Welcome to Metal Lair’s Seven Deadly Songs weekly feature, Saint Patricks Day Edition where we curate songs from the past and the present for your listening pleasure.
Céad mile fáilte, or a hundred, thousand welcomes to our St Patrick’s Day special edition of Seven Deadly Songs. The feast day of Ireland’s patron saint is a special day for Irish people and for millions of people around the world who celebrate their Hibernian heritage, and the soundtrack for the celebrations usually takes the form of traditional Irish ballads, jigs and reels. This year, however, we’d like to recommend some of the finest hard rock and metal from artists who hail from the Emerald Isle, for those who like a bit of Motörhead with their soda bread, or Mötley Crüe with their Irish Stew. So, without any more messing, here’s seven deadly songs for your seven drunken nights, courtesy of Metal Lair’s two Irish writers, Graham Burke and Kevin McSweeney.
Kerbdog – End of Green
To be honest, we were actually looking to start the green, what with it being the St Patrick’s Day edition, but no matter. This is one of the strongest tracks from Kerbdog’s self-titled 1993 debut album, an album full of strong tracks, which was produced by the legendary Sub Pop producer Jack Endino. The lads from Kilkenny garnered attention in Ireland and throughout Europe in the early 90s through extensive touring with bands such as Therapy? Helmet, and The Almighty, and their alternative metal style was very much in keeping with the musical zeitgeist of that era. With the crunching guitars, Seattle-style melancholic vibe and the use of the 7/4 time signature in the verse, End of Green sounds a bit like Black Album-era Metallica covering Badmotorfinger-era Soundgarden, which is no bad thing. They went in a less abrasive direction on their sophomore effort, 1996’s On The Turn, but the quality of their output did not diminish. I saw them live on no fewer than five occasions, and they were never less than outstanding. (Kevin)
Gama Bomb – Bring Out The Monster
Gama Bomb hail from a part of the island where it’s generally not too good an idea to dwell on the past, though a big exception can be made if the era that you are fixating upon happens to be the golden age of thrash. The Newry-based band have been making it as if the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the Bay Area of San Francisco since 2002, with eight studio albums of chaotic, craic-fuelled thrash metal to their name. We have opted for a track from their 2018 album Speed Between the Lines, which, as per usual, is fast, frenetic and delivered with plenty of humour. Also, as is often the case, it is accompanied by a hilariously funny video featuring their mascot, the Gamabombinable Snowman. The lads will be touring the UK and Ireland in April, along with fellow heavy metal humorists Raised by Owls, so make sure you catch them if you can. It’s bound to be a hoot. (Kevin)
Primordial – Fuil Ársa
(Fuil Ársa means ‘ancient blood’)
Primordial’s ‘Fuil Ársa’ is an excellent blend of traditional Irish folk melodies, with the eerie atmosphere of black metal. Initially starting with soft acoustic guitar, the song quickly switches to a stronger electric guitar, before the main vocals come in. ‘Fuil Arsa’ is completely performed in Irish, which is very uncommon for non-trad music. The lyrics themselves make perfect use of the language to describe a melancholic environment. (Graham)
Paranoid Visions – An Bhfuil Tú Sásta?
( An Bhfuil Tú Sásta means ‘are you happy’ in Irish)
Paranoid Visions are another band with a song completely in Irish, this time with a punk/alternative style. ‘An Bhfuil Tú Sásta’ is everything you’d expect from a punk song; catchy and infectious riffs, fast BPM, and an easy to follow song structure. Excellent vocals as Gaeilge are the cherry on top to an already excellent song. (Graham)
Thin Lizzy – The Boys are Back in Town
For many Irish rock fans, this song, from the 1976 album Jailbreak, is the ultimate feel-good summer song from the ultimate Irish rock band. Few can claim to have been as influential as Thin Lizzy. Formed in 1969, the Dublin band pioneered the twin lead guitar work that would later feature so prominently in the sound of such bands as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Henry Rollins paid tribute to them in his spoken word performances, and Metallica paid them the ultimate compliment by covering their version of Whiskey in the Jarfor their Garage Inc covers compilation album in 1998. Like Jimi Hendrix, frontman Phil Lynott was iconic, both as the ultimate embodiment of a rock star in the eyes of many, and as a person of colour in a genre dominated by white artists. Lynott was once asked, in less politically correct times, how it felt to be black and Irish. He replied, with pure Dublin wit, that he felt like a pint of Guinness. Sadly, again like Hendrix, he died tragically young, leaving us at just 36 years of age, due to drug-related illnesses. The band continues to this day, with the estimable figure of Ricky Warwick of The Almighty providing lead vocals, but. as I’m sure Warwick would be the first to admit, there are some shoes that are simply impossible to fill. A statue of Lynott has stood outside Bruxelles Bar in Dublin since 2005, known colloquially as The Ace with the Bass. (Kevin)
Horslips – Dearg Doom
Horslips are true innovators of Celtic rock, blending riffs worthy of Black Sabbath or Deep
Purple with elements of traditional Irish music. Their influence can be heard not only in the music of bands following almost immediately in their footsteps, such as The Pogues and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, but also in that of the major 21st Century Celtic punk bands such as Dropkick Murphys, Ferocious Dog and Flogging Molly. Dearg Doomwas the leading single from their second album, The Táin,which was released in 1973. Its stirring main riff was sampled in Put ‘Em Under Pressure, the Republic of Ireland association football squad’s official song for the 1990 FIFA World Cup – an event of great significance in the younger years of your humble scribe! (Kevin)
No Sweat – Heart and Soul
Lastly, we turn to hair metal – hair in this case with a distinct red tint. Dublin’s No Sweat were active during the late 1980s and early 1990s, before so many bands of their ilk were swept away by a sonic wave from Seattle. They released one self-titled album in 1990, from which Heart and Soul was the best known track. Produced by none other than Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, it’s fairly generic stuff for the era, with a sound much more in keeping with the Sunset Strip than the shamrock shore, but it’s a lot of fun, and full to the brim with vibrant melodies, sumptuous vocal harmonies and lead guitar work replete with dive bomb harmonics and swift scale runs. Sadly, they barely stuck around long enough to break a sweat, but this song has a special place in my… memory. (Kevin)
https://youtu.be/HNkIsmEJt-o?si=F0qR9QdqzEenMx3V
You didn’t think he was going to say heart and soul, did you? Well, with all our hearts and souls, we wish all those who are celebrating a very happy St Patrick’s Day. Here’s hoping we’ve helped to put the rock in your shamrock. Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh, a chairde!
