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Invictus Productions plays host to a variety of fascinating and unique metal sounds. Although the Irish label focuses on practitioners of death, black, and thrash metal — the individual bands come at these styles from all sorts of angles. It’s a label you know is going to deliver raw, dark, unrelenting goodness, but you can never perfectly predict how it will play out.

And for that reason, we decided to talk to label boss Darragh O’Laoghaire to learn more about the label, the bands he supports, and what keeps him going. His insights about starting the label and the challenges he faces operating in Ireland are particularly interesting.

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Thank you for talking with us! For those who might not know, can you tell us about how Invictus Productions got started?

Back in the mid-to-late 1990s there was a lot of activity locally that I was either directly involved in or on the periphery of. Friends had started bringing in touring bands, I’d done two fanzines and Primordial, with whom I had spent a fair bit of time, had moved from Cacophonous Records to Misanthropy Records, where my friend Brian worked. I spent a little bit of time with Tiziana, having hosted her in my tiny abode in 1998 when she came to see Primordial play with Impaled Nazerene and prior to that, I pitched in with during the first two Mayhem UK shows in Bradford and London in 1997 so the seeds were planted then.

After that, I spent a bit of time in and around Hammerheart Records so in February 1999, I decided that I was going to do a label.

I didn’t play an instrument, wasn’t in a band and, back then, hardly anyone was into the same sort of stuff I was back then, so forming a band was a fantasy. Doing a label seemed like the best option. The original idea was to start with releasing Dublin band Morphosis‘ demos on CD/LP. They’ve recently split up and were a massive influence on all of us growing up in the 90s. The demos were remastered and a layout was done by none other than Stephen O’Malley but the release never came to fruition and I still don’t know why! In the end, the Slaughter Lord compilation Thrash til’ Death 86-87 became the first official label release in January 2000.

This came about as Steve Hughes (the former drummer) had relocated here from Australia in 1999. We met, hung out and got all the material mastered in a studio here in Dublin by a lady who had has much interest in metal as we did in country and western. We all sat in on that session and Steve called the shots on timings, endings, etc. A good experience!

What would you say is the core vision of the label? A lot of the roster winds up somewhere between the worlds of black and death metal, but you have a lot of acts that go in cool or odd directions as well.

The core vision of the label comes from the name Invictus. It reflects the perpetual cycle in life of overcoming, conquering and holding your ground. That expression comes through the many different releases the label has had. Each one, at different times, reflecting where my own mind is at or even where my mind is absent. The more traditional thrash, black and death metal styles are my favorites — ones born from the 80s. But I do like how they have mutated in some cases — and I am repulsed by other mutations. The nature of music and art, I suppose.

I really loved The Third Temple from Spite when it came out in 2024. The album is super dark and cinematic and I still revisit it today. How did you end up working with Jesse?

Jesse was the live drummer for Negative Plane on a 2015 European tour I had organized for them along with then label mates Malthusian. Spite had put out the Trapped in the Pentagram 7″ at that point and we got on pretty damn well on the tour so we discussed working together, which has continued to this day! Spite’s style is something I find truly expressive and the rawness of the riffs hits perfectly. Absolutely love the band! I have yet to see them live as I missed their last European tour!

Running a record label, especially in a niche area like extreme metal, can’t be easy in 2026. What would you say have been your primary challenges? Are any of them unique to being based in Ireland or the EU? Alternatively, are there advantages to this as well?

Primary challenges right now are spiraling costs. I am preparing to move to a new warehouse next month. This will be the fourth move for the label in nearly as many years. Circumstances around the warehouse I rented at the end of 2020 created some serious challenges and created some financial difficulties, which are still a current issue. Energy costs here are out of control, affecting day to day living so this in turn affects people’s spending power. People ordering less and smaller amounts, which of course creates its own challenges. This decade, the 2020s, has been extremely peculiar on a number of levels and as it progresses, it’s difficult to see much getting better or changing — but the fact remains that unless people completely stop buying LPs, CDs, etc. then there’s a market and we will continue to release new music accordingly!

Being based in Ireland, a small island on the periphery of Europe, certainly brings its own challenges as there’s not a dedicated, specific market here on the island and people prefer to order from abroad as well, most of the time. I have a good, hardcore mail order audience here and we get some good turnouts at underground shows. The next warehouse venture will involve a monthly open day for people to come visit, pick up LPs, merch, etc. while we spin some vinyl on decks.

I would say that no, there are no advantages to being in Ireland. The European continent is where the “scene” is and if you’re in Germany, you have a ready made, automatic audience on your doorstep immediately, and small festivals you can do stalls at. We don’t have that here.

Looking forward, what are some upcoming releases you’d like Decibel readers to look out for? You’ve already blazing out of the gate with that new Oraculum album!

So far in 2026 we’ve released the debut full length from Oraculum titled Hybris Divina and the third Transilvania album Magia Posthuma! Both albums have received great praise, which is very rewarding! Next release is Hexorcist’s new album Crucifical Imprecations in the summer followed by Sépulcre Cryptic Temple of Otherworldly Abhorrations and the self-titled Callous Master debut. The new Malokarpatan album Baron Ferat will also be released along with some other to be announced titles.

Finally, it’s easy to get jaded and burned out when music becomes part of your everyday working life. What keeps you excited about this music?

It’s true that there is simply too much, of everything. Music, TV, media, movies. But in the end, you have to cut and carve out your own space and ultimately decide what you want to spend your time with. This simplifies the matter and while I can admire people who can endlessly consume new music at a weekly rate, I am personally more selective. There’s a lot of great music out there but the impact of it all certainly seems to lessen on a yearly basis. Perhaps it’s a necessary process the music world has to be go through and shed its skin like a snake, I don’t know. But it feels a little like a ‘musical nuclear arms race’ these days with little room for the proper digestion of something in order for it to make a proper impact. So what keeps me interested? The artists I work with. They’re a weirdly wonderful, mildly insane bunch of inspirational creative crazies!

