The Metal Cell Podcast

A fans perspective. Hugh Brint & Brian Moloney are in the front row of nearly all the Metal/Punk gigs in Cork and further afield doing what thethey love best, supporting the music that they love. We are also joined by Evan Prendergast of Dead Cult Promotions. We dive deep into why it's crucial to support your local heavy metal scene and how doing so can help foster a vibrant, inclusive community for all metal fans. Whether you're a long-time heavy metal enthusiast or new to the scene, this episode offers valuable insights on the power of local concerts, grassroots metal bands, and how they contribute to the global heavy metal movement. Supporting local heavy metal bands not only strengthens the music scene but also creates a safe, welcoming environment where fans can come together, enjoy live music, and build lasting connections. If you're a metalhead looking for concerts where you can have a great time and feel safe, this episode is for you. We explore how metal concerts are more than just shows—they are places for camaraderie, inclusivity, and community spirit. Learn how to get involved with local metal bands, promote events, and help create a stronger scene where everyone feels welcome. So if you're passionate about heavy metal music, support your local bands, attend shows, and help make the metal community a thriving and inclusive space for all. #HeavyMetal #SupportLocalBands #MetalCommunity #MetalConcerts

Bicurious are Gavin Purcell (Drums) and Taran Plouzané (Guitars/Vox); a confused, loud two-piece from Dublin, Ireland. They’ve built a loyal fanbase through extensive touring and have won over crowds both at home and abroad, establishing themselves as a recognizable force on the European rock scene. Bicurious released their second album Your Life is Over Now… on the 4th October 2024 via Big Scary Monsters. The record, which was created over 18 months, three countries and five recording studios, draws influence from the likes of Biffy Clyro, Reuben and Thrice, and is a much more lyrical body of work than Bicurious’ previous material, as the band tread new sonic ground. The funding of the album was made possible by a crowdfunding campaign, through which fans helped the band raise over €9000. Thematically, the album explores the various facets of the idea of family, and as one can tell from their crowdfunding efforts, their fans play a crucial role in the band’s idea of a family. Letty chats with Gavin and Taran about their progress so far, the new album and influences before Bicurious hit the stage to jam filled Grand Social on the first leg of their Irish tour. Band Link: https://bicuriousbandofficial.com Song played: 10 Acrylic Fences © Bicurious, all rights reserved.

Join myself, Danielle, Evan, Joe, Howard and Letty on this special Live Stream Podcast to celebrate one of the best years ever for Irish Metal releases. We run through all our lists of favorite releases, merch and favorite bands, select the 2024 MVP of the Metal Scene and answer all your questions. There's plenty of banter and laughs as we work our way through all of the below categories on this mammoth episode of the show. Thank you all for your support throughout the year and please check out as many of the incredible nominees that you can on their various Bandcamp pages and socials. Happy Xmas everyone!!!! • 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 UK album: • Best International album: • Best Photographer: • MVP of The Irish Metal Scene:

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.

It was a pleasure to welcome Jim Knights (Guitars) & Chris Taylor (Vocals) of Manchester based The Leviathan onto the show for the first time. The Leviathan, who play extreme based metal with a healthy dose of doom infused groove, released the well received 'In Darkness It Crawls' on August 22, 2013 and then went on a hiatus for a couple of years. Members moved on to different projects and some dropped entirely out the scene. Jim however kept the fire lit throughout and finally the band returned with three killer singles in three months this year. More so a project that a functioning band at the moment, Jim got Chris of Cairns to do vocals and Darren of Haint to do bass/vocals on the new releases. We run through the story of The Leviathan from the very beginning, where Chris and Jim met in university, right up to recording together this year. The lads have plenty of great insights and stories from their various bands and there's even a Christmas cover song to discover. Hope you enjoy the episode and 'SUBSCRIBE' to the channel. The Leviathan link: https://theleviathanuk.bandcamp.com/music Tracks played: The Grove Of The Woad Witch © The Leviathan, all rights reserved. The Wolf Amongst The Horsemen © The Leviathan, all rights reserved.

Letty welcomed David (Guitars) Patryk (Drums/percussion) & Thea (Vocals) of Death Can Wait. No strangers to the podcast, it was great to have them back on to talk about their killer ep called 'Symptom of Suffering' which was released in October 2024. Fans of both the podcast and Death Can Wait will remember they released the well received 'Slowly Sinking' ep in February. Since then they have gone from strength to strength with some memorable gigs around Ireland culminating in their Siege debut and ex-singer Brian rejoining the band. Letty covers all of that and many more insightful topics with the lads as they get ready for an even busier 2025 for Death Can Wait, the band from the sunny South East of Ireland. https://deathcanwait.bandcamp.com/music Song played: Incinerator © Death Can Wait, all rights reserved.

