Doomed Confessionary: Steve Walsh (Grey Stag)
Photo by Angel Croitor
Grey Stag is a progressive sludge/groove metal trio hailing from Dublin, Ireland.
The band is about to release their new EP, »Mountain Breaker«, which will see the light on April 4th, 2025. The EP has 3 original songs, »Summoner«, »Hellbringer« and »Cauldron Born«. As well as two covers, one of a traditional tune »Blessington Maid« and also »Emerald« by Thin Lizzy. They put a lot of time into refining these songs and building the energy throughout the whole release. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Aidan Cunningham. Artwork by Colin at Dabulga Design.
Grey Stag are Matt Geoghegan (bass, vocals), Steve Walsh (guitar, backing vocals) and Daragh Kenny (drums, backing vocals).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Grey Stag is a sociopathic groove tyrant with a penchant for dank riffage. We’re cavemen who think we’re smart so we do big riffs with different time signatures sometimes. We’re compact, and can fit ourselves and gear (breakables at least) into a Fiat Punto. Our time keeping is immaculate and promoters have called us “annoyingly punctual”. We also sell really good merch you should all buy.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
It’s weird but the biggest challenge is turning down gigs. When we first started we would take any gig going to get our name out there, but now as we’re older and a slightly more well known band, picking and choosing the correct gig is more important, it’s also important to not get burned out in our advanced years.
What can you be most proud of so far?
This is a great question, and difficult because I feel every year we do something better, which is how it should be! At the moment I’m most proud of our latest music video for a single »Cauldron Born«. We’re big fans of Mastodon, Red Fang and more recently Gnome videos so we wanted to bring the same energy to that. Our Videographer Angel from Cosompalace was absolutely amazing to work with, and he did our last video too so we have a great relationship.
Also, on a more personal note, I finally own a place where I can practice with the band. It’s just a shed but since being a teenager I’ve wanted my own space to be able to practice and not have to rent out somewhere. Very lucky we’re a 3 piece as it would not fit 4 people!
What was your biggest regret?
My personal biggest regret is when I stopped playing music in my early twenties. It was mostly due to money, probably also a slight bit of depression and lack of drive but was most likely caused by lack of money and that whole recession thing back in the late 2000’s. I didn’t play guitar properly for around 5 years so when we started Grey Stag I was so rusty. It took me a while to get back to being comfortable playing, let alone not staring at my fretboard throughout every gig!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
In late 2023 we booked a tour with Iron Altar, a band from Scotland. We did 4 shows around Ireland and 2 over in Scotland. It was great meeting international bands and gig sharing but also stealing all their ideas. They are such a good band, who should be playing stages twice the size they do and it was great to learn from them on that tour. Also getting experience of booking and organising a longer string of gigs, as I helped out with the Irish dates.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
My biggest surprise is not that people ever listened to Disturbed, but that they still do after David Draiman signed bombs that were used in an ongoing genocide #freepalestine.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Cult Of Luna again recently. They were a big influence on me for this latest release and their composition is just next level stuff.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Always have backups and buy good hardcases! It may seem like overkill starting off but gear always breaks and dies at the most inopportune time. In the last year I started running a two amp rig, which sounded great but it really saved me on a recent gig where my main amp just died. That’s the first time it’s happened to me but doing longer tours and more gigs takes its toll on gear, especially when it’s being thrown around by a tired drunk guitarist (me).
What are your guilty pleasures?
Not that I feel guilty about it, I shout it loud and proud, but I’ve recently found a great love for Irish traditional music. If you ignore the mainstream stuff you hear on radio and TV, there’s so many good tunes that cover some very gnarly and dark topics.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Ireland?
The underground metal scene in Ireland is amazing at the moment. Cities like Limerick and Cork are front runners at the moment, but there’s more promoters and gigs popping up in smaller towns that are doing great, and we’re seeing another wave of young bands pick up the mantle.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We just finished a string of gigs to promote our upcoming release so nothing planned for a while as we work on the vinyl release for »Mountain Breaker«.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We want to keep writing the music we love and also to go further ashore to play bigger festivals and tours.
How can people best support your band?
Every little bit counts. You can like and comment on our latest video, or if you really want to support you can grab some merch or tunes over at our Bandcamp: greystag.bandcamp.com.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
I just want to thank everyone that’s supported us so far. It really means a lot and you will always be remembered.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well