Long lost Mourning Beloveth interview from 2008 finally appears
"Sometimes we were too drunk to play...." Mourning Beloveth's Darren Moore. Photo: Ryan Marron
Back in May of 2008 I did a little interview with Darren Moore of Mourning Beloveth for a forerunner to Paddy Metal. ‘A Disease for the Ages’ was just coming out and it was the band’s first album since the departure of Adrian Butler. Before I got to post the interview however, I decided the look, feel and name of the Blog was all wrong and I abandoned it. So the interview never appeared.
Given the recent announcement that Brian Delaney has left the band, I thought I’d resurrect the interview and post it on Paddy Metal, rather than tormenting Darren Moore again for an interview that might never see the light of day. As you’ll see, its not all that bad either. (more…)
Primordial come in from the cold hills to play Dublin this Saturday. Photo Primordial's Myspace
For all three bands 2008 was an incredibly productive year. Primordial put in a massive Europe wide live assault which included both a festival and club tour in support of their acclaimed 2007 release ‘To the Nameless Dead’. Therapy? aside this was probably the first time since the heyday of the likes of Thin Lizzy, Sweet Savage and Mama’s Boys that an Irish heavy metal band played to so many people in Europe.
At the same time as this was going on, Mourning Beloveth were clocking up fantastic reviews by critics worldwide for their fourth album ‘A Disease for the Ages.’ The album received almost top marks from two of Europe’s biggest metal magazines gaining a 9.5/10 in Rock Hard Magazine (Germany) and 6/7 in Metal Hammer (Germany).
Darkest Era, one of the most exciting young bands emerging from the Irish scene at the moment inked a deal with Germany’s Northern Silence for the release of their debut EP ‘The Journey Through Damnation’ which has also turned in an impressive array of excellent reviews.
In what has to be one of the best all Irish line-ups assembled by promoters D.M.E. all three bands will take the stage in the Button Factory this Saturday night, January 24th. The show is sure to sell-out with three quarters of tickets already sold apparently and if Primordial’s last Button Factory show is anything to go by, the atmosphere will be something special.
After all that you might be surprised to see me write that I’ll actually miss the whole thing. The reason is I’ll be in Germany for the other part of why I think this is such a significant weekend for Irish metal. I’ll be at the Winternoise Festival at Osnabrück in Germany where two more Irish metal bands will be in action. The line-up which leans heavily in the direction of Pagan, Folk and Battle metal includes Irish acts Mael Mordha and Waylander.
While Mael Mordha will use to the festival to take some time out from writing their third studio album, due later this year, Waylander are in full live assault mode having released a particularly impressive comeback album in 2008. The Ulstermen are currently signed to French label Listenable Records and are showing signs of making a real impact on this occasion with a slot at the upcoming Hammerfest in the UK in April alongside some serious big name acts among their more impressive recent achievements.
It’s a fantastic festival for both bands to be apart of. The presence of the likes of Turisas, Moonsorrow and Thyrfing on the bill means that both bands will be playing to exactly the kind of metal fan that is going to appreciate their style. Friends and allies will be made, cds and merch sold and hopefully return invitations extended.
Come on you boys in Green!
Check out this fan filmed footage of Waylander live in Paris last month.
Given the relatively short lifespan of Paddy Metal so far, I won’t be doing a round up of the year on this occasion. Hopefully by this time next year there’ll be enough Paddy Metal readers to do a little poll of what people thought rocked during the year.
What I will say is that it shouldn’t go unnoticed that it was another extraordinary year for Irish metal. Primordial continued to go from strength to strength and took Irish metal with them to some (actually nearly all) of the world’s biggest metal festivals. However the fact that three other Irish bands, Mourning Beloveth, Waylander and Gama Bomb all released new albums to world wide critical acclaim was a far more significant, yet less recognised development in the growth of our little scene. Here’s hoping 2009 is as good!
Morphosis on stage: Vocalist Squelch throws a tantrum after his shirt goes missing. Photo – Morphosis on Myspace
Any death metal fans reading Paddy Metal and not familiar with the Irish scene will appreciated this week’s installment of Sounding Heavy. Why is that they growl? Well, while we have some real world beaters in bands like Abaddon Incarnate, Putrefy and Warpath (check them all out now!) there is one Irish death metal band that could well eclipse them all with the release of its forthcoming debut album.
The band is of course Morphosis and the album, Rise of the Bastard Deities now looks set to see the light of day via Sentinel Records in February 2009. The title track can be checked out on the band’s myspace and if it’s anything to go by, then this album is definitely going to have been worth the wait.
Officially the album has been three years in the making following George and Vinnie reactivating Morphosis in 2005. If however you consider that the band’s celebrated Modus Operandi demo was released way back in 1993 and extensively traded well beyond these shores as well as its successor, 1995’s Malicious Malfiguration, before the band went on a decade long hiatus, then a lot of people have been waiting much longer.
Check out Morphosis on YouTube playing their first show in over 10 years at D.O.D. 2006. The video features an Irish metal cameo by Darren Moore of Mourning Beloveth who performed vocals on the day
Northern Ireland’s Darkest Era have been confirmed as one of the support acts for Primordial’s forthcoming Dublin show in January. Possibly the most promising young Irish metal band at the moment their addition to the bill along with Mourning Beloveth means that attendance is essential. No really! - its going to be immense!
Anyway if you haven’t checked these guys out yet you really should. Their video for ‘The Morrigan.’ might be a good place to start. Check it out!
