1) What are you up to right now?

- looking on myspace like the metal nerd i am and listening to axis of advance "obey". before that i was out cycling....sex, drugs and rock n roll... 

2) What are your present obsessions?

- trying to organise primordial rehearsals to write new stuff after a long creative lay out, finding a deal for the new void of silence album, some other soon to be revealed musical projects im working on, trying to get as much exercise in as i can...and battling my laziness (somehow connected o))to fight the summer alcohol intake. all this and the usual political and social neurosis.... 

3) Recommend a book that has truly inspired you. Why did it make such an impact?

recommend ?...cliche would be the lord of the rings but i think its for many people the first step you take as a kid into the world of adult literature away from kids books, as it was for me...apart from that really too many things to mention 

4) Where is 'home' and why do you live there? 

- home is Dublin all my life, why ?...i love the place in ways but i also financially dont have a fuckin choice right now. so here is home whether i like it or not. in broader terms Ireland is my home and no matter where I am there isnt a feeling like seeing it appear over the horizon. 

5) What is the album you haven't got in your collection but really should have, and why? 

- I havent got the original 1000 vinyl of Nemesis "day of retribution" from 1982, pre candlemass ep which kills me as I've been searching for it since about 1989. Lots of other collectors things like that, Celtic Frost pic discs etc. f you mean things I should own then of course there are things I know I should get around to getting but Im sure I will eventually. Right now the most important thing im waiting on is the new Woven hand album "Mosaic"... 

6) What record recently has really surprised you with its quality? Any album you own (and enjoy) that might surprise your fans?

- loads thankfully, im not one of these people whose album collection ends in 1994 or something. Ive been blown away by the last releases of Isis, High on Fire, Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, revenge, axis of advance, neurosis, repugnant, drudkh, amongst others...

surprised ?. i dont know ?...leonard cohen perhaps ?, im a huge cohen fan.  

7) Who are your musical heroes? 

- heroes is maybe extreme but i guess quorthon from bathory really was a big inspiration and influence to us all. apart from that when i was a kid...bon scott, steve harris, angus young etc... 

8) If you could collaborate with any musicians to do a project album, who would they be any why?

- someone huge so i could make some god damn money. o)

no i dont know, i ahve some plans for the future with some people and if that works out itll be cool, very cool. maybe one of those instrumental bands like red sparrowes or pelican, could be cool to sing over one of their albums o) 

9) Name some musicians that really should be getting more attention.

- if there was any justive instead of air brushed, scand, plastic metal headlining festivals bands like slough feg (usa) should be at wacken not fluff like masterplan or something, instead of dimmu we should have root (czech) for example....there is great stuff out there you just have to look for it.  

10) Other than music, what other types of Art do you appreciate?

- everything really, anything that someone has put their blood, time and passion into i can appreciate because thats what i do... 

11) Besides the instrument you are known for, which other instruments can you play?

- i can play the bass ok (ish), guitar badly and im a fuckin killer air drummer.... 

12) The first concert you ever attended was...

- a local band called killerwatt in 1988, and then metallica and danzig for justice for all in 88... 

13) When and where was the very first time you performed music?

- in skerries in 1991 in the local hall....16 i think i was !!! 

14) >From a performers point of view, what has been your most memorable concert and why?

- thankfully quite a few over the years....greece has been cool, romania, bulgaria, wacken 2001...thankfully 80% of primordial shows are great. we arent a passive band, we may not be the biggest band in the world but because we are real we inspire devotion and people know when they come and see a gig they are going to get something real... 

15) When was the last time you really felt you were struggling in your career and faced extreme adversity?

- nearly all the time its been a struggle, we have never had it easy, we arent handed out grammys or money from the state or nice plush rehearsal rooms, we come from the old ireland which was fuckin poor...u played music in the beginning to escape from how fucked the country was...no one handed us a thing. we chose the wrong labels and were fucked, we are still owed tons of money from people left right and centre. but its this sense of conquering in the face of adversity that drives us. we have to make music, its in our blood, our culture. its not because we might as well.... 

16) What has been your career highlight to date?

 - the fact that after all these years we are still here and we have never compromised a fucking thing.... 

17) What do you believe constitutes the heart & soul of Rock music?

- honesty...plain and simple. you either mean it or you dont.... 

18) The big three - Your favourite amongst LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH. Why?

- sabbath...i like the other two but sabbath as a metal head were just more riffy and definitely darker. although zeppelin surely had their moments...all great though. 

19) What's the last piece of music you made that put a big smile on your face?

- ive been writing music playing the bass and singing in a band called plagued and the first track we put together came together really well and i had a big grin listening back to the rehearsal tapes. that was very fulfilling because id written it...music and lyrics. 

20) What's the most daring piece of music you've made?

- i think primordial is daring because we dont really follow the metal rules of engagement and do our own thing, but perhaps void of silence "human antithesis" was the most daring as i joined the band blind, went over to italy to do the vocals with nothing prepared...

and if you can find the results were inspiring !. 