It was a pleasure to welcome back John Roche (Guitar & Bass) & Shane "Red" Corcoran (Vocals) of brutal Death Metal band Crimson Butchery, to the show. Flying the flag for Death Metal, the Kilkenny duo have released their sophomore album 'Violence by Design' independently on November 1st. This album, like much of Crimson Butchery's work, has a masterful blend of technical riffs and drums and brutal mayhem of old-school 80s and early 90s death metal, with Red giving a master class in true guttural vocal styles. Mixed and Mastered by Floor van Kuijk once again, with programmed drums instead of a drummer, Crimson Butchery have once again released an all killer no filler lesson in brutality. Red & John do a track by track run through of the album with me and there's plenty of insights into the inspiration behind the lyrics and music. I hope you enjoy the chat and of course 'SUBSCRIBE' to the channel. Show support to Crimson Butchery on this link here: https://crimsonbutchery.bandcamp.com/music All songs played on this episode © Crimson Butchery, all rights reserved.

Barrfite is a band made up of: lead singer Harry Maloney, 19, from Stradbally in County Laois (near the border of County Kildare); guitarist Adam Hughes, 19, from Clarehall, County Dublin; bassist James Moriarty-Smyth, 19, from Sandyford in County Dublin; and drummer Sam Kelly, 18, from Newbridge, County Kildare. All four members of this outfit met last year while studying at the BIMM Institute music college in Dublin, and connected due to their similar taste in music, and the band was established in November of last year. Their sound varies from grudge to hardcore metal. Some of their main influences include Deftones, Alice In Chains, Queens of the Stone Age and The Scratch. Letty interviewed them at Fibber Magees as they were the headliner of the Rage Metal Night with Purify and Death Can Wait also on the bill. Band link: https://www.instagram.com/barrfite Song played: Black Sheep © Barrfite, all rights reserved.

I was delighted to welcome Greg (Vocalist) of Scottish Post Metal band Codespeaker, Tom (Guitars) of UK Post Metal band Hundred Year Old Man, Howard (Vocals/Guitars) of Irish Post Metal band Partholón and Evan of Dead Cult Promotions to talk about their upcoming Irish tour and dates. There was plenty to talk about especially with Codespeaker about to drop one of the best releases of 2024 with 'Scavenger, HYOM playing ArcTangent and debuting a new song at it and many more stories providing the back drop to this great chat and episode. Hope you enjoy it and hit 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Cork link: https://www.facebook.com/events/526661266576317/?acontext=%7B%22eventactionhistory%22%3A[]%7D Band links: Codespeaker: https://codespeaker.bandcamp.com HYOM: https://hundredyearoldman.bandcamp.com Partholón: https://partholonian.bandcamp.com Uncultivates: https://uncultivates.bandcamp.com

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.

The twice yearly Siege of Limerick is one of the most anticipated events in every Irish Metalheads calendar. A huge array of talented bands from Ireland & all over Europe, along with fans all flock to Dolans on Limericks dockside, to experience this free three staged affair with a huge emphasis on music, respect and craic. John & Ciaran Culhane established Siege of Limerick in 2008 and with it about to celebrate it's 30th edition I thought it was a perfect time to catch up with John and find out what makes him keep doing it. John shares alot of insights into the running of both the Siege and Bad Reputation promotions, some great stories and many more wonderful facts on Siege of Limerick. I hope you enjoy this episode and please share it with your friends!

For this weeks podcast I'm joined by Roni from Words That Burn, Gav of Survivalist & Pete from LaVein, three of Irelands most powerful vocalists & also renowned live Metal acts.....I welcomed the lads onto the show to talk about their 'not to be missed' gig on Friday the 18th of October in the Academy 2 Dublin. Also joining the bands will be the unique Fuego Fatale, an all female alternative fire troupe that will certainly spice things up between band sets. I also get the lowdown on what all the bands have been working on over the last few months and what to expect from them in 2025 music wise. I hope you'll enjoy this really great chat with Roni, Gav & Pete, the links to their bands are below so buy some merch if you can afford to and the link to the gig is also there. Thanks for your support and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to the YouTube channel. Richie. Gig link: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/words-that-burn-survivalist-dublin-18-10-2024/event/180060AA875114DC Band link: https://wordsthatburn.bandcamp.com Song played: Sirens © Words That Burn, all rights reserved. https://survivalistni.bandcamp.com Song played: Greater Negative. © Survuvalist, all rights reserved. https://lavein.bandcamp.com/album Song played: Don't go into the water. © LaVein, all rights reserved.

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

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.

