well—since I finally recognized that extended burnout which I refused to acknowledge for years. To further recuperate, I decided to dive into other genres of music that I rarely explore. But when I saw Lonely Robot hit our promo sump I couldn’t resist.” Touch your feelings.

Khôra – Timaeus Review

Khôra – Timaeus Review

“Once again, I picked promo for an irrelevant reason. German/Irish blackened death trio Khôra wound up in my review queue because their name sounds like the name of one of our cats (Kora). I feel like that’s a perfectly reasonable justification for album selection. If it isn’t, well, then I guess I don’t care. Khôra doesn’t care either, and put out whatever the hell they want regardless of what your tastes or expectations are.” Cats and jammers.

Fós – Rinne mé iarraidh Review

Fós – Rinne mé iarraidh Review

“Prior to this review, you could have jotted down what I knew about sean-nós singing on the back of a postage stamp and still had most of the stamp free for other notes. Still, we are where we all are and probably only Fós, a collaboration between Irish singer Orla Cadden Patel and multi-instrumentalist Fionn Murray, have much right to feel aggrieved. Sean-nós turns out to be a traditional form of Irish singing. Typically unaccompanied, the singing is highly ornamented in terms of melodic style and the lyrics often deal in laments and tales of historic events. That description does not, perhaps, suggest it as the obvious partner for electronica-driven drone but then, as I always try to explain to non-metal friends and colleagues who ask (and usually regret doing so), one of the things I love about metal is its seemingly endless ability to blend genres and influences.” Luck o’ the Irish.

Fuil Na Seanchoille – The Crossing Review

Fuil Na Seanchoille – The Crossing Review

“Single-song albums. The reason Holdeneye and Twelve no longer speak. The reason there’s still a bloodstain in the copy room after Diabolus went after El Cuervo for suggesting that Winter’s Gate ‘Isn’t really a single song, is it? I mean… not really…’ Ya see, the very idea is divisive. But it’s also philosophically interesting. What makes a song? A unifying idea or theme? If parts of a song are so different as to be unrecognizable, have you not just chewing-gummed two songs together? In this era of instant gratification, where listeners have goldfish-like attention spans, are these epic tracks justified? Or just a needlessly pretentious gimmick?” Long did the wind blow.

Terminus – A Single Point of Light Review

Terminus – A Single Point of Light Review

“I haven’t gotten my hands on much trve metal of late beyond the massive overdose administered by Atlantean Kodex in September. That was enough to keep me sacking and pillaging like a berserk Vandal for months, but a booster shot of trveness is never a bad thing. Northern Ireland’s epic heavy metal act Terminus is set to deliver such an inoculation this week with their sophomore release A Single Point of Light.” Light the torches.

Ascend the Hollow – Echoes of Existence Review

Ascend the Hollow – Echoes of Existence Review

“I am ashamed. Why? Because I almost let this badass record slip through my greedy clutches. You see, my good friend (who we know as Septic ’round these parts) randomly pops in now and again to apprise me on some of his choice metallic discoveries. He introduced Irish/German/Dutch quartet Ascend the Hollow to me and I was instantly hooked. Like, so fast my head spun. I needed to share my excitement for Echoes of Existence with as many people as possible, but how? It would’ve been grand if we received promo, I thought. Then, all of a sudden I received a virtual sucker punch while rooting around the bin—the thing’s been sitting there since the end of April! How in the actual heck did I miss that??? And lo I experienced great embarrassment. I nearly neglected one of the coolest new bands to materialize out of absolute nowhere this year.” Finder of nearly lost things.