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Graveyard Dirt was formed back in 1994/95 by Kieran O’Toole (guitar) and Paul Leyden(vocals) . With a number of early compositions loosely arranged they were joined by David Reilly(guitar),Mark McConnellogue(bass) and eventually Ade Allkin(drums). In the Summer of ’95 the band ventured into the studio and just 7 hours later emerged with their debut demo. Entitled “ Of Romance & Fire”, it contained 3 tracks , (‘The Serenity of Night’, The Funerals Essence and ‘I Embrace The Dark’) , and went on to sell over 600 copies and reached far-flung places such as Australia ,Japan ,Malaysia ,Argentina as well as most European territories , Germany and U.K in particular through respected distro ‘Black Tears’.
Most of these sales were the result of the predominately very good reviews and interviews from many underground fanzines such as “NO COMPROMISE”(Ger) 87/100 , Aardshock(NETH) – “Graveyard Dirt drags you to the dark dungeons of the mortuary” , but also more established metal mags such as ‘Ablaze’(Germany) – “These 5 Irish people are reckoned to be the best newcomers from Ireland” and Terrorizer (U.K). The demo received 4.5/5 from the latter of these mags and invited the listener to “ explore the many varied doom soundscapes within” and advised labels to “ prick up their ears to this bands music”. Indie German label Ars Metalli heeded this advice and sold many copies of the demo before signing the band to record 2 albums along with fellow Irish band Arcane Sun. By this time however Ade Allkin had left the band and though a replacement was found it was short-lived.
Time passed and no recordings were arranged, an arm injury forced David Reilly out of action for the forseeable future and eventually the band called it a day with a distinct feeling of things having been left unfinished.
Many years later those unfinished feelings were to be laid to rest at last as the core of the band got together to avail of the many improvements in recording technology and record those older tracks themselves, the tracks that should have featured on a debut album 10 years earlier.
After finding a suitable drummer and still finding their feet with the recording process one track was completed entitled “ In Ruins” which was not released but served to sharpen the appetite. Serious work began after this when it was decided that the fruits of these recordings should be given a proper release. After a few setbacks, another new drummer (Gary Sweeney), and many frustrations there was at last some light at the end of the tunnel.
Shortly before the new recording was complete, the old “Of Romance & Fire” demo was remastered and 99 copies released in CD form for the first time. These were sold in a fortnight with little promotion.
Finally in August 2007 “Shadows of Old Ghosts” was released. Featuring 3 tracks and spanning 34 minutes, this E.P has indeed banished those unfinished feelings carried around for so long, hence the title! This release shows much more maturity, both in sound and playing but especially within the arrangements of the tracks themselves while still staying faithful to their distinctive coarse and solemn sound-A fact noted by the many positive comments on metal forums since its release.
A full promo campaign brought attention back to the band and the initial few reviews received could hardly have been more promising:
Imhotep webzine-Norway 6/6
“These riffs are almost unbelievable at times, there are just so many classics. . If music can truly be a portal to the soul, then I suggest that few have ever been left so open. For me, this is as close to perfect as I have encountered in some time.
Metalireland.com 4.8/5
“Everything they have set down on 'Shadows Of Old Ghosts' drips with dewy authenticity…….. they have somehow managed to distil all that is important about the genre into three songs of absolutely fucking monumental stature.
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