Having thrown off the ‘precocious youngfellas’ tag by taking on the best of the UK and Irish metal scenes at Mammothfest and emerging victorious, Northsiders God Alone are ready to take the first step into the biggest year of their personal and professional lives, starting with the release of their debut full-length. Mike McGrath-Bryan talks to bassist Cian Mullane.
It’s an easy trope to refer to black-metal/post-rock hybrids God Alone as “the pride” of Cork city’s music scene at present, but such truisms aren’t always without cause. Since their emergence from Cork’s relatively cloistered all-ages scene not even two years ago, the five-piece has aggressively gigged around the country, including seemingly weekly appearances at venues around the city, fine-honing a live show befitting the frightening maturity of their material. Claiming influence from bands like our own Altar of Plagues, they’ve also been a rallying point for the metal scene in Cork, as they’ve fostered a lot of goodwill from gig-goers, promoters and venue bookers alike for their hard work, as much as their musical innovation. While it’s also likely lazy journalism to say this of the band, the fact remains: all of this is still immensely impressive, considering some of the band is still only in sixth year of secondary school.
After the physical release of the band’s debut extended-player Intivim, God Alone set about outlining a concept for their debut full-length, and on the sixteenth of this month, the lads’ hard work comes to fruition. ‘Poll na mBrón’ is ready, with production by Rónan McCann (Any Joy) and mastering by local sonic polymath Matt Corrigan (Ghostking is Dead). For bassist/vocalist Cian Mullane, it’s a matter of moving forward musically, while holding a candle to local history. “We started writing the bones of the album around the time of the release of Intivim, with a vision of maturing the sounds of the EP, getting sadder and dancier. The album is a sort of concept album, loosely based on Our Lady’s Hospital Cork, which was an asylum in the Northside of Cork, where most of us live. It’s a harrowing place, and the atmosphere of the place and stories from it, had a massive influence on the music. The overall concept of the lyrics deal with themes of mental health and loneliness, and we use Our Lady’s Hospital as a place for those themes to live.”
Reverting to their home ground of Marlboro Street’s Groundfloor youth music facility, where McCann works as a musical supervisor for the YMCA, the band took the theme of musical progression to the production process, beginning to sharpen their studio chops. “This time we had a clearer vision in mind of what we were doing and what we wanted, and we had a much larger role in the production process. We used way more electronic elements on this album to create a more dense atmosphere than the EP.” The album releases this week via all digital services, and the band are one of the first generation of young artists to be releasing and garnering traction for their music in the post-physical environment, with digital streaming spurring their growth along on a wider national level. That being said, physical CDs, as well as T-shirts of the band’s faux-Gucci logo, have been selling out. The question of a physical release for ‘Poll na mBrón’ is an easy one. “We should have a rake of CDs at the launch, and possibly vinyl within the new year. We just slapped the EP out, and were really surprised and delighted that people were listening to it, and we hope people listen to our album too.”
This past summer saw the band come to international attention after winning the Mammothfest metal weekender’s Best Band Battle, defeating all-comers across multiple regional heats in Cork City, heading to Brighton with fellow Corkonians Bailer and Dublin’s Jenova to compete in the finals, and taking home the gold. “Mammothfest was the best craic of all time. Bailer and Jenova are absolute gents, and it was a fantastic experience. It was mental that we were chosen as the winners of the whole competition, we were just happy to be over there. Also, most people couldn’t understand what we were saying over there, and that was quite gas. We were really surprised and happy with the reaction we got over there.” Their prize for the victory involves an extensive UK and Irish tour next year, around which everyone’s calendar is revolving next year, including State exams and college assignments. The question of work-life-music balance is always a prescient one for God Alone, but it bears asking. “‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’ is our philosophy on everything, be grand (laughs).”
The band takes to the stage at the Kino on Washington Street this Sunday, to mark the release of their album, with hardcore/sludge veterans Horse supporting, and an appearance from fellow youngfellas Flatliner. It ought to be a busy affair, both in terms of numbers, and sonically, but sets them in good stead for the year ahead. “We’re really looking forward to playing it. The Kino is an unreal venue and place and the last time we played there it was class. Expect plenty of dancing and shouting and mad visuals. We’re playing with the absolute best biys of Horse and Flatliner which will be class, and to top it all off it’s going to be all ages which is the best craic. This year has been unbelievable, beyond belief and absolute mental. Next year we hope to do even more. We like being constantly busy with gigs, writing, and recording. New year, new us (laughs).”
God Alone release debut album ‘Poll na mBrón’ this Sunday, with a launch gig happening at the Kino the same day. Horse and Flatliner to support, kickoff at 6pm, €5 on the door. You can also catch them opening for Bailer and Worn Out on the 21st at Dali on Carey’s Lane.
Mike McGrath-Bryan 