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Unearthing The Metal Underground: The Irish Metal Scene

Every week in Unearthing the Metal Underground, we take a look at three quality bands that haven't gotten as much exposure yet as they should. This week we'll dig into three rocking outfits all hailing from The Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain may be more well known for their heavy metal, but a short trip West finds that the Republic of Ireland has just as strong a heavy metal background. One could even argue that the Irish metal underground is much more varied than the British, boasting a large number of thrash, black, death and in particular doom metal bands. This week we’ll be taking a look at three of the country’s lesser known bands.

Mael Mordha

Proudly claiming themselves to be the world’s only Gaelic doom metal band, Dublin’s Mael Mordha, who take their name from the King of Leinster who led a gruesome rebellion against the High King of Ireland, Brian Ború in 998, formed exactly one thousand years after their namesake’s revolt. They signed with German label, Grau in 2005 and released their first full length album, "Cluain Tarbh" the same year, along with a split record with fellow Irishmen Primordial. Since then, the band has released two more studio albums, with the most recent being, "Manannan" in 2010.

Mael Mordha - "The Serpent And The Black Lake"



Mael Mordha - "Godless Commune Of Sodom"



Enemy Logic

County Cork based Enemy Logic on the other hand, are a much more modern affair in many ways than Mael Mordha. The group originally formed as a more hard rock tinged outfit called Windfall in 2002 but began to incorporate more of their hardcore and death metal influences in 2008 and changed their name to Enemy Logic the same year. Since then the band has released two studio albums, "Bones As Armour" in 2009 and "Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind" last year.

Enemy Logic - "Scatter The Ashes"



Enemy Logic - "The Savage Mind"



Mutilated Messiah

Considering Ireland’s strong link to Christianity, one would imagine that death metal outfit Mutilated Messiah may find it hard to get booking sometimes. Nevertheless, the band have been going strong since 2003, experiencing only one member change. The band released a few demos and a split EP with Nunslaughter in 2007, before releasing their debut full length album, "Total Fucking Slaughter" last year, which featured such charming song titles as "Blow The Goat" and "Motorcunt."

Mutilated Messiah - "Lucifer"



Mutilated Messiah - "Gut The Priest"



The Republic Of Ireland is certainly one of the more interesting places in the Western world in many aspects, but the Irish metal scene is one which deserves great interest. Please feel free to comment about your favorite Irish bands in the comments below, and check back in next Monday as continue to unearth more underground metal bands.