21) Have you ever clashed with a producer / label / manager over a particular piece of music? (That’s a cue for a story…)

- sure...i always generally clash with everyone, its my nature. i dont enjoy being in the studio i find it boring. with mags our old engineer it was generally argiung over things being too clean and compressed and with billy anderson for the last album loads of other things, drum sounds, acoustic sounds etc....

im a arguer. no doubt 

22) As a public entertainer, how much responsibility do you feel towards providing a role model for your fans?

- im not an entertainer nor never was. im not a role model either. you can take what you want from primordial, if you want heavy metal melodies and parts to bang your head to...its there, but if you want complicated messages,  subtexts, politics, religion, designs for life, philosophy, then scratch the surface and its all there... 

23) Inevitable - When was the last time you were involved in a 'Spinal Tap' moment? All the embarrassing details please …

- last time we played a show we ended up getting as a rider about 8 chocolate bars, one bag of crisps and in the end about 64 cans of beer which i thought was kinda funny. over the years there has been so many spinal tap moments its not even funny. i suppose fighting with my label bosses drunk and falling off the stage at a rock disco trying to pull the dj off with me in germany somewhere was the last one... 

24) How difficult is it to run a band as a democracy / functioning unit?

- well we are older now so we dont feel the need to object simply because someone else is giving advice like you do when you are young, sure it still happens but when youve been in a band longer then you havent you learn to roll with things. as for functioning ?. disfunctioning more like. we are all over the place, we always have been but we always pull it out of the fire.... 

25) When was the last time you were really excited about visiting a country?

- last year i was really excited about visiting and playing in finland for the first time and it really lived up to expectations. i loved it there !!!!. i get exctied about travelling and playing all the time. 

26) Ever done a gig when you've been really ill? Again, all the gruesome details please…

- sure. last show we did in Ireland i was not right in the head at all...2 day festival we played second day second last and the previous night was very heavy, too heavy. ive puked onstage, gone onstage after no sleep for 2 or 3 days....straight from the plane, flu, colds, broken bones whatever.... 

27) On tour, what are your daily rituals before you get to the gig?

- before playing generally not saying very much...pulling on the leathers, painting my face or whatever im doing, trying to go through scales, then 15 mins before winding myself up like a spring... 

28) Can you pinpoint the moment you made the decision to become a musician?

- i think i was watching james hetfield sing welcome home sanitarium when i was 13...i thought, id like to do that....

not a bad catalyst 

29) What absolutely has to be on your rider?

- drink...we are irish after all. our rider is actually kind of humourous, i think all these massive technical riders are bullshit. ours is simple...dont give us shit gear, dont feed us shit and dont disappear when you have to pay us. we will find you.... 

30) What is the most extravagant thing you have purchased?

- fuck all really. im pretty economical with money. because i never really have any...i suppose the last thing was an mp3 player. 

31) Truthfully, how important is it to you the way you look?

- honestly, i try to take care of myself. i dont want to be fat or unhealthy, i train and play sports, try and stay healthy, feel better. take care with the clothes i wear and buy, guess i have my own style or whatever you can call it. so i suppose i am pretty conscious of how i look, i like to look well ( or what i think it is....) for myself. no big deal... 

32) Rock n' Roll is famous for its extremes in the hair dept. What's the worst hairstyle you have ever sported?

- i dont know i went from long to very long to not so long to shaved head....i never had a 70s cut or a mullet or anything. i guess the widows peak braveheart tied back look...but it wasnt that bad o) was it ?............ 

33) Describe your strangest celebrity encounter.

- hmmm. i met rock n rolf at gods of metal once and had to take a picture with him so i asked him about it in german and he had this strange woman with him telling him what he could and couldnt put in his sandwiches while wearing a pink tracksuit. that was kind of odd...i pulled doros hair once by accident with my armband and she gave out to me which was pretty funny...stopped the singer from nightwish falling off a chair, but i didnt know who she was...im sure theres more !. apart from that i nearly got run over by a member of boyzone once...how cool is that !. 

34) Have you ever NOT signed an autograph?

- nope.... 

35) What's the biggest scar on your body and how did you get it?

- i have a big one under my right knee i got from sliding into a wall when i was 12...got stitched with no anaesthetic. now thats metal...

last one was abotu 11 stitches i got on my left hand from playing hockey !. yeah you heard it here first !!! 

36) Have you ever come close to death? What happened?

- yep twice....in one week

fighting with a very good friend in greece drunk on the 5th floor balcony and i threw him through the balcony and then pulled him back in...we thought it was funny at the time but the smashed baclony was a long way down. then getting into a car with a drunk girl one week later...things like that make you realise you cant be such an idiot o)

hope i learned something !... 

37) What subject is guaranteed to get you into a heated debate?

- most things. football, politics, the best slayer album (hell awaits by the way...) you name it.... 

38) What is the last injustice you saw?

- too many to mention...i was watching a programme about american foreign policy in south america, hugo chavez and stuff like that. enough injustices there for a lifetime in one hour. or maybe it was that girl who knocked me back in the pub 3 weeks ago o) 

39) What do you hope to achieve before you die?

- to create something that will live on after i die. and if i die tomorrow i will have done that... 

40) What happens to you after you die? 

- the worms crawl in...the worms crawl out....