Our special guest is Bariann Tuite of Fiadh Productions, New York. The U.S label’s founder and one-woman show, created Fiadh as a different kind of label, with a set of posted values in the bio: “Promoting all that is wild, dark & enchanting. Supporting animal rescue, rights & welfare. Female-run & antifascist." Other aspects of the label further set it apart, too — a commitment to publishing artists of diverse backgrounds and identities; charitable donations from revenues; a special connection to Ireland and the Irish metal scene with bands like Partholón, Grave Sermon and Dratna flying the flag for Fiadh. Myself, Howard of Parthólon and Danielle Meehan talk to Bariann about how the label was formed, her experiences running the label and her work with charities. Link: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com

It was a pleasure to have John O'Reilly (Vocals) & John Foley (Guitars) of Dublin Nu-Metal band Broken Habit on the show for the first time. The five piece with Rob (Guitars), Conor (Bass) and Andrew (Drums) started off life as a Linkin Park tribute band called Breaking the Habit in 2019. A name change, writing their own material and self producing saw them release their debut ep S.E.D.A.T.E. in August 17, 2024. We chat about the development of the band up to the release of S.E.D.A.T.E. and it wouldn't surprise me if Broken Habit shed more of their skin to encompass a far more welcoming heavier sound with their next release which they're currently working on. The band are keen to play plenty of gigs so hopefully we'll see them hit a few counties outside of Dublin in the next few months. Band link: https://linktr.ee/brokenhabit. Song played: Endings © Broken Habit, all rights reserved.

Martina and the Moons is an all-female four-piece band based in Dublin. They were one of the 32 acts selected by Ex Oh Promotions to play Mainroom at “The Next Big Thing” in Workman’s last January. They have recently supported the band ‘Thumper’ in a sold out Workmans mainroom, and they will take part in the female-fronted festival ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’, in Whelans. Furthermore, they filmed an acoustic set with Lips to Ears for their “Car Boot Sale” series, which can be found on Youtube. The band consists of Martina Moon (vocals, songwriting), Sarah Morgan (guitar), Aisling Stephens McGowan (bass), and Zahira Ellis (drums). Their debut single, Emigrate, has accumulated over 6000 streams on Spotify, and has been featured on publications such as GCN Magazine or The Going Out Out Guide. Their most recent single, Omnibus Boners, is on its way to 5000 streams and has been described by Strephen Byrne (Golden Plec) as ‘the latest example of Irish ladies delivering the goods’. Their influences vary from the singer songwriters of the 60s and 70s such as Paul Simon, Carole King or Joni Mitchell, to the BritPop and rock bands of the 90s, such as Elastica, Catatonia, Radiohead or Blur. Their lyrics talk about alienation and about yearning for connection, complemented by crunchy guitars, loud drums and catchy vocal melodies. Band link: martinaandthemoons.com Song played: Omnibus Boners © Martina and the Moons, all rights reserved.

Grave Sermon, known for their aggressive, chaotic, and blasting Death Metal, are set to release their new EP Liturgical Perversions on September 1, 2024. The band’s lineup includes current and former members from notable acts such as Legion of Wolves, Abaddon Incarnate, Thy Sinister Bloom, Aeternum Vale, Aesect, Twisted Element, and Ground of Ruin. It was a pleasure to welcome back on the show Cory (Bass) & Jason (Drums) of Death Metal band Grave Sermon. We talk through the preparation, recording and themes of their soon to be released ep 'Liturgical Perversions'. The lads fill me in on the build up to their ep launch gig in Sin E, Sept 14th, featuring Stranglewire, Fraught and Blood Soaked and recent appearance at Siege of Limerick. Liturgical Perversions, comprises four tracks of finely honed, pummeling death metal, marking a significant step up from previous releases in both ambition and execution. This EP delves into themes of penance and perdition, exposing the rank hypocrisy and ultimate ruination of zealots consumed by their own decadence, depravity, and inequity. Lauuch night tickets are now available through Eventbrite. Cost: €8 + booking fee. https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/strangle-wire-grave-sermon-fraught-blood-soaked-live-sin-e-tickets-1001401337357?aff=oddtdtcreator Band Link: https://gravesermon.bandcamp.com Songs played: This Mortal Disease © Grave Sermon, all rights reserved. Vial Of Wrath © Grave Sermon, 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.

Partholón, known for their ability to seamlessly blend lingering melodies with crushing riffs, has been a driving force in the Post-Metal/Sludge scene since their inception. Hailing from Cork, Daniel Howard (Vocals/Guitars) & Alan Setter (Drums/Backing Vocals) have seen numerous changes to their band, musician wise yet their collective musical prowess has earned them acclaim for pushing the boundaries of the genre while maintaining a distinct identity and sound. Their debut release “Follow Me Through Body” (2016) laid down a foundation of extremely heavy music with a heightened emotional charge. A split 7″ release with Soothsayer (IRL) followed titled: “All We Are.” In summer 2024, Partholón released “The Ocean Pours In”. It is a cathartic journey of life imitating art. From the Mary Russell seafaring tragedy to the death of an ancient tradition, five songs, spanning 37 mins, explore the hearts and minds of those that have come and gone. Married with the legend of Partholón, the tracks explore local history, mythology, tragedy and truth. I met up with Daniel, Alan & Kirk Kelly (album photographer) over two days to talk about the creation of the album and to record the stories behind it. Band link: https://partholonian.bandcamp.com All songs © Partholón, all rights reserved. Please 'Subscribe' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel for more content like this. Thanks to everyone involved in helping make this documentary happen! Richie.