Hailing from Ireland, Graveyard Dirt was formed many years ago in 1994. After releasing a demo and signing to the German record label Ars Metalli they had a hiatus for several years. In 2005, Graveyard Dirt reformed and re-released their demo in May of 2007. This started the wheels going and in later 2007 they released a new disc... "The Shadows of Old Ghosts" EP is their most recent release, and it is filled with what they have dubbed Irish doom metal. They have been influences by bands such as My Dying Bride, Anathema, and Paradise Lost and you definitely hear these legendary sounds within their compositions. "The Shadows of Old Ghosts" is filled with passionate riffs, somber keyboard tones, and drumming with perfect cadence. Guitarist David Reilly has been with Graveyard Dirt almost since the band was born. He joined shortly after Kieran O'Toole (Guitar) and Paul Leyden (Vocals) founded the band. Dave chats with me about their EP "The Shadows of Old Ghosts," the bands history including their disbanding, future music in the works and much more. Read on now before this "Gathering Storm" washes away "The Serenity Of Night"... Metal Fanatix: Hi Dave! How are you doing? What’s going on in Ireland ? David Reilly: Hi Jeff. Things are going great. We’ve just been added to the bill at ‘Day Of Darkness Festival 2008’ in Ireland , which is the biggest extreme metal festival of its kind over here, so we’re really excited about that. Metal Fanatix: I would like to start with a little bit of Graveyard Dirt’s history. How did the band form? When you formed what were the original ideals of the band? David Reilly: The band was formed by Kieran and Paul, after Paul and I had been in a different band, The Ghost Of Genevieve, but Paul left TGOG and we carried on with a different singer for a while. Paul and Kieran had also been in a band together before TGOG, Lucifyre, but…. Paul left and they carried on with a different singer for a while! I joined GD shortly after the two guys had decided to hook up again, and we quickly began knocking a few songs into shape. We then used the bass player from TGOG and finally recruited drummer, Ade Alkin, to complete the line-up. This was around 1994. The original ideals at the time were just to keep it slow and heavy, yet melodic at the same time. We were influenced by My Dying Bride, Anathema, and Paradise Lost, so you get the picture. Metal Fanatix: After signing to the French label Ars Metalli you guys disbanded shortly after. What was the reason for the disbanding from the late 90’s to 2005? David Reilly: It was actually a German label. Sorry Jeff! There were a couple of reasons for the split. Firstly, Ade the drummer decided to go off traveling so we had to replace him. We tried a couple of drummers, but neither was particularly suited to the style of music we were doing. Another reason was that I had began having tendonitis problems with my left arm and it was becoming increasingly difficult to play the guitar at that time, and in the end up, I had to stop playing completely for a while. There were also problems with the label which I think, all these years later, resulted in our decision to put out the ‘Shadows Of Old Ghosts’ EP ourselves. Next release though, we’d probably be looking for someone to help out a bit. We never officially split up by the way, just ended up having a break. For 12 years!!
David Reilly: I had been working in a recording studio for a couple of years in Dublin, and having learned a bit about modern recording techniques, thought it would be interesting to record some old Graveyard Dirt tunes that never got to see the light of day from all those years back. At the same time Paul and Kieran had been jamming a little so we decided to give it a go and see what happened. We finally found a drummer in Gary Sweeney who recorded his drums after guitars and vocals were already done. This ended up being the EP ‘Shadows Of Old Ghosts’ Metal Fanatix: You re-released your demo “Of Romance And Fire” after you the reformation. Did you guys re-record the songs or remix anything? If so, did it improve on the original? David Reilly: We re-released it on CD to try and generate a bit of interest in the forthcoming CD, which would have been ‘Shadows…’, and as there was only a cassette version from 10 years earlier, we wanted to have it out on CD. We didn’t remix anything, just re-mastered it. This only made it louder as far as I can tell! Metal Fanatix: I’ve really been digging your latest release “Shadows Of Old Ghosts”. How have people’s reactions been to it? David Reilly: Glad to hear it Jeff. Peoples’ reactions have been great. We didn’t want to let anyone down who had liked ‘Of Romance And Fire’ and was looking forward to something new from the band, and I think we succeeded on that front. In fact, I think it’s fair to say most people prefer ‘Shadows of Old Ghosts’. Also, a lot of new people have gotten to hear us through ‘Shadows…’. Some even think we’re a new band! Metal Fanatix: Does the music differ much from what you wrote in the mid-90s? David Reilly: Not too much. Two tracks from ‘Shadows..’ were written in the mid-90s, we just reworked them. ‘Rise..Fallen Skies’ was new and it fitted in perfectly with the two older songs.