The post Label Spotlight: Invictus Productions appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Hellripper have been the best thing in the blackened speed/thrash metal arena for a long time now, at least since their first full-length, 2017’s Coagulating Darkness. It was on that album that sole member James McBain established the core of the project: early Metallica and Venom-style riffs played fast as fuck, executed with both precision and enthusiasm. In the ensuing years, McBain has stayed busy, releasing a handful of splits, an EP and three more albums, including Hellripper’s latest, Coronach.

The band’s first for Century Media, Coronach stands above everything else Hellripper have done to this point. Opener “Hunderprest” comes out of the gate swinging, mixing the scrappy, sharp riffs with melodic leads, something McBain started to really incorporate on last album Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags. Though McBain is the main instrumentalist on every release, he has a consistent crew of contributors including Desert Heretic’s Joseph Quinlan, who contributes lead guitars on a number of tracks. Vocalist Marianne also lends vocals to three songs, including the excellently-titled “Kinchyle (Goatkraft and Granite)” and “Blakk Satanik Fvkkstorm.”

The Scottish band rarely slows down, so even songwriting choices like the piano intro of “The Art of Resurrection” lend a pleasant surprise to the black ‘n’ roll tendencies of the song. There’s also plenty of Scottish tradition in the songs, from the bagpipes on the album’s closing track to the scattered bits of Scottish folklore and mythology written into the songs. Sure, Hellripper are musically interesting but they’re also thematically interesting, daring to interpret the monsters and evil of speed and black metal in a new way.

When McBain spoke to Decibel in 2023, he said:

“While writing [Warlocks Grim], I was listening to my usual stuff but I was listening to a lot of classic bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, as well as Alice in Chains, even bands like Oasis and Manic Street Preachers, Smashing Pumpkins, the Beatles. Maybe that stuff creeps in. If I hear something I like in their music, I think, ‘Maybe I can try and put this in a speed metal context.’”

It’s that sense of awareness and desire not to repeat himself that makes McBain a great songwriter and it’s what keeps Hellripper sounding fresh despite releasing four albums, 2 EPs, five splits and a few singles (including a Decibel flexi!). Coronach is a crowning achievement and an album that any self-respecting speed metal fan needs to get on immediately.

The post You Should Be Listening to Hellripper’s <i>Coronach</i> appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Bo was also co-host of the hugely popular HardLore Podcast

On Wednesday, federal authorities arrested Memphis rap stars Pooh Shiesty and Big30, as well as a number of other men, charging them with robbery and kidnapping. As TMZ reports, the Justice Department, claim that Pooh Shiesty, Big30, and their associates invaded a Dallas recording studio in January, robbing a number of people on the premises, including Gucci Mane.

The post Pooh Shiesty Arrested For Allegedy Robbing & Kidnapping Gucci Mane appeared first on Stereogum.

Canadian progressive rock collective Versa proudly unveil a breathtaking new animated music video for their 19-minute sci-fi epic Artemis, featuring guest performances from Michael Trew (Moon Letters) and Sam Vallen (Caligula’s Horse). The track is taken from the band’s landmark anniversary release, A Voyage/A Destination – Special Round Trip Edition, which launched on March 6, […]

Featuring newly re-recorded lead vocals in the wake of Josh Davies being fired.

The post Ingested Debut “Watch You Fold” Featuring John Gallagher Of Dying Fetus appeared first on Theprp.com.

Doubting Tomas is an American hard rock band formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2012 by guitarist, lead singer and songwriter Billy Brewster. The band recently released the single Be My Girl, a fast-moving, high-energy rock track built on driving guitars from the just released album Ruins. The song leans into a classic rock spirit with […]

Lina Maxine releases a folk rock single Feels Like Forever unveiling a more organic instrument-driven sound for the Long Island-based band. The single opens with the sound of rain over the South Shore waves, recorded during a storm on Indian Wells Beach. The sound perfectly captures the intentions behind the new production: to blend Americana […]

Formed in 1968, Deep Purple is considered one of the pioneers of heavy metal. Alongside Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, this English group makes up one third of the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal,” and in 1975, they were listed in the Guinness Book as the world’s loudest band. Ultimately, the duel between Ritchie Blackmore’s sinister guitar work, Roger Glover’s thundering bass, Ian Paice’s kicking drums, Gillian’s screaming vocals, and Jon Lord’s neo-classical approach to keyboards gave the band its distinct sound. There have been several lineup changes over the years, but this grouping is generally considered the original

The post Top 10 Deep Purple Songs appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Olivia Rodrigo has announced the details of her third full-length album, due for release just as Summer starts.

It’s set to be titled ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ and will be released on June 12 via Geffen Records. Pre-orders and pre-saves are available right now from right here.

The record was produced by Daniel Nigro, who also worked with Rodrigo on her 2021 debut ‘SOUR’ and 2023’s huge ‘Guts’.

The artwork looks a lot like this:

It will be Olivia’s first new music since ‘Guts’ was released, an album that showcased her love for brash riffs, scrappy production and brisling anger, heavily influenced by her love of bands such as Paramore, No Doubt and Hole.

The era garnered support from some of the greats, from Avril Lavigne thanking Rodrigo for reviving rock ‘n’ roll, to Jack White calling her a “very cool, very real lover of music” and “talented musician”, and The Cure’s Robert Smith joining her on stage during her headline set at Glastonbury for a run-through of ‘Friday, I’m In Love’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’.

The post Olivia Rodrigo Announces New Album ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ appeared first on Rock Sound.