In Conversation With Colin: Forge Hounds

Waterford in southeast Eire isn’t necessarily the first place that springs to mind when thinking about rock bands, previous music icons from Ireland’s oldest city have included Gilbert O’Sullivan and Val Doonican. However, local band Forge Hounds are about to bring Waterford sharply into focus with their own brand of lacerating riffs and barnstorming beats, bringing 70s classic rock and blues rock influences to the fore while still somehow feeling fresh and of the moment.

The band formed in 2022 by Paul J Bolger, Mick Wall, Steve Roche and Andy Kavanagh (Kav to his mates), drawing inspiration from rock legends such as Thin Lizzy and Bad Company. Their mature gut-punching sound resonates fiercely, reflecting their combined decades of writing, recording and performance experience.

“Growing up in the late 70’s I liked punk and hard rock.” Paul told me in his soft Irish brogue. “I wasn’t into pop music, I was in a rock band with Steve when we were kids here in Waterford. But I really had an ear for country music like Steve Earle and blues. I love Paul Rodgers and Bad Company and Free.”

Forge Hounds got together as a bit of a joke initially, there was a local festival in Waterford so Paul and Steve resurrected the old band eventually developing into a jam band, resulting in the self-titled debut album. “We are all school friends really, and all from the City of Waterford and it’s a bit like musical five-a-sides, we all got together on Sunday’s to kick about and it became a band.” Paul smiles as he recalls some of his earliest memories growing up that are clearly still dear to his heart.

“When we got together we were a bit specific about what we were aiming for. Andy the drummer is more into the 60’s and early 70’s stuff, he loves the Hammond organ. Steve is more of an 80’s metal head and Mick is more blues rock. So the years between 1978 and 1982 seemed to be the years we all agreed on and there are certain elements of the album that I think naturally without trying too hard just came out.”

The song ‘Damned If You Don’t’ from their eponymously titled new album is about someone struggling to get by in the harsh reality of life and how to navigate its ups and downs and has a strong driving blue collar edge as Paul explains. “The song ‘Damned If You Don’t’ came from a little riff that Steve had and I just took it and I write all the lyrics and vocal melodies, and I had this idea for a song about people that are just lost in society and I like to play with words so damned if you don’t is a bit of a joke on the damned if you do. We had decided that we wouldn’t have one lead singer because Mick was so good at singing, but we shouldn’t make the mistake I feel some bands do which is having two singers, one guy takes song A and the next guy takes song B, then the band has no identity.”

The song ‘Redcoat’ feels as if it’s harking back to more troublesome times. “I wrote the words for that back in 1988 and I thought it would be nice to come up with a topic that people don’t normally talk about. I resurrected the lyrics and it’s one of those songs that people around here like. Lyrically I switched it to Ireland. This is a story about two lads who just fought in the 1798 rebellion, so it’s a sort of history song about a very specific period and the ironic thing is a lot of men in those red coats were Irish, they weren’t actually British.”

COLIN PALMER