David Reilly: If we could sit down and listen to any one minute of music from the whole 34 minute CD, and find something in that minute to make you want to keep listening, then we figured it wouldn’t get too boring. Metal Fanatix: I see your music as passionate and melancholic. Are these two goals you strive for when writing songs? David Reilly: When writing slower music, I think both those things are fairly important. But, once again, these things alone wouldn’t work I don’t think, if it wasn’t kept interesting in some way also. Metal Fanatix: What underlying themes do you write about in your music? David Reilly: No underlying themes Jeff. They’re all right there. Doom, Death, Despair, etc. Metal Fanatix: “A Tearless Lament” is my favorite song off of “Shadows Of Old Ghosts” because of how pleasing it is to my ears and how it sticks in my head. When I hear it once I want to play it over and over. Do you have a favorite Graveyard Dirt song? Which one? Why? David Reilly: ‘Gathering Storm’, and if you need to ask why…….. Metal Fanatix: Graveyard Dirt is working on new material from what I understand? Is there any idea when it will be finished? What can you tell us about it? David Reilly: Yes, we are working on new material. Hopefully they should be close to completion by the end of the year and we can start recording. The songs so far are in a heavier direction, almost Morbid Angel at times, dare I say, but without abandoning our Doom roots. Metal Fanatix: Your MySpace page has a few upcoming dates where you guys are playing. Will anything new be played at these shows? What should people expect from Graveyard Dirt when going to see you live?
Metal Fanatix: I’d love to see you guys play! Are there any future plans to do an extensive European or North American tour? David Reilly: I don’t know about extensive tour, but we would definitely like to play Europe for a few dates. North America I can’t see happening in the immediate future unfortunately. Metal Fanatix: If you could play anywhere in the world where would it be? Why? David Reilly: We’d like to play one of the European Metal festivals like Wacken in Germany , or Hellfest in France , maybe. To play to a larger audience yes, but also because we’d get a free pass for the weekend and get to see all the other bands. Metal Fanatix: Lots of musicians like to have a beer or stiff drink when playing. I myself prefer to have a tall glass of Guinness when I see a show. Some say that a few drinks loosen them up when they play or it helps them focus on the music. Do you have a favorite drink when playing a show or jamming? David Reilly: I personally play better when sober as I tend to forget things when I’m drinking. My name? What key the song I’m trying to play is in? Drinking is definitely a bad idea when playing a Graveyard Dirt show though, because for one thing, as the songs are so long, the head on the Guinness would be crusty after every tune. Metal Fanatix: Tell me about your equipment. Do you have a favorite brand of guitar or amp? David Reilly: At the minute I have a ’83 Gibson flying V and am in the process of getting the pick-ups replaced. I’m not sure whether to stick with the same type that they originally had, dirty fingers I believe, or go for something different. As for amps, I play through a Crate head at the minute but my favorite would probably be Peaveys. They’re perfect for the type of sound Graveyard Dirt go for. Metal Fanatix: Who or what bands have influenced you on how you play guitar? Any favorites? David Reilly: I have played most styles of music on guitar since I have started, from Rock, Metal, Classical, Jazz, Folk, and I’m sure they have all influenced my playing to some extent. My favorite guitar players would be Jan Akkerman from Focus, Brian May from Queen, Dave Gilmour, Slash, Steve Vai, to name a few.
David Reilly: Guitars – Jan Akkerman, Tony Iommi and err….Me, Drums – Jimmy Chamberlin (Smashing Pumpkins), Bass – John Deacon (Queen), Keyboards/Orchestrations – Danny Elfman, Vocals – Maynard James Keenan (Tool). We’d play some form of prog. manifestation with that line-up I suppose. As for a name, I’d leave that to John Deacon to come up with something. Metal Fanatix: Where do you see Graveyard Dirt in 10 years from now? David Reilly: I’d be surprised if we are still together in 10 years from now, but who knows? Hopefully, we’ll have a few more releases under our belts by then. We’ll keep it going for a good while yet though I reckon. Metal Fanatix: In closing, I’d like to thank you for your time so we all could learn a little more about you and Graveyard Dirt. Are there any final words you’d like to say to the Metal Fanatix of the world? David Reilly: Just that if anyone wants to get in contact with us, they can do so via the myspace page. Look forward to adding a few more friends. Also for anyone looking to buy 'Shadows of Old Ghosts' they can get it directly from us through myspace, or they can buy it online in the US from CDBaby and Stonerrock.com. Cheers. Metal Fanatix: Have a good one Dave! METAL!! To keep up with all the latest news & much more on Graveyard Dirt check out the following websites: http://www.myspace.com/graveyarddirt - Graveyard Dirt MySpace Site http://www.luggamusic.com/ - Lugga Music Productions Site © Jeffrey D. Adkins May, June 2008 Not to be re-printed in any form without written permission. |
