Tapes Of Wrath (an offshoot of SuperFi Records, who have done records with the likes of Boris, Melt Banana, Taint, Moss, Army Of Flying Robots, Art Of Burning Water over their 24-year existence) are very proud to present the upcoming release of a tape by the Dublin band Burning Realm! Having moved to Ireland a few years ago, I have only been to a handful of gigs post-pandemic and merely skimmed the surface of the vibrant close-knit scene here. I was lucky to catch Burning Realm in a support slot and really enjoyed their set, so I offered to do a tape and here we are!
Burning Realm are an Irish trio on the stoner-rock spectrum with direct, low-end riffing and pounding drums augmented by hefty doses of psychedelic freakouts. They formed in 2022 as a three-piece of two guitars and drums, and features quite the current and ex-member list, including No Spill Blood (Svart / Sargent House Records), Venus Sleeps, Wizards of Firetop Mountain, Mongolia, Realistic Train, and Puget Sound.
The band cites myriad influences, including Thin Lizzy, The Damned, Danava, Earthless, Sleep, Yawning Man, Big Business, Rudimentary Peni, and Annihilation Time. I would personally add High On Fire and early Floor to that list. In their current writing, the band draw conceptual influence from a mix of Celtic and Mesoamerican mythology (if you're really interested in that kind of stuff - you can read about this in greater detail further below).
Their debut EP is a four-track tape due out at the end of Feb. 2024. It was recorded by Shaun Cadogan at Last Light Recording and mastered by James Plotkin.
Line-Up:
Michael 'Owensie' Owens (guitar and vocals)
Tob Swift (guitar)
Ror Conaty (drums)
Contact Details:
The band can be contacted directly for all press, publishing, distribution, and booking enquiries at:
The band's current songwriting is loosely underpinned by a trans-mystical storyline in which they reimagine the character Cuchulainn, a warrior god from celtic mythology, who features strongly throughout the early songwriting and album artwork of Thin Lizzy (as painted by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick - most famous for the iconic 1968 Che Guevara portrait).
Within the band's reconceptualisation, Cuchulainn is sent on a transdimensional mission to ancient Mesoamerica where he encounters the Mayan gods Kukulcan / Quetzalcoatl and Xquic / Blood Woman, before they set forth on a mission to battle with the underworld death god Mictlantecuhtli.
Within this mythological multiverse, the band reinvent these characters to find inspirations for their songwriting, using the concepts to also challenge and reposition the traditional themes of strength, virtuousness, and power which are typical of the classical portrayals of such warrior archetypes.
Through their current songwriting, Cuchulainn's character is reimagined as a reluctant mercenary, at times hapless, jaded, and grappling with the guilt and shame of his past, including the murder of his son, Connla. Kukulcan, who is identified within Mayan and Aztec mythology as both a creator and culture hero, provides a form of moral guidance and reckoning to Cuchulainn within this context.
Xquic is born of the underworld, later escaping to the surface of the earth. She is the mother of the hero twins from the Popol Vuh (creation story of the Maya). The band have developed a storyline in which Xquic is recaptured to the deathly underworld. Cuchulainn and Kukulcan decide to invade the underworld in order to rescue Xquic, but are captured almost immediately due to their unfamiliarity with the dark terrain. Xquic is left with no choice but to free herself, using her strength and cunning to escape her captors and return to the surface of the earth, which has now become overrun by fire and destruction.
Discovering the folly of her well-meaning friends, Xquic must now prepare to return to the underworld once again - this time to save Cuchulainn and Kulkulcan from their captor Mictlantecuhtli, before they can return to the surface again to salvage the earth from its imminent, fiery demise.
