Formed in Cork City in August '99 By Michael O'Sullivan, formerly of Cork thrash metal band Miscreant in the late 80s and early 90s, as Renewal. With Colin O'Brien on guitar and Pete Lawlor (formerly of Abhor & others) on bass, though Denis Coveney of Flatline did fill in for a while after Pete had a near fatal motorbike accident. With Shane O Brien on drums this line up then recorded various rehearsal demos (one of which did manage to get bootlegged), and eventually in late 2000 went into the Studio to record "Old World Order", their debut album on Acheron Records. At this stage the band began changing direction to the more familiar death metal sound that characterises their style today. Shane decided to leave the band and a replacement was found in the person of John Desmond (Junkyard, Pedestal). When it came to their attention early in 2002 that other bands called "Renewal" existed, the band decided to change their name to Carnún Rising. Their Iron Maiden influenced melodic death metal still retains a highly thrashing element and the band's overtly and unashamed Metal attitude comes across clearly in the live situation. In 2003 the band released their first album under the name Carnún Rising, At the Dawn of a New Dark Age on Acheron Records. The album received great reviews from all quarters, including 9/10 from Metal Observer. Tracks from the CD also appeared on the Thrash or be Thrashed (an International Tribute to Thrash) compilation (Blackfish Records), the Mother of Mercy compilation (Motherofmercy.com) and Intoxicated Vol. II. Also in 2003 John left the band for personal reasons, and there was a break in live shows while they found a new drummer. In January 2004 Cathal Murphy (formerly of Pagan Reign, Mael Mórdha and Karnayna) took over behind the kit. In the same month, Carnún Rising headlined the METAL am der RUHR festival in Mulheim, Germany, and a week later supported Entombed at The Village in Dublin. They also played with Abaddon Incarnate at the launch of their new album in Cork. In September 04 Carnún Rising supported Desaster at the Star Club in Mulheim. The track Reign of Darkness from At the Dawn... was released on the Metalworks Magazine compilation. In March 2005, the band recruited a third guitarist in the person of Ian OSullivan (Hallowed, and also formerly of Miscreant) to cope with the demands of their more complex new material. In 2006 Carnún Rising played with Dismember in Cork, and will be heading into the studio to record their third album, Bituriges in the summer.