10 Irish metal bands to make your St. Paddy’s Day a little louder
Seriously, you don’t have to listen to the goddamn Wolfe Tones again this year, and there’s more to Irish rock than U2 and the Pogues. Irish metal is also a thing, and the Emerald Isle has more metal bands than you can shake a shillelagh at. Here’s ten of the best:
1. THIN LIZZY
If the only Thin Lizzy songs you’re familiar with are the ubiquitous hit “The Boys Are Back In Town” or “Whiskey In The Jar,” you might be scratching your head and thinking, “Thin Lizzy…heavy metal? Really?” But yes, they were, and so much more. Truly, there has never been a band quite like Thin Lizzy. Heavy metal, rock, folk, r&b and a little bit of soul all rolled into one, led by one of the most charismatic singers, bassists and frontmen of all time, a lanky 6’1” black Irishman by the name of Phil Lynott.
With all due respect to Bono, Van, Sinead and Delores, the late Phil Lynott might just be one of the greatest Irish rock singers of all time. He could be soulful, romantic, heartfelt, aggressive and funky, and sometimes all of those things within the space of one album. Plus, beginning with 1975’s Fighting album, guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson developed a trademark sound of two lead guitars playing in harmony that became a huge influence on Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and continues to leave its mark on metal to this day.
With twelve studio albums and two phenomenal live albums released between ’71-’83, the entire Thin Lizzy catalogue is worth digging into, and tracks like “Fighting My Way Back,” “Emerald” and “Massacre” (later covered by Maiden) rock hard. And though they had more than just metal in their arsenal, if you’re looking for the heaviest Lizzy, look no further than their final studio album, 1983’s Thunder And Lightning. The lyrics to the title track say it all: “It hits you/ like a hammer/ god DAMN!”
2. MAMA’S BOYS
Second on our list of essential Irish metal is the band that opened for Thin Lizzy on their final tour in 1983. Hailing from County Fermanaugh in Northern Ireland, Mama’s Boys were formed in the late 70’s by the McManus brothers, with Pat on guitar, John on bass and vocals, and Tommy on drums. The brothers had already made a bit of a name for themselves locally playing traditional Irish music, but loved rock n’ roll as well and decided to pursue that style instead. They released a rather tepid debut album in 1980 and opened for Hawkwind on a UK tour. Second album Plug It In featured a more polished sound with a harder edge not unlike April Wine.
But it was 1983’s Turn It Up album that really showcased the band’s NWOBHM influences, especially with full-on metal tracks like “Gentlemen Rogues,” and earned them the opening slot on the Thin Lizzy tour. The following year, they released a cover of Slade’s “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” which actually managed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart in America, and the video for the song got substantial airplay on MTV. Unfortunately, the much more established and popular American band Quiet Riot released their own version of the same Slade song a short time later, which quickly overshadowed the Mama’s Boys’ version.
1985’s Power And Passion LP also did well on the American charts. However, on the European tour for the album, Tommy McManus, who had been diagnosed with leukemia as a child, became ill and had to be sent home. The tour resumed with a replacement drummer, and Tommy rejoined the band in Ireland, but was admitted to the hospital once again a short time later after a relapse.
The band expanded to a four piece in 1987 with the addition of Keith Murrell on lead vocals, replaced by Mike Wilson a year later. They released a live album and two more studio albums as a quartet, including Relativity, released in 1992. It tuned out to be their final album. On tour in Italy in 1993, Tommy once again fell gravely ill and the tour had to be cancelled. A year later, he underwent an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant and sadly passed away at the age of 28. Devastated, brothers Pat and John McManus disbanded Mama’s Boys for good in 1993. Raise a pint and crank one of their tunes in honor of Tommy on St. Patrick’s Day.
3. CRUACHAN
Nestled under the larger umbrella of “heavy metal” is a sub-genre known as “folk metal.” It was pioneered by the British band Skyclad in 1991, and usually features traditional heavy metal instruments like electric guitar, bass and drums combined with folk instruments like fiddles, flutes, whistles, bagpipes, mandolins, etc. Some bands use keyboards to replicate the sounds of folk instruments. As folk metal grew and spread, regional variations began to appear. Naturally, “Celtic metal” became a thing in Ireland, combining metal with traditional Irish instruments and taking lyrical inspiration from Celtic myths and legends.
