Bogside Sniper Squadron

Demo 2023 (2023)

John Gentile

I’m pretty sure I know the lunatic mind behind Bogside Sniper Squadron, but I’m not naming names. Though, you can probably figure it out for yourself if you look at the results- the band… or “band”… mixes black metal with Thin Lizzy soaring and talks about the Irish conflict.

It’s a weird mix that works surprisingly well. Opening track “Ash Rains at Warrenport” takes Lynott’s powerful, clean strike and mixes in some spastic Celtic Frost freakout and mosh riffage. Meanwhile, a distorted, gurgling bark rumbles over the top. In an almost Hendrix-warps-the-national-anthem moment, “Corporal Executions” takes traditional Irish tones and scales and speeds them into a metallic whirlwind. It’s an interesting mix- can we distort the historically bright sound of Irish anthems and make them something dark and twisted? The answer is yes and the subsequent question is, why did it take until 2023 for this to be discovered. Sure, the person behind BSS might be twisted, but he’s clever too, which is why the band is kind of scary.

Doubtlessly, BSS has either calculated or stumbled onto something that is interesting and unique, despite that it’s assembled from previously built parts. There’s real promise here, but the question is, can we take this interesting experiment and make a full fledged statement in the form of an LP? I’m betting on yes… and even if I wasn’t I’d still say I was because I’m betting these guys are pretty good shots.