Irish thrash metal outfit Gama Bomb have released an animated send-up of the Irish 1916 Easter Rising centenary, titled “2016: Return To Easter Rising”.

The online-only single takes on a sci-fi theme as the leaders of the Rising return to battle killer robots on the streets of modern day Dublin in a video featuring art by Dublin illustrator Mark Flood. The track also lampoons the progress of Irish history over the last 100 years, bemoaning the ‘suicide and civic pride’ and ‘crooked deals in shades of green’ that characterised the century.

Gama Bomb frontman Philly Byrne commented “This started life as an in-joke about six years ago, but it’s turned into something else. To us, the centenary of 1916 just throws light on the lack of progress the country has made in some areas. We’re one of the best-loved nations on Earth, but we treat women’s bodies and children’s education with contempt under the law. We’re a nation of artists and dreamers, but we’re living in thrall to inequality and boom-or-bust economics. In the face of all that, you can only really take the piss using the medium of  killer robots.”

Gama Bomb are notorious for making their opinions known: from being the first band ever to release a full album as a free download in 2009, to asking fans to bring along ‘inferior’ metal CDs to be destroyed at their early live shows. The track will not be released physically or made available for purchase.

Dublin and Newry-based five piece Gama Bomb started life 14 years ago, releasing five full-length albums and touring globally.  

Gama Bomb are:

Paul Caffrey - Drums
John Roche - Guitar
Domo Dixon - Lead Guitar
Joe McGuigan - Bass and vocals
Philly Byrne - Vocals