The first group to adopt this style was the Dublin band Cruachan. Frontman Keith Fay founded the band in 1992 and has remained its one constant member and creative driving force through the many line-up changes since its formation. On their first album, 1995’s Tuatha na Gael, Fay combined the harsh, dissonant style of black metal with Irish folk. Subsequent releases have featured a more traditional metal style, with some albums featuring female vocals courtesy of singer Karen Gilligan.
Cruachan’s 2002 album Folk-Lore was produced by Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, who also contributed guest vocals to two tracks. One of those tracks, “Ride On,” was released as a single and actually made it onto the Irish charts. The band re-introduced elements of black metal to their sound in 2011 on their Blood On The Back Robe LP. This was the first in what became known as the “Blood Trilogy,” which also included the albums Blood For The Blood God and Nine Years Of Blood, a concept album based on Ireland’s Nine Years War.
The band is still active today and released their latest album The Living And The Dead in 2023. Their stand-alone single “The Blacksmith” was also released last year, and was submitted to possibly represent Ireland in the Eurovision song contest, but didn’t make the final cut. Whatever, the song rules hard. It starts as a mellow, traditional Irish folk ballad for the first minute or so before it punches you right in the face with crushing metal. Absolutely essential for your Irish metal playlist!
4. CELTIC LEGACY
Formed in 1998, Dublin’s Celtic Legacy play classic heavy metal with lyrics inspired by Irish history and mythology. Though their songs have the occasional Celtic flourish, there’s nothing folky here; this is straight-up traditional metal, heavily influenced by Iron Maiden and the American power metal of Riot. With clean, operatic vocals and strong anthemic choruses, songs like “Live By The Sword” are perfect for drunkenly shouting along with your mates at the pub. Celtic Legacy have released 5 full-length albums so far (including a re-recording of their self-titled 1998 debut album released in 2022), and are said to be working on new material. Fun fact: the current line-up features five members, four of whom are named Dave.
5. PRIMORDIAL
Primordial is another band hailing from Dublin who formed in 1993. Often cited as one of the first Irish black metal bands, they also started incorporating Celtic elements right from the get-go on their first album Imrama, which featured the sounds of a tin-whistle and bodhran (a type of hand drum used in traditional Irish folk music) with some of the lyrics sung in Gaelic.
Indeed, the sound of Primordial can be a little hard to categorize at times. Though strongly rooted in black metal, they also incorporate elements of doom and trad metal in addition to the folk and Celtic elements. At the heart of it all is singer Alan Averill (aka A.A. Nemtheanga), a true vocal chameleon who deftly transition from the classic shrieking style that has become the hallmark of black metal singing to a beautiful croon, a Hetfield-style throaty bark, or a soaring power vocal, sometimes all within the space of the same song!
With so much variety to their sound, you really can’t go wrong with just about anything in the Primordial catalogue, depending on your preferences of course. Their latest album How It Ends was released last year. Not as folky or as harsh as other releases, the record is nonetheless 100% metal. Album closer “Victory Has 1000 Fathers, Defeat Is An Orphan” gallops along in classic Maiden fashion, with twin leads that would make Thin Lizzy proud, topped off with a rousing vocal from Averill extolling the bravery and sacrifice of ancient Irish warriors. Hell, this one deserves a spot on your Irish metal playlist just for its title alone!
6. WAYLANDER
If Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth are considered the “Big 4” of thrash metal, then Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander are definitely the “Big 3” of Celtic metal.
Waylander were formed in 1993 in Armagh, Northern Ireland, and, like Cruachan and Primordial, they blend traditional Celtic folk elements with black metal. But of the three, Waylander is the band that has remained closest to its extreme metal roots, especially when it comes to singer Ciaran O’Hagan’s gruff vocals and his brother Dermot O’Hagan’s trebly distorted riffs (Dermot was replaced by guitarist Saul McMichael in 2004). In terms of Celtic folk elements, the band often incorporates acoustic guitars, mandolin, Irish bouzouki (sort of like a lute) and hand drums, with occasional spoken word interludes and “clean” backing vocals, with lyrical themes centered around Irish history and the usual Celtic folklore. Plus, Waylander just might be the only metal band I know of that employs a full-time tin whistle player (whistle-ist?) as a permanent, full fledged member of the band!
Waylander has pretty much stuck with the same formula over the course of five albums, but their first album from 1998 Reawakening Pride Once Lost is a good starting point if the band is new to you. Tracks like “Born To Fight” have a traditional Irish jig tempo that will have you headbnging and step dancing at the same time (step-dancing mosh pit perhaps?) And don’t be surprised if you find yourself playing a little air tin whistle instead of air guitar.
