The Keltic Jihad commenced in 2004 following a conversation between Kev McCarthy and one of his muslim friends, who described the political lyrics and critical approach to selfish politics as Kev's own "Celtic Jihad". Realising that this was too good a name not to use for a band, Kev immediately suggested to his former Osiris and Anubis Dawn bandmate Tim Jarvis that they should begin writing under that name. Tim's immediate reaction was to remind Kev that he spent a lot of time in Glasgow and having a band witth the name Celtic in it would get him lynched ... so, the name was adjusted to save him from a beating at the hands of Rangers fans!

Tim's stay in the band would be short due to other commitments, but the name begin to attract the callibre of musician that the project required. First, Damian Lee joined as the band's Rhythm Guitarist in 2006, bringing an almost metronome-like timimg to the band. Damian introduced Kev to Tom Clarke, who agreed to work initially as a session musician, but eventually recanted and joined full time. Between the three of them, they recorded the initial demos for The End of Empires and began to look for other musicians to join the fold.

Within a few days of each other, Rich Grindon agreed to record the drums for the first album under a session arrangement, whilst Kev's long time musicial collaborator Rod Boston joined as the full time bass player for the band. This left a single role to be filled - that of lead vocalist. At the time, the band had no preconceived idea as to the vocal style that would be required. Auditions were held to try numerous vocalists, from the brutal stylings of death metal to the venomous approach of black metal. Whilst these styles fit in places, they did not answer the overall need.

After what seemed like dozens of auditions, a set of rough recordings from a 17 year old female singer caught their attention. An audition and a band meeting later and Holly Bolus was confirmed as the first full time vocalist for the band. Another vocalist, Pat MacDonald, agreed to add his death metal vocals to those provided by the rest of the band and the first recording lineup was confirmed. They set about completing the first album, The End of Empires, with Tom & Kev spending many overnight recording sessions attempting to outdo each other on their solos - not to mention music theory discussions at 4am!

In support of the album, the Jihad went on the road with new drummer Adam Jones. During the tour, they supported Overkill, Blaze Bailey, To-Mera, Evile and many others. The attention that they were gathering resulted in a prime slot at the Bloodstock Open Air Festival where they played to a packed crowd. Contract offers from smaller US labels were being considered, whilst the band held out for a better deal. Unfortunately, due in part to the pressures of rehearsals and gigging, they were to lose their vocalist before the end of the year and were left searching for a replacement - which was no easy task.

Adam Jones was the next to leave, wishing to put more emphasis on his alternative rock band and to move away from thrash. Fortunately, Chris Pinkett stepped right into the now vacant slot and the band didn't miss a rehearsal. Within a few weeks, Leilani Mason auditioned for the band. Her deeper and more versatile voice suited the newer material that was being recorded at the time. Leilani went on to re-record the first album, which was the version released in 2010, whilst simultaneously helping to write and record the forthcoming album, Immaculate Perception.

A new album has been written and is in the process of being recorded. Tentatively entitled "Indoctrinate", it signals a return to the thrashier elements of the Keltic Jihad sound.