Asylum Road take Derry metal to Europe with Ektomorf tour dates
Derry metal band Asylum Road has announced that they will support Hungarian groove‑metal outfit Ektomorf on the Czechia and Germany dates of the ‘I’m the Heretic Tour,’ from April 3–5, and aim to carry the flag for the Derry music scene across Europe.
Asylum Road is made up of bassist Brian Smyth, vocalist Darryn McCartney, drummer Eithan Murray, and guitarist Paul Sandy.
Speaking to Asylum Road’s Darryn ahead of the European shows he said: “We are super excited, we’re delighted, we are buzzing.”
He added that the reaction from the Derry music scene has been incredibly supportive, with people congratulating the band and sharing their pride in the group’s success.
“It has been a whirlwind of emotions. We are really happy and proud of the work we have put in. The hard work is showing.”
The band will have the opportunity to perform in a venue with a capacity of 850 people, their largest audience to date.
“It gets the heart beating a wee bit faster,” Darryn said.
Asylum Road is also set to release their upcoming EP ‘Cerca Trova’ in March.
During their European dates, they will showcase their latest material while also bringing back fan favourites from their first EP.
“We want to see how those tracks work with a new audience,” Darryn said. “Giving them a taste of what we used to sound like, how we’ve evolved, and where we are now.”
The band also expressed their gratitude to Derry and their supporters for giving them the spotlight.
“We are all very proud to be from Derry,” Darryn said. “We’re proud to continue flying the flag for Derry in terms of music. We have so many great local heroes to look up to, the likes of Libido Switch, Bap from Triggerman, the guys we grew up with who showed us the way, and now we’re doing the same thing.”
Asylum Road hopes to inspire young musicians to get involved not just in metal, but in music more broadly.
“The metal community died in Derry for so long, and now it’s coming back. This is for every metalhead in Derry.”