Enduring Whiplash pay tribune to Metallica

Paying blistering tribute to Metallica, Whiplash come to The Loft in Seven, Bridge St on Friday, March 17. The Galway-based band are Martyn Weesjes (vocals/guitar), John Cullen (lead guitar), Mad Maud (bass) and Brendan Kenny (drums).

John, Mad Maud and Martyn are childhood friends who cut their musical teeth to the sound of the metal giants.

“When we were learning how to play, we all started with Metallica,” John says. “Especially on the guitar side of it. There was something about Metallica’s music that just really grabbed you from the start, especially [the albums] Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning.”

When did Whiplash become a going concern?

“We were jamming through the 1990s, learning and jamming, but our first gig was around 1999,” John says. “We were playing Galway now and then, but in early 2013 we decided to make it more professional. Before  that, we were playing Metallica with other songs, but we decided to concentrate on doing it 100%. And actually making a show out of it as well, trying to put some props together, a flag.”

The props and the flag let punters know that they’re in for a show before the first note is played, but then it’s up to Whiplash to recreate that furious and, at times intricate, Metallica sound.

“You really have to nail the sound completely,” John says. “You get people coming to the show who are diehard Metallica fans, and they want to hear the stuff. The image isn’t as important, if you have a bit of a vibe about you, fair enough. But you definitely can’t mess around with the sound. We try to put the live vibe of Metallica into it, they tweak the songs a little bit live. We try to get all that in as well.”

Although the 1986 album Master Of Puppets is regarded as a classic of the genre, it has to be said that a huge part of Metallica’s staying power comes from the group' reputation as a live force.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.