The Metal Cell Podcast

Myself and Howard sit down with Mark Morrissey one half of the legendary Paranoid Beast Promotions. Mark and Con Doyle joined forces five years ago to create an amazing scene for live Metal music in Cork. They steadily grew their brand by hosting some incredible gigs firstly in the Poor Relation before finding their spiritual home in Fred Zeppelins. In between those memorable years; Cyprus Avenue was the venue for the amazing 'Monolith' festivals where the best international Metal bands mixed with their Irish counterparts and also An Spailpín Fanach which hosted the fantastic 'Ritual of the Evil Eye' festivals. Paranoid Beast were also behind a seven series compilation of the best in Irish Metal and created an independent record label to help with releases from Cork acts Partholón & Coroza. There are many stories to go through on this interview and once again I want to thank both Con, Mark and their incredible team that helped them throughout the years, they have a huge amount of audio recordings, video footage and photos to revisit so hopefully we'll see the fruition of these in time to come. Their story is now part of the rich legacy of the Irish Metal Scene and their contribution to the Cork Metal Scene is immense. Long live The Paranoid Beast!

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

It was a pleasure to welcome Alex Da Costa (Vocals) & Junior Afrifa (Guitars) of Lock Horns. We have a great chat about the history of the band, playing Bloodstock & The Siege, working on the follow up to the critically acclaimed 'Molon Labe' and of course many other topics were discussed as the lads settled into the interview. Lock Horns next date is an appearance at the Templemore Metal Festival on June the 4th and hopefully we'll see some more dates announced in 2022 even though the four piece are currently finishing off songs for their sophomore release, which they assured me is going to be as heavy as f#ck!

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

Myself and Danielle had a really entertaining chat with the talented Jake Wallace guitarist of Elder Druid about the yet to be released 'Carcosa' album. It's fair to say they had some delays with it and Jake still won't put a date on the actual release. We discuss their incredible performance at The Siege of Limerick festival and some upcoming gigs that Jake is promoting through his Dark Arts Promo page. I bought 'Lustre of the Dark' Jakes solo debut album, which certainly caused me to appreciate the brilliant musicianship of his work & arrangements. Jake does all the piano & acoustic guitar arrangements, focusing on tones of melancholy, ethereal soundscapes and contemplative ambience. It was a pleasure to have Jake on and be sure to check out all his stuff on the links below. As always please hit that 'SUBSCRIBE' button and thanks for supporting the show. Richie.

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

The Metal Cell Forums. Join myself, Danielle, Evan and Joe as we talk about the Metal Scene, talk about bands and discuss topics related to our favourite music....METAL! We had a cracking episode of The Metal Cell Forums this week and a lot of rabbit holes explored in relation to Myspace. We discuss the effect it had on Metal bands, fans and many other things it may have influenced. We also talk about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected both their Metal scenes. Music wise I play a track from Voodoo Chief and there's updates from Joe and Evan in relation to @gamabombthrash & @wornoutnoise. As always thanks for your support and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to the show if you haven't already.

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

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!

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

It was a pleasure to welcome Doom merchants Death The Leveller to the show. Denis Dowling (Vocals) & Dave Murphy (Bass) are no strangers to the Irish Metal Scene with Dave playing in Mael Mórdha and Denis fronting Cursed Earth. We touch upon both of those bands histories and talk about the formation of Death The Leveller from the ashes of Mael Mórdha. The band come into their own in a live setting and having witnessed their performance with Primordial, it was both mesmeric and incredibly powerful. We talk about their two releases (i) and (ii), the flow of conversation was terrific, helped by the wine and beers with plenty of tales from the past surfacing. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Denis and Dave; keep an eye on tour dates for Death The Leveller. Please hit 'SUBSCRIBE' if you haven't already to The Metal Cell and thanks for listening.

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

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.

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

The Metal Cell Forums with Danielle, Evan and our special guest John Ard of Bad Reputation and Siege of Limerick. Whilst everyone's ears are still ringing after the 25th edition of Siege Of Limerick and for those who had that incredible feeling of being at a truly immense celebration of Metal in Limerick, I feel it's only proper that we revisit this episode which was recorded via Live Stream on 14th of April before XXV Siege of Limerick. I wanted to give this interview a number and not release it as a bonus episode. So enjoy the brilliant stories from John Ard, get an insight into what it takes for him and his team to get this fantastic festival over the line; which they absolutely nailed over two memorable days in Dolans pub in Limerick. All Hail the XXV Siege!

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

It was a pleasure to welcome the talented Santiago Kodela (guitarist/vocalist) of Svet Kant to once again join me on the show. The band will be releasing their brilliant new EP called 'Three Faces' on Friday 15th of April. We talk about the creative process that went into the writing of 'Three Faces' and discuss what the rest of the year holds for one of the most unique bands in the Irish Metal Scene. They will be releasing the EP ONLY via Bandcamp, and it can be pre-ordered here:

Support The Metal Cell Podcast

Myself and Evan welcomed Gavin Sharp (Vocals) & Nick Butcher (Bass) of metalcore act Survivalist to the show to talk about their brilliant debut 'VII'. Pat O' from The Metal Cell review page summed the band up nicely: "Survivalist play a powerful and highly technical style of metal, heaving with intense riffs, deep-rooted bass hooks and devastating drums. All this energy is elevated beyond the stratosphere by earth shattering vocals that burn and blister." The lads fill us in on joining the Earache records family, the arrival of new members Nick and Ben along with the future plans for the band. An upcoming appearance at The Siege will go a long way to get more new fans on board for this hungry band! Check out Survivalist on the links below and please 'SUBSCRIBE' to The Metal Cell YouTube channel. Thanks Richie.

Support The Metal Cell Podcast