Chaos is coming to the Dunamaise for launch of Laois band's new LP
Rock/Metal band Chiral pictured at Red Lake Sound Studios in Portlaoise while rehearsing for their upcoming debut album release show in the Dunamaise Arts Centre Photo: Stan Henderson
CHIRAL, described as Ireland’s most dangerous rock band, are preparing to tear down the walls of convention between performers and audience at the Dunamaise Arts Centre to induce alternative music fans into a world of sonic and visual spectacularism when they launch their debut album on Thursday 27 February.
The band say this will be no ordinary gig where a group of lads in t-shirts and jeans play some songs on stage. Instead, it will be a dive into a sonic and electrifying underworld with a multilayered show experience designed to blow the minds of punters and push the boundaries of rock through an audio-visual extravaganza.
The first 200 pre-signed vinyl presses of will be available on the night. Those who buy tickets on or before Friday 14 February will receive a free vinyl on the night.
Two support acts will also perform at the album launch – Laois punk/alt rock combo Motion Sickness and The Red Embers Dance Group as well as lots more surprises.
The band will also premiere their new music video titled ***Bones***, which is the third instalment of a trilogy featuring creative artist and actress Rebecca Deegan, who is also artist-in-residence at the Dunamaise Arts Centre.
The four band members – Spooky, Wolf Acid Ritual, Red Lake Magick and Bluster Bhoy – were in character for rehearsals recently at the Red Lake Sound Studio in Portlaoise, which is run by local man Gary Duncan, when they invited the along to meet them.
Wolf Acid Ritual said that Chiral began on the back of an idea in the summer of 2023. He said that Red Lake Magick randomly sent him a track that he put vocals to and then sent it back to him. They really liked the song and called it
Continuing, Magick said: “We launched last year and ended up on RTÉ’s main webpage with Bambi Thug and Taylor Swift. We were on the main RTÉ website the very day that we launched the single, which was amazing.
“Ever since that, the whole metal community has welcomed us along, which is brilliant, because we didn’t really know where we belonged, or if anyone was going to like us. We ended up playing a tour over in Germany recently and we haven’t even played Ireland yet, so the Dunamaise Arts Centre on 27 February will be our debut in Ireland.
“The show will be our debut live show in our hometown on the back of an album launch that we put together while the band was building and we will be premiering the third part of our trilogy on the big screen with Rebecca Deegan, starring as she does in the previous two videos and The three videos come together to make one cohesive story, which is unusual for music, so this is a big deal for us.
“There has been a lot of money invested from people sponsoring us here in town. We have sponsorship from Euronics, Telfords, The Storeyard, Anthem Music and Trax, along with many others, to whom we are very grateful. We have a whole crew of support along with the whole Irish community in the metal world, who are championing us. They put us into the top ten of the metal bands last year, which we didn’t see coming. We had three songs in the top ten, which none of us were expecting.
“We’re doing something right and we are really looking forward to entertaining the crowd through the theatre, which we will use to its full potential. The theatrics of this band will allow us to do that.” Tickets for the night, which is not to be missed, cost €29 and can be booked at www.dunamaiseartscentre.ie or by phoning 057 8663355.
Chiral can be found on Instagram at chiral.labs and on YouTube by searching @Chiral_labs.