7. MAEL MORDHA
Yes, Gaelic doom metal exists, and Dubliners Mael Mordha started bludgeoning people over the head with it in 1998. Pioneered by Black Sabbath, doom metal is characterized by slower tempos, heavily distorted guitars tuned lower than usual, and an overall atmosphere intended to evoke feelings of unease or despair and a sense of impending doom. Mael Mordha largely sticks to this formula with the odd bit of piano and whistle thrown in. Of course, hailing from Ireland, they sing about famous battles and legends from Irish history.
They were founded by vocalist Roilbeard O Bogail, who sang on their early EP’s and their first three albums. In my opinion, he was never the strongest vocalist, and seemed like he often struggled to stay on key, especially on the debut album Cluain Tarbh. Thankfully, he was replaced in 2013 by the more seasoned Stíofán De Roiste, who sang on what is so far the band’s last album Damned When Dead. Apparently, their official status as of right now is “on hold.” So, while we cross our fingers and wait for new music from a reactivated Mael Mordha, crank up “Bloody Alice (Of Abergravenny)” and revel in the tale of bloody revenge by an Irish servant girl who beheaded 70 Anglo-Norman invaders and threw their bodies off a cliff. Doesn’t get more metal than that!!
8. DREAD SOVEREIGN
As if his phenomenal work with his main band wasn’t enough, Primordial vocalist Alan Averill has also gifted us with several side projects, including a wickedly fun doom metal trio by the name of Dread Sovereign, for which he sings and plays bass. The band came together in 2013 and released their debut EP later that same year. Three full-length LP’s have followed, including their latest Alchemical Warfare, released in 2021. Nothing fancy or particularly Irish here; just good, solid Sabbath-style doom with a heaping helping of Satan, made all the more epic by Alan’s powerful lead vocals. Crank up “The Great Beast We Serve” and get yer’ doom on!
9. GAMA BOMB
Northern Irish thrashers Gama Bomb might not be the best Irish metal band, but they’re certainly one of the fastest, and they are definitely the funniest. Formed in 2002, the band plays thrash metal in classic 80’s style, heavily influenced by early Slayer and Megadeth, but with a dash of punk rock too, similar to 80’s crossover bands like D.R.I. and C.O.C. Humor has always played a part in their songs and in their stage show. They often sing about horror and action movies of the 80’s, (their 2013 album The Terror Tapes featured covert art by noted horror movie artist Graham Humphries, famous for his work on the original Nightmare On Elm Street and Evil Dead posters). Like Iron Maiden and their mascot Eddie, Gama Bomb also has their own mascot, a yeti monster named Snowy the Gamabombinable Snowman, who has been featured on album covers and always makes an appearance at their live shows.
The band now has four EP’s and eight full-length LP’s under their belt, including their latest Bats, released in 2023. Their hilarious songs include titles like “Beverly Hills Robocop,” “Shitting Yourself To Live,” “In The Court Of General Zod,” and, perhaps my favorite of the bunch, “Smoke The Blow With Willem Dafoe.” If you like your metal delivered in short speedy bursts with a goofy Beavis and Butthead sensibility, then Gama Bomb is right up your alley.
10. RABID BITCH OF THE NORTH
These guys are from Belfast and have been kicking around since 2005, with two EP’s, one full-length album and a handful of singles to their name. Their style is deeply rooted in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Nothing special, not particularly original, certainly not re-inventing the wheel, they’re just OK.
BUT… Rabid Bitch Of The North is an objectively great name for a metal band, and that’s good enough to earn them a spot on this list. Best enjoyed with multiple pints of Guinness and/or shots of Jameson.
BONUS TRACK:
THE DUDE FROM FLOGGING MOLLY USED TO BE A METAL SINGER
A lot of people are going to be playing some Flogging Molly today, which is fine. Not metal of course, but Celtic punk rock, so it’s cool. But what many people don’t know is that vocalist Dave King got his start in heavy metal. His first proffesssional singing gig was with the band formed by guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke after he quit Motorhead. The band was called Fastway, and their self-titled debut album was released in 1983. The first single was called “Say What You Will,” and it actually became something of a minor hit on rock radio and MTV. Dave sang on four Fastway albums before leaving the band in ‘86. He briefly sang with another hard rock band called Katmandu before forming Flogging Molly in 1994. Now you know.
Slainte! Enjoy the